Taishi Ci

Taishi Ci

Taishi Ci (太史慈), majority name Ziyi (* 166 ; † 206 ) was a general of the Wu Dynasty at the time of the Three Kingdoms in ancient China.

Taishi Ci came from the Donglai commandant's office, where he worked as a clergyman after his studies. After a dispute with the provincial administrator (186), Taishi Ci moved to Liaodong. There the Governor of Beihai, Kong Rong , got in touch with him. During the Yellow Turban Rebellion (193) he helped Kong Rong by breaking through enemy lines during a siege of the Yellow Turban and calling for help from Liu Bei .

After the uprising of the Yellow Turban, Taishi Ci joined his compatriot Liu Yao , who fought south of the Yangtze River against the warlord Sun Ce . Taishi Ci initially received no command, but was given the task of overseeing the supplies. An attack by Sun Ce resulted in an unsuccessful duel between the two opponents.

After several defeats, Liu Yao retired to Yuzhang, while Taishi Ci stayed in western Danyang and expanded his position. He made himself governor and allied himself with the neighboring tribes in the hill country south of the Yangtze River. In 198, Taishi Ci was defeated and captured by Sun Ce. The warlord did not execute him, but made him his bodyguard. Taishi Ci's first assignment was to educate people in Yuzhang, where Liu Yao had recently died. On his report, Sun Ce then captured Yuzhang.

A little later, Sun Ce appointed his bodyguard to be in command of Jianchang, west of Yuzhang. There Taishi Ci defended the region against attacks by the neighboring governor Liu Biao . After Sun C's death (200), his brother and successor Sun Quan Taishi Ci gave an extended command that also included the southern border of Yuzhang.

According to the tradition in the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms , Taishi Ci was seven feet tall (1.78 m) and an excellent archer.

literature

• Rafe de Crespigny : A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD) . Brill, Leiden and Boston 2007, p. 781, ISBN 978-90-04-15605-0