Zhou Tai (died 261) was a military general who served in the state of

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 ...

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 of China.

Life

Zhou Tai was from

Nanyang Commandery Nanyang Commandery ( zh, 南陽郡) was a Chinese commandery that existed from the Warring States period to Tang dynasty. It was centered in present-day Nanyang, Henan. History Nanyang Commandery was established by Qin in the 35th year of King Z ...

(南陽郡), which is around present-day

Nanyang, Henan Nanyang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Henan province, China. The city with the largest administrative area in Henan, Nanyang borders Xinyang to the southeast, Zhumadian to the east, Pingdingshan to the northeast, Luoyang to the n ...

. He came from the same

commandery In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

Deng Ai Deng Ai (197 – late March 264Vol.04 of ''Sanguozhi'' and vol.02 of ''Jin Shu'' both indicated that Deng Ai was arrested in the 1st month of the 1st year of the ''Xianxi'' era. The month corresponds to 15 Feb to 14 Mar 264 in the Julian calendar ...

and was around the same age as him. He was described as "eager to achieve glory, and well-versed in military tactics". Early in his career, Zhou Tai served as an Assistant Officer (從事) to Pei Qian (裴潛), the Inspector (刺史) of

Jing Province Jingzhou or Jing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China referenced in early Chinese texts such as the ''Yu Gong, Tribute of Yu'', ''Erya'', and ''Rites of Zhou''. Jingzhou became an administrative division during the reign of E ...

. Sometime between 227 and 230, when the general

Sima Yi Sima Yi (; ; 179 CE7 September 251 CE), courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He formally began his political career in 208 under th ...

was stationed at Wan County (宛縣; present-day

Wancheng District Wancheng District () is one of two districts of the city of Nanyang, in the southwest of Henan province, People's Republic of China. Administrative divisions As of 2012, this district is divided to 6 subdistricts, 4 towns and 6 townships. ;Subdi ...

) to oversee the military affairs of Jing and Yu provinces, Zhou Tai became acquainted with Sima Yi after frequently helping Sima Yi and Pei Qian deliver messages to each other. In 227, when Sima Yi led Wei forces to suppress a rebellion by

Meng Da Meng Da (; died March 228), courtesy name Zidu, was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the early Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served the warlords Liu Zhang and Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty before ...

in Xincheng Commandery (新城郡; around present-day

Fang County Fang County or Fangxian () is a county of northwestern Hubei province, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Shiyan City. The county spans an area of , and has a population of 390,991 as of 2010. History During the Sprin ...

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

), he recruited Zhou Tai to serve an officer in his army. Later, when his parents and grandfather died, Zhou Tai had to retire temporarily to perform

filial mourning Filial mourning () refers to a bureaucratic norm, practiced since the Han dynasty, whereby officials of the imperial government of China were obliged to resign their posts and return to their home upon the death of a parent or grandparent. Descr ...

for nine years. Sima Yi valued Zhou Tai so much that he reserved a position for him. After 36 days, Zhou Tai was appointed as the new Administrator (太守) of Xincheng Commandery. Sima Yi secretly instructed a Master of Writing (尚書) to tease Zhou Tai, "You discarded your plain clothing and entered a high office. After only 36 days, you now wield great power and command the armed forces in a commandery. It's like a beggar riding on a (horse-drawn) carriage – that's really fast!" Zhou Tai quipped, "You're right. You come from a famous aristocratic family, and you're already known for your talents since you were young. That's why you're still a Master of Writing. It's like a macaque riding on an ox – that's really slow!" Everyone present was amused. In the spring of 251, the Wei emperor

Cao Fang Cao Fang () (232–274), courtesy name Lanqing, was the third emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He was an adopted son of Cao Rui, the second ruler of Wei. Cao Fang ruled from January 239 to October 254 as a no ...

ordered Wang Ji (Inspector of

) and Zhou Tai (then Administrator of Xincheng Commandery) to lead forces to attack Wei's rival state,

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 ...

. They defeated the enemy and forced thousands of enemy troops into surrendering. Zhou Tai climbed the ranks steadily in the 250s and became the Inspector (刺史) of

Yan Province Yan Province or Yanzhou was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China, a list of regions compiled by Yu the Great when he toured the land after stopping the Great Flood and succeeding Emperor Yao. Description In the Shang Shu, translated b ...

and later the Inspector of Yu Province. In the summer of 257, 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 ...

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 ...

) with support from Wei's rival state,

. Zhou Tai, then the Inspector of Yan Province, received orders from 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 ...

to mobilise troops to suppress the rebellion. Sima Zhao sent troops under the command of Zhou Tai, Shi Bao (石苞; General of Uplifting Martial Might (奮武將軍) and overseer of military affairs in

Qing Province Qingzhou or Qing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China dating back to BCE that later became one of the thirteen provinces of the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). The Nine Provinces were first described in the ''Tribute ...

), Hu Zhi (胡質; Inspector of

Xu Province Xuzhou as a historical toponym refers to varied area in different eras. Ordinarily, it was a reference to the Nine Provinces which modern Xuzhou inherited. History Pre-Qin era Xuzhou or Xu Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient Ch ...

) and others to attack Zhuge Dan and his Wu allies. Zhou Tai defeated Wu forces led by Zhu Yi at Yangyuan (陽淵). As Zhu Yi and his men attempted to retreat, Zhou Tai led his forces in pursuit and killed and wounded over 2,000 enemy troops. In autumn, the Wu general

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 ...

ordered Zhu Yi, Ding Feng, Li Fei (黎斐) and three others to lead troops to relieve the siege on Shouchun. They left their supplies and heavy equipment at Dulu (都陸) and advanced toward Lijiang (黎漿). Shi Bao and Zhou Tai attacked and defeated them. The rebellion was completely suppressed by early 258. The highest office Zhou Tai ever reached was General Who Attacks Barbarians (征虜將軍). He was also given imperial authority to supervise military affairs in the

Jiangnan Jiangnan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of its delta. The region encompasses the city of Shanghai, the southern part of Jiangsu ...

region.(... 官至征虜將軍、假節都督江南諸軍事。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 28. He died in 261 and was posthumously appointed as General of the Guards (衞將軍), and given the

posthumous title A posthumous name is an honorary name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments ...

"Marquis Zhuang" (壯侯).

Notes

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''). * Fang, Xuanling (648). ''

Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty (266–420), Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, ...

'' (''Jin Shu''). * 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''). * Sima, Guang (1084). ''

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhou, Tai 3rd-century births 261 deaths Cao Wei generals

Life

See also

Notes

References