Chai Shao (588–638),
courtesy name
A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...
Sichang, posthumously known as Duke Xiang of Qiao, was a Chinese general who served under the emperors
Gaozu and
Taizong in the early
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...
.
Chai Shao was the son of Chai Shen, the Duke of Julu. He married
Princess Pingyang, a daughter and general of Emperor Gaozu, the founder of the Tang dynasty, and distinguished himself as a general in the battles between the Tang Empire and
Turkic invaders. On one occasion, when he was attacking the
Tuyuhun
Tuyuhun (; LHC: *''tʰɑʔ-jok-guən''; Wade-Giles: ''T'u-yühun''), also known as Henan () and Azha (; ), was a dynastic monarchy established by the nomadic peoples related to the Xianbei in the Qilian Mountains and upper Yellow River valley, ...
forces which then threatened the frontier,
his army was almost overwhelmed by a dense shower of arrows from the enemy's bows. However, Chai Shao sent forward some girls to play and dance to the Tartar guitar, which so fascinated the Tartar soldiers that they desisted from the fight to watch. Meanwhile, Chai Shao, by a rapid strategic movement, succeeded in surrounding them, and the whole force was cut to pieces. He aided Emperor Taizong in consolidating his control over the Tang Empire. In 628, he was appointed as the governor of
Huazhou in
Shaanxi
Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...
.
Issue
Chai and Princess Pingyang had two sons:
*Chai Zhewei (), titled Duke of Qiao
*Chai Lingwu (, died 653), titled Duke of Xiangyang, married
Emperor Taizong's daughter Princess Baling ()
See also
*
Tuyuhun invasion of Gansu
References
*''
Old Book of Tang
The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...
'', volume 58
*''
New Book of Tang
The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...
'', volume 90
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chai, Shao
Sui dynasty generals
638 deaths
Tang dynasty generals
588 births