Ministers › Provincial Governors
Tao Qian
Governor of Xu province in the last years of the Han who twice faced Cao Cao's punitive invasions and on his deathbed had Liu Bei invited to take over
A walled hilltop city with a tall brick gate tower stands above a pine-covered cliff, its wall running along the ridge, while a long wooden bridge crosses a wide river below and plains, islets and layered mountains stretch into the distance, with no person in view.
Also known as Zigong Zu
Tao Qian, courtesy name Gongzu, came from Danyang; studious as a youth, he held local posts, was recommended as a man of talent, governed Lu county and You province, and served under General Zhang Wen against Han Sui in the west. When the Yellow Turbans rose in Xu province he was made its inspector and drove them off. During Dong Zhuo's turmoil he sent tribute to the court at Chang'an by back roads and was rewarded with the rank of General Who Pacifies the East, governorship of Xu and a marquisate. The Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi) says that Xu was prosperous and drew refugees, but that he sidelined upright men such as Zhao Yu and trusted flatterers like Cao Hong. Cao Cao invaded in 193, sacking Pengcheng with great slaughter, and came again the next year until Lu Bu's seizure of Yan province forced him back. Tao died of illness in 194 at sixty-three, telling his aide Mi Zhu that only Liu Bei could keep the province safe.
Life and times
Dates c. 132 CE–194 CE