Sun Jian

Sun Jian (onyomi: Son Ken) is argued to have been a descendant of the legendary Sun Tzu and is posthumously honored as the first emperor of Wu. Known for his unmistakable fortitude and courageousness, he was a reputed warrior who gained early fame for subjugating pirates and bandits during his youth. He fought in many battles until his life was cut violently short by Huang Zu's subordinates. Romance of the Three Kingdoms exaggerates his warrior image and dons him the fictional nickname, "Tiger of Jiangdong" (江東之虎). Wu Guotai is one of his wives; Sun Ce, Sun Quan, and Sun Shangxiang are his children.

Role in GamesEdit

 * "You are more worthy of the tiger name than I."
 * Shingen; Warriors Orochi

Dynasty WarriorsEdit
Sun Jian creates a great reputation for himself when he participates in the Yellow Turban Rebellion and joins the coalition against Dong Zhuo at either Si Shui Gate or Hu Lao Gate. Sometime during his time with the Allied Forces, he obtains the Imperial Seal and keeps it for himself. Using this to bolster his forces, he usually aims for control of the land. Ultimately, he suffers an injury caused by Huang Zu which results in his death. Unless the players are playing his story mode, he only appears in the early stages of the Three Kingdoms Era.

During Dynasty Warriors 3, he leads his forces during the early battles against Zhang Jiao and Dong Zhuo, but upon leading an attack against Liu Biao, when Sun Jian tries to attack Liu Biao's castle from behind, he's lured into a trap set up by Kuai Liang by pursuing Lu Gong, and is crushed and killed by a rockslide, putting Sun Ce in command of continuing the battle. However, if the player is playing as Sun Jian, he escapes the ambush, and continues leading Wu through reclaiming the Wu Territory, allying with Liu Bei to face Cao Cao at Chi Bi, and then taking down Shu at Yi Ling, subduing the Nanman forces, and taking down Wei at He Fei Castle, uniting China under the Sun Family and Wu banner.

During Dynasty Warriors 4, he remains the main leader of Wu during his kingdom's Musou Mode. His Legend Mode in the Xtreme Legends expansion takes place during his time in the Allied Forces. Before Dong Zhuo meets his end, Sun Jian momentarily opens his castle's gates to scout the surrounding area. The tyrant uses this chance to attack his fort while he is away and Sun Jian hurries to his men's rescue. With Huang Gai by his side, he faces some of Dong Zhuo's most powerful generals along the way, such as Hua Xiong and Lu Bu.

Sun Jian continues to contribute to his early claims to fame in Dynasty Warriors 5. After his deeds with the Allied Forces, he attacks Jing Province at the behest of his friend, Yuan Shu. He survives an ambush attempt by Liu Biao's officer, Huang Zu, and leads his forces to victory. However, the battle soon causes Sun Ce's death and, though he grieves losing his eldest son, he keeps fighting for the sake of his remaining children. While his kingdom shared a brief alliance with Shu, he lives past his rivals, Cao Cao and Liu Bei, and brings an end to their successors. Once Shu falls, the land is united under Wu. Retiring and handing leadership of the kingdom to Sun Quan, Sun Jian entrusts the future of the land to his younger children and disappears from history, searching out others who need his direct help within the remaining chaos.

He shares his Legend Mode in Xtreme Legends expansion with Huang Gai and Sun Ce, in which they work together to suppress Ou Xing's rebellion. Near the beginning of the battle, Sun Jian meets the elder general and invites him into his army. From there, Sun Jian saves villagers in the west from Ou Xing's generals. If he rescues the villages quickly, the trio coordinate their efforts to corner and chase the rebel commander down. Ou Xing will try to escape to the west but the villagers will bravely block his exit. Should Sun Jian fail to defeat the rebel generals, he will need to defeat every general on the map to open the castle's gates.

