Ling Tong
An impression of Ling Tong by an unknown artist.
General of Eastern Wu
Born	189
Died	237 or 217 (aged 48 or 28)
Names
Simplified Chinese	凌统
Traditional Chinese	凌統
Pinyin	Líng Tǒng
Wade-Giles	Ling T'ung
Style name	Gongji (公績)
Posthumous name	Marquis of Vehemence (烈亭侯)

Ling Tong (189 – 237 or 217^[1][2]) was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He started his service to the Sun family since his childhood, and throughout his entire life, he had been contributing to the foundation and solidification of Eastern Wu. He had participated in many campaigns, including those against Huang Zu, Liu Bei, and the Shanyue barbarians. But his most noted performance would lie with those against the rival state of Cao Wei, in which he displayed great skills under extremely adverse situation.

Besides being a military general, Ling Tong was highly praised by the scholars for his gracious demeanour, bonhomie and generosity. Even though he had achieved fame and glory when he visited his hometown later in his life, he still treated commoners with utmost respect and humanity (which was a rare case in the chaotic world he lived).^[3] He acted as a strategist after he returned from the frontline, and drastically changed the way Eastern Wu used to deal with the Shanyue tribes and successfully recruited over 10,000 strong army from the Shanyue through impressing them with a show of might and potential rewards (Ling Tong's strategy would be adopted and modified by Zhuge Ke later). He was also well known for his integrity and loyalty; he, along with Lü Meng, were the most valued generals of Sun Quan.^[4]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Ling Tong was born in Yuhang, Wu Commandery (present-day Yuhang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang). His father Ling Cao was one of the warlord Sun Ce's generals. Ling Cao held the rank of Colonel Who Routs the Caitiffs (破賊校尉), and continued serving the new lord Sun Quan after the death of Sun Ce. In 204, Sun Quan attacked Liu Biao's general Huang Zu, who controlled Jiangxia, which served as the eastern gate to Jing Province. During the battle at Xiakou, Ling Cao sailed alone a distance ahead on a small boat to infiltrate the enemy formation.^[3] Huang Zu abandoned the army and fled, but Ling Cao was killed by a stray arrow fired by Huang's subordinate Gan Ning.

Ling Tong was 15 when his father died. Sun Quan appointed Ling Tong as a Senior Major (別部司馬) on account of the fact that Ling's father died for the Sun family. Since many spoke well of Ling Tong's ability, he was allowed to inherit his father's post as well, as acting Colonel Who Routs the Caitiffs, to lead his father's former subordinates under his command.^[3]

Subsequently, Ling Tong participated in the campaign against the bandits in the hilly regions. Sun Quan's main force captured the enemy garrison at Bao and left after leaving behind 10,000 men under the command of Ling Tong and Zhang Yi (張異) to lay siege to the garrison at Ma. The day before the battle, Ling Tong and Chen Qin (陳勤) attended a banquet together. Chen Qin was in charge of ceremonial duties during the banquet, but he abused his powers and went against the rules.^[3] Ling Tong was upset by Chen Qin's insolence and confronted the latter. However, the acerbic Chen Qin affronted Ling Tong back in anger and even insulted Ling's late father. Ling Tong was in tears but refrained himself and did not respond to the acrimony.

After the banquet, the drunk Chen Qin insulted Ling Tong again on the road. Unable to tolerate further swearword, Ling Tong injured Chen Qin with his saber, and caused Chen to die a few days later. The next day, prior to the battle, Ling Tong exclaimed, "Only through death can my transgression be cleansed!"^[5] He then charged ahead of his troops during the battle in the face of enemy arrows and boulders. The side of the garrison which Ling Tong's army attacked fell immediately.^[3] The other generals were roused by his victory and together they inflicted a crushing defeat on the enemy. After returning from the battle, Ling Tong bound himself and surrendered to the discipline officer. Sun Quan was impressed with Ling's strong determination and pardoned him for insubordination in consideration of his contributions.

Battle of Jiangxia[link]

In 208, Sun Quan attacked Jiangxia again. Ling Tong was assigned as the leader of the vanguard army. He sailed in his boat far ahead of the main forces with only tens of his closest men with him, and emerged victorious in the first battle by slaying Huang Zu's general Zhang Shuo (張碩) and capturing all of Zhang's mariners with his much smaller force.^[3] He then reported back to Sun Quan and led another attack on the enemy again, advancing on both land and water.

