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Tao Qian

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Tao Qian
Romance of the Three Kingdoms XII~XIV portrait
Romance of the Three Kingdoms XII~XIV portrait
Character Information
Force(s): Han
Tao Qian's Forces
Weapon Type: Sword (4:E~6)
Iron Fan (7)
Throwing Knives (8)
Unit Type: Strategist (4:E-6)
Elder (7~8)
Significant Battle(s):
Xu Province
First Appearance: Dynasty Warriors 4 Empires
Historical Information
Real name:
Táo Qiān
Chinese name:
陶謙 - 陶谦
Style name:
Gōngzǔ
Chinese name:
恭祖
Born:
132
Died:
194

Tao Qian (onyomi: Tō Ken) was a warlord and the governor of Xu Province during the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Tao Qian was known for his tough and non-compliant personality, after initially refusing to join the coalition forces led by Yuan Shao, he later joined forces with Yuan Shu and Gongsun Zan to to overthrow the alliance leader, Yuan Shao, and his allies, Cao Cao and Liu Biao.

After Tao Qian was badly defeated by Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, he turned his anger on Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, and sent his henchman Zhang Kai to murder Cao Song and his clan. Cao Cao attacked Tao Qian recklessly, and Tao Qian defended himself by holding the city until Lü Bu and Cao Cao's subordinate Chen Gong colluded and launched a mutiny in Yan Province.

Tao Qian later fell ill soon afterwards and entrusted his holdings to a reluctant Liu Bei. His two sons are Tao Shang and Tao Ying.

In the version provided by the Book of Wu and the novel, he was a kind old gentleman simply sent troops in a friendly manner to protect the families of his enemy, and then his troops mutinied and murdered Cao Song. Along with Taishi Ci, Liu Bei was sent by his lord Gongsun Zan to aid Tao Qian, and successfully held off the attack.

Role in Games[]

Dynasty Warriors[]

Tao Qian appears in Dynasty Warriors 5 as a sub-officer of He Jin during the Yellow Turban Rebellion when playing on the Yellow Turban Forces side.

In Dynasty Warriors 6, Tao Qian only participates in Lu Bu's version of the battle of Hu Lao Gate, where he is among the many officers who are slain by Lu Bu.

Dynasty Warriors 7 has Tao Qian appear as the commander of the allied forces in the battle of Xu Province. With the help of Liu Bei, he manages to drive out Cao Cao's forces in Shu's story. In Wei's story, Cao Cao decides to attack Tao Qian as a precaution. Despite the interference of Liu Bei and Lu Bu, Cao Cao's forces eventually manage to take down the castle and defeat Tao Qian.

Tao Qian resumes his role from the previous installment in Dynasty Warriors 8. This time, however, the reason for Cao Cao's attack on Xu Province is Tao Qian's murder of Cao Cao's father Cao Song. After Cao Cao's men overcome the dragon boulder traps and the ambush in the forest, Liu Bei's reinforcements arrive. Tao Qian sets fire to the castle and begins his escape. The player has the option to give chase and defeat Tao Qian before he reaches the escape point, although he has to be very fast to do so. If the player succeeds, Tao Qian is killed and the battle of Puyang is unlocked.

In the Empires games, Tao Qian often appears as the ruler of Xiapi in the early scenarios. In the fifth title, playing as Liu Bei in the Dong Zhuo scenario may trigger an event in which Tao Qian hands Xiapi over to Liu Bei.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms[]

Tao Qian is an average officer in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. His battle skills are fairly low, while having above average intelligence and politics. His charisma stat is usually his best stat in any game that has it.

Serving He Jin in the Yellow Turban rebellion scenario, he usually governs the cities of Xu Province in the subsequent scenarios, although sometimes the province is split between him and Liu Bei. The Power-Up Kit expansion of the eleventh installment adds an event in which Tao Qian hands Xu Province over to Liu Bei before dying. Liu Bei will take control of any of Tao Qian's cities as well as his officers.

