Taishi Ci

Historical Record

Taishi Ci, courtesy name Ziyi, was a man of Huang County in Donglai. Little is recorded of his early deeds, yet his name for loyalty and righteousness spread far and wide. Because the Chancellor of Beihai, Kong Rong, had treated his mother generously, he resolved without hesitation to go and rescue Kong Rong, who was besieged by the Yellow Turban bandit Guan Hai. ^c:1142 At that time Kong Rong was surrounded at Duchang, the situation critical. Taishi Ci, returning from Liaodong, was urged by his mother—who cherished Kong Rong's kindness—to go to his aid. Alone and on a single horse, he slipped into the city under cover of night, met with Kong Rong, and asked leave to break out and seek relief. Kong Rong at first hesitated, but Taishi Ci persuaded him with the argument, "You, sir, inclined your regard toward my aged mother; grateful for that favor, she has sent me to your urgent aid." ^c:1142 He then undertook a series of bold actions: each morning at dawn he would take two riders, each bearing a target, ride straight out through the city gate, set up the targets in the moat below the walls, shoot his arrows, and upon finishing ride straight back into the city. Doing this over several days, the besieging host grew steadily less wary, whereupon Taishi Ci seized the chance to break through, reaching Pingyuan and appealing to Liu Bei for relief. He set forth Kong Rong's plight with earnest words, and Liu Bei, moved, exclaimed, "So Kong of Beihai knows there is a Liu Bei in the world!" ^c:1142 and dispatched three thousand crack troops to go with Taishi Ci. Hearing that relief was at hand, the bandit host lifted the siege and dispersed. For this Kong Rong esteemed Taishi Ci all the more, calling him "my young friend." ^c:1142

Afterward, Taishi Ci encountered Liu Yao, the Inspector of Yang Province and a man of his own commandery. When Sun Ce crossed the Yangzi to attack Qu'e, Liu Yao had considered making Taishi Ci his chief general, but at last, out of regard for Xu Zijiang's opinion, refrained, ordering Taishi Ci only to scout the enemy. ^c:1145 On one reconnaissance, with but a single horseman, Taishi Ci unexpectedly ran into Sun Ce and his thirteen riders, among them famed generals such as Han Dang, Song Qian, and Huang Gai. Undaunted, Taishi Ci dueled Sun Ce single-handed; each drew blood, Sun Ce stabbing Taishi Ci's horse and seizing the hand-halberd from his back, while Taishi Ci took Sun Ce's helmet. Only when reinforcements arrived on both sides did they break off. ^c:1145

After Liu Yao's defeat, Taishi Ci fled for a time into the hills of Wuhu and styled himself Administrator of Danyang. Once Sun Ce had pacified the region east of Xuancheng, he attacked Jing County and captured Taishi Ci. Sun Ce personally loosed his bonds and spoke with him, expressing his wish to recruit him. ^c:5052 Taishi Ci at last submitted to Sun Ce and was appointed Chief of the Gate, then invested as General of the Household Who Breaks the Enemy's Line. After Liu Yao died, his followers, more than ten thousand, had no one to turn to, and Sun Ce ordered Taishi Ci to go and reassure them. Though those about him were full of misgiving, thinking Taishi Ci might go north and never return, Sun Ce firmly trusted his loyalty and righteousness and set a date with him for his return. ^c:1147 Taishi Ci did indeed return on the appointed day, and reported to Sun Ce on the situation in Yuzhang Commandery, laying the groundwork for Sun Ce's eventual pacification of Yuzhang. ^c:1147

To ward off the harassment of Ai, Xi'an, and other counties by Liu Pan, the nephew of Liu Biao, Sun Ce carved out the six counties of Haihun, Jianchang, and the rest, appointed Taishi Ci Commandant of Jianchang stationed at Haihun, and set him to command the generals in resisting the foe. After Taishi Ci took up the post, Liu Pan's harassment ceased. ^c:1147

