Zhou Tai

Historical Record

Zhou Tai, courtesy name Youping, was a native of Xiacai in Jiujiang. He originally followed Sun Ce together with Jiang Qin, serving as one of his close attendants, and became known for his respectful service and his repeated battle merits. After Sun Ce broke into Kuaiji, he appointed Zhou Tai as a Separate Division Major and allotted him troops ^c:980. Sun Quan greatly esteemed Zhou Tai's character and asked Sun Ce to hand Zhou Tai over to him for his own use. On one occasion, while Sun Ce was campaigning against the bandits of the six counties, Sun Quan was garrisoned at Xuancheng with fewer than a thousand guards around him and was lax in his defenses. Unexpectedly, several thousand bandits suddenly attacked; Sun Quan had just mounted his horse when the bandits' blades were already upon him. At this critical moment, only Zhou Tai threw himself into protecting Sun Quan, heedless of his own life, his courage extraordinary. Under his desperate protection, Sun Quan's surrounding officers and men were able to join the fight. Although the bandits were finally scattered, Zhou Tai suffered twelve wounds and took a long time to regain consciousness. Without Zhou Tai, Sun Quan would likely not have survived that day. Sun Ce, deeply grateful for this, appointed Zhou Tai as Chief of Chungu ^c:980.

Thereafter, Zhou Tai followed Sun Quan in the campaigns to attack Wan and to subdue Jiangxia. Passing through Yuzhang on the return march, he was again appointed Chief of Yichun, and wherever he went he was able to collect taxes. Later, Zhou Tai earned merit in the campaign against Huang Zu ^c:4964. At the Battle of Red Cliffs, he, together with Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu, resisted Cao Cao and attacked Cao Ren at Nan Commandery. After Jing Province was pacified, Zhou Tai led troops to garrison Cen. When Cao Cao marched out against Ruxu, Zhou Tai again met him in battle; after Cao Cao withdrew, Zhou Tai was left to oversee Ruxu and was appointed General Who Pacifies the Caitiffs. At that time generals such as Zhu Ran and Xu Sheng were all under Zhou Tai's command, but they were not convinced of him. Sun Quan therefore made a special tour of the Ruxu fort, gathered the generals, and held a great banquet. Sun Quan personally walked up to Zhou Tai, ordered him to undo his garments, and with his own hand pointed to the scars on his body, asking the origin of each wound. Zhou Tai recalled and recounted the course of each battle one by one. After the banquet ended, Sun Quan ordered an imperial canopy bestowed upon Zhou Tai and granted him the blue-silk canopy that he himself customarily used. Sun Quan also grasped Zhou Tai's arm and said with tears: "Youping, you fought for my brother and me like a bear or a tiger, sparing not your life, suffering dozens of wounds, your skin like carved engraving. How could I not treat you with the affection due to my own flesh and blood, and entrust to you the heavy responsibility of commanding troops! You are a meritorious officer of the state of Wu; I will share glory and disgrace, joy and sorrow with you. Youping, only act freely, and do not shrink back on account of your humble birth." ^c:4964 The next day, Sun Quan also ordered Zhou Tai to go on an inspection tour with troops as an escort, sounding drums and horns in ceremonial music to show the honor. From then on, generals such as Xu Sheng were completely won over.

In the Novel

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhou Tai's image is further developed, especially highlighting his loyalty and valor in protecting his lord, with many battle details added that are not in the histories. When he first appears, he is, together with Jiang Qin, a stalwart fighter making a living by raiding on the Yangtze; having long heard of Sun Ce's reputation for recruiting the worthy, he led more than three hundred men to come over, and was appointed by Sun Ce as a Chariot-Front Colonel ^c:982.

On the eve of the Battle of Red Cliffs, Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin were appointed leaders of the second contingent, advancing by land and water behind Han Dang and Huang Gai ^c:4965. In the Battle of Red Cliffs, he and Han Dang together served as the vanguard, going forth to meet Cao Cao's naval forces ^c:4966.

The most heavily emphasized passages in the Romance are the scenes of Zhou Tai repeatedly rescuing Sun Quan at the Battle of Hefei (the Battle of Ruxukou). When Gan Ning was surrounded by Cao's army at Yiling, Zhou Tai volunteered and charged alone into the heavy encirclement of Cao's army to rescue Gan Ning ^c:983. Then, outside the walls of Nan Commandery, Zhou Tai clashed with Cao Ren and forced him to retreat ^c:984. At Ruxukou, Sun Quan personally led troops to charge Cao Cao but was counterattacked by Cao Cao's elite forces. At the critical moment, Han Dang and Zhou Tai charged straight at Cao Cao on two horses, forcing Xu Chu to come out to block them, and only then was Sun Quan able to escape danger ^c:985.

Even more dramatically, in another Battle of Ruxukou, Sun Quan was heavily surrounded by Cao's army. Zhou Tai fought his way out of the army, but not seeing Sun Quan, he reined in his horse and fought his way back into the ranks to search for him. He charged into the heavy encirclement three times, his body pierced by several spears and arrows penetrating his heavy armor, and finally succeeded in rescuing Sun Quan ^c:986. Not only that, when Sun Quan worried that Xu Sheng was still trapped in the encirclement, Zhou Tai again whirled his spear and charged into the heavy encirclement, rescuing Xu Sheng, both generals gravely wounded ^c:986. These episodes greatly reinforce the heroic image of Zhou Tai as devotedly loyal and ready to face death.