Knowing Zhang Shuo had been slain and the first line of defense was broken, Huang Zu used two of his largest vessels (mengchongs) to block the entrance at the choke point of Mian River, and sent his crossbowmen to station themselves there to fire at any approaching enemy forces. In addition, Huang Zu had strong men and archers ambushed on top of the cliff next to the river to thrown down rocks and flames. Thus, Sun Quan's forces suffered great casualties, and were unable to advance any further. Ling Tong and Dong Xi, along with 100 "die-hard" soldiers, donned two suits of armour each and charged towards the enemy despite the rain of rocks from the cliff and the fusillade from the vessels. They succeeded in breaking the connections between the two vessels after bloody fightings, thus allowing Sun Quan's forces to break through and enter Miankou.^[3] Furthermore, the destruction of the mengchong actuated Sun Quan forces' fighting spirit, and they emerged victorious in the next battle, in which Lü Meng defeated Huang Zu's navy while Ling Tong captured the enemy city of Jiangxia. Thus, Sun Quan appointed Ling Tong as the Commandant of Vehemence (承烈都尉).

Red Cliffs Campaign[link]

Battles along Yangtze River[link]

Not long after the defeat of Huang Zu, Liu Biao of Jing Province also died of illness, and was succeeded by his younger son, Liu Cong.^[6] The warlord Cao Cao launched his southern campaign against Liu Cong, and successfully forced the latter to succumb to his power. Fed on his success, Cao Cao assembled a force of 800,000 at Jiangling, where countless warships and weapons were stored, and sent an envoy to intimidate Sun Quan to give up resistance.^[7]

At the time, most subordinates of Sun Quan suggested him to surrender due to apparent impossibility of defeating Cao Cao's massive congregation. Ling Tong was one of the few who insisted to protect Jiangdong from the hegemonist. Without the support from the majority of his officers, Sun Quan was hesitant and could not make up his mind to fight Cao Cao's seemingly invincible force, but his late brother's trusted aide, Zhou Yu, stood up and convinced him that the amount of troops Cao Cao brought was just roughly 240,000, and he could win with a force of 50,000.^[8] After Zhou Yu persuaded Sun Quan to join forces with Liu Bei and lend him 30,000 men to fight Cao Cao, Ling Tong followed the former to the battlefield. They gained successes over some skirmishes over the ground forces of Cao Cao, but noticed that it would be far from enough to push the enemy back to the north, so they focused on the defense thereafter and awaited a change of wind direction from north to east. One night, the east wind finally blew, and the allied force launched an all-out assault following a large-scaled fire attack targeted on Cao Cao's warships. Suffered from Zhou Yu's tactic, Cao Cao's grandiose fleet were thrown into a sea of fire within a blink of eye, and Ling, along other Sun Quan's generals, fought valiantly within the smokes and flames, and finally dealt a ruinous blow to the enormous navy of Cao Cao on the Yangtze River. The allied forces trailed Cao Cao to Wulin and dealt him another defeat, but the latter was able to escape with a high price. Once, Cao Cao even used weaker soldiers to act as fulcrum to pass through some muddy terrain.^[9] Although having suffered a great casualty, Cao Cao still possessed an unscathed force above 100,000 strong, and he scattered it around the frontline against Sun Quan before his return to Xuchang.

Battles in central Jing Province[link]

Ling Tong, along with Zhou Yu and other comrades, advanced further to attack Nan Commandery. While Zhou Yu and the other generals led the main force to rescue Gan Ning, who was besieged in Yiling, Ling Tong was left along to engage the enemy generals Cao Ren and Xu Huang in battle for about ten days under numerical disadvantage. Nevertheless, Ling Tong was able to emerge triumphant against his much larger rival. The war dragged on, the battles were so fierce that even the allied force commander, Zhou Yu, was seriously wounded by a supposedly poisoned arrow, which broke his ribs.^[10] In addition, the allied force was unable to block the numerous reinforcements sent by Cao Cao, so the siege turned out to be a prolonged one. As Sun Quan's ally, Liu Bei went down to the very south of Jing Province, the battles were left to Ling Tong and his comrades, who were forced to expediently alter their temporary objective into inflicting damage to the enemy units. After a year of intense fighting, Zhou Yu regained some health and insisted to lead the army himself, he purposefully flaunted before Cao Ren and rallied his troops in order to illustrate his determination to keep the offensive. Being deceived by Zhou Yu, who was actually in a critical condition, Cao Cao ordered Cao Ren to retreat under the rationale that his forces could no longer afford continuous loss of materiel and labour.^[11] Therefore, Sun Quan's forces finally succeeded in their objective of capturing Nan Commandery, which would never be reclaimed by the state of Cao Wei.

