Su Wu (; 140 BC - 60 BC ) was a Chinese diplomat and politician of the Western Han dynasty. He is known in Chinese history for making the best of his mission into foreign territory. During his mission he was captured and then detained for nineteen years, enduring major hardship at least in the early years of his captivity. Nevertheless, he endured this treatment while remaining faithful to his mission and his homeland. According to Chinese tradition, in the early stages of his captivity, Su Wu was so deprived of food that he only survived in the cold north lands by eating his coverings, then enduring long years of servitude herding sheep, before managing to return home. He was able to return home after deceiving his captors with a story about his having sent a message back to the Western Han dynasty by means of tying a letter on the leg of a wild goose. Su's loyalty to the Western Han is emphasised by the story that during his detainment he married a wife, that he had children by her, but that he chose to return to his homeland, even though it meant abandoning his wife and children. Su Wu is depicted in the Wu Shuang Pu (無雙譜, Table of Peerless Heroes) by Jin Guliang. Mission to Xiongnu Little is known about Su's life or career other than his mission beyond the borders of the Western Han involving the Xiongnu, a mission which turned out to be drastically more trying and lengthy than expected. In 100 BC, there was a short-lived détente between long-term adversaries the Western Han and the Xiongnu. One year earlier, in 101 BC, a new chanyu had come to power in Xiongnu, Chanyu Qiedihou (), who had expressed an interest in peace with the Han and who, as a goodwill gesture, had allowed some Han diplomats who had been detained by the Xiongnu to return to the Western Han, along with gifts from the chanyu. In response, in 100 BC, Emperor Wu of Han commissioned Su, then the deputy commander of the imperial guards, to serve as an ambassador to Xiongnu. His deputy was fellow deputy commander, Zhang Sheng (), and the third in command was Chang Hui (). However, once they arrived at the Xiongnu chanyu's headquarters, Chanyu Qiedihou was far more arrogant than expected, which angered Zhang. In response, Zhang plotted with two