History

A founding myth of Wu, first recorded by Sima Qian in the Han dynasty, traced its royal lineage to Taibo, a relative of King Wen of Zhou. According to the Records of the Grand Historian, Taibo was the oldest son of Gugong Danfu and the elder uncle of King Wen who started the Zhou Dynasty. Gugong Danfu had three sons named Taibo, Zhongyong, and Jili. Taibo was the oldest of three brothers, Jili being the youngest. Realizing that his youngest brother, Jili, was favored by his father to inherit the throne of Predynastic Zhou, the older brothers Taibo and Zhongyong left Zhou to avoid conflict and settled southeast to Wu with a group of followers loyal to him and his brother Zhongyong. They established their first capital at Meili (梅里), believed to be today's Meicun in Wuxi. Taibo's youngest brother Jili who was eventually the heir of the throne became the father of King Wen, who is attributed to starting the Zhou dynasty.

Little is known about the history of Wu before the Spring and Autumn period. Wu rose to power in the 6th century BC, after it was aided by the State of Jin as a useful ally against the State of Chu.

In 584 BC, Wu rebelled against Chu upon the advice of Wuchen, a Jin minister, who defected from Chu. From then on, Wu would become a constant threat to the Chu Kingdom. Wu planted seeds of rebellion amongst Chu's vassals along the Yangtze valley. Wu Zixu, a highly influential Chu politician's mother and brother was murdered by King Ping of Chu and fled to Wu plotting revenge. Wu Zixu later became a trusted advisor of Prince Guang and helped him assassinate his cousin King Liao of Wu and usurp the throne. After the successful assassination of King Liao, Prince Guang ascended the throne and became known as King Helü of Wu.

In 506 BC, during the reign of King Zhao of Chu, King Helü decided to invade Chu. The king personally led the army, along with his younger brother Fugai, Wu Zixu, as well as Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War. Although Chu had a strong army led by Nang Wa and Shen Yinshu, it suffered a heavy defeat at the Battle of Boju. King Zhao of Chu fled to Sui and the Wu army captured Ying, Chu's capital. After entering Ying, Wu Zixu exhumed King Ping's corpse, and gave it 300 lashes to exact vengeance on for his mother and brother who were murdered by the Chu King. The military victory led to Wu Zixu's elevation to Duke of Shen and his alias Shenxu. After these victories, Wu was briefly the most powerful nation and turned to other campaigns, defeating the State of Qi in 484 BC.

King Helü of Wu is considered to be one of the Five Hegemons of China during the Spring and Autumn period due to his military successes at this time with the help of his famous commander/strategist Sun Tzu. Wu is also generally regarded as developing the first Chinese Navy. This Navy was quite complex and had different classes of ships. These "classes" of ships were the great wing (da yi), the little wing (xiao yi), the stomach striker (tu wei), the castle ship (lou chuan), and the bridge ship (qiao chuan). These were listed in the Yuejueshu (Lost Records of the State of Yue) as a written dialogue between King Helü of Wu (r. 514 BC–496 BC) and Wu Zixu (526 BC–484 BC) in which the latter stated:

Nowadays in training naval forces we use the tactics of land forces for the best effect. Thus great wing ships correspond to the army's heavy chariots, little wing ships to light chariots, stomach strikers to battering rams, castle ships to mobile assault towers, and bridge ships to light cavalry.

Ironically, Wu was later threatened by an upstart state to its own south, Yue; Chu then aided Yue's rise as a counter to Wu. Although Wu won majority of battles against the Yue and captured their King Goujian, Wu failed to completely subjugate Yue, in part because of Fuchai's willingness to let King Goujian live in Wu as his servant. King Goujian suffered for years as Fuchai's servant/slave and planned his revenge. Fuchai under the promise of peace, let Goujian return to Yue, his homeland which later proved to be a fatal mistake for Wu. While Wu was engaged in a military campaign in the north, Goujian enacted his revenge and launched a surprise attack on Wu in 482 BC and conquered the capital. Over the next decade, Wu was unable to recover and Yue absorbed the state in 473 BC.

Wu, Yue, and Chu all proclaimed themselves kings in the 6th century BC, showing the drastic weakening of the Zhou court's authority during the Spring and Autumn period.

Wu and Yue were masters of metallurgy, fabricating excellent swords with incised messages, geometric patterns, and inlaid gold or silver. Wu and Yue swords tend to use much more tin than copper compared to those of other states. Wu often sent swords as gifts to northern states, such as Qi and Cai. Examples include the spearhead of King Fuchai and the sword of Prince Guang.

