Wu Ju (; courtesy name Yuándàå Â大; died c. 210 CE) was a minor Eastern Han official who served as Administrator of Cangwu CommanderyâÂÂa remote district covering parts of modern eastern Guangxi and western Guangdong. Appointed by the Jing-province governor Liu Biao, Wu Ju controlled a strategic but isolated frontier that soon became contested by rival warlords during the waning years of the Han dynasty.
The exact origins of Wu Ju are unrecorded. After the previous administrator Shi Huang died (early 200s), Liu Biao installed Wu Ju to secure the southern approaches to Jing Province and to check the influence of Shi Xie, the semi-independent Inspector of Jiaozhi.
Following the Battle of Changban (October 208), the defeated warlord Liu Bei told envoy Lu Su that he planned âÂÂto seek refuge with my old friend, Wu Ju, in distant Cangwu.â Lu Su argued that Wu Ju lacked the resources to remain autonomous and persuaded Liu Bei to ally with Sun Quan, a decision that led directly to the Battle of Red Cliffs.
In 210 CE, Sun Quan sought to reassert control over the south by naming Bu Zhi (æÂ¥é¨Â) as Inspector of Jiao Province. Wu Ju refused to recognise the appointment and, according to later accounts, plotted to kill Bu Zhi. The conspiracy was uncovered; Bu Zhi launched a pre-emptive strike and executed Wu Ju, ending his brief tenure in Cangwu.
Primary sources give little evaluation beyond Lu SuâÂÂs dismissive remark that Wu Ju was âÂÂan ordinary fellow who could not stand alone.â Later historians view his career as illustrative of the fragile, overlapping jurisdictions that characterised the Han collapse.
The 14-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms retains only the anecdote of Liu BeiâÂÂs contemplated flight to Cangwu; Wu Ju does not appear as an active character.