Sun Jian's ending scene in Dynasty Warriors: Online shows him riding on his own at the dead of night. Although the player offers to join as an escort, the warlord expresses his desire to hunt alone and asks them to watch over his family for him.

In Dynasty Warriors 6, Sun Jian's story mode revolves around him trying to restore the Han and staying loyal to Emperor Xian. He does not hold any personal ambition and strives to end the land's chaos through his duty to the Han Dynasty. Since he keeps the Imperial Seal within his possession, he is ironically branded as a traitor by the surrounding regional lords. Considering them to be the real threats, Sun Jian quells their rise to power with his sons and ensures that the land belongs to the Han empire. He is rewarded by being named the emperor's adviser in his ending.

In Dynasty Warriors 7 Sun Jian fights with his children in the Yellow Turban Rebellion. As he strikes down Zhang Jiao, the priest comments with his last breath that he "hides his fangs well." Sun Jian and his eldest son are then sent to Liang Province to help Dong Zhuo in suppressing rebels. But as the tyrant goes on in killing the rebels, Sun Jian stops Sun Ce from protesting to refrain from having to intermediately deal with Dong Zhuo. Later on, they, along with Sun Quan and Sun Shang Xiang, join Yuan Shao's coalition to defeat Dong Zhuo. However, the tyrant escapes and leaves Luoyang in ruins. But Sun Jian finds the Imperial Seal in a well and takes it with him back to Changsha.

Instead of using the seal to gain authority and power, Sun Jian allows himself to fight for Yuan Shu, which angers Sun Ce and makes him confront his father. However, Sun Jian puts their conversation on hold as they head into battle against Liu Biao at Jing Province. After the fight, Sun Jian is approached by Sun Ce, wanting to apologize for his brash behavior. But suddenly, enemy archers shoot arrows which pierce Sun Jian's back. With his dying breath, Sun Jian tells his son that he must lead their people and rule the land his own way. He then dies in Sun Ce's arms. He is later seen in Sun Quan's dream, congratulating his son on his achievements.

In his first Legendary Battle, Sun Jian fights his children to test their strengths and earn his respect as a father. His second Legendary Battle is a retelling of his battle against Liu Biao at Jing Province.

Dynasty Warriors Next has Sun Jian arrive as reinforcements for He Jin during the Yellow Turban Rebellion. In the second chapter, his front at Sishui Gate continues to be hampered by low morale and insufficient supplies. He asks the player to help him capture the enemy's supply depot. When the coalition surrounds Dong Zhuo at Chang'an, he personally repels the opposing army's wolves. Before the start of the third chapter, Sun Jian loses his life while attacking Jing Province. His spirit watches over Sun Quan's coronation during Wu's ending. In Lu Bu's chapter, he eventually forms an alliance with Cao Cao and Liu Bei to keep Lu Bu in check, though their final battle against him results in their demise.

Dynasty Warriors 8 has Sun Jian die prematurely during Wu's first story stage due to an arrow wound caused by Lu Gong. However, his death can be prevented in one of the many alternate routes featured in the game. In that instance, the Imperial Seal underneath his clothes protect him from being fatally shot by one of the retreating enemy soldiers. Sun Jian still passes leadership of Wu to Sun Ce, though he fights at Wujun. After Sun Ce recovers from his curse, Sun Jian and Sun Ce return to battle in time to assist Sun Quan in seizing Hefei, but both Jian and Ce decline to resume leadership of Wu, instead encouraging Sun Quan to unite Wu under his grand ideals. Sun Jian fights at Shouchun before joining the rest of the Sun family for the final assault against Wei at Xuchang.

In the expansion, Sun Jian shares a scenario with Huang Gai and Han Dang. During the stage, he already controls all of Jiangdong and Jing Province, and decides to attack Cao Cao at Shouchun while the Hero of Chaos is off fighting Yuan Shao.