Voice Actors[]

  • Patrick Seitz - Romance of the Three Kingdoms: The Legend of Cao Cao (English-uncredited)
  • Etsuko Kozakura - Youkai Sangokushi (Japanese)
  • Atsushi Ii - Sangokushi Three Kingdoms TV series

Quotes[]

  • "Lord Liu Bei, I do not have much longer to live. I entrust you with my land and all of its possessions."
"Lord Tao Qian... I am unworthy of your regard. Still, if you insist... then I shall carry out your wishes to the best of my ability."
~~Tao Qian and Liu Bei; Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires

Historical Information[]

Originally from the Danyang prefecture, Yang Province, Tao Qian came into the services of the Han Dynasty and suppressed various uprisings in their name. He also helped stem the chaos caused by the Yellow Turban Rebellion during his time as governor of Xu Province. Tao Qian then participated in a campaign to subdue a different rebellion at Liang Province, but he did not get along well with his commander Zhang Wen, a sentiment also shared by both Dong Zhuo and Sun Jian. Tao Qian was responsible for starting the careers of Wang Lang, Zhu Zhi and Chen Deng, all of whom would play fairly important roles in the historical events leading to the end of the Han dynasty. However, at the same time he was prone to joining forces with unscrupulous characters and imprisoning those who did not respond to his requests to serve him, such as Zhang Zhao and Lu Fan, and he also attempted to harm the family of Sun Ce, who was serving Yuan Shu at the time.

When Yuan Shao launched a coalition against Dong Zhuo, Tao Qian denied their legitimacy and continued to contribute supplies to the Dong Zhuo-controlled capital, earning him promotions. When the coalition collapsed, Tao Qian gathered a group of local officials and minor warlords, declaring they would aid Zhu Jun in his attack on Li Jue, but Zhu Jun chose to surrender to Li Jue.

In 193, Tao Qian's principal allies were Yuan Shu and Gongsun Zan, who were in opposition to the alliance of (then friends) Yuan Shao and Cao Cao. Tao Qian invaded Yan Province, controlled by Cao Cao, and reportedly allied with Que Xuan, a rebel who proclaimed himself emperor. Cao Cao and Tao Qian fought a fierce battle in Peng castle, and Tao Qian was defeated miserably, with many soldiers drowned in the Si river. In retaliation, Tao Qian sent his soldiers to murder Cao Song, Cao Cao's father, and his clan. The official Wu history, "Book of Wu", claims that Tao Qian sent his subordinate Zhang Kai(張闓) to offer friendly protection to Cao Song, but Zhang Kai murdered him out of greed. Folk legends of the Wei and Jin Dynasties[Wei Jin Shiyu] claimed in a gloating tone that Tao Qian deliberately sent his men to murder Cao Song, causing Cao Song and his family to panic and his concubine's body to get stuck in the window, preventing them from escaping. Furthermore, the Book of the Later Han claims that Tao Qian's "garrison commander" at Yinping attacked Cao Song without authorization. However, considering the actual geographical location, Yinping is far from where Cao Song was killed, and the general was more likely authorized to do so rather than acting spontaneously, given that he had strayed too far from his "defense zone" into the territory of Yan Province.

In 194, Cao Cao, driven by revenge, attacked Xu Province, defeating Tao Qian's general Cao Bao and Liu Bei. Tao Qian initially entrusted the Buddhist Ze Rong with the responsibility of logistics, but Ze Rong embezzled supplies for his own religious endeavors and subsequently attacked Guangling, killing one of Tao Qian's subordinates, Zhao Yu, which may have been one of the reasons for Tao Qian's disastrous defeat. Tao Qian defended the city, and Cao Cao was unable to capture it, so he attacked other areas and was recorded to have committed "brutal killings". It was not until Lu Bu attacked Yanzhou that Cao Cao was forced to withdraw.

Liu Bei came to Tao Qian's aid while serving alongside Tian Kai, who had been appointed the Inspector of Qing province by Gongsun Zan. At that time, Liu Bei's army only consisted of some Wuhuan cavalry and some refugees he forcibly conscripted (that is, Liu Bei was only regarded as a low-ranking officer by Gongsun Zan at this time). Tao Qian recognized Liu Bei's talent and managed to recruit him to his service by providing him with several thousand regular soldiers. For this reason, Liu Bei stopped being loyal to Tian Kai (and Gongsun Zan) and defected to Tao Qian. Liu Bei's coupled with his political skills allowed him to win the support of the local elite, including the Mi and Chen clans.

In the same year, Tao Qian died of illness. Mi Zhu claimed that Tao Qian's will was to appoint Liu Bei as the new ruler. Tao Qian's two sons were not granted official positions, and there are no further records of them.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms[]

Tao Qian is depicted as participating in the coalition forces. He is described as a kindly old man who proactively sent Zhang Kai to escort Cao Song in an attempt to curry favor with Cao Cao. Zhang Kai then secretly murdered Cao Song, prompting Cao Cao's attack.

Liu Bei is repeatedly asked by Tao Qian to assume control over Xu province by Tao Qian, and finally relents while Tao Qian is on his deathbed. This is the version of events that is most commonly portrayed in media depictions.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

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