When Guan Yu attacked Jing Province, Zhou Tai, together with Jiang Qin, Han Dang, Ding Feng, Xu Sheng, and other generals, set an ambush, trapping Guan Yu at the heart of the encirclement, ultimately driving Guan Yu to flee to Maicheng (novel only) ^c:987. At the Battle of Xiaoting, Zhou Tai and Han Dang were together appointed deputy commanders, accompanying the army to resist Liu Bei. However, they harbored dissatisfaction at the "scholar" Lu Xun serving as grand commander, and even when Lu Xun convened the council, Zhou Tai tested Lu Xun on the pretext that Sun Huan was trapped, but Lu Xun's composed response finally won the generals over ^c:988. When Lu Xun saw through Wu Ban's bait-and-lure scheme, Zhou Tai still thought it was child's play and wished to attack by separate routes with Han Dang, but was stopped by Lu Xun ^c:989. These episodes show Zhou Tai as long on valor but short on strategy, and also set off Lu Xun's resourcefulness.

Key Relationships

* Sun Ce (serves): Zhou Tai originally came over to Sun Ce together with Jiang Qin and, as one of his close attendants, was esteemed by Sun Ce for his respectful service and battle merits ^c:980.
* Sun Quan (fights_in, serves): Zhou Tai was one of Sun Quan's most loyal and important generals. He repeatedly risked his life to protect Sun Quan at critical moments, especially in the bandit attack at Xuancheng and the Battle of Ruxukou; his self-sacrificing protection of his lord made Sun Quan deeply indebted to him and treat him with the affection of flesh and blood ^c:980, ^c:4964.
* Eastern Wu (serves): As an important general of Eastern Wu, Zhou Tai took part in many key battles in the founding and consolidation of the Sun-Wu regime, including the attacks on Wan and Jiangxia, the Battle of Red Cliffs, the Battle of Nanjun, and the Battle of Ruxu, rendering great service to the Sun-Wu enterprise ^c:980, ^c:4964.
* Jiang Qin (comrade): Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin came over to Sun Ce together early on and fought side by side in many battles, an early pair of Eastern Wu generals ^c:980, ^c:982.
* Han Dang (comrade): In the Romance, Zhou Tai and Han Dang appear repeatedly as a pair, together serving as vanguards or deputy commanders, jointly taking part in the Battle of Red Cliffs, the Battle of Ruxukou, and the Battle of Xiaoting ^c:4966, ^c:985, ^c:4967.
* Lu Xun (subordinate to): At the Battle of Xiaoting, Zhou Tai, as deputy commander, was at first unconvinced of the young grand commander Lu Xun, but ultimately came to be convinced by Lu Xun's resourcefulness ^c:988, ^c:989.
* Zhu Ran, Xu Sheng (subordinates): After the Battle of Ruxukou, Zhou Tai was appointed General Who Pacifies the Caitiffs to oversee Ruxu, and generals such as Zhu Ran and Xu Sheng were all under his command; at first unconvinced, they later became wholeheartedly convinced thanks to Sun Quan's personal commendation ^c:4964.

Signature Scenes

* Protecting his lord at Xuancheng, suffering twelve wounds: When Sun Quan was ambushed by bandits at Xuancheng, Zhou Tai, heedless of his life, threw himself into protecting Sun Quan, suffering twelve wounds and saving Sun Quan from peril. This battle established Zhou Tai's important place in Sun Quan's heart ^c:980.
* Thrice rescuing his lord at Ruxukou (novel only): In the Battle of Ruxukou, Sun Quan was heavily surrounded by Cao's army. Zhou Tai charged into the encirclement three times, his body pierced by several spears and arrows penetrating his heavy armor, and finally succeeded in rescuing Sun Quan, then charged in again to rescue Xu Sheng, displaying matchless loyalty and valor ^c:986.
* Sun Quan undoing his garments to point at his wounds, bestowing an imperial canopy as honor: Sun Quan held a banquet at the Ruxu fort, personally undoing Zhou Tai's garments, pointing to his scars, asking their origins, and with tears commending his merits, bestowing upon him an imperial canopy and the blue-silk canopy he himself customarily used as a special honor, winning over the generals ^c:4964.
* Vanguard at the Battle of Red Cliffs (novel only): In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhou Tai and Han Dang together served as the vanguard at the Battle of Red Cliffs, being the first to strike at Cao Cao's naval forces, displaying their valor ^c:4966.
* Unconvinced of Lu Xun at the Battle of Xiaoting (novel only): At the Battle of Xiaoting, Zhou Tai harbored doubts about Lu Xun serving as grand commander and once tested him with words, reflecting his straightforward character and his skepticism of Lu Xun's youth, while also indirectly setting off Lu Xun's resourcefulness ^c:988.