His story in the ninth title begins with his role in the Yellow Turban Rebellion, bringing his loyal officers with him to aid the Imperial Army. Seeing Dong Zhuo's lack of initiative, he and Cao Cao lure the rebels over to his army to force Dong Zhuo into acting. Shortly after Zhang Jiao is killed, Dong Zhuo seizes the power and begins abusing his position.

Sun Jian takes his officers with him to Luoyang to help Cao Cao assassinate Dong Zhuo. Instead, they find the warlord caught in the act and fleeing, and they cover his escape. After which, the pair join the Coalition against Dong Zhuo together. While cleaning the capital, he finds the Imperial Seal and takes it for himself. With Dong Zhuo dead at the hand of Lu Bu, the Coalition disbands. Upon leaving Luoyang, Sun Jian meets Cao Cao again, who is pleased that the warlord will not side with Yuan Shao. As both perceive an incoming conflict between Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, as well as themselves at opposite sides, the two hope to not meet each other in hostile circumstances.

As soon as he returns to Changsha, however, Sun Jian's forces are ambushed by Yuan Shu, who takes Sun Jian's wife as hostage. In exchange, the family must aid Yuan Shu against Yuan Shao as well relinquish the Imperial Seal. Sun Jian does both and guarantees his wife's safety, but is now ordered to attack Liu Biao at Xiangyang. Hoping to use this as a stepping stone to reclaim his ancestral homelands of Wu, Sun Jian goes as ordered.

Once Xiangyang is captured Lu Gong appears to rescue his lord, forcing Sun Jian to take some troops to chase his prey. Unfortunately, he is led into a valley and his forces are killed by Lu Gong's archers.

Warriors OrochiEdit
During Orochi's story, Wu is attacked by Zhuge Liang at He Fei. Despite ambushing Orochi's troops with Gan Ning and Zhang Liao, as well as receiving support from Sun Ce, his troops are defeated. For the safety of his people, Sun Jian agrees to be imprisoned by Orochi. His life is used to coerce his children and his officers' loyalty to Orochi.

In Warriors Orochi, he spends much of his time as a prisoner. Sun Ce is nearly successful in freeing him but Sun Jian decides to stay behind to give his son a chance to escape when the situation turns sour. After Sun Quan fails to stop his brother's rebellion several times, he and Sun Jian are set to be executed. They are freed by Hanzōand eventually reunite with the rest of the family. Sun Jian leads the final offensive against Orochi.

Warriors Orochi 2 has Sun Jian trying to keep Wu neutral, fearing that an open war would shatter what little stability the country had regained. Despite this, he sends his officers to aid various other factions. Through the combined efforts of Yoshitsune, Cao Pi, Lu Bu, and others, he eventually takes up the fight against the revived Orochi. He shares his dream mode in the title with Katsuie and Cao Ren. These three gentlemen band together to rescue Oichi from danger. Sun Jian's personal contribution for the stage is suggesting to guard the ally messenger. He suspects an enemy ambush and wants their envoy to be kept safe.

Reigning as the leader of Wu, Sun Jian formed a friendship with Ujiyasu in Warriors Orochi 3. During the original timeline, he and his friend were killed by the serpent forces during one of their conversations together. In an alternate history caused by the coalition's changes, Sun Jian instead asks Ujiyasu to assist his son at Changbanand leads his personal army to fight the Oda at Honnōji. Helping the coalition claim victory at the temple, the father reunites with his family and lends his aid to their cause. During the fighting at Honnōji, one of his men accidentally burns Mitsuhide alive when the gunpowder in the temple was hit.

In the downloadable stage, "Duelling Heroes", Sun Jian helps Musashi and Nemea in clearing out enemies at Nanzhong so they can have their own fight.

In Warriors Orochi 4, Sun Jian's forces are forced to submit to Nobunaga's power, and serve him. When many of Nobunaga's allies are defeated and defect, Sun Quan arrives and offers the same option to his father, pointing out how abusable the power Nobunaga has is. Wishing to see his son's resolve, Sun Jian challenges his son at Guandu instead.