Kings of Wu family tree

Chinese historical texts linked the kings of Wu to Taibo, the uncle of King Wen of Zhou. Their ancestral name was Ji and their clan name was Gufa. The last king of Wu, King Fuchai had at least four sons, three of whom were named You, Hong and Hui. You was his heir but was killed in one of the battles leading to the defeat of Wu, and Hong became the new heir. After the collapse of the state, the other three sons of Fuchai were exiled. Themselves, their blood relatives and descendants took Wu as their clan name in honor of their fallen kingdom.

Culture

The Records of the Grand Historian states that the people in Wu wore their hair short and sported tattoos. For Sima Qian this would have illustrated their supposed barbarism, as in his time Chinese men and women were not allowed to cut their hair or otherwise modify their body - doing so was considered an offence against the ancestors from which one had inherited one's physical features.

Wu rulers did not receive Chinese-language posthumous names after death.

Literature

Since the famed military strategist Sun Tzu served as a general under King Helü of Wu, his famous military treatise Art of War was probably written in Wu. The military prowess of Wu before their defeat by opportunistic Yue can be partly attributed to this famous commander and his literary work which is still studied around the world.

Language

The native language of Wu is distinct from Old Chinese spoken by central Chinese states. Historians have linked the language with Austronesian languages, Tai or a distinct Sino-Tibetan language.

Legacy

"Wu" continues to be used as a name for the region around Suzhou and Shanghai and their regional speech, Wu Chinese. It was employed by other states and princes holding power in the region, most notably Eastern Wu of the Three Kingdoms, and Wu and Wuyue of the Ten Kingdoms.

Connections with Japan

Ambassadorial visits to Japan by the later Chinese dynasties Wei and Jin recorded that the Wajin of Japan claimed to be descendants of Taibo of Wu, traditionally believed to be the founder of Wu. Several scholars suggest that the Yamato people and the Imperial House of Japan are descendants of the Wu and possibly Taibo. Many Japanese historians also link the early Japanese Yayoi people to the Baiyue tribes that also include the Wu people.

Wu in astronomy

Wu, together with Yue, is represented with the star Zeta Aquilae in asterism Left Wall, Heavenly Market enclosure (see Chinese constellations).

概論

在春秋時代，吳國與其臨近的越國，兩國風俗、語言相同，同樣被中原諸國視為蠻夷，但吳國與中原的關係較為緊密。由季札出使的記錄，顯示吳國貴族嫺熟於中原傳統文化修養。

吳國自太伯以後的早期歷史不詳，至春秋時代才詳細紀錄入歷史文獻中。關于吳國最早的記載源自《管子•小問篇》，齊桓公與管仲的談話過程中提到了吳國與邗國之間的一場戰爭，吳國入侵邗國，邗國以換乳牙作為參軍標準，邗國的孩童于是都敲掉乳牙以示成年，儘管邗人奮力捍衛自己的國家，仍然無法避免戰敗的命運，此後吳國又多次伐邗，邗國最終被吳國吞併。現存吳國最早的含有銘文的青銅器是者減鐘，銘文為：唯正月初吉丁亥，工䱷王皮（然）之子者減自作（謠）鐘，子子孫孫，永寶用之。銘文中的「皮然」，司馬貞《索引》引譙周《古史考》作畢軫，即吳王句卑（畢），據此推斷吳國稱王的時間應早于《史記》等傳統史料記載的壽夢，在吳王壽夢時代，晉國為了與楚國爭霸，派巫臣出使吳國，刻意扶植起吳國的勢力。吳國壯大後，開始與中原諸國交通，自稱為王，不臣屬於周王室。楚國與晉國長年爭霸，使國力下降，吳國趁機而起，多次擊敗楚國，使楚國幾近於亡國狀況。在吳王闔閭與夫差時代，吳國勢力甚至進入中原，與晉國爭霸。吳國最終滅亡於臨近的越國之手，退出歷史。

國號

在文獻中，吳國國名為句吳、吳。在出土的吳國青銅器銘文多作工䱷、攻吾、攻敔等。後人認為句吳與於越相同，來自相同的當地語言，不是中原雅言。壽夢以前，吳國青銅器銘文中吳王自稱「工䱷王」、「攻䱷王」，壽夢之後又稱「攻敔王」、「攻吾王」，而此時歷史主要由中原人記述，中原人無法發此音，則取發音相近的吳字代替，到闔閭、夫差時期與中原交往日益頻繁，銘文上才有了「攻吳王」、「吳王」之稱，相當于吳人正式承認了吳這個稱號，但仍有大量銘文自稱「攻敔王」。

