Tao Qian (Han dynasty)

Tao Qian
Warlord of Han Dynasty
Born	132
Died	194 (aged 62)
Names
Traditional Chinese	陶謙
Simplified Chinese	陶谦
Pinyin	Táo Qiān
Wade–Giles	T'ao Ch'ien
Courtesy name	Gongzu (Chinese: 恭祖; pinyin: Gōngzǔ; Wade–Giles: Kung-tsu)

Tao Qian (132-194),courtesy name Gongzu, was a warlord and the governor of Xu Province in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

Born in the Danyang (丹阳) region, Tao was known as a young man for his integrity and for being just. Also, at a young age he had an affinity to learning. In the service of the Han Dynasty, he led the Danyang armies in many regions to suppress rebellions.

When the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out he was appointed governor of Xu Province and he succeeded in clearing the area of rebels. He was sent to the northwestern frontiers during the Liang Province Rebellion, where Tao was serving under Zhang Wen. During the expedition he insulted Zhang and made him very angry. However, Sun Jian and Dong Zhuo served on the same campaign, and both of them also were unhappy with Zhang Wen's leadership as well. In the chaos of Dong Zhuo's coup d'état and the battles that followed, Tao, having returned to Xu Province, gained control of the neighboring Yang Province. However, after that he showed no ambition to expand his territory any further.

Tao was responsible for starting the careers of Wang Lang, Zhu Zhi, and Chen Deng, all of whom would play fairly important roles in politics of that time later. However, at the same time he was prone to joining forces with unscrupulous characters, such as Ze Rong, Cao Hong (曹宏), and Que Xuan (闕宣), and on the other hand not appointing Zhao Yu (趙昱), who was a very loyal and able servant, to a position of trust. Those who did not respond to his requests to serve him, such as Zhang Zhao and Lü Fan, he had imprisoned, and he also attempted to harm the family of Sun Ce, who was serving Yuan Shu at the time.

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