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Taishi Ci
Late Han swordsman from Donglai who broke a siege to fetch help for Kong Rong, fought Sun Ce hand to hand at Shenting and then served him on the Jiangxi frontier
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 Ziyi
- Roles
- Commanders
Taishi Ci, courtesy name Ziyi, came from Huang in Donglai. As a commandery clerk in a dispute with the province, he destroyed the province's memorial so that his own side's reached the court first. When Kong Rong, chancellor of Beihai, was besieged at Duchang by the Yellow Turban leader Guan Hai, Taishi rode alone through the lines and brought back three thousand troops from Liu Bei at Pingyuan. He then joined Liu Yao, the governor of Yang province, and at Shenting met Sun Ce in single combat: Sun snatched the short halberd from his back, and he took Sun's helmet. After Liu Yao's defeat he held out as self-styled governor of Danyang until Sun Ce captured him, untied him and gave him a command; he later guarded Jianchang against Liu Biao's nephew Liu Pan. He died in 206 at forty-one, lamenting, according to the Wu shu, that he had never carried his sword up the steps of the throne.
Life and times
Dates 166 CE–206 CE