Ling Tong was promoted to the rank of colonel (校尉) after the campaign. He then moved east and joined Lü Meng and Gan Ning in the attack on Wan city and succeeded in capturing it. For his performance in the battle, he was promoted to General of the Household Who Rocks Bandits (盪寇中郎將) and appointed as chancellor (相) of Pei (沛). In 215, Ling Tong joined Lü Meng in capturing Liu Bei's three commanderies of Changsha, Lingling and Guiyang.^[12] Subsequently, they returned to Yiyang to counter Guan Yu's army which advanced south in an attempt to recapture the lost commanderies. As Cao Cao was intending to attack Hanzhong, which was the northern gateway of Shu region, Liu Bei decided to come to a border treaty with Sun Quan and divided Jing Province between the two regimes.

Quarrel with Gan Ning[link]

According to the Chronicles of Wu, by Wei Zhao, Ling Tong had not forgotten the vendetta that his father was killed by Gan Ning, and he attempted to provoke the latter by a dance of swordplay during the middle of a banquet held in Lü Meng's house. Gan Ning took up his halberd and engaged Ling Tong, but the two were separated by the host in the end. Upon hearing what happened, Sun Quan decided to settle the conflict through political maneuver by openly "exiled" Gan Ning to station in Half Island, and asked him to avoid Ling Tong, hence Ling perceived justice, and withdrew from the thought of vengeance. Thereafter, Ling Tong and Gan Ning worked side by side on the battlefield, and together were regarded as the most ferocious generals under Sun Quan.

Battle of Xiaoyao Ford[link]

After reaffirming their alliance with Liu Bei, Sun Quan's forces attacked Hefei to divert Cao Cao's attention from Hanzhong. Cao Cao's forces at Hefei under Zhang Liao's command attacked the approaching Sun Quan's forces before they were organised. Chen Wu was killed in battle while the troops commanded by Song Qian and Xu Sheng turned and fled. Pan Zhang turned back and killed some deserting soldiers and forced them back into battle. Ling Tong led his troops to counter-attack the enemy and managed to force them to retreat. Sun Quan appoined Pan Zhang as Lieutenant General (偏將軍) and Ling Tong as Right Commander (右部督).^[3]

Sun Quan's troops were unsuccessful in attacking Hefei and were subsequently infected with plague, thus they had no choice but to retreat. At Xiaoyao Ford (逍遙津), Sun Quan's main army retreated first while the rear army of only 1,000 men led by Sun himself and a few generals stayed behind.^[13] Zhang Liao sent some men to destroy the bridge linking the north and south sections of the ford while he personally led several thousand cavalry on a charge into the enemy forces. Sun Quan's forces were separated from each other and were totally unprepared for the sudden charge attack. Sun Quan's troops were thrown into confusion, and Sun himself was surrounded by enemy troops. However, Ling Tong successfully led 300 cavalry into the encirclement, rescued Sun Quan and managed to hold off the enemy for some time. As Zhang Liao was personally leading the pursuit, Ling Tong urged Sun Quan to go to the southern shore before he turned back and fought Zhang Liao.^[14]

When Sun Quan headed towards the bridge, he saw that it was destroyed. On his subordinate's instructions, Sun Quan leapt across the broken bridge on his steed and escaped to safety. Ling Tong stayed behind to fight the enemy until all his fellow soldiers have been killed and he suffered grave wounds all over his body. He only retreated after killing several tens of cavalry and figuring that Sun had gone to safety.^[15] When Ling Tong reached the broken bridge, he saw that he could only head forward as the enemy was still hot on pursuit behind him. Before he could finish the divestiture of his armour, he dived into the water to escape and waded his way back.

