
Sun Hao (242-283) was the Emperor of Eastern Wu from 264 to 280 AD, succeeding Sun Xiu. He was the last emperor of Wu, and he was powerless to stop Western Jin's conquest of Wu in 280 AD due to the lack of support from his people.
Biography[]
Sun Hao was born in 242 AD, the son of Sun He and grandson of Emperor Sun Quan. In 250 AD he went from being the son of the crown prince to being the son of a commoner when Sun Quan ordered his son, Sun Ba to commit suicide and had Sun He and his family be exiled to Guzhang, Yang Province. In 252 AD, Sun He was made Prince of Nanyang at Changsha by Sun Quan before he died, but in 253 AD, Sun He died.
Sun Hao was unimportant until 264 AD, when Chancellor, Puyang Xing made Sun Hao the emperor rather than Emperor Sun Xiu's heir apparent Sun Wan, as he wanted an older emperor to lead Wu during the aftermath of the fall of the neighboring kingdom of Shu Han to Cao Wei, which ended the Three Kingdoms. Sun Hao was a despot whose tyrannical rule terrorized the people, and he was unpopular.
He lost by death Wu's two great strategists, Ding Feng and Lu Kang in 272 AD, and Sun Hao did not build up his army in 280 AD, even when he learned that Western Jin (which was founded to replace Wei in 265 AD) was planning to invade Wu. Sun Hao's chancellor Zhang Ti and many generals were killed in battle, and Sun Hao presented himself as a prisoner to Luoyang, where Emperor Sima Yan had him pardoned and made him Marquis of Guiming. However, he died in 283 AD.