NPprKing Gōu Jiàn of Yue 越王勾踐（句踐) (r. 497 – 465) inherited the throne from King Yunchang of Yue 越王允常. After losing a major battle against King Fuchai of Wu 武王夫差 in 494 he served for three years as a human hostage in the state of Wu. After his return to Yue he collaborated with >Wen Zhong 文種 and >Fan Li 范蠡 in the strengthening of his state. In 482 he availed himself of the absence of King Fuchai on a diplomatic mission, invaded the state of Wu and captured the heir apparent of Wu, Crown Prince You 太子友. After several further attacks he finally destroyed the state of Wu in 473. [ZUO Ai 22] Thus strengthened he established a vertical alliance with Qi and Jin of which he became the recognised ba 霸 “hegemon”. One of the hegemons [ba] of the Warring States period, this king of Yue is famous throughout the literature for his wars with the neighbouring state of Wu 吳. GY Yueyu is entirely devoted to Gou Jian. A lively narrative of his life will be found in SJ 31, and an elaborate fictional version is in WUYUECHUNQIU. Rich archeological evidence on Gou Jian has been unearthed during the last decades. [LSCQ 19.4; HNZ 11; HSWZ 7.13 et passim; ZGC passim]. CH
NPprSTANDARD NAME: King Gōu Jiàn of Yuè (ruled 496 - 465)ALTERNATIVE NAMES: -PARENTS: Son of >Yuè wáng Yǔn Cháng 越王允常 WIVES: ?CHILDREN: Father of >Yuè wáng Lùyíng 越王鹿郢