By then, Sun Quan had boarded a boat and he was overjoyed when he caught sight of Ling Tong as he thought that Ling had been killed. Nevertheless, Ling Tong was deeply saddened by the loss of his closest comrades and he wept uncontrollably. Sun Quan wiped his tears with a corner of his sleeve and said, "Gongji (Ling Tong's style name), let go of those who have died. As long as you live, should you worry about not having men under your command?" ^[16] Sun Quan then allowed Ling Tong to stay on his boat to recuperate. Ling Tong was appointed Lieutenant General later and was remunerated for command of twice the number of troops he used to command.

As a strategist[link]

The Shanyue was a powerful tribe that was rooted in the Yue area of ancient China during the Han Dynasty. Since the southern part of China was not yet controlled by the Han Chinese (the Han court only claimed the ownership of the lands, but lacked the power to exert direct influence in reality), the Shanyue people would performe regular raids against Han citizens to gather living essentials.^[17] Since the day the Sun family set foot on Jiangdong, the Shanyue had been a nuisance for them.

Sun Quan had launched countless campaigns against them, but to no avail because the Shanyue had lived in the hills for a long time and they knew the area well, and would go into hiding once they lost in a battle.^[18] However, Ling Tong attempted a different approach to deal with the Shanyue tribe, he proposed that Sun Quan should attempt to win the hearts of the Shanyue peoples and assimilate them instead of purely using military force to hamper them. Ling Tong reasoned that if they could impress the Shanyue with Eastern Wu's dignity and potential rewards, the tribesmen would succumb to their government without bloodshed.^[3] After he was granted the staff of authority to request materiel from counties when required, he led a unit with flamboyant weapons and armors to begin his grand tactics. When the Shanyue discovered Wu troops when the latter ventured deep into their territories, they were indeed stunned by Ling Tong's unit; then Ling came out and told them if they would join the Wu forces, handsome rewards would be offered. Ling Tong's plan was a great success: Tens of thousands of the Shanyue came out from their caves and joined Ling. He then selected 10,000 strong males to form a unit, and returned.^[3] Because of Ling Tong's success, his strategy would be adopted and modified by Zhuge Ke, another Wu general, at a later time.

Death[link]

During his journey, Ling Tong passed by his hometown and paid a visit. He still treated the town residents with the utmost respect and humility even though he had achieved fame and glory. Ling Tong died of illness on the return journey at the untimely age of 48 or 28.^[1][2] When Sun Quan heard of Ling Tong's death, he was filled with grief for several days. In reminiscence of Ling Tong's contributions to his regime, Sun Quan ordered Zhang Cheng to write a eulogy for Ling Tong and arranged the second grandest funeral ever in Wu for him. Ling Tong's sons were brought into the palace and placed under Sun Quan's personal care. Sun Quan treated Ling Tong's sons as though they were his own and even once he pointed them to guests, calling the boys his "tiger cubs."^[3] He also ensured the boys were well-educated and trained in martial arts as well.

Appointments and titles held[link]

• Senior Major (別部司馬)
• Commandant Who Defeats Bandits (破賊都尉)
• Commandant of Vehemence (承烈都尉)
• Colonel (校尉)
• General of the Household Who Rocks Bandits (盪寇中郎將)
• Chancellor of Pei (沛相)
• Right Commander (右部督)
• Lieutenant General (偏將軍)
• Marquis of Vehemence (烈亭侯) - granted to Ling Tong posthumously

Appraisals[link]

According to the Records of Three Kingdoms, Ling Tong respected and befriended scholars and was admired by them even though he was a military general. Being receptive, he had a reputation for being accommodating towards men of talent. Even when he was busy with military affairs, he always took time to receive visitors. He viewed righteousness and loyalty as important values and saw wealth as inferior.^[3] He has thus been praised by the Jin Dynasty historian Chen Shou to be a guoshi (國士), a term used to describe the most talented and virtuous individual in the kingdom.^[19] Once, Sun Quan's subjects recommended a famous talent Sheng Xian to him. Ling Tong was asleep when he heard that Sheng Xian had arrived to meet his lord. He immediately got out of bed to receive Sheng Xian and held Sheng's hand while leading him to meet Sun Quan.

