Sun Jian

Sun Jian (Simplified: 孙坚; Traditional: 孫堅) was a lord during the Chinese Han Dynasty. He was the father of Sun Quan, the future founder of Eastern Wu.

He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han court in 189. After the murder of He Jin, he led a force to slay the plotters as the Imperial Corps Commander of the Imperial Tiger Guard, which was located just outside the capital. Later, he participated in an alliance against Dong Zhuo led by Yuan Shao. After the dissension of this alliance, he was never on good terms with Yuan Shao again until his final moments.

Sun Jian fled after repeated defeats by the combined armies of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. He came under attack by bandits, and he was struck by a poison arrow. He survived the wound, but became very ill from the poison. Before he died, his final act was a letter to Yuan Shao, admitting his fault. He was succeeded by Sun Quan, after a brief dispute.