Tian Chou

Historical Record

Tian Chou, styled Zitai, was a native of Wuzhong in Right Beiping. From youth he loved reading and was also skilled in swordsmanship. In the first year of Chuping (190 CE), Dong Zhuo threw the government into chaos and, taking the Son of Heaven, moved the capital to Chang'an. The Governor of You Province, Liu Yu, was deeply troubled by this and intended to send an envoy to Chang'an to express his loyalty and seek a means to uphold the house of Han. At that time Liu Yu gathered his people to deliberate, and all recommended the twenty-two-year-old Tian Chou. Liu Yu was greatly pleased and appointed him as an attendant officer, preparing carriages and horsemen for him. However, Tian Chou, considering that the roads were then cut off and bandits ran rampant, feared that traveling in the capacity of an official envoy would easily draw attention, and so requested to go in a private capacity, asking only to arrive safely. Liu Yu adopted his suggestion. Tian Chou then selected a total of twenty riders from his retainers and admiring young men of courage and strength, and traveling light, went out beyond the frontier from the Western Pass, headed north straight for Shuofang, and following secluded byways reached Chang'an, successfully presenting the memorial to the court. An edict appointed him Commandant of Cavalry, but he held that with the Son of Heaven still in distress and unsettled, he should not accept such honor, and firmly declined to take it; the court therefore esteemed his sense of righteousness. The Three Offices repeatedly summoned him, but he would not take up any post ^c:2861.

When Tian Chou learned at Chang'an that Liu Yu had been killed by Gongsun Zan, he hastened back to You Province, but before he arrived he had already heard the dire news. Upon arriving, he went straight to Liu Yu's grave to make offerings, laid out the memorial reports, wept bitterly, and departed. Hearing of this, Gongsun Zan was enraged and offered a reward for Tian Chou's capture. When Tian Chou was seized, Gongsun Zan demanded to know why he had wept and made offerings to Liu Yu yet had not presented the memorial reports to himself. Tian Chou answered with righteous severity: with the house of Han in decline and men's hearts inclined to change, only Liu Yu had not failed in loyalty and integrity; the contents of the reports would be of no benefit to Gongsun Zan, and so he had not presented them. He further rebuked Gongsun Zan for destroying an innocent lord and making an enemy of a minister who held to righteousness—an act that would make the gentlemen of Yan and Zhao all wish to throw themselves into the sea and die, with none willing to follow him. Though enraged, Gongsun Zan was impressed by Tian Chou's response and did not put him to death, only confining him within the army and forbidding old acquaintances to visit. Later someone advised Gongsun Zan that Tian Chou was a righteous man, and that to imprison rather than treat him with courtesy would risk losing men's hearts. Gongsun Zan then released Tian Chou ^c:2862.

After returning north, Tian Chou led his clan and followers, several hundred people, to form a covenant in the Xuwu Mountains, swearing that until they had avenged their lord they would not establish themselves in the world. They opened up a deep, secluded, level, and open place to dwell, and farmed to support themselves. Within a few years, those who came to join numbered over five thousand households. Knowing well that a gathered community needed a leader, Tian Chou proposed that they choose a worthy elder as head, and all chose Tian Chou. He drew up strict laws—more than twenty articles covering mutual killing and injury, theft, and litigation—the gravest punishable by death, the next by lesser penalties. He also instituted rites of marriage, established schools, and promoted education, so that locally nothing dropped on the road was picked up. The northern tribes of the Wuhuan and Xianbei also submitted to his prestige and integrity, sending envoys to present tribute; Tian Chou received and pacified them all, so that they no longer raided. Yuan Shao repeatedly tried to recruit him, granting him a general's seal and wishing to settle the people under his command, but Tian Chou refused all such offers. After Yuan Shao died, his son Yuan Shang also summoned him, yet Tian Chou still would not take office ^c:5986.

In the twelfth year of Jian'an (207 CE), Cao Cao campaigned north against the Wuhuan. Before arriving, Cao Cao first sent an envoy to summon Tian Chou, and dispatched Tian Yu to make his intentions clear. On hearing this, Tian Chou at once ordered his household to prepare to set out. His followers were puzzled: Yuan Shao had courteously invited him five times and he had not yielded—why, when a single envoy of Cao Cao came, was he so eager? Tian Chou smiled and did not answer. He went with the envoy to Cao Cao's army, was appointed Aide of the Households Section under the Minister of Works, and was summoned to consult on military affairs. The next day Cao Cao ordered: "Tian Zitai is not a man for me to make a mere clerk." He then recommended him as a man of flourishing talent and appointed him Magistrate of Tiao, but Tian Chou did not take up the office, instead following the army and garrisoning at Wuzhong. At the time it was summer with much rain, the coastal lands were muddy and impassable, and the Wuhuan also held the key routes, so Cao Cao's army could not advance. Troubled by this, Cao Cao asked Tian Chou for a plan. Tian Chou offered a strategy, pointing out that from the mouth of Lulong to Liucheng there was an old road, abandoned for nearly two hundred years—though steep, it was the shorter way. He advised Cao Cao to feign a withdrawal of troops, set up large wooden posts beside the road by the water to deceive the Wuhuan, and then secretly cross the perils of Lulong's mouth past Baitan, emerging in undefended territory to strike Liucheng by surprise. Cao Cao adopted his plan and ordered Tian Chou to lead his men as guides; he succeeded in beheading Tadun and crushing the Wuhuan ^c:2863.