祖源

關于吳國公室的史料中，吳國與中原姬姓諸侯有同樣的祖先，是同一個氏族。在吳王壽夢過世時，魯襄公曾將他視同為姬姓諸侯，進入周廟祭祠。魯昭公與吳王室聯姻，娶吳孟子，因同為姬姓，不應通婚，被批評不符合禮法。《史記》記載，吳國以泰伯為始祖，後繼者為其二弟仲雍，因此與周王室擁有相同血源。據稱在周武王建立周朝時，仲雍的後代周章被封為吳國國君，其弟虞仲被分封到虞國，被列為諸侯之一。在黃池之會中，吳國與晉國爭霸，吳國強調自己與周王室間的血緣關係，晉國則強調自己是姬姓諸侯國的身份。據《國語》記載。在黃池之會中，為尊重周朝封建秩序，夫差放棄吳王稱號，改稱吳公。周天子稱呼吳國君主為「吳伯父」，出土文獻上博簡《吳命》也有類似記載。吳國稱呼陳國先君陳胡公之妻、周武王長女大姬為「先王故姊大姬」。

而做為吳國對手的楚國也認為吳國是周王室的苗裔。

根據《國語》記載，司馬貞認為吳國本來被周朝封為伯爵。班簋銘文中，寫到「吳伯」，學者陳恩林認為這證明了吳國本為周朝伯爵。但另一件靜簋銘文，提到吳奔與呂剛，唐蘭、馬承源、吳鎮烽等人認為，即是指班簋中的「吳伯」與「呂伯」，楊樹達認為是「吳伯」與「呂伯」的後代。

梁啟超曾經提出吳越族的假說，主張吳越人是在炎黃一系的華族之外，獨立發展的族群，後來同化至華族之中。衛聚賢與蒙文通等學者，都認為吳越是同一個民族。王明珂分析太伯奔吳的傳說，認為吳國以太伯為祖先，是利用「英雄祖先」的神話來讓自己融入華夏秩序。衛聚賢認為於越又名虞越、吳越。

歷史

泰伯奔吳

吳國的起源，按《史記·吳太伯世家》記載：「泰伯之奔荊蠻，自號句吳，荊蠻義之，從而歸之者千餘家，立為吳泰伯」。吳國國君的祖先泰伯是商朝時期的諸侯周太王的長子，因為周太王有意傳位給周文王的父親季歷，于是與其弟仲雍借替太王採藥之名，毅然出走，來到長江南岸的衡山（《史記索隱》認為「地在楚越之界」，今當塗縣附近），後繼續東遷到今江蘇無錫東南六十里的梅里。此一事跡，為孔子推崇為之德，《論語·泰伯篇第八》有曰：「泰伯，其可謂至德也已矣。三以天下讓，民無得而稱焉。」當時江南一代還很落後，由于泰伯、仲雍帶來了中原地區的先進文化和技術，是為江南開化之始，同時在當地建立了吳國。周武王滅商後，尋求泰伯、仲雍的後代，當時仲雍的曾孫周章已是吳君，因而封周章為吳子，追封泰伯為吳伯，另將周章的弟弟虞仲封在周王朝北面夏朝舊址處，並把他們正式列為諸侯。

近來有學者考証吳的歷史與有虞氏南遷有關，即史書上記載的虞舜「南巡狩」，並根據《楚辭·天問》「舜服厥弟，終然有害；何肆犬體，而厥身不為敗？吳獲迄古，南嶽是指，孰斯去斯，得兩男子?」 的記載，認為舜的兩子封在吳。這裡的南嶽，並不是指衡山，而是江淮之間的霍山。

