Goujian's Revenge: From Fujiao's Ruin to the End of Wu

In 494 BCE, Wu defeated Yue at Fujiao and left King Goujian on a throne that survived only at Fuchai's sufferance. Twenty-one years later, Yue extinguished Wu as an independent state. This documentary follows that reversal: a preserved government rebuilt into fighting strength while Wu divided its power between southern security and a contest for hegemony in the north. Wu and Yue were neighboring kingdoms of the late Spring and Autumn period, not provinces of a unified empire. Drawing on the Zuo zhuan, the Guoyu, and Sima Qian's Shiji, the film traces Yue's recovery after submission, Fuchai's northern campaigns and the meeting at Huangchi, Goujian's strike of 482, the victory at Lize in 478, and the end of Wu's sovereign government in 473—and the households whose cultivation, labor, and losses made the outcome possible. Subscribe for more well-researched documentaries on the history of ancient China. 00:00 Defeat at Fujiao 01:35 From Ying to Zuili 02:45 Why Wu Did Not Finish Yue 04:32 Recovery and Its Limits 06:39 Hegemony North of the Yangzi 08:34 The Offensive of 482 10:29 The Battle of Lize 11:37 The Last Years of Wu 14:10 After the Kingdom Fell #AncientChina #ChineseHistory #SpringAndAutumn