Chen Biao
| Chen Biao | |
|---|---|
| General and politician of Eastern Wu | |
| Born | (Unknown) |
| Died | (Unknown) |
| Names | |
| Traditional Chinese | 陳表 |
| Simplified Chinese | 陈表 |
| Pinyin | Chén Biǎo |
| Wade–Giles | Ch'en Piao |
| Courtesy name | Wen'ao (Chinese: 文奧; pinyin: Wén'ào; Wade–Giles: Wen-ao) |
Chen Biao (birth and death dates unknown),courtesy name Wen'ao, was a military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period.
Chen Biao was a son of Chen Wu, a general who served under the warlord Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He was born to Chen Wu's concubine and was a younger half-brother of Chen Xiu (陳脩), who was born to Chen Wu's official spouse. Chen Wu was killed in action in 215 at the Battle of Xiaoyao Ford, while Chen Xiu died in 229, shortly after Sun Quan proclaimed himself emperor and established the state of Eastern Wu.
Chen Biao was already famous in his youth. He was selected to be an aide to the crown prince Sun Deng (Sun Quan's eldest son), together with Zhuge Ke, Gu Tan and Zhang Xiu. Chen Biao was a close friend of Ji Yan (曁豔), a Master of Writing (尚書). When Ji Yan was accused of negligence in his duties, the other officials shunned him for fear of being implicated, but Chen Biao spoke up for Ji and earned the respect of many ministers. Chen Biao was later appointed as a Crown Prince's Tutor (太子中庶子) and a Commandant of Central Flank (翼正都尉).
Chen Biao requested to serve in the military just like his father before him, and was placed in command of 500 troops. He was eager to win the hearts of his soldiers so he treated them well and they were willing to die for him. Once, there was an incident of grand theft and the suspect was Shi Ming (施明), a soldier from the Wunan (無難) camp. Shi Ming had been arrested and interrogated, but he remained fierce, refused to reveal the truth, and even expressed his willingness to die. The Minister of Justice (廷尉) was unable to do anything to him. Sun Quan heard that Chen Biao understood a soldier's mentality well so he ordered Chen to take up Shi Ming's case. Chen Biao had Shi Ming released from his shackles and allowed him to take a bath and have a change of clothes, and treated him to a feast. Shi Ming was so touched by Chen Biao's generous treatment that he confessed to the crime and named his accomplices. Sun Quan was very surprised and impressed with Chen Biao, so he granted a special pardon to Shi Ming to protect Chen's reputation – because Chen would be labelled as a hypocrite if Shi were to be executed after confessing under Chen's kind treatment. Shi Ming's accomplices, on the other hand, were not so lucky as they were all executed. Shi Ming mended his ways and gradually rose through the ranks to become a general in Eastern Wu.
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