Ling Tong was reputed to have a strong sense of righteousness. During the battle at Nan Commandery, Zhou Yu ordered Gan Ning to attack Yiling. Cao Ren sent an army to attack Gan Ning and had him surrounded. Gan Ning hurriedly requested for reinforcements, but the generals did not have enough men to spare to save him and believed it was not sagacious to send reinforcements because that would dilute the main army.^[20] Lü Meng spoke up, saying that they should help Gan Ning. He proposed to Zhou Yu that Ling Tong stay behind to keep Cao Ren in check while the rest of the generals go to reinforce Gan Ning. Lü Meng boldly asserted that he had confidence that Ling Tong could hold on for ten days. Ling Tong then took up his duties with responsibility. He countered Cao Ren's attacks alone, and bought time for the other generals to rescue Gan Ning.^[20]

He was also brave in admitting his mistakes and displayed fervent determination in his actions. In his earlier years, Ling Tong struck down a superior officer called Chen Qin, who had earlier insulted him and his late father.^[3] The incident caused Chen Qin to die of severe wounds several days later. Ling Tong then fought recklessly in the battle against the bandits after exclaiming that only through death could he cleanse his deep guilt. Thus, his attack turned out to be a huge success, yet he bound himself and surrendered to the discipline officer after the victorious battle to await his punishment.^[3] However, Sun Quan pardoned him on account of his achievements and promoted him to a higher military rank.

In fiction[link]

In Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Ling Tong bore a grudge against Gan Ning for the death of his father. Ling Tong followed his father's footsteps by serving Sun Quan. He took up the post of Auxiliary Corps Commanding Officer and then Deputy Commander to command his father's former subordinates.

During the third attack on Jiangxia, Ling Tong was in the vanguard army and scored a complete victory. He was promoted to the rank of Commander Who Upholds Justice. During the Battle of Red Cliffs, Ling Tong held the rank of Commandant. During the Battle of Xiaoyao Ford, Ling Tong was appointed Chancellor of Pei Country, Commander of the Right and Imperial Corps Commander Who Destroys the Rebels.

Ling Tong wanted to avenge his father's death but since Gan Ning had joined Sun Quan's side he was unable to do so. He could only vent his anger on Gan Ning by attacking him verbally and quarreling with him often. Ling Tong's grudge against Gan Ning was finally dispelled after Gan saved his life in a battle. Ling Tong was fighting with Yue Jin when he was knocked off his horse and almost speared to death. Gan Ning fired an arrow which hit the enemy general and wounded him. Ling Tong was thus able to escape back to camp. When Ling Tong heard that it was Gan Ning who saved his life, he was astonished and touched. He apologised to Gan Ning for his earlier behavior and they became friends from then on.

Modern references[link]

Ling Tong is featured as a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi video game series. He also appears in all 11 installments of Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms series.

See also[link]

• List of people of the Three Kingdoms
• List of Dynasty Warriors characters

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Lu Bi (1982). Explanatory Commentary to the Records of Three Kingdoms. 中華書局. ISBN 978-7-101-01019-0. 
• Liang Zhangju; ed. Yang Yaokun (2000). Circumstantial Evidence on the Records of Three Kingdoms. 中華書局. ISBN 978-7-211-03490-1. 
• Sima Guang. Zizhi Tongjian.
• Wei Zhao. Chronicles of Wu.
• Sakaguchi, Wazumi (ed.) (2005) 坂口和澄・著 Seishi Sangokushi Gunyu Meimeiden 『正史三國志群雄銘銘傳』 Kojinsha:Tokyo.
• Chen Shou (2002). Records of Three Kingdoms. Yue Lu Shu She. ISBN 978-7-80665-198-8. 
• Luo Guanzhong (1986). Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Yue Lu Shu She. ISBN 978-7-80520-013-2. 
• Lo Kuan-chung; tr. C.H. Brewitt-Taylor (2002). Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8048-3467-4. 

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. It includes attribution to IMDb, which may not be a reliable source for biographical information. Please help by adding additional, reliable sources for verification. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (December 2007)

Leila Tong
Chinese name	唐寧 (Traditional)
Chinese name	唐宁 (Simplified)
Pinyin	tang2 ning2 (Mandarin)
Jyutping	tong4 ling4 (Cantonese)
Birth name	Kong Lai-na (江麗娜)
Born	(1981-12-05) 5 December 1981 (age 30)  Hong Kong
Other name(s)	Pauline Kong
Occupation	Actress
Label(s)	TVB
Years active	1989 - present
Spouse(s)	Desmond Tang

Leila Tong (born 5 December 1981) is an actress in Hong Kong. She was born into an Indonesian Chinese family. Her birth name is used in her works during her childhood and adolescence.