壽夢稱王

魯宣公八年（前601年），楚國東部的眾舒（東夷部族）發動叛亂，楚莊王東伐舒蓼，在滑汭之地，與吳越兩國君主舉行會盟。周定王二十一年（前586年），吳子去齊卒，其子乘即位，是為吳王壽夢。壽夢即位後吳國開始變得強大，壽夢于是自立為吳王，並開始與其他諸侯國爭雄，但其發展一直受到當時南方強國楚國的壓制。吳王壽夢二年春（前584年），吳國北伐郯國，魯國正卿季文子感嘆道：「中原諸國不振興軍隊，蠻夷因此入侵」。同年，與楚國爭霸中原的另一強國晉國派巫臣前往吳國教授吳人射箭之術、駕駛戰車和排兵布陣，使得吳國在軍事上崛起，並向吳王壽夢獻上連晉制楚的策略，壽夢予以採納。于是吳國開始進攻楚國及其附庸徐、巢、州來等國。並取得原屬于楚國的大片土地及屬國。壽夢十年（前576年），與魯成公會盟于鐘離。十六年（前570年），楚共王派公子重伐吳，攻克鳩茲，到達橫山。公子重派鄧廖率「組甲」三百人、「被練」三千人繼續深入吳地，被吳軍攔腰截擊，鄧廖被俘，楚軍僅存「組甲」八十人、「被練」三百人，公子重被迫撤軍。三日之後，吳軍反攻，占領楚國駕邑，楚人因此責備公子重，不久公子重就因為心疾發作而死。六月，晉國在雞澤主持諸侯會盟，晉悼公派荀會到淮水邊迎接壽夢，壽夢沒有參與會盟。十八年（前568年），吳王壽夢派壽越出使晉國，向晉悼公解釋沒有參與雞澤會盟的原因，表示吳國願意聽從晉國號令與諸侯交好。二十三年春（前563年），與魯襄公會盟于柤。二十六年（前561年），吳王壽夢卒。

吳楚爭霸

吳王壽夢有四子，長子諸樊，次子餘祭，次子餘眛，少子季札。季札博聞賢達，壽夢欲立少子季札，季札推辭不受，于是立長子諸樊，並告誡他一定要採用兄終弟及的傳位方式，以保証王位能傳給季札。壽夢卒，子諸樊立，是為吳王諸樊。吳王諸樊元年（前560年）春，楚共王卒，吳國乘楚國國喪出兵攻楚，楚國大夫養由基領兵拒敵，子庚率軍跟隨他。吳軍乘喪伐楚，以為楚國不會出兵，因此麻痺大意，在庸浦被楚軍擊敗，吳國公子黨被俘。吳王諸樊將戰敗的情況匯報給晉國，晉國大夫范宣子說吳國乘喪伐楚不義，吳國于是退兵。同年秋，楚國發兵複仇，楚國子囊統帥棠邑的軍隊進攻吳國，吳軍據守不出，楚軍撤退回國，子囊殿後，子囊認為吳軍無能而不加戒備。吳軍從皋舟的險道上截擊楚軍，楚軍首尾不能相顧，吳軍擊敗楚軍，俘虜楚國公子宜谷。十二年（前549年）夏，楚康王帥水師伐吳國，無功而返。

十三年（前548年），吳王諸樊卒，弟餘祭立，是為吳王餘祭。餘祭封季札于延陵，號延陵季子。吳王餘祭三年（前545年），齊相慶豐獲罪，投奔吳國，吳王封慶豐于朱方，作為其採邑，並把自己的女兒嫁給他。四年（前544年），吳王派季札出使中原各國。十年（前538年），楚靈王率諸侯聯軍攻吳，奪取吳國朱方，殺死慶豐。吳國亦發兵反擊，攻取楚國三座城邑。十一年（前537年），楚伐吳，到達雩婁。十二年（前536年），楚複攻吳，駐軍于乾溪，最後兵敗撤退。

十七年（前531年），吳王餘祭卒，弟餘眛立，是為吳王餘眛。吳王餘眛二年（前529年），楚國公子棄疾發動叛亂，自立為楚王，是為楚平王，吳王餘眛趁機攻滅州來。四年（前527年），吳王餘眛卒，季札避不受位，于是公子僚繼承王位，是為吳王僚。

