Chen Dao
陳到
Area Commander of Yong'an (永安都督)
In office
226 (226)–? (?)
MonarchLiu Shan
ChancellorZhuge Liang
General Who Attacks the West (征西將軍)
In office
c. 223 (c. 223)–? (?)
MonarchLiu Shan
ChancellorZhuge Liang
Army Protector (護軍)
In office
c. 223 (c. 223)–? (?)
MonarchLiu Shan
ChancellorZhuge Liang
Personal details
BornUnknown
Henan
DiedUnknown
OccupationGeneral
Courtesy nameShuzhi (叔至)
Peeragevillage marquis (亭侯)

Chen Dao (fl. 190s–230s), courtesy name Shuzhi, was a military general of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under the warlord Liu Bei, the founding emperor of Shu Han, in the late Eastern Han dynasty.

Historical sources on Chen Dao's life

Little is recorded about Chen Dao in history; unlike other notable persons of the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period, he does not have a biography in the 3rd-century text Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi), the authoritative source for that era in Chinese history. Information on him is scattered throughout the biographies of other persons in the Sanguozhi and other sources such as the Chronicles of Huayang (Huayang Guo Zhi) and Taiping Yulan.

Life and career

Chen Dao was from Runan Commandery (汝南郡), which covers parts of present-day southern Henan.[1] He started following the warlord Liu Bei sometime in the 190s when Liu Bei held the appointment of Governor of Yu Province.[2][3]

Chen Dao served under the Shu Han state, founded by Liu Bei, during the Three Kingdoms period. In the early Jianxing era (223–237) of Liu Shan's reign, he was appointed General Who Attacks the West (征西將軍) and Army Protector (護軍), and awarded the title of a village marquis (亭侯). In 226, when the Shu regent Zhuge Liang was preparing to launch a military campaign against Wei (Shu's rival state), he reassigned the general Li Yan to Jiangzhou (江州; in present-day Chongqing) and put him in charge of logistics. Chen Dao was ordered to replace Li Yan at his previous post in Yong'an County (永安縣; present-day Fengjie County, Chongqing) near the border between Shu and its ally state Wu. Chen must have retired,[lower-alpha 1] or died by 234 as Deng Zhi was soon stationed there as the new area commander.[4][5][6][7]

Appraisal

Chen Shou, who wrote the Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi) in the 3rd century, recorded that Chen Dao was second to the Shu general Zhao Yun in terms of fame and status, and that he exhibited loyalty and courage throughout his life.[8]

Yang Xi, who wrote the Ji Han Fuchen Zan (季漢輔臣贊; pub. 241), a collection of praises of notable persons who served in the Shu Han state, appraised him as follows: "General Who Attacks the South (征南將軍) was kind and conscientious, General Who Attacks the West (征西將軍; Chen Dao) was loyal and diligent. Both were at the time elite warriors and ferocious generals among the illustrious."[9]

Zhuge Liang, the Shu regent from 223 to 234, mentioned in a letter to his brother Zhuge Jin that Chen Dao was the leader of Liu Bei's White Feathers Tent Guards, (白毦兵) which was one of the most elite units in the Shu army at the time.[10]

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Chen Dao does not appear in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which romanticises the historical figures and events before and during the Three Kingdoms period.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Volume 01 of Huayang Guozhi recorded that Chen Dao died while he was stationed at Yong'an, and that Zong Yu was his replacement.

References

  1. ↑ ([陳]叔至名到，汝南人也。) Annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 45.
  2. ↑ (自豫州隨先主， ...) Annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 45.
  3. ↑ ([陶]謙表先主為豫州刺史，屯小沛。 ... 先主還小沛，復合兵得萬餘人。呂布惡之，自出兵攻先主，先主敗走歸曹公。曹公厚遇之，以為豫州牧。) Sanguozhi vol. 32.
  4. ↑ (建興初，官至永安都督、征西將軍，封亭侯。) Annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 45.
  5. ↑ ([建興]四年， ... 以諸葛亮欲出軍漢中，嚴當知後事，移屯江州，留護軍陳到駐永安，皆統屬嚴。) Sanguozhi vol. 40.
  6. ↑ (以尚書令李嚴為都督，造設圍戍。嚴還江州，征西將軍汝南陳到為都督。严还江州，征西将军汝南陈到为都督。到卒官，以征北大将军南阳宗预为都督。) Huayang Guo Zhi vol. 1.
  7. ↑ ([建興]四年，永安都護李嚴還督江州， ... 以征西將軍汝南陳到督永安，封亭侯。) Huayang Guo Zhi vol. 7.
  8. ↑ (... 名位常亞趙雲，俱以忠勇稱。) Sanguozhi vol. 45.
  9. ↑ (征南厚重，征西忠克，統時選士，猛將之烈。 ──贊趙子龍、陳叔至) Sanguozhi vol. 45.
  10. ↑ (諸葛亮《與瑾書》曰：兄嫌白帝兵非精練，到所督則先主帳下白毦，西方上兵也。嫌其少也，當復部分江州兵，以廣益之。) Taiping Yulan vol. 341.
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