Taishi Ci (simplified: 太史慈, traditional: 太史慈, pinyin: Tàishǐ Cí), courtesy name Ziyi (子义 Zǐyì), was a general of Eastern Wu from Donglai Huang County. He was known for keeping his word and for his archery. As a young clerk he cut the Qing province messenger’s memorial to favour his commandery and fled to Liaodong. Kong Rong cared for his mother; when Kong Rong was besieged at Duchang by the Yellow Turban Guan Hai, Taishi Ci broke out, brought help from Liu Bei, and relieved the siege. He then joined his fellow Donglai man Liu Yao in Yang province; at Shenting he duelled Sun Ce to a draw (each took something from the other). After Liu Yao’s defeat he was captured; Sun Ce released him and sent him to gather Liu Yao’s scattered troops, and he returned on time. He served Sun Ce and Sun Quan as General of the Household Who Charges into Battle and then Commandant of Jianchang, governing Haichun and fending off Liu Pan. Cao Cao sent him a letter with “dang gui” (return) to recruit him; he did not respond. He died in 206 at forty-one; on his deathbed he sighed that he had wished to carry a seven-foot sword and ascend the Son of Heaven’s steps but his aim was unfulfilled.
Biography
Early life: commandery affair and Liaodong
Taishi Ci was from Huang County in Donglai. He was seven chi seven cun tall (about 1.85 m), had a fine beard, and from youth was a good student; his arms were long and he was an excellent shot, never loosing in vain. He served as Clerk of the Reporting Section in his commandery. The commandery and the province were in dispute; whichever memorial reached the court first would be favoured. The province had already sent a man; the commandery chose Taishi Ci, then twenty-one, to go. He rode day and night to Luoyang and at the gate met the provincial messenger. He pretended to want to check the provincial memorial, took it, and cut it up with a hidden knife. He persuaded the messenger to flee with him, then slipped back and submitted the commandery’s memorial. The province sent again but the court would not reopen the case. Taishi Ci became famous but was resented by the province, so he went to Liaodong.
Helping a friend and repaying Kong Rong at Duchang
In 191 Bing Yuan recommended Liu Zheng as “having the Way”; Liu Zheng and a friend fled to Liaodong from the Yellow Turbans. The Administrator of Liaodong Gongsun Du wanted to kill Liu Zheng and arrested his family. Liu Zheng hid with Bing Yuan; when Taishi Ci was about to leave Liaodong, Bing Yuan entrusted Liu Zheng to him and they left; Bing Yuan then persuaded Gongsun Du to release the family. Kong Rong, Administrator of Beihai, heard of Taishi Ci and often sent to look after his mother and send gifts. When Kong Rong was at Duchang and besieged by Guan Hai, Taishi Ci returned from Liaodong; his mother said Kong Rong had cared for her more than old friends and he should go. After three days he went alone to Duchang. The siege was not yet tight; he got in at night and asked Kong Rong to send troops. Kong Rong waited for outside help instead; when none came he wanted to ask Liu Bei of Pingyuan for help but no one would go. Taishi Ci asked to go. He rested and ate, then at dawn took his bow and two men with targets, rode out, set up targets and shot, then went back in. He did this again next day; the besiegers grew used to it. On the third day he charged out, shot several pursuers, and reached Liu Bei. He told Liu Bei that Kong Rong knew of his kindness and was in danger and asked for help. Liu Bei sent three thousand troops; the bandits scattered. Kong Rong said Taishi Ci was his “young friend”; his mother was glad he had repaid Kong Rong.
Shenting and service under Sun Ce
In 195 Taishi Ci went to see Liu Yao in Qu’a; before he could, Sun Ce’s army arrived. Someone suggested making Taishi Ci a general; Liu Yao said Xu Zijiang would laugh at him, so he only had Taishi Ci scout. At Shenting Taishi Ci and one rider met Sun Ce and thirteen riders (Han Dang, Song Qian, Huang Gai, etc.). Taishi Ci rode forward and fought Sun Ce; Sun Ce stabbed his horse and took his hand halberd; Taishi Ci took Sun Ce’s helmet. Both sides’ troops arrived and they broke off. Later Liu Yao lost to Sun Ce and fled; Taishi Ci went to Jing County and set up a camp; many shanyue joined him. Sun Ce attacked and captured him. Sun Ce untied him, took his hand, and asked what he would have done if he had caught Sun Ce at Shenting; Taishi Ci said he did not know. Sun Ce laughed and said from then on they would take the world together. He made him Supervisor of the Gate and gave him troops. When Liu Yao died in Yuzhang, over ten thousand of his men had no master; Sun Ce sent Taishi Ci to pacify them. Others said he would not return; Sun Ce said if Taishi Ci left him, where would he go? He saw him off at Changmen and asked when he would be back; Taishi Ci said within sixty days. He returned on time. Sun Ce made him General of the Household Who Charges into Battle. Sun Ce told him he had heard of his deeds for the commandery, for Kong Rong, and for Liu Bei—all righteous—but had followed the wrong lords; “shot hook and cut sleeve, the ancients did not resent”; he was his知己. When Sun Ce subjugated Zu Lang, Zu Lang and Taishi Ci led the van and the army was proud.
Arrow through the hand and Jianchang
On campaign against the Mabao bandits, an enemy on a tower held a beam and cursed; Taishi Ci shot and the arrow went through his hand into the beam—“arrow through hand into beam” (贯手著棼)—and the host cheered. Liu Biao’s nephew Liu Pan with Huang Zhong often raided Ai, Xi’an, and You; Sun Ce split Haichun and Jianchang into six counties and made Taishi Ci Commandant of Jianchang to govern Haichun and coordinate the generals against Liu Pan. Liu Pan then stopped raiding. Cao Cao sent Taishi Ci a letter with “dang gui” (Chinese angelica, “ought to return”) to recruit him; Taishi Ci did not respond. When Sun Quan took over he left southern affairs to Taishi Ci because he could control Liu Pan. He died in 206 at forty-one. On his deathbed he said: “A man is born to buckle on a seven-foot sword and ascend the Son of Heaven’s steps. My aim is still unfulfilled—why must I die?” Sun Quan mourned him. Cheng Pu succeeded him at Haichun.
Personality and traits
Taishi Ci was faithful to his word and ardent in duty; Chen Shou said he had the quality of the ancients. He repaid Kong Rong’s kindness to his mother by breaking the siege of Duchang; he returned on the promised day after gathering Liu Yao’s troops for Sun Ce. He was brave (duel at Shenting, one rider against thirteen) and a superb archer (breakout at Duchang, “arrow through hand into beam”). Kong Rong called him his “young friend”; Liu Yao had refused to use him as general for fear of Xu Shao’s ridicule; Sun Ce trusted him and said