In the Novel

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Taishi Ci's figure is further developed, his loyal, righteous, and valorous nature made all the more prominent. The novel opens its account of him with the exploit of relieving the siege of Beihai. ^c:1148 Differing slightly from history, in the novel Taishi Ci cries out below the walls, "Open the gate!"; Kong Rong, not knowing who he was, dared not open it, and only after Taishi Ci had struck down several men in succession and the bandit host fell back did Kong Rong open the gate and admit him. ^c:1148 Taishi Ci made known his identity to Kong Rong, declaring that he had come at his mother's bidding to repay a kindness. Overjoyed, Kong Rong bestowed on him armor, saddle, and horse, and Taishi Ci asked to borrow troops and sally forth to kill the bandits, but Kong Rong, judging the bandits too strong, would not let him go lightly. Taishi Ci thereupon volunteered to go to Pingyuan and seek Liu Bei's relief. ^c:1149 He "donned his armor and mounted, bow and arrows at his waist, iron spear in hand, ate his fill and made ready, and as the city gate opened, a single rider flew out"; ^c:1149 on the way, pursued by Guan Hai, he "fitted arrow to bow and shot on every side, none failing to fall from the saddle at the bowstring's sound," ^c:1149 and made good his escape. When he met Liu Bei, his words accorded in the main with history, and Liu Bei too gave the sigh, "So Kong of Beihai knows there is a Liu Bei in the world!" ^c:1149 and sent out troops to help.

After the siege was lifted, the novel adds an episode of Taishi Ci taking his leave of Kong Rong. He explained that, since the Inspector of Yang Province Liu Yao had written summoning him, he could not stay long, and he politely declined Kong Rong's reward of gold and silk. ^c:1151

The novel paints the chance encounter of Taishi Ci and Sun Ce at Shenting Ridge more vividly still. ^c:1153 Liu Yao's general Zhang Ying presumed on his ability to hold Niuzhu, while Taishi Ci volunteered of his own accord to serve as vanguard, but Liu Yao refused him on the ground that he was "still young in years, not yet fit to be a chief general." ^c:1152 When Sun Ce wished to spy out Liu Yao's stockade and all his generals thought it unwise, Sun Ce would not be dissuaded. Seeing this, Taishi Ci, without waiting for Liu Yao's order, "of his own accord donned his armor and mounted, gripped his spear, went out from the camp, and cried aloud, 'Whoever has spirit and courage, come with me!'" ^c:9535—only a single junior officer followed. At Shenting Ridge, Taishi Ci and Sun Ce joined in fierce single combat, fighting fifty bouts without a victor. ^c:1153 The novel adds too the episode in which Taishi Ci feigned defeat to draw Sun Ce in pursuit, until at last the two "both tumbled from their horses," ^c:9541 snatched at each other's weapons, and grappled hand to hand—greatly heightening the drama. Thereafter Cheng Pu took the field and crossed blades with Taishi Ci, but Liu Yao sounded the gongs and recalled his troops because Zhou Yu had seized Qu'e. ^c:9542

After Taishi Ci submitted to Sun Ce, the novel depicts Sun Ce's trust in him in still finer detail. When Taishi Ci asked to go and gather up Liu Yao's remaining followers, all the generals doubted him, saying, "Once gone, he will surely not come back," ^c:1154 but Sun Ce firmly believed, "Ziyi is a man of faith and righteousness; he will surely not betray me." ^c:1154 In the attack on Wu city, Taishi Ci once shot with a single arrow the left hand of a subordinate general atop the wall, displaying his divine skill in archery ^c:9546 (unrecorded in history).

At the Battle of Red Cliffs, Taishi Ci was appointed commander of the fourth division, advancing by land and water together with Lü Meng. ^c:5053 At the banquet Zhou Yu unfastened his pendant sword and gave it to Taishi Ci as master of the wine, declaring, "Today we feast to speak only of the friendship of friends; whoever raises the matter of Cao Cao or the military affairs of Eastern Wu shall be beheaded!"—further underscoring Taishi Ci's standing among the generals of Wu and Zhou Yu's trust in him. ^c:5054

At the Battle of Hefei, Taishi Ci crossed blades with Zhang Liao, fighting "seventy or eighty bouts without a victor." ^c:1156 Later, to avenge Song Qian, Taishi Ci rashly trusted the words of Ge Ding and sought to assassinate Zhang Liao by coordinating within and without, but fell into the trap and was struck by several arrows. ^c:1157 At last, his wounds too grave, Taishi Ci cried aloud, "A true man, born into an age of chaos, ought to bear a three-foot sword and raise a peerless achievement; now my aspiration is unfulfilled—how can I die!" and so passed away, aged forty-one. ^c:9549 His dying words are the novel's finest expression of his character, "resolved to fulfill his duty to the last."