Impressed by his son's strength, he lays down his arms and has his family join Liu Bei's army.

Dynasty TacticsEdit
Although he is dead by the time the games begin, Sun Jian is given a passing mention in both titles as one of the reasons for Sun Ce's ambitions. Dynasty Tactics focuses on his sword, as it is passed as a sign of leadership between his sons. If Sun Quan unifies the land, he will discard it into the ocean to signal the end of wars.

Romance of the Three KingdomsEdit
One of the earliest leaders during the first two scenarios of the game, as well as one of the best. His overall stats and skills, along with his tactics in each game are above average in almost every category.

PersonalityEdit
Sun Jian is a calm man, always considerate and courteous to his men. Out of the three rulers for Wu, he is the one who acts most like a gentleman. He is generally kind to those around him and forgives past mistakes with subtle ease. He doubles as a fierce and courageous warrior. Since he is praised as a tiger of his homeland, he pridefully refers to himself by his nickname on several occasions - his children also share his pride during their respective conquests. In spite of his impeccable service to the Han and his bravery in battle, other regional lords usually do not think too highly of Sun Jian and ridicule him as a "country bumpkin"; this is predominately done by Yuan Shu in most titles. He is fiercely loyal to the Han Dynasty in Dynasty Warriors 6, even going so far as to call himself the "Blade of the Imperial Han".

A caring father, he is proud of his children and tries his best to look out for them. In more recent titles, he acts as a strong mentor figure for them and points out their respective strengths and weaknesses. He also developed a special nickname for his daughter regarding her tomboyish nature (じゃじゃ馬め). During the Warriors Orochi series, he is also willing to sacrifice himself for their well-being. In the same series, he is also respectively addressed as "Tiger Lord" or "Lord Tiger" (虎殿, Tora-dono) by various Samurai Warriors characters.

During the Warriors Orochi series, he shares special conversations with Yoshitsune, Kenshin, Shingen, Ieyasu, and Ujiyasu.

Voice Actors

 * Steven Blum - Dynasty Warriors 4~5 (English-uncredited)
 * Grant George - Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends and Empires, Warriors Orochi series; first and second games only (English-uncredited)
 * James Babson - Dynasty Warriors 6~8 (English-uncredited)
 * Joel Pelletier - Dynasty Warriors 9 (English)
 * Tyler Wine - Dynasty Warriors Bloodlines (English)
 * Jörg Stuttmann - Dynasty Warriors 3 (German-uncredited)
 * Martial Le Minoux - Dynasty Warriors 4 (French-uncredited)
 * Hong Yiping - Dynasty Warriors 3 (Chinese)
 * Yu Wang - Dynasty Warriors 9 (Chinese)
 * Lee Byung Joo - Dynasty Warriors 2 (Korean)
 * Jang Hobi - Dynasty Warriors 3 (Korean)
 * An Jang Hyeok - Dynasty Warriors 4~5 (Korean)
 * Gwon Changuk - Dynasty Warriors: Unleashed (Korean)
 * Lee Hyeon - Romance of the Three Kingdoms: The Legend of Cao Cao (Korean)
 * Yasuhiko Tokuyama - Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)
 * Takanori Hoshino - Sangokushi Legion

Live Action PerformersEdit

 * Mitsu Murata - Butai Shin Sangoku Musou

QuotesEdit

 * See also: Sun Jian/Quotes


 * "We of the sword long for the days, when we can cross another's sword, in a battle or a war!"