Career[link]

At the age of 8, Tong made her first film appearance in director John Woo's action-comedy Once A Thief, which was nominated for several categories at the 11th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards. TVB then recruited Tong as a child star, and she has since then appeared in dramas such as The Greed of Man and State of Divinity.

As an adult, she took a three year break from the entertainment circle to attend a designing college. She has declined TVB's offer to personally manage her.

Before 2004, Her popular works include the popular Aqua Heroes and Square Pegs, which also starred Roger Kwok and Jessica Hsuen.

In 2004, she was invited to film CCTV's Liao Zhai along with a host of mainland China's rising stars. The show was extremely popular and spun Liao Zhai II. She also filmed Twin of Brothers, alongside with Raymond Lam, Ron Ng, Tavia Yeung and Li Qian of CCTV. Later that year, she starred in The Last Breakthrough, starring Nick Cheung, Raymond Lam and Sonija Kwok. Although The Last Breakthrough did not receive good ratings in HK, it is still remembered and favoured by many as one of the most meaningful and touching series TVB ever made.

The modern sequel to Square Pegs, Life Made Simple was filmed with the same cast and released in 2005. At the end of its run, the series became one of the highest rated series of 2005, with Wars of In Laws, which also starred Bosco Wong in it.

Tong has been nominated for TVB's "Most Improved Actress" award consecutively. In 2004, she entered through Aqua Heroes and Square Pegs. Later in 2005, she made it to the top 10 list with both her character as Angel in Life Made Simple, and as Ha Hiu Ching in The Last Breakthrough. Bar Benders was Tong's only series broadcasted in 2006 but turned up on TVB's list of Top Five series of that year.

In 2007, two of her series, Ten Brothers and Family Link have also made it into TVB's five top rated dramas of 2007. Tong also came out of War and Destiny, which was receive with praise and critical acclaim for her performance. She was invited by CCTV to film The Last Princess along with Sammul Chan. The show was received very well in Mainland China. In December, she released her first Mandarin Music Album named "Singing with the Moon" in Beijing.

The following year, in 2008, she filmed The Greatness of a Hero in TVB, starring as Shangguan Wan'er, a well known historic figure. The drama also starred Sunny Chan, Kent Cheng, Bernice Liu and Sonija Kwok. Also, she once again collaborated with Kenneth Ma in a new ancient drama, Man In Charge, alongside with Kate Tsui. On the second time, she also filmed L For Love♥ L For Lies with Stephy Tang and Alex Fong.

September 10, 2010 Lelia uploaded a photo of her and her fiance on Weibo, she said: "To all my good friends, thank you all for being by my side to witness my growth. I want to tell everyone now that I am preparing to step into another phase in my life! I am announcing to everyone, I am getting married!"

Lelia and Desmond's fate started when they collaborated in the stage play Popcorn Killer (爆谷殺人狂). The two started their low-key dating 3 years ago, then started living together last year. The couple is getting married because Lelia's mom hopes to have an explanation to relatives and friends. Lelia and Desmond do not plan to hold a wedding banquet, when the time comes, only the families from both sides will celebrate with a meal.

After Lelia's marriage announcement, many artists congratulated them. She was also pregnant.

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

TV series[link]

Films[link]

External links[link]

• Leila Tong at the Internet Movie Database
• Leila Town - Official Viet Site
• English Fansite
• Official Mainland Site
• Leila Fairytale - Leila International FanClub
• HK cinemagic entry
• Leila Fans Club in Mainland China
• Leila Tong in A pillow case of mystery II

Zhou Tai (died ca. 223)^[1], style name Youping (幼平), was a military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history.

Biography[link]

Early life and career[link]

Zhou Tai was a native of Jiujiang Commandery, and was depicted as a pirate around the area in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but it is hard to tell if he really practiced piracy because historic records only suggest he was of an obscure origin. Zhou Tai joined Sun Ce's forces as one of Sun's personal retainers, alongside Jiang Qin. When Sun Ce entered Kuaiji, Zhou Tai was appointed Major with a Separate Command, and was given troops to command. It was at this time that Sun Quan took a liking to Zhou Tai's character, and requested for Zhou to be transferred to under his command.

