Tien (Dragon Ball)

Tien Shinhan
Dragon Ball character
Tien Shinhan, drawn by Akira Toriyama
First appearance	Dragon Ball chapter #113: The 22nd Tenka'ichi Budōkai (1987)
Created by	Akira Toriyama
Voiced by	Japanese Hirotaka Suzuoki (1987 – 2006) Kōichi Yamadera (1991; eps. 82 and 84 of DBZ) Hikaru Midorikawa (2006 – onwards) English Matt Smith (Ocean) John Burgmeier (Funimation)

Tien Shinhan (Japanese: 天津飯(テンシンハン), Hepburn: Tenshinhan), known as Tenshinhan in Funimation's English subtitles and Viz Media's release of the manga, is a fictional character in the Dragon Ball manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He is introduced in chapter #113 The 22nd Tenka'ichi Budōkai (第22回天下一武道会, Dainijūnikai Tenkaichi Budōkai), first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on February 24, 1987, entering the martial arts tournament to kill Son Goku and his fellow-students. However, he later teams up with them to defeat Piccolo Daimao, accompanied by his friend Chaozu. Tien becomes Goku's rival for a period and is notable for being the first person in the series to fly using Bukū-jutsu (舞空術, lit. "Air Dance Technique") and to use the Taiyōken (太陽拳, lit. "Fist of the Sun", "Solar Flare" in Funimation's anime dub) technique.

The character of Tien has received praise from reviewers of manga and anime. They praised his quest for redemption in the Piccolo arc and his fights have been celebrated as dramatic, intense, and entertaining. Numerous pieces of merchandise have been released bearing his likeness including action figures, key chains, and capsule toys.

The Daizenshuu and other guidebooks mention that Tien is a descendant of the Three-Eyed clan (三つ目族, Mittsume-zoku).

The character's name is a pun on tenshindon, a quasi-Chinese dish actually invented in Japan and consisting of a crabmeat omelet over rice. Toriyama said that although Tien is strong and cool, he based his name on a well-known Chinese food just to be "silly."