Sun Quan (182-252 AD) grew up in one of China's most tumultuous eras, The Three Kingdoms period. At birth, no one expected anything of him or his family. Yet, this chaotic period, filled with rebellions, plagues, and civil war, offered his father the chance to catapult his family into the limelight.For the first 18 years of Sun Quan's life, his father, and later his elder brother, dominated the battlefields. They attracted talented followers with their magnetic personalities, but both fought with reckless abandon and died at early ages.This gave Sun Quan control over an increasingly influential realm at age 18. Unlike his father and elder brother, he lacked the talent for tactics or melee combat. Where he did excel though, was in the hiring of and delegating to talented individuals. His success and longevity enabled him to almost seize the emperor's throne, making the self-inflicted demise of him and his family all the more tragic.In this supersized episode, you'll learn not just about Sun Quan, but about the Three Kingdoms period from its most unsung side. This era would later influence one of China's four great classical novels, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, by Luo Guanzhong. In modern times, this has led to dozens of video games like Dynasty Warriors and TV/Film adaptations like Red Cliff. And I'll cover all of that as well, because to understand Sun Quan's life, you'll need to understand the context surrounding it.Want to read more about this episode's characters or aren't sure about their spelling? Here's a list of this episode's major characters (with my rough English phonetics as necessary): Sun Leaders and Subordinates Sun Quan (Sooh'in Chu'win) - our protagonist Wentai AKA Sun Jian - Sun Quan's father Lady Wu - Sun Quan's mother Sun Ce (Sooh'in Tsuh) - Sun Quan's elder brother Zhang Zhao (Jang Jao) - Sun Quan's Chief Clerk Zhou Yu (J'oe You) - Sun Ce's BFF and Sun Quan's first lead general Lu Su - Sun Quan's second lead general Lü Meng - Sun Quan's third lead general Lu Xun (Loo Shoon) -  Sun Quan's fourth lead general and eventual chancellor Sun He (Sooh'in Huuh) - Sun Quan's third son Rival Clans Yuan Shu - loser warlord that Sun Jian and Sun Ce briefly served Liu Bei (Lee'oh Bay) - Southwestern China warlord and ally/rival of Sun Quan Guan Yu - Liu Bei's top general and China's best beard Cao Cao (T'ao T'ao) - Northern China warlord and chief Sun Quan antagonist Cao Pi (T'ao Pee) - Cao Cao's son Sima Yi - Regent for Cao Cao's grandson <a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2414699/open_sms">Send us a text</a>Credits Host: C.J. Weiss Music: Bobby Hall

Sun Quan - Wu's King in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but Hardly a Romantic