| Qian Chu (錢俶) |
|
King of Wuyue (more...)
|
| 5th and last king of Wuyue |
| Reign |
17 February 948 – 9 June 978 |
| Predecessor |
Qian Hongzong, half-brother |
|
|
| Born |
(929-09-29)September 29, 929
Hang Prefecture, Wuyue
|
| Died |
October 7, 988(988-10-07) (aged 59)
Dèng Prefecture, Song dynasty
|
| Spouse |
- Queen Sun (孫)
- Queen Yu (俞)
- Queen Huang (黃)
|
| Issue |
- Qian Weijun (錢惟濬)
- Qian Weizhi (錢惟治)
- Qian Weixuan (錢惟渲)
- Qian Weihao (錢惟灝)
- Qian Weijin (錢惟溍)
- Qian Weicui (錢惟漼)
- Qian Weiyan (錢惟演)
- Qian Weiji (錢惟濟)
- at least 7 daughters
|
|
|
| Father |
Qian Yuanguan |
| Mother |
Lady Wu Hanyue |
Qian Chu (29 September 929 – 7 October 988, courtesy name Wende), known as Qian Hongchu before 960, was the last king of Wuyue, reigning from 947 until 978 when he surrendered his kingdom to the Song dynasty.
Qian Chu came to power after his brother, Qian Zong, was deposed in a coup d'état. At the time, Wuyue was at its largest territorial extent, ruling 13 zhous in modern-day Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Fujian. Throughout its history, Wuyue maintained a policy of nominally submitting to the successive dominant northern regimes. Unlike the other small states in the south, the Wuyue kings never declared themselves Emperor. In return, the northern regimes respected Wuyue's autonomy and conferred upon its kings high honours, one of which was the title of "Commander of All Horses and Soldiers Under Heaven". Indeed, Qian Chu changed his name from the original Qian Hongchu, because the character hong was barred by taboo (as the name of Emperor Taizu of Song's father was Zhao Hongyin (趙弘殷)).
When the Song Dynasty unified northern China in the 960s, Qian Chu reportedly followed his ancestor Qian Liu's instruction to submit as soon as possible when the "true lord" appeared. In 960, Qian Chu submitted to Song, and changed his name in the same year. Subsequently, Qian Chu obeyed orders from the Song court to participate in the annexation of the other small southern kingdoms on behalf of the Song emperor. In 968, he was re-created the King of Wuyue by the Song emperor, and subsequently invested with further imperial honours. In 977, the new emperor Emperor Taizong of Song invested Qian with the nominal titles Chancellor, Chief Secretary, and Commander of All Horses and Soldiers Under Heaven.
However, in 978, Qian Chu surrendered his territories to the Song regime, possibly under veiled threat from the Song court. Nevertheless, the "voluntary" surrender protected the Wuyue region from the ravages of war that visited other contemporary regimes. The region was able to maintain its infrastructure and economic advantage, built up over the Wuyue period, which in no small part contributed to the Yangtze Delta being the economic centre of China up to the present day.
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Wikipedia