When Cao Cao returned with his army and rewarded merit, he enfeoffed Tian Chou as a precinct marquis with a fief of five hundred households. However, Tian Chou maintained that in originally taking refuge in the mountains he had not sought profit or emolument, and firmly declined to accept. Knowing his sincere heart, Cao Cao allowed it. But three years later, recalling his merit, Cao Cao held that to have heeded Tian Chou's earlier refusal was "to fulfill one man's wish while impairing the great institutions of the king's law," and so again memorialized to enfeoff Tian Chou. Tian Chou submitted a memorial pleading his case, swearing on his life, and firmly refused to accept. The officials in charge impeached Tian Chou as obstinate and deviating from the proper way, perversely upholding a petty scruple, and held that he should be dismissed from office and punished. Cao Cao, valuing the matter, long left it undecided, then debated it broadly with the heir apparent and the great ministers. The heir apparent Cao Pi held that Tian Chou's declining of emolument could be compared to Ziwen and Shenxu, and that it would be best not to override him, so as to honor his integrity. Xun Yu and Zhong Yao also held this view ^c:2864. Cao Cao still wished to enfeoff him as a marquis, and so sent Xiahou Dun, who was on good terms with Tian Chou, to persuade him. Tian Chou, guessing his intent, would not utter a word. As Xiahou Dun was about to part, he stroked Tian Chou's back and urged him, at which Tian Chou's tears flowed freely, and he declared how he could possibly "sell the passes of Lulong to exchange them for reward and emolument"; if he must do so, he would rather cut his own throat and die. Xiahou Dun reported the true situation to Cao Cao, who sighed deeply, knowing he could not be bent, and appointed Tian Chou as a Court Gentleman Consultant. Tian Chou died at the age of forty-six, his son having died young. After Cao Pi became emperor, moved by Tian Chou's virtue and righteousness, he granted Tian Chou's grand-nephew Tian Xu the title of Marquis Within the Passes to continue his line ^c:2864.

In the Novel

In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Tian Chou's image is concentrated mainly in the campaign against the Wuhuan. He is portrayed as a former general of Yuan Shao who well knew the geography of the Wuhuan. When Cao Cao, because Guo Jia was gravely ill, sought a guide, someone recommended Tian Chou. Cao Cao summoned Tian Chou, who explained in detail the difficulty of the coastal roads at that time and offered the plan of crossing the perils of Lulong's mouth past Baitan to strike Liucheng by surprise—a plan basically consistent with the historical record ^c:12848.

In the novel, after adopting Tian Chou's plan, Cao Cao enfeoffed Tian Chou as General Who Pacifies the North and ordered him to serve as a guide officer in the vanguard. At White Wolf Mountain, Tian Chou led Zhang Liao into an encounter with tens of thousands of Wuhuan cavalry under Yuan Xi, Yuan Shang, and Tadun. Zhang Liao swiftly reported to Cao Cao; observing that the enemy troops were in disarray, Cao Cao ordered Zhang Liao to lead Xu Chu, Yu Jin, and Xu Huang down the mountain in four columns to attack at once, beheading Tadun, while Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang fled to Liaodong. In this battle, Tian Chou's role as guide is emphasized, though the actual fighting was carried out by Cao Cao and his generals ^c:5988.

After the battle, Cao Cao withdrew his army into Liucheng and enfeoffed Tian Chou as Marquis of Liu Precinct to garrison Liucheng. Tian Chou wept and firmly declined, saying that he was "but a man who fled in betrayal of righteousness; to have received deep grace and been kept alive is already great fortune—how could I sell the stockade of Lulong to seek reward and emolument! I dare not, even unto death, accept a marquisate." Respecting his righteous integrity, Cao Cao then appointed him a Court Gentleman Consultant. In the novel, on the return march Cao Cao met the predicament of lacking water and provisions, slaughtering horses for food and digging the ground three or four zhang to obtain water. After returning to Yi Prefecture, Cao Cao richly rewarded the generals who had earlier remonstrated against the distant campaign, and admonished all that this success had been by luck and was not to be taken as a model, encouraging everyone not to hesitate to speak in future ^c:5989. The novel's depiction of Tian Chou declining the title is basically consistent with the historical record, but combines the hardships Cao Cao met on the return march with his encouragement of the generals, further highlighting Cao Cao's wisdom and his respect for Tian Chou's righteous integrity.