 * "My lord, your children have all grown up well. I'm sure you are very proud."
 * "It was all thanks to help from veterans like you. I couldn't have handled those hellions alone!"
 * "Hellions? Even your daughter?"
 * "Hahaha! She's probably the worst of all!"
 * Huang Gai and Sun Jian; Dynasty Warriors 7


 * "The Tiger of Jiangdong's army is most impressive in battle. I find my eyes drawn to his performance."
 * "Ha! Flattery will get you nowhere. Now, I shall claim your head in the name of our army."
 * Cao Cao and Sun Jian; Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends


 * "Now, there's the matter of my reward. I was thinking, your daughter..."
 * "E-excuse me?"
 * "Er... I was thinking that your daughter is the one who deserves the reward, not me. Yes, that's it..."
 * Hideyoshi and Sun Jian; Warriors Orochi


 * "Anger the tiger, and you will not go home unscathed."
 * "I am the One-Eyed Dragon! I swallow puny tigers whole."
 * Sun Jian and Masamune; Warriors Orochi 2


 * "Your boy Sun Ce is a real good kid. He's upbeat, freehearted, and can hold his own in a fight."
 * "Your praise is too kind. Perhaps it had something to do with the way his parents raised him."
 * "Heh, listen to you. My brats aren't half-bad either you know."
 * Ujiyasu and Sun Jian; Warriors Orochi 3


 * "Hanbei. I understand you are such a devotee of Sun Tzu that you sometimes recite his works in your sleep."
 * "But that's not what attracted me to you, Sun Jian."
 * "Oh? Well, that is a disappointment."
 * "You are courageous, decisive, and mighty in battle. Is that all due to the fact that you are a descendant of Sun Tzu?"
 * "Hmm... I suppose not."
 * "You are also blessed with magnificent sons and daughters, all of whom are great heroes or precocious talents. Is that because they are descended from Sun Tzu?"
 * "No, that is not why."
 * "When I meet Sun Tzu, I'll talk to him about his works. Right now, I want to know more about the remarkable Sun Jian, and to become his friend."
 * "Hahaha, you've shown me up. And you are right. Let us talk. Ask me anything you like."
 * "Okay, let's start with how you met your wife."
 * "Hahaha, I see you're attacking the main keep right away. You know Sun Tzu says it is folly to lay siege to an enemy castle."
 * "Ah, you're changing the subject! Anyway, we agreed we weren't going to talk about Sun Tzu!"
 * Sun Jian and Hanbei; Warriors Orochi 4

Moveset
In Dynasty Warriors Bloodlines, his moveset is adapted from all of the previous games.
 * Triangle: Spins around multiple times, slashing enemies.
 * Square, Triangle: Performs a rising upper slash. Has a wide hitbox range.
 * Square, Square, Triangle: Latches unto the nearest foe with a forward stab attack, and slashes them multiple times, ending with a low horizontal tiger claw
 * Square, Square, Square, Triangle: Thrusts weapon forward via a sideways stab that sends out a vertical air wave. Similar to his original C4 attack.
 * Square, Square, Square, Square, Triangle: Stomps the ground for the blade to create a series of sound waves continuously for a brief moment.
 * Square, Square, Square, Square, Square, Triangle: Sends out two flame waves. Works as a crowd clearer.
 * Square, Square, Square, Square, Square, Square: Does two overhead swipes before turning around, followed by two more swings that set into the front arc, a frontal stab, and a wider swipe.
 * EX Attack 1 - Square, Square, Triangle, Triangle: Rushes forward after bracing to emit an unblockable fire slash in front.
 * EX Attack 2 - Square, Square, Square, Triangle, Triangle: Turns around once, then unleashes a red-energy reaping slash, which has great knockback.
 * Musou Animation - Circle: Repeating swings to all sides until he engages in one of his musous
 * Musou - Tiger Claw (虎爪): Holds his sword behind him while standing upright with his free palm forward, then does three alternating flaming slashes in front of him. Classified as a Multi-strike Musou in Next and used in Warriors Orochi 3.
 * Alternate Musou - Spiral Inferno (螺旋業炎撃): R1 + : Braces himself with his free forearm supporting his blade's blunt end, then lunges in a forward stab of fire.

Trivia
(TO BE ADDED)