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Zai Tao
Qing imperial clansman and younger brother of the regent Zaifeng who toured foreign armies and headed the General Staff Council, later serving as an adviser on army horses after 1949
At dusk on a hilltop, a large tent stands open with a table holding a map marked with small stones inside, a saddled horse tethered outside, and fire stands burning; campfires dot the river plain below, and one tiny sentry stands on the slope.
Also known as Zi Shuyuan · Hao Yeyun
- Roles
- Commanders
Zai Tao, literary name Yeyun, was the seventh son of Yixuan, Prince Chun, and a younger brother of the regent Zaifeng; he was born in 1887. In 1902 he was adopted as heir to Yixu, Prince Zhong, inheriting the rank of beile, and was later given the honorary rank of prince of the second degree. Under the Xuantong emperor he ran the new General Staff Office, led a mission in 1909 and 1910 to study the armies of Japan, the United States and several European states, and in 1911 became head of the General Staff Council and commander of the Imperial Guard. In the Republican years he lived in Beijing, known as a judge of horses and an amateur performer of martial roles in Peking opera. After 1949 he advised the horse administration bureau of the People's Liberation Army artillery command and sat in the first three National People's Congresses. He died in Beijing in September 1970.
Life and times
Dates 1887 CE–1970 CE