Several times throughout his career, Zhou Tai saved Sun Quan from danger by risking his own life. Once, while Sun Ce was out fighting Shanyue rebels from the caves within the six prefectures of Jiangdong, Sun Quan was left in Xuan with less than a thousand guards. Out of negligence, he did not set up defence posts. Several thousand of Shanyue rebels attacked. By the time Sun Quan mounted his horse, the bandits managed to surround him already. Their weapons, hitting here and there, slashed Sun Quan's saddle, causing great panic all around. Only Zhou Tai, with spirits roused, defended Sun Quan with his body, emboldening those near him and making them able to fight again. When the bandits were finally dispersed, Zhou Tai was found unconscious with 12 deep wounds, which took a long time to heal. Had Zhou Tai not been there on that day, Sun Quan would have surely perished. This deed was greatly appreciated by Sun Ce, who added the title of Chief of Chunju Prefecture to Zhou Tai.

Service under Sun Ce and Sun Quan[link]

Some time after that, Zhou Tai followed Sun Ce to attack Liu Xun at Wan and Huang Zu of Jiangxia, and upon his return he passed by Yuzhang commandery and there he was granted the title of Chief of Yichun Prefecture as well. These prefectures generated all the supplies needed by his troops. Zhou Tai also assisted in the defense against Huang Zu on a few occasions.

Zhou Tai was among the ten Wu generals who participated in the Battle of Red Cliffs; under the leadership of Zhou Yu, the forces of Sun Quan won a decisive victory over the hordes of Cao Cao. Zhou Tai also participated in the siege of Jiangling fortress, which earned Sun Quan Nan Commandery.

As the Controller of Ruxu[link]

Later, when Cao Cao's army launched an assault on Ruxu, Zhou Tai went to meet the attack. After Cao Cao retreated, Zhou Tai was appointed Controller of Ruxu and General who Pacifies the Caitiffs. At the time Zhou Tai stationed at Ruxu fort, Zhu Ran and Xu Sheng were located there as well, and did not want to submit to Zhou Tai's command citing his common background. Thus Sun Quan made a special trip to Ruxu fort, to meet with all the generals there. A great party was held, where Sun Quan personally served wine to Zhou Tai, and asked him to remove his outer garments. Pointing at each scar, Sun Quan asked Zhou Tai the story behind it, whereupon Zhou would respond with his memories of past battles. At the end, Sun Quan had him dressed again, and together they reveled through the night. When the next day came, Sun Quan had a herald grant him his imperial parasol.

An impression of Zhou Tai by an unknown artist

The Jiangbiao Zhuan describes:

Sun Quan held [Zhou Tai's] arm, and tears crossed his face. He called him by his style name, saying, "Youping, you have fought as brave as a bear and a tiger for us two brothers. Not holding back your own life, you have been wounded in several tens of places, and your skin is as if it's been etched on. Can I not treat you as one of my brothers, and bestow the powers of command upon you? You have done great service for Wu, and I would stand with you whether in honour and shame, and share with you in joy and sorrow. Youping, be merry. Do not let the fact that you lack pedigree make you back down from your tasks!" And at that he commanded for the imperial silk parasol of blue veils to be bestowed upon Zhou Tai. After all that, he had his mounts prepared to go, and ordered Zhou Tai lead the way out, in the midst of drums and horns.

Thus Xu Sheng and Zhu Ran conceded, the other generals gained much respect for Zhou Tai and accepted his command.

Death[link]

After Sun Quan defeated Guan Yu, he planned to invade Shu Han. He made Zhou Tai Grand Administrator of Hanzhong in name and General of Roused Valour. He also conferred the title of Marquis of Lingyang onto Zhou Tai. Zhou Tai died during the Huangwu era (222-228).

Zhou Tai's son, Zhou Shao, also commanded troops, in the position of Chief Commandant of the Cavalry. He gained merits in battle when Cao Ren attacked Ruxu, and he also served in Lu Xun's Battle of Shiting against Cao Xiu. Thus he was promoted to the rank of Major General. He died in the second year of Huanglong (230). His younger brother, Zhou Cheng, took command of the troops and inherited the marquisate.

Modern references[link]

Zhou Tai appears as a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi video game series.

See also[link]

• List of people of the Three Kingdoms
• List of Dynasty Warriors characters

References[link]

• Chen Shou. Records of Three Kingdoms, Volume 55, Biography of Zhou Tai.