吳王僚二年（前525年）冬，吳王僚派公子光伐楚，楚平王派令尹陽丐、司馬子魚出兵迎敵，戰于長岸，吳軍大敗。吳國戰船「余皇」被楚軍虜去，「余皇」是吳國先王的坐船，公子光很害怕，于是召集潰散的士卒說：「丟掉先王的坐船，難道只是我一人的罪過?你們也難逃罪責，我請求藉助諸位的力量奪回來，或許可以免除一死。」于是乘夜潛入楚營，奪回「余皇」。三年（前524年），楚國奪取州來，並在此築城以挑釁吳國。四年（前523年），費無極誣告武奢勾結太子建謀反，楚平王聽信讒言，將武奢滅族，唯其幼子武員得以倖免。武員即伍子胥，伍子胥逃到吳國，向吳王僚進言伐楚之利，公子光說：「此人因為被滅族而欲複仇，大王不可聽信。」伍子胥認為公子光有大志，于是求得勇士專諸，獻于光，公子光十分高興，把伍子胥收為門客。八年（前519年），吳國在雞父之戰中大敗楚國等七國聯軍。九年（前518年），吳楚兩國邊境兩採桑女發生爭執，兩個女子的家人一怒之下相互攻殺，兩國邊邑長得知後，相互攻打，吳國邊邑被滅。吳王僚聞後大怒，派公子光伐楚，奪取楚國居巢、鐘離而還。

闔閭稱霸

吳國在吳王闔閭時達到極盛，有說法稱其為春秋五霸之一。闔閭將都城從無錫梅里南遷，按伍子胥之「相土嘗水，象天法地」規劃，建造闔閭都城，或在今蘇州市境，又任用孫武為將，先後數次擊敗楚、越兩國。前506年，吳軍于柏舉之戰後攻破楚國都城郢，逼得楚昭王出奔至隨地，吳國幾乎滅掉強大的楚國。但此時越國趁機進攻吳國後方，楚臣申包胥又借得秦國的援軍擊敗吳軍，吳軍只得撤退而楚國也得以複國。

夫差亡國

闔閭死後，太子夫差繼承王位，是為吳王夫差。吳王夫差元年（前495年），任命大夫伯嚭為太宰。吳王夫差一心想要雪父之恥，于是學習兵法箭術。二年（前494年），吳王夫差派精兵討伐越國，大敗越軍于夫椒（今江蘇省蘇州市西南太湖中），越王勾踐僅剩五千士卒遁于會稽山，命大夫文種賄賂吳國太宰伯嚭，伯嚭對吳王說，越王勾踐願舉國為奴以求吳王存越，夫差答應勾踐。伍子胥以夏朝太康失國的例子請求殺死勾踐以絕後患，吳王夫差不聽。七年（前489年），吳王夫差聽說齊景公死後大臣爭寵，新君年幼，于是打算派兵北伐齊國。伍子胥諫曰：「勾踐飲食節儉，衣著樸素，慰問士卒，此人不死，必為吳患，如今越國是心腹之患大王卻不先考慮，卻想要謀取齊國，不是很荒謬嗎？」吳王不聽，于是率軍北伐齊國，大敗齊軍于艾陵。八年（前488年），吳王夫差與魯哀公會盟于鄫國，吳王堅持要求魯國用百牢之禮接待自己，季康子用周禮來勸說伯嚭，吳王才作罷，此後吳王夫差又多次出兵北伐，將吳國疆域擴張到齊魯的南邊。十一年（前485年），越王勾踐帶著群臣去朝拜吳王，獻上厚禮，夫差大喜，伍子胥卻十分擔憂，于是告誡吳王趁機處死勾踐，否則吳國將亡。吳王不聽，伍子胥認為夫差無可救藥，伍子胥暗中把自己的兒子送往齊國，夫差大怒，將伍子胥賜死。疆域但最終不顧伍子胥的反對與越國議和，後來又釋放勾踐回國。之後夫差連年征戰，在北邊與齊國和晉國爭霸成功後，被勵精圖治多年的勾踐趁虛而入。十四年（前482年），吳王夫差與諸侯會盟于黃池，越王勾踐抓住機會發兵五千偷襲吳都姑蘇，殺死吳國太子友，遠在黃池的夫差為防消息洩露一連斬殺七名信使。七月，吳王夫差與晉定公因為盟主之位而爭執不下，晉國元帥趙鞅揚言要與吳軍一較高下，夫差被迫同意晉定公的霸主地位，然後率軍匆匆回國。前473年，與越交戰失敗，夫差自殺，吳國滅亡。

