View source for Helü of Wu

{{Short description|King of Chinese state of Wu from 514 to 496 BC}}
{{redirect|Helu}}
{{refimprove|date=October 2010}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Helü
| succession   = [[Wu (state)|King of Wu]]
| reign        = {{circa}} 514 – {{circa}} 496 BC
| predecessor  = [[Liao of Wu|Liao]]
| successor    = [[Fuchai of Wu|Fuchai]]
| birth_name   = Guang
| death_date   = {{circa}} 496 BC
| issue        = 
{{plainlist|
* [[Fuchai of Wu|Fuchai]] 
* Bo
* Shan 
}}
| father       = [[King Yumei|Yumei]]
}}
{{chinese
|t={{linktext|闔|閭}}
|s={{linktext|阖|闾}}
|p=Hélǘ
|w=Ho-lü
|altname=Helu
|t2={{linktext|闔|廬}}
|s2={{linktext|阖|庐}}
|p2=Hélú
|w2=Ho-lu
}}

'''Helü''' or '''Helu'''<!--Chinese in infobox; see [[WP:MOS-ZH]]--> was king of the [[state of Wu]]<ref name="greatchinese">{{Cite web |script-title=zh:吳王 闔閭 |url=http://www.greatchinese.com/emperors/wuwang.htm |access-date=25 October 2010 |language=Chinese |archive-date=9 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209004753/http://www.greatchinese.com/emperors/wuwang.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> from 514 to 496 BC, toward the end of the [[Spring and Autumn period]] of ancient China. His given name was '''Guang''' ({{zh|c=光}}); he was initially known as '''Prince Guang'''.

{{anchor|History|Biography}}

==Life==
Prince Guang was the son of King Yumei, and the nephew of [[King Liao of Wu|King Liao]].{{refn|name=sima|''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'',<ref>{{Citation |last=Sima |first=Qian |title=[[Records of the Grand Historian]] |author-mask=[[Sima Qian]] |at=[[:zh:s:史記/卷066|volume 66]]}}. {{in lang|zh}}</ref> cited in [[William H. Nienhauser Junior|Nienhauser]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Nienhauser |first=William H., Junior |title=The Columbia History of Chinese Literature |date=2001 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n2DfEmr2g0YC |editor-last=Mair |editor-first=Victor H. |contribution=Early Biography |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n2DfEmr2g0YC&pg=PA514 |place=New York |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=9780231528511 |display-editors=0 |page=514}}.</ref>}} He welcomed the [[state of Chu|Chu]] exile [[Wu Zixu]] into his entourage and, when he sought to usurp the throne of Wu, was introduced by him to [[Zhuan Zhu]]. Zhuan assassinated King Liao in 515{{nbsp}}BC and the prince became King Helü. The king assigned Wu Zixu to lead the design and building of his "great city", which forms the basis of [[Suzhou, Jiangsu|Suzhou]]'s present old town.<ref>{{Citation |title=eBeijing |url=http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/ |contribution=Legend for Wu Zixu |contribution-url=http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/feature_2/Traditional_Fesitival/Duanwu_Festival/Legend_DF/t1021724.htm |place=Beijing |publisher=Beijing Foreign Affairs Information Center |access-date=15 December 2016 |archive-date=13 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100813221915/http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 506 BC, Helü, with the help of Wu Zixu and [[Sun Tzu]], the author of ''[[The Art of War]]'', launched major offensives against the [[Chu (state)|state of Chu]]. They prevailed in five battles, one of which was the [[Battle of Boju]], and conquered the capital [[Ying (Chu)|Ying]]. During the sack of the capital, Helü attempted to sexually assault the [[Bo Ying|Dowager Queen]], but she fought him off with a knife and remonstrated with him, leading to Helü leaving in shame.<ref name=biographies>{{cite book|title=列女传|trans-title=Biographies of Exemplary Women|language=zh|chapter=楚平伯赢|trans-chapter=Bo Ying (King Ping of Chu)|author=Liu Xiang|author-link=Liu Xiang (scholar)|url=https://ctext.org/lie-nv-zhuan/chu-ping-bo-ying/zhs?searchu=%E4%BC%AF%E5%AC%B4&searchmode=showall#result|access-date=15 March 2021}}</ref> Chu managed to ask the [[state of Qin]] for help, and after he was defeated by Qin, the vanguard general of Wu troops, Fugai, a younger brother of Helü, led a rebellion. After beating Fugai, Helü was forced to leave Chu. Fugai later retired to Chu and settled there.

In 496 BC, upon hearing that Yunchang of Yue had died, he launched an invasion of Yue, but was injured and subsequently died from his injuries while telling his son to avenge him. His son, [[Fuchai]], succeeded him in 495 BC. Fuchai would later annex Yue and capture Yue's King Goujian. Helü had two other sons named Bo and Shan. Bo was initially his heir but died before him.

<gallery class="center" heights=300px widths=300px>
File:吴王光剑.jpg | Sword from the tomb of king Helü. The inscription on the blade reads "Made for the personal use of lord Guang of Wu" (攻吾王光 自作用僉). Kept in [[Shanghai Museum]].
File:“吴王光”青铜鉴03665.jpg | The bronze ''Wu Wang Guang Jian'' ("Prince Guang of Wu's Basin"). The inscription inside records that Helü commissioned it for his daughter's dowry and provides evidence of a political marriage between families of the Wu and Chu states.
</gallery>

==Literary sources==
* [[Records of the Grand Historian]]
* ''Gailu'' text presenting the dialogue between Helü and Wu Zixu, one of the 8 texts from the Tomb 247 (202-186 BCE) excavated at [[Zhangjiashan]], Jingzhou, Hubei, in 1983. The text is paralleled by a [[Dunhuang]] manuscript which attributes the conversation to [[Duke Jing of Qi]] and [[Yan Ying]].<ref>Olivia Milburn, The Glory of Yue, 2010:57.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Liao of Wu|Liao]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[King of Wu]]|years=514–496 BC}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Fuchai]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Five Hegemons}}
{{Monarchs of Wu (state)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helu}}
[[Category:Zhou dynasty nobility]]
[[Category:496 BC deaths]]
[[Category:6th-century BC Chinese monarchs]]
[[Category:5th-century BC Chinese monarchs]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Monarchs of Wu (state)]]