三國政權中，孫吳多以符瑞為年號，是比較特殊的現象。考察發現，由於與曹魏、蜀漢相比，孫吳政權正統性最為缺乏，所以刻意強化漢代政治文化中的符瑞傳統，以與曹魏、蜀漢抗衡。符瑞年號就是在這一背景下被連續行用。孫亮、孫休時期稍受冷落，孫晧時期為了應對南北政治局勢的變化，符瑞年號又被重新強化。符瑞和符瑞年號的重視，反映出漢末南方政權成立尋求正統性的努力。

During the Three Kingdoms period, Eastern Wu often used auspicious omens for imperial reign titles, a practice not common in Cao Wei or Shu Han. A look into this phenomenon reveals that among the three kingdoms, the legitimacy of Wu's political power was most subject to doubt. In an attempt to compete with Wei and Shu, Wu tapped into the tradition of auspicious omens from the Han dynasty and used them for title reigns for each of its rulers. The practice fell out of use to some extent during the reign of Sun Liang 孫亮 and Sun Xiu 孫休, but then resumed again during the reign of Sun Hao 孫晧 as a way to respond to political shifts of power. The importance placed on these auspicious omens and their use in reign titles reflects Wu's efforts to establish legitimacy at the end of the Han dynasty.