Key Relationships

* Kong Rong (friend_of): Taishi Ci's friendship with Kong Rong embodies his loyal and righteous character. Kong Rong's kindness in providing for his mother moved Taishi Ci, heedless of his own safety, to break the siege single-handed and seek relief for him. ^c:1142 Kong Rong therefore called Taishi Ci "my young friend." ^c:1142
* Taishi Ci's Mother (kin_of): Taishi Ci's mother was a key mover of his actions. Cherishing Kong Rong's kindness, she urged Taishi Ci to go to his aid, and after he had broken the siege and returned, said with joy, "I rejoice that you have found a way to repay Kong of Beihai." ^c:1142
* Liu Bei (friend_of): Seeking relief for Kong Rong, Taishi Ci set the stakes before Liu Bei and moved him to send troops in aid, lifting the siege of Beihai. ^c:1142 Liu Bei too, at Taishi Ci's words, marveled that Kong Rong knew there was a Liu Bei in the world.
* Liu Yao (friend_of): Of the same commandery as Taishi Ci, under whose banner he served briefly. Liu Yao had considered giving Taishi Ci high employ, but in the end it came to nothing. ^c:1145 In the novel, Taishi Ci volunteered to serve as Liu Yao's vanguard but was refused. ^c:1152
* Sun Ce (friend_of): Taishi Ci's course from initial enmity (the single combat at Shenting Ridge) ^c:1145 to the later concord of lord and vassal was a great turning point in his life. Sun Ce's trust and esteem made possible Taishi Ci's achievements in Wu. Sun Ce once personally loosed his bonds and firmly believed in his good faith. ^c:5052
* Zhou Yu (colleague_of): In the novel, Zhou Yu once gave his pendant sword to Taishi Ci as master of the wine, showing their cooperation within the Wu camp and Zhou Yu's trust in Taishi Ci ^c:5054 (novel only).
* Zhang Liao (rival_of): In the novel's Battle of Hefei, Taishi Ci and Zhang Liao crossed blades repeatedly, neither yielding, until at last Taishi Ci fell to Zhang Liao's stratagem and died of his wounds ^c:1156 (novel only).

Signature Scenes

* Relieving the Siege of Beihai Single-Handed: To repay Kong Rong's kindness, Taishi Ci, heedless of his own safety, charged alone into Duchang, besieged by the Yellow Turbans, broke through successfully to seek Liu Bei's relief, and at last lifted the siege of Kong Rong. This event fully displays his character of "ardent faith and righteousness." ^c:1142
* Single Combat with Sun Ce at Shenting Ridge: With but a single rider, Taishi Ci dared to challenge Sun Ce and his thirteen horsemen, fighting Sun Ce to a draw with wounds on both sides. This scene displays not only Taishi Ci's valor but also foreshadows his later submission to and high employment under Sun Ce. ^c:1145 In the novel this duel is painted more thrillingly still, the two even dismounting to grapple ^c:9541 (novel only).
* Reassuring Liu Yao's Old Followers: Trusting Taishi Ci, Sun Ce sent him to reassure Liu Yao's old followers. Taishi Ci did not fail the charge, returning on the appointed day and providing Sun Ce with vital intelligence for the pacification of Yuzhang, displaying his loyalty and ability. ^c:1147
* Master of the Wine at the Red Cliffs Banquet: In the novel, at the banquet before the Battle of Red Cliffs, Zhou Yu conferred his pendant sword upon Taishi Ci as master of the wine and set forth the discipline of the army, underscoring Taishi Ci's important standing among the generals of Wu and Zhou Yu's trust in him ^c:5054 (novel only).
* Death in Battle at Hefei: In the novel's Battle of Hefei, Taishi Ci, to avenge Song Qian, rashly trusted a treacherous scheme, fell into ambush and was wounded, and died at last with his high aspiration unfulfilled. His dying words, "A true man, born into an age of chaos, ought to bear a three-foot sword and raise a peerless achievement; now my aspiration is unfulfilled—how can I die!" ^c:9549 became the finest gloss on his being "resolved to fulfill his duty to the last," setting a tragic and heroic full stop to the legendary life of this valiant general ^c:9549 (novel only).