Tao Qian

This article deals with the Chinese provincial governor Tao Qian (132–194). The poet with the birth name Tao Qian see under Tao Yuanming .

Light green: Xuzhou and Yangzhou, the domain of Tao Qian (until 194).

Power blocs in 194.

Táo Qiān ( Chinese  陶謙  /  陶谦 , IPA ( standard Chinese) [ tʰɑo̯35 tɕʰi̯ɛn5 ], age name Gongzu 恭 祖 , Gōngzǔ , * 132 ; † 194 ) was the governor of Xuzhou ( 徐州 ) during the outgoing Han dynasty in ancient China.

Life

Tao Qian was born in the Danyang ( 丹楊  /  丹杨 ) region and was known for his integrity and erudition from his youth. In the service of the Han dynasty, he suppressed numerous uprisings with the army. During the Yellow Turban Rebellion , he was appointed governor of Xuzhou Province and secured this area from the rebels. During Dong Zhuo's coup d'état and subsequent turmoil, he gained control of neighboring Yangzhou province. However, he did not show any ambitions to further expand his sphere of influence.

Tao Qian had Generals Wang Lang , Zhu Zhi, and Chen Deng under him. He was also inclined to employ the dangerous military men Ze Rong , Cao Hong ( 曹 宏 ), and Que Xuan ( 闕 宣  /  阙 宣 ); however, he declined the service of the faithful general Zhao Yu ( 趙 昱  /  赵 昱 ). Tao Qian's leadership qualities have been questioned as a result.

He is also said to have not been averse to emotional outbursts. During the Han Sui uprising , Tao Qian served under Zhang Wen ( 張 溫  /  张 温 ) and is said to have insulted and angered him terribly. On the other hand, he despised the warlord Sun Ce because he envied his talent. And officers who refused to serve him, such as Zhang Zhao and Lü Fan, were locked up .

Death Cao Songs

In the year 193 was Cao Song , the father of Cao Cao , killed on a journey through Tao Qian's province. There are two hypotheses about the more precise circumstances: either the escort Tao Qian gave Cao Song to rob him, or Tao Qian himself ordered the assassination. The motivation for this was as follows:

When Yuan Shu declared himself emperor, Tao Qian was one of the few who sided with him. To help him in the battle against Cao Cao, Tao Qian attacked Yanzhou (兖 州), a city near Yuan Shao's territory. After many attempts to defeat Cao Cao on the battlefield (including by General Cao Bao ), Tao Qian suffered a crushing defeat from Yu Jin and Cao Ren .

Whatever the case, Cao Cao used his father's murder as an opportunity to defeat Tao Qian and take Xuzhou. After his victory, Cao Cao's army massacred large parts of the population of Xuzhou.

When Tao Qian was on his deathbed in 194, he chose to bequeath his remaining area to Liu Bei , but he died shortly afterwards.

Tao Qian left two sons: Tao Shang ( 陶 商 ) and Tao Ying ( 陶 應  /  陶 应 ).

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Chinese. Tao is the family name here, Qian is the first name.