Chen Tai
Chen Tai | |
---|---|
Trần thái | |
Left Supervisor of the Masters of Writing ( thượng thư tả phó xạ ) | |
In office 256 –260 | |
Monarch | Cao Mao |
General Who Guards the Army ( trấn quân tương quân ) | |
In office 256 | |
Monarch | Cao Mao |
Right Supervisor of the Masters of Writing ( thượng thư hữu phó xạ ) | |
In office 255 –256 | |
Monarch | Cao Mao |
General Who Attacks the West ( chinh tây tương quân ) | |
In office 255 | |
Monarch | Cao Mao |
General of Vehement Might ( phấn uy tương quân ) | |
In office 249 –255 | |
Monarch | Cao Fang/Cao Mao |
Inspector ofYong Province( ung châu thứ sử ) | |
In office 249 –255 | |
Monarch | Cao Fang/Cao Mao |
Personal details | |
Born | Unknown[1] |
Died | c.June 260[a] |
Relations | seeChen family of YingchuanandXun family of Yingchuan |
Children |
|
Parents | |
Occupation | General, official |
Courtesy name | Xuanbo ( huyền bá ) |
Posthumous name | Marquis Mu ( mục hầu ) |
Peerage | Marquis of Yingyin ( dĩnh âm hầu ) |
Chen Tai(diedc.June 260[3]),[2]courtesy nameXuanbo,was a military general and official of the state ofCao Weiduring theThree Kingdomsperiod of China. He was a son ofChen Qunand a maternal grandson ofXun Yu.[b]Chen Tai was very knowledgeable in the art of war, and so led his men as if they were his own children. When the regentSima Shibegan abusing his power and the emperorCao Maodied under very suspicious circumstances, Chen Tai expressed his deep loyalty to the Cao Wei state by donning mourning garments at Cao Mao's funeral.
Early life
[edit]As a scion of two of Wei's most powerful families (theChenandXunfamilies), Chen Tai grew up with the sons of other prominent political families such as the Sima family. He was a good friend ofSima ShiandSima Zhao,who later became the regents andde factorulers of Wei. After he reached adulthood, he was appointed as the Inspector ofBing Provincein 244.[6]There, he fought off raids from theXianbeitribes and became known as a skilled military leader. At some point during all of this, some officials attempted to bribe him to buy slaves from the tribes, but Chen Tai refused and returned their money. When he was recalled back to the imperial capitalLuoyangin 249,Sima Yihad just seized power ina coupagainst his co-regent,Cao Shuang.Chen Tai was one of several officials who sent letters to Cao Shuang, asking him to give up and surrender to Sima Yi. Cao Shuang did so and was executed along with most of his clan/inner circle later as part of Sima Yi's plan to gain complete control over the Wei government.
Going west and battles with Shu
[edit]With Cao Shuang eliminated, the Sima family become more powerful in Wei and completely monopolised state power. Chen Tai initially favoured the changes in the political environment as he believed that Sima Yi was far more capable as a regent than Cao Shuang. However, he felt uneasy about the growing influence of the Sima family and became torn between his loyalties to the Wei emperorCao Fangand the regent Sima Yi. To avoid getting caught up in the political rivalries, he requested to be transferred to the western border to guard against invasions by Wei's rival state,Shu Han.The Wei government commissioned him as a general and appointed him as the Inspector ofYong Province,replacingGuo Huai.
In the autumn of 249, the Shu generalJiang Weiled the Shu army to invade Wei's western border. Seeing that Jiang Wei had constructed a fortress at Mount Chu and incited severalQiangtribes to rebel against Wei rule in the neighbouring counties, Chen Tai asked his supervisor, the veteran Wei generalGuo Huai,to lead an attack on the fort to cut them off from Jiang Wei's main army. He pointed out that although the fortress at Mount Chu was strong, it was also far from the Shu base and it would be easy to cut off the supply route. Guo Huai, along with Chen Tai andDeng Ai,led the Wei forces to besiege the Shu camp at Mount Chu. They cut off the supply route without difficulty. Acting on Chen Tai's advice, Guo Huai also led his army to occupy Mount Niutou, blocking Jiang Wei's retreat route and cutting him off from his supply routes. Jiang Wei and the Shu forces retreated, abandoning the soldiers at Mount Chu, who quickly surrendered.
Later, in May or June 253, Jiang Wei led the Shu forces to attack Wei territory and besieged the Wei garrison at Didao. At the same time,Zhuge Ke,a general from Wei's other rival stateEastern Wu,also led the Wu forces to attack Wei's eastern border. Jiang Wei hoped that Zhuge Ke would help him divert away the Wei forces' attention to the east and allow him to gain a foothold in the west. However, Guo Huai and Chen Tai led the Wei forces to attack Jiang Wei and managed to lift the siege on Didao, forcing Jiang Wei to withdraw again.
