Dou Kang
| Dou Kang | |
|---|---|
| Chancellor of the Tang dynasty | |
| Born | (Unknown) |
| Died | 621 |
| Names | |
| Traditional Chinese | 竇抗 |
| Simplified Chinese | 窦抗 |
| Pinyin | Dòu Kàng |
| Wade–Giles | Tou K'ang |
| Courtesy name | Daosheng (Chinese: 道生; pinyin: Dàoshēng; Wade–Giles: Tao-sheng) |
Dou Kang (died 621), courtesy name Daosheng, was an official and general during the Sui and Tang dynasties who briefly served as a chancellor early in the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Tang.
It is not known when Dou Kang was born. His father was Dou Rongding (竇榮定), who carried the Sui title of Duke of Chen. His mother was the Princess Ancheng, sister to Sui Dynasty's founder Emperor Wen. As the emperor's nephew, Dou Kang was treated well by Emperor Wen, and was a student at the imperial university in his youth. He also became a guard for Emperor Wen.
After Dou Rongding died in 586, Dou Kang inherited the title of Duke of Chen. He was then made the governor of Liang Province (梁州, roughly modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi). Before his departing the capital Chang'an to report to Liang Province, Emperor Wen personally visited Dou Kang and Princess Ancheng. Later, when Princess Ancheng died, Dou Kang was said to be in much distress in mourning that he fainted several times, and Emperor Wen sent his servants to comfort Dou Kang. Thereafter, Emperor Wen recalled him to governmental service as the governor of Qi Province (岐州, roughly modern Baoji, Shaanxi), and then as the commandant at Youzhou (modern Beijing, Tianjin and northern Hebei). Dou developed a reputation for being generous and merciful, during these terms of service.
In 604, Emperor Wen died—a death that traditional historians generally believe to be a murder ordered by his son and crown prince Yang Guang, although they admitted a lack of direct evidence. Yang Guang took the throne as Emperor Yang. Immediately thereafter, another son of Emperor Wen, Yang Liang the Prince of Han, rebelled against Emperor Yang at Bing Province (并州, roughly modern Taiyuan, Shanxi). Emperor Yang, for reasons not stated in historical accounts, suspected Dou of collaborating with Yang Liang and sent the general Li Zixiong (李子雄) rushing to You Province to arrest Dou and replace him. Li subsequently alleged that Dou had received letters from Yang Liang urging him to join the rebellion but had not reported them to Emperor Yang. However, after an investigation, Emperor Yang concluded that there was a lack of evidence that Dou collaborated with Yang Liang, but nevertheless removed him from governmental service and further stripped him of the title of Duke of Chen, bestowing that title on his younger brother Dou Qing (竇慶) instead.
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