Person

Goujian

d. 465 BCE · 5th century BCE · Also known as King Goujian of Yue

Goujian was king of the State of Yue from 496 to 465 BCE. Defeated by King Fuchai of Wu in 494 BCE, he served him as a near-hostage, then rebuilt Yue with his ministers Fan Li and Wen Zhong, by tradition sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall to keep his humiliation in mind. He destroyed Wu in 473 BCE. Later rulers in Fujian and Zhejiang, including the kings of Minyue and Dong'ou, claimed descent from him.

Goujian
Image: Gisling · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 4 state histories

State of WuState of YueMinyueDong'ou

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Goujian. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/goujian
MLA
“Goujian.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/goujian. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Goujian.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/goujian.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Goujian’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/goujian (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