Cao Wan, Liu Chan, and Sun Hao were the last monarchs of the Wu family of Wei Shu, respectively. After the fall of Shu, Liu Chan was given the title of Duke of Anle County. After the death of Wei, Cao Huan was made the Prince of ChenLiu. After Wu's death, Sun Hao was only given the title of Marquis of Guiming. In terms of the titles of the three, Cao Huan was the highest, Liu Chan was second, and Sun Hao was the lowest.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" Data-track="3" Why are > treated differently? </h1>
After the fall of Shu Han in 263 AD, Shu Han was nominally destroyed by Cao Wei, but at that time, Cao Wei's real power was in the hands of the powerful minister Sima Zhao, and what title Liu Chan gave was a political problem facing Sima Zhao. Why? After the destruction of Shu, Sima Zhao was made king of Jin by Jin. If the surrendered Liu Chan was on a knighthood level with Sima Zhao, it would obviously be inappropriate.
Therefore, Sima Zhao realized that Liu Chan could not be crowned king. At this time, the Sima family had fully grasped the state affairs of Cao Wei and was about to replace Wei. Giving preferential treatment to Liu Chan can be used as an "example" for the Wei lord Cao Yan and urge him to abdicate. In addition, the state of Wu had not yet been pacified, and Sima Zhao also considered Sun Hao's feelings, so Sima Zhao realized that Liu Chan's title could not be lowered.
On the other hand, the scholar intellectuals within the Shu Han Dynasty, represented by Yu Zhou, turned to Cao Wei and persuaded Liu Chan to surrender. Sima Zhao wanted to win these people over for his own use and make Zhou and others marquises, then Liu Chan's title should not be lower than theirs, after all, they were once monarchs. In this way, liu chan can only be made a duke (ancient order of titles: 王-公-侯).
So why was Cao Huan crowned King Chen Liu? First, the Jiangshan of the Western Jin Dynasty was nominally brought in by Cao Weichan. Therefore, the Western Jin Dynasty must have agreed with Cao Wei's legitimacy to ensure its own orthodox status. In this way, after the abdication of the Wei lord Cao Wan, his status could not be low. Therefore, Sima Yan, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, made him king and was above the Duke of Anle County. Second, in that year, Cao Pi accepted the Zen throne of Emperor Xian of Han, replaced the Han Dynasty, and established the Cao Wei regime. Emperor Xian of Han was King Chen Liu before he became emperor.
Sima Yan's appointment of Cao Yan as the King of Chen Liu had two considerations: Sima Yan replaced Cao Wei with the way of Zen Concession, and he made Cao Wei the King of Chen Liu, on the one hand, everyone thought of Cao Yan and thought of Emperor Xian of Han, with the intention of telling the world that Cao Wei's Jiangshan also came from this way. On the other hand, when Cao Pi was in the Han Dynasty, Emperor Fenghan was made the Duke of Shanyang, and Sima Yan made Cao Yi the Prince of Chenliu. Sima Yan wanted to tell the world that the Sima family was kinder than the Cao family in dealing with the last monarchs of the previous dynasty.
In 280 AD, after the surrender of the Wu lord Sun Hao, he was made the Marquis of Guifeng, which was lower than the status of the Shu lord Liu Chan. Beginning with Liu Bei's entry into Sichuan, his family ruled Shudi for half a century. In Shudi, not only did many local warriors in Yizhou not support this regime, so Liu Chan's appeal was very limited. Therefore, Sima Yan's worries about Liu Chan were relatively small, and it was still relatively reassuring to make him the Duke of Anle County.
However, Eastern Wu was different from Shu Han, and Eastern Wu was destroyed later. First, starting with Sun Ce, Eastern Wu ruled Jiangdong for more than eighty years, and Sun Quan alone ruled Jiangdong for more than fifty years. It can be said that in the area ruled by Eastern Wu, the people were basically born during the reign of the Sun family.
Second, the Sun clan of Jiangdong married the shi clan. During the Wei and Jin dynasties, the power of the Shi clan gradually became stronger, and the relationship between the Sun clan and the Shi clan was very close and the influence was great.
Third, in 263 AD, the Shu Han Dynasty fell; in 264 AD, the Wu lord Sun Hao ascended the throne; in 265 AD, Sima Yan dai Wei established the Western Jin Dynasty; in 280 AD, the Western Jin Dynasty destroyed Wu. After the fall of the Shu Han Dynasty, it took seventeen years for the Sima family to pacify Eastern Wu. During this time, Sun Hao took charge of Eastern Wu and fought against the Sima family for sixteen years. It can be seen that the strength of Eastern Wu is very strong.
Therefore, although Sun Hao surrendered, how to weaken the political influence of the Sun family and consolidate the rule of the Western Jin Dynasty in Jiangdong was a serious political problem facing Sima Yan, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty. Sun Hao is not a person, he has an interest group behind him. If Sun Hao's title is raised, the status of the people around him will also increase. Therefore, Sun Hao's title could not be too high.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="14" > How did Cao Wan, Liu Chan, and Sun Hao end up? </h1>
After the surrender of the Shu lord Liu Chan, he served as the Duke of Anle County for eight years, and died at the age of sixty-four, which was considered a good death; after the abdication of the lord Cao Huan, he served as the king of Chen Liu for thirty-seven years, and died at the age of fifty-eight, which was also a good ending. In contrast, after the surrender of the Wu lord Sun Hao, he died after four years as a returning marquis, at the age of forty-two, in his prime.
Why did Sun Hao have a different ending with Liu Chan and Cao Wan? At the beginning of Liu Chan's reign, real power was in the hands of Zhuge Liang. Cao Yi was originally a puppet emperor. However, Sun Hao was different, he was a real power emperor who had the final say from the age of twenty-two, but at the age of thirty-eight, he became the Marquis of Gui, and he could not withstand such political suppression and status gap, and as a result, he died in his prime.
The general trend of the world will be divided for a long time, and it will be united for a long time. Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Jiancao created a foundation, And Cao Wan, Liu Chan, and Sun Hao abdicated, and the three families returned to Jin. There are too many stories, too many details, which boil down to one sentence, that is, the inevitability of historical development. The rolling water of the Yangtze River in the east, the emperors and generals in the long river of history are just like the clouds of smoke in the eyes...
References: Notes on Pei Songzhi in romance of the Three Kingdoms, And Lu Simian in History of the Three Kingdoms