The four great families of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period refer to the four great families of Gu, Lu, Zhu and Zhang in Soochow. The representatives are Gu Yong, Lu Xun, Zhu Huan and Zhang Wen.
1. The Gu family. In the early years of the Han Dynasty, Yao, the descendant of King Goujian of Yue, was granted the title of Dongyi (now Yongjia, Zhejiang) because he assisted the princes in destroying the Qin Dynasty. Later, Yao granted his son the title of Kuaiji, known as Gu Yuhou. Later, the descendants of Gu Yuhou took the surname "Gu" from the name of their fiefdom. After the Gu family acquired the surname, Nan Gu quickly became a common surname in Kuaiji. During the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties, together with the three surnames of Lu, Zhu and Zhang, they were called the four surnames of Kuaiji. Since the surname Gu mainly originated and grew up in Kuaiji, Kuaiji has also become one of the famous county officials with the surname Gu. Later, this group of people with the surname Gu moved west to Wuling (today's Changde, Hunan) and developed rapidly, so Wuling became another county commander with the surname Gu. During the Three Kingdoms period, the surname Gu has always been one of the four major surnames in Jiangdong.
2. Lu family. The Lu family was named after Tian Tong, the youngest son of King Xuan of Qi during the Warring States Period, who was granted the title of Pingyuan Lu Township (now Pingyuan County, Shandong). During the Han Dynasty, the Lu family was a major family in Jiangdong. After the founding of Soochow, it gradually prospered and gradually occupied the main ruling class of the Soochow regime. The representative figure was Lu Xun, an official who rose to prime minister.
3. The Zhu family. During the Warring States Period, the State of Chu destroyed the State of Zhu, and the nobles of the State of Zhu fled in all directions. In order not to forget their homeland, they removed their ears and changed their surname to Zhu. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Zhu surname moved southward and its main breeding areas were still in most areas of the Huaihe River and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Wangjun is located in Wujun. After the establishment of Soochow, it quickly rose to become one of the four major families.
4. Zhang family. During the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a senior official in the Jin State who named Zhang Hou, and his descendants named him after his name, also known as the Zhang family. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Zhang family moved to Wu County. After development, it became one of the local Wangjun counties. Zhang Wen in the Soochow period is a representative.