kingdom · China, Tibet and Mongolia

Ancient Shu

1000 BCE – 316 BCE (approx.) · capital Chengdu

The early kingdom of the Sichuan basin, heir to the astonishing bronze culture of Sanxingdui, conquered by Qin in 316 BCE.

Origins

Shu emerged in the Chengdu plain from a long local tradition: the Sanxingdui culture, with its giant bronze masks and standing figure, and the later Jinsha site in Chengdu. Later legends name a series of kings, Cancong, Yufu and Duyu, followed by the Kaiming dynasty, but these accounts were written centuries afterwards.

Rule and society

Shu developed largely independently of the Zhou states, and its bronze art, sun worship and burial customs, including boat-shaped coffins, differ sharply from those of northern China. Under the Kaiming kings it was centred on Chengdu and was rich in rice, salt and copper. It had no widely used script; the so-called Ba-Shu signs remain undeciphered.

Decline and legacy

Quarrels between Shu and the neighbouring State of Ba gave the State of Qin a pretext; in 316 BCE the Qin general Sima Cuo conquered Shu. Qin settled colonists there, and the governor Li Bing built the Dujiangyan irrigation system, making Sichuan the granary that fuelled Qin's unification of China.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ancient Shu. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ancient-shu
MLA
“Ancient Shu.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ancient-shu. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Ancient Shu.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ancient-shu.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ancient Shu’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ancient-shu (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