Tang Zi ( 200–262) was a military general of the state of

Eastern Wu Wu (Chinese language, Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < Eastern Han Chinese: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in historiography as Eastern Wu or Sun Wu, was a Dynasties of China, dynastic state of China and one of the three major sta ...

during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period (220–280) of China. In 258, he defected to Wu's rival state,

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

, and became a general under Wei.

Life

Tang Zi was from Licheng Commandery (利城郡; between southeast of present-day Linshu County,

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

and northwest of present-day

Ganyu District Ganyu District () is a suburban district under the administration of Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China. It contains the province's northernmost point and is located along the Yellow Sea coast where the coastline takes a sharp turn toward the s ...

Lianyungang Lianyungang () is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province of China, province, China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north. Its ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

). In 225, Cai Fang () started a rebellion in Licheng Commandery, killed the commandery Administrator Xu Ji (), and nominated Tang Zi to be their leader. The Wei emperor

Cao Pi Cao Pi () (late 187 – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the ...

ordered Ren Fu (), Duan Zhao (), Wang Ling and Lü Qian () to lead troops to suppress the revolt. After the Wei forces defeated the rebels and retook Licheng Commandery, Tang Zi fled south to Wu via the sea and became a Wu military officer. Between 235 and 236, Tang Zi participated in a campaign against the restive

Shanyue The Shanyue (山越) were an ancient conglomeration of upland Yue hill tribes living in what is today the mountainous regions of Southern China and Northern Vietnam during the Han dynasty. Since the Southern part of modern China prior to the ...

tribes in Wu territories along with the Wu generals

Lü Dai Lü Dai (161 – 21 October 256), courtesy name Dinggong, was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Lü Dai started his career as a minor official in his h ...

and

Wu Can Wu Can (died 245), courtesy name Kongxiu, was an official of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Early life and service under Sun Ce Wu Can was from Wucheng County (烏程縣), Wu Commandery (吳郡), which is par ...

. After the campaign, he was promoted to the rank of a general for his contributions. Later, he and Wu Can led 3,000 troops to attack the Shanyue led by Dong Si () but could not overcome the enemy until reinforcements led by another Wu general, Zhou Fang, showed up. In 239, he joined Lü Dai in quelling a revolt by Liao Shi (). In 252, Tang Zi fought at the Battle of Dongxing against Wu's rival state, Wei, alongside other Wu generals such as

Liu Zan Liu Zan (183–255), courtesy name Zhengming, was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under the warlord Sun Quan (later the founding emperor of Wu) in the late Eastern Han ...

Lü Ju Lü Ju (died 12 November 256), courtesy name Shiyi, was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Lü Fan, a general who served under Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu. ...

and Ding Feng. He was promoted to General of the Vanguard (), granted imperial authority, and enfeoffed as a marquis for his achievements in the battle. In 256, Tang Zi joined

Wen Qin Wen Qin (died February or March 258), courtesy name Zhongruo, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Wen Qin was a son of Wen Ji (文稷), a general who served under Ca ...

, Lü Ju, Liu Zuan () and Zhu Yi to resist a Wei invasion in the regions around the Huai and Si rivers (in present-day

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

). In the same year, after the Wu regent Sun Jun died, Tang Zi sided with Sun Jun's cousin

Sun Chen Sun Chen (231 – 18 January 259), courtesy name Zitong, was a military general and regent of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He ruled as regent during the reigns of the emperors Sun Liang and Sun Xiu. His conf ...

in a power struggle and killed Lü Ju, thus clearing the way for Sun Chen to succeed Sun Jun as the regent of Wu. In 257, when the Wei general

Zhuge Dan Zhuge Dan (died 10 April 258), courtesy name Gongxiu, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. When he held key military appointments throughout his middle to late career, h ...

started a rebellion in Shouchun (壽春; present-day

Shou County Shou County or Shouxian () is a county in the north-central part of Anhui Province, China, and is located on the southern (right) bank of the Huai River. It is the southernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Huainan. It ...

), he sent his son

Zhuge Jing Zhuge Jing (fl. 257-284), courtesy name Zhongsi, was a Chinese military general and politician of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Though originally from Cao Wei, he was sent to Wu as a hostage during the rebellion of his ...

as a hostage to Wu in exchange for support from Wu against Wei. In the following year, Sun Chen ordered Wen Qin, Tang Zi, Quan Yi (), Quan Duan (), Wang Zuo () and others to lead 30,000 troops to Shouchun to assist Zhuge Dan in his rebellion against Wei forces led by the Wei regent

Sima Zhao Sima Zhao () (; 211 – 6 September 265), courtesy name Zishang (子上), was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Sima Zhao capably maintained control of Wei, whi ...

. When the tide turned against Zhuge Dan by early 258, Zhuge Dan and Tang Zi tried to break out of the siege but failed. After being captured by Wei forces, Tang Zi agreed to surrender and defect to Wei. Sima Zhao appointed him as General Who Stabilises Distant Lands (). As Sima Zhao treated the surrendered Wu soldiers well, in return the Wu government did not harm Tang Zi's family members, who were still in Wu when he defected to Wei. In 262, when Sima Zhao was planning an invasion of Wei's other rival state, Shu, he ordered Tang Zi to supervise the construction of warships to be used in a later campaign against Wu. Nothing about Tang Zi was recorded in history after that.

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms ''Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms'' () by Pei Songzhi (372–451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After the fall of the Eastern Jin ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Tang, Zi Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Eastern Wu generals Cao Wei generals People from Lianyungang Generals from Jiangsu

Life

See also

References