Key Relationships

* Liu Yu (serves): Tian Chou was a loyal follower and capable assistant of Liu Yu. When Dong Zhuo threw the government into chaos, he was sent by Liu Yu to brave death and go to Chang'an to attend upon the emperor, embodying his loyalty to Liu Yu and his ardent devotion to the house of Han ^c:2861. After Liu Yu was killed by Gongsun Zan, Tian Chou, disregarding his own safety, made offerings at Liu Yu's grave and bitterly denounced Gongsun Zan, showing his deep affection and esteem for Liu Yu ^c:2862.
* Gongsun Zan's faction (rival_of): Tian Chou stood in opposition to Gongsun Zan's faction. After Gongsun Zan killed Liu Yu, Tian Chou openly made offerings to Liu Yu and reproached Gongsun Zan, nearly being killed. Although Gongsun Zan, owing to his righteous integrity, did not harm him, Tian Chou thereafter led his clansmen into the deep mountains, swearing to avenge his lord, showing his stance of irreconcilable opposition to Gongsun Zan's faction ^c:2862.
* Yuan Shao's Faction (defected_from): Tian Chou was repeatedly recruited by Yuan Shao and granted a general's seal, but he refused all such offers. After Yuan Shao died, his son Yuan Shang also summoned him, yet Tian Chou still would not take office ^c:5986. This shows Tian Chou's negative attitude toward Yuan Shao's Faction and his unwillingness to serve it. Although the novel calls Tian Chou a "former general of Yuan Shao" (novel only), this differs from the historical record that Tian Chou never accepted Yuan Shao's summons.
* Cao Cao (serves, admired by): During Cao Cao's campaign against the Wuhuan, Tian Chou actively offered strategy and served as a guide, rendering great merit in Cao Cao's pacification of the Wuhuan ^c:2863. Cao Cao deeply admired Tian Chou's wit and integrity and repeatedly wished to enfeoff and ennoble him, but Tian Chou firmly declined; in the end Cao Cao respected his wishes and appointed him a Court Gentleman Consultant ^c:2864.
* Xiahou Dun (friend of): Tian Chou was on good terms with Xiahou Dun. Cao Cao once sent Xiahou Dun to persuade Tian Chou to accept the enfeoffment, showing that the two were close ^c:2864.
* Xing Yong (friend of): Xing Yong once changed his surname and name and followed Tian Chou to study and travel in Right Beiping for five years. When Cao Cao had pacified Jizhou, Xing Yong held that when chaos reaches its extreme, peace follows, and so took leave of Tian Chou and returned home to serve Cao Cao. Tian Chou praised Xing Yong as "one of the people's early-awakened," showing that the two were also friends and that Tian Chou approved of his foresight ^c:12858.

Signature Scenes

* Bearing the Mission to Chang'an, Firmly Declining the Commandant of Cavalry: In his youth Tian Chou received Liu Yu's grave charge and braved death to go to Chang'an to attend upon the emperor. After completing his mission, the court appointed him Commandant of Cavalry, but he held that with the Son of Heaven still in distress and unsettled he should not accept such honor, and firmly declined. This act displayed his lofty character and loyalty to the house of Han, winning the court's praise ^c:2861.
* Bitterly Denouncing Gongsun Zan at Liu Yu's Grave: After Liu Yu was killed, Tian Chou, disregarding Gongsun Zan's power, resolutely went to Liu Yu's grave to make offerings, and to his face bitterly denounced Gongsun Zan's atrocities, reproaching him for "destroying an innocent lord and making an enemy of a minister who held to righteousness." This act manifested Tian Chou's character of "upholding integrity and lofty righteousness," fearless even in captivity ^c:2862.
* Establishing a Self-Governing Covenant in the Xuwu Mountains: Tian Chou led his clan and followers to take refuge in the Xuwu Mountains and built a settlement. He drew up strict laws, established education, and brought such order that locally nothing dropped on the road was picked up. This scene embodies his outstanding organizational and governing ability and his independent spirit of "being ashamed to serve as another's minister amid a fallen state" ^c:5986.
* Offering the Lulong Plan, Striking the Wuhuan by Surprise: At the critical moment of Cao Cao's northern campaign against the Wuhuan, Tian Chou offered the plan of striking the Wuhuan by surprise from the mouth of Lulong, and personally served as guide, rendering the foremost merit in Cao Cao's crushing of Tadun and pacification of the Wuhuan. This event displays both his military strategy and his aspiration to bring stability to the frontier for the house of Han ^c:2863.
* Firmly Declining the Precinct Marquisate, Unyielding Even unto Death: To reward Tian Chou's merit, Cao Cao repeatedly enfeoffed him as a precinct marquis with a fief of five hundred households. Yet Tian Chou always firmly declined, even swearing on his life, declaring that he could not "sell the passes of Lulong to exchange them for reward and emolument." He held that in originally taking refuge in the mountains he had not sought profit or emolument, and was unwilling to betray his original intent by accepting reward for merit. This scene is the concentrated embodiment of his lofty integrity—in the end even Cao Cao could only respect his wishes and appoint him a Court Gentleman Consultant ^c:2864. In the novel, the words Tian Chou spoke in declining the title—"I am but a man who fled in betrayal of righteousness; to have received deep grace and been kept alive is already great fortune—how could I sell the stockade of Lulong to seek reward and emolument! I dare not, even unto death, accept a marquisate"—further strengthen his image of lofty righteousness ^c:5989.