Shu (kingdom)

Shu
?–c. 316 BCE
Map showing the Kingdom of Shu during Zhou dynasty
Map showing the Kingdom of Shu during Zhou dynasty
GovernmentMonarchy
Historical eraSpring and Autumn period
• Established
?
c. 1046 BCE
• Conquered by Qin
c. 316 BCE
Succeeded by
Qin (state)
Shu
"Shu" in seal script (top) and regular (bottom) Chinese characters
Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinShǔ
Bopomofoㄕㄨˇ
Wade–GilesShu3
Tongyong PinyinShǔ
IPA[ʂù]
Wu
SuzhouneseZóh
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationSuhk
JyutpingSuk6
IPA[sʊk̚˨]
Southern Min
Tâi-lôSio̍k
Old Chinese
Baxter–Sagart (2014)*[d]ok

Shu (Chinese: ; Pinyin: Shǔ; former romanization: Shuh[1]), also known as Ancient Shu (Chinese: 古蜀; pinyin: Gǔ Shǔ) in historiography, was an ancient kingdom in what is now Sichuan Province. It was based on the Chengdu Plain, in the western Sichuan basin with some extension northeast to the upper Han River valley. To the east was the Ba tribal confederation. Further east down the Han and Yangtze rivers was the State of Chu. To the north over the Qinling Mountains was the State of Qin. To the west and south were tribal peoples of little military power.

This independent Shu state was conquered by the state of Qin in 316 BCE. Recent archaeological discoveries at Sanxingdui and Jinsha thought to be sites of Shu culture indicate the presence of a unique civilization in this region before the Qin conquest.

In subsequent periods of Chinese history the Sichuan area continued to be referred to as Shu after this ancient state, and later states founded in the same region were also called Shu.

  1. ^ Torrance, T. (March 1924). Stewart, James Livingstone (ed.). "The History of Shuh: A Free Translation of the 'Shuh Chi'". The West China Missionary News. Chengtu: West China Missions Advisory Board. p. 26. Retrieved May 17, 2023.