After Guo Huai died in February 255, Chen Tai succeeded him and took charge of military affairs in theGuanzhongregion. During this time, Jiang Wei led the Shu forces to attack Wei and aimed to capture Didao. Chen Tai orderedWang Jing,the Inspector of Yong Province, to defend Didao and guard the fortress while waiting for reinforcements. However, Wang Jing, in his eager to gain glory, led the troops out of Didao to attack the enemy at Gu Pass, where he suffered a defeat and was forced to return to Didao with only 10,000 men. Wang Jing then focused on defending Didao, as Chen Tai instructed him. Upon hearing news of Wang Jing's defeat, Chen Tai quickly mobilised his troops to come to Wang Jing's aid. However, he was also worried that Jiang Wei would use the opportunity to attack the Wei army's supply depot at Liyang in the east, and that Jiang Wei would recruit the Qiang tribesmen to join the Shu army and pose an even greater threat. To his relief, Jiang Wei did not do so and instead concentrated his attacks on Didao and besieged the fortress. Wei forces led by Deng Ai,Wang BiandHu Fencame to join Chen Tai's army. Jiang Wei predicted correctly that Wei reinforcements would come to Didao, so he had ordered some units to ambush the reinforcements when they showed up. However, Chen Tai and his army took another route through the mountainous terrain and arrived in the hills southeast of Didao, completely bypassing the other route laden with ambushes. Jiang Wei attacked Chen Tai on the hills but Chen Tai drove him back easily because the mountainous terrain was to his advantage. As more Wei reinforcements approached Didao, Jiang Wei realised that the siege could not last any longer so he pulled back the Shu forces and retreated to Zhongti by October or November 255.
Later life and death
[edit]In 256, the Wei government recalled Chen Tai from the western border back to the imperial capital,Luoyang,leaving the generalDeng Aiin charge of defending the border. In Luoyang, Chen Tai first served as the Right Supervisor of the Masters of Writing (i.e. the Imperial Secretariat) under the administration of the regentSima Zhao.In 257, when the Wei generalZhuge Danstarteda rebellionin Shouchun (present-dayShou County,Anhui), Sima Zhao left Chen Tai in charge of the central headquarters while he led Wei imperial forces to suppress the rebellion. Chen Tai also helped to coordinate the various Wei armies which had been mobilised from throughout the Wei Empire to assist Sima Zhao in crushing the revolt. The rebellion was completely suppressed by early 258.
In June 260, the Wei emperorCao Maolauncheda coupin an attempt to seize back power from the regent Sima Zhao, but failed and ended up being assassinated by Cheng Ji, an officer serving underJia Chong,one of Sima Zhao's close aides. Chen Tai tried to rush to the scene to defuse tensions, but he showed up too late. Upon seeing Cao Mao's dead body, he wept and refused to attend imperial court sessions as a protest against the emperor's assassination. However, he relented and returned to work afterSima Fu,a highly respected Wei official and uncle of Sima Zhao, persuaded him to do so. Jia Chong took responsibility for Cao Mao's death but Sima Zhao spared him and had Cheng Ji executed instead; Chen Tai strongly opposed Sima Zhao's decision and urged him to execute Jia Chong but the regent refused. Chen Tai died in distress not long later.
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^Chen Tai's biography in theSanguozhirecorded that he died in the 1st year of the Jingyuan era (260–264) ofCao Huan's reign.[2]
- ^Xun Yi's biography in theJin Shumentioned that Xun Yi was a younger brother-in-law of Chen Qun[4]and theJin Ji( tấn kỷ ) byGan Baomentioned that Chen Tai was Xun Yi's maternal nephew.[5]Chen Tai was Chen Qun's son. By deductive reasoning, Chen Qun must have married a daughter ofXun Yuand their son was Chen Tai.
References
[edit]- ^(Although Chen Tai's birth year was not recorded, he should be at least in his early 20s when he obtained his first official position during theQing'longera (233-237) of Cao Rui's reign. Thus, his birth year should be in the 210s or before.
- ^ab( cảnh nguyên nguyên niên hoăng, truy tặng tư không. 謚 viết mục hầu. )Sanguozhivol. 22.
- ^Chen Tai died soon after Cao Mao's death, which was on 2 June 260. Thus, Chen Tai's death date should be in mid- or late-June 260.
- ^( tuân nghĩ, tự cảnh thiến, dĩnh xuyên nhân, ngụy thái úy úc chi đệ lục tử dã. Ấu vi tỷ tế trần quần sở thưởng. )Jin Shuvol. 39.
- ^( càn bảo tấn kỷ viết: Cao quý hương công chi sát, tư mã văn vương hội triều thần mưu kỳ cố. Thái thường trần thái bất chí, sử kỳ cữu tuân nghĩ triệu chi. )Jin Jiannotation inSanguozhivol. 22.
- ^( chính thủy trung,..., vi tịnh châu thứ sử,....)Sanguozhi,vol.22. Note that the original text recorded that Chen Tai's appointment as Inspector of Bing Province took place during theZheng'shiera of Cao Fang's reign, with no exact year indicated. In addition, Chen Tai was recorded to have obtained his first official position during theQing'longera of Cao Rui's reign.
- Chen, Shou(3rd century).Records of the Three Kingdoms(Sanguozhi).
- Fang, Xuanling(648).Book of Jin(Jin Shu).
- Pei, Songzhi(5th century).Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms(Sanguozhi zhu).