文化習俗

由《左傳》記載，吳國土著使用的語言與中原諸國不同。《穀梁傳》也有類似記錄。吳國與越國之間，沒有語言不通的記載，可能使用同一種語言，即古越語。吳國貴族精熟於使用中原雅言，通曉中原文化。《春秋》中稱吳國國君為吳子，在文化上視其為蠻夷，只能稱子。衛出公曾學習說吳語，被《左傳》批評。《公羊傳》與《穀梁傳》也在文化上將吳國視為夷狄。學者董珊分析出土的吳國青銅器，作者姓名的漢字寫法各異，其中還常加入一些無意義的漢字作前綴或中綴，認為漢字是被當成記音符號來使用。《史記》記載的吳國王室世系，除最早三位太伯、仲庸與季簡是以周人的姓名記錄，此外先祖名號，都是音譯。越王的名稱也有相同的現象。董珊認為，這代表吳、越與中原的語言不同，為不同語系，但在春秋晚期，學習到漢字，因此以漢字為記音符號，隨後逐步融入漢字文化圈。

不同于中原的束髮帶冠，古代吳越之地有斷髮紋身的習俗，這也是吳人被中原人視為蠻夷的重要原因。

地理

《漢書·地理志》：「梅里上有吳國，周武王封太伯之後于此，是為虞公，即周章之弟虞仲，蓋仲雍之曾孫也。」今天考古的發現勾吳的大城可能在常州、無錫一帶。

考古學上，吳國存國期間的各種物質文化遺存的主要形式有台形遺址、土墩墓、城址等，主要分布于江蘇省寧鎮地區、皖南丘陵和太湖地區西部，春秋時期向西延伸至滁河下游一帶，其範圍已經超過其重要源頭湖熟文化的分布範圍。 據此，吳國國境經過多次調整，早期的主要範圍在今天江蘇省中南部的南京、揚州一帶。

到後期吳王闔閭時代，中心擴展到蘇州一帶，蘇州成為晚期吳國的都城，以致蘇州古稱工吳，吳國金文皆自稱工吳，列如吳王光（即吳王闔閭）劍有銘文「工吳王光自作自用」字樣。

吳王夫差于公元前486年～前484年開鑿的邗溝，南起今揚州近郊的邗城之下的長江，北經樊梁湖（今高郵附近）折向東北，入射陽湖，再向西北經淮安入淮河。得以使吳國的水軍北上和齊國、晉國爭霸。東漢以後，逐漸顯示出了它的經濟價值。後來隋代開鑿大運河，就部分利用了這條水道。

軍事

吳國的兵器製造技術享譽一時，屈原的《國殤》中即有「操吳戈兮披犀甲」之語，吳國擁有高超的鑄劍技術，幹將、莫邪是當時吳國著名的冶金專家，製作的劍代表了當時兵器冶金的最高水平。《戰國策•趙策三》評價到「夫吳幹之劍，肉試則斷牛馬，金試則截盤匜。」現今留世的吳王諸樊劍、吳王光劍、吳王夫差劍，鋒鍔犀利，裝飾精美，千年不朽。檢測証明兵器的表面有一層十微米的鉻鹽氧化物。

吳國不僅有陸軍，而且建立了一支編組的強大水軍，其主要戰艦長達十丈，每艦戰車達百人之多。公元前485年，吳國水師從海上進攻齊國，雙方在琅琊（山東青島附近海域）爆發海戰，齊人奮起反擊，吳國水師戰敗，這是中國曆史記載的第一次海戰。

吳國的軍事家孫武及其著作《孫子兵法》，對中國的影響持續了幾千年，直到今天。

吳國的都城是由伍子胥督造的水陸雙棋盤格局的姑蘇城，2500多年來原貌仍存。　

邦交

春秋晚期以前，吳國與中原諸侯鮮有交往。公元前545年，吳王派公子季札出使魯國，魯公請季札觀賞周樂。當樂工演奏《周南》、《召南》時，季札說：「美啊，（周王朝）王業根基已經奠定，但還未成功。曲中有辛勞但無怨言的情緒。」接著樂工又演奏《邶風》、《鄘風》和《衛風》（邶、鄘、衛是周武王克商之後對殷商王畿的劃分），季札說：「美啊，多麼深沉，憂愁但又不困頓，我聽說衛康叔、武公的德行就是如此，這是《衛風》嗎？」

(周朝諸侯國)#吳國|君主列表

以下是春秋後期歷史上知名的吳國國君：（從壽夢元年（前586）起吳國才有準確的紀年。）

註：餘祭年數、餘眛年數，皆從《春秋》的記載，按照楊伯峻《春秋左傳注》作了修正。而不從《吳越春秋》和《史記·吳太伯世家》的記載。

知名人物

• 伍子胥

• 孫武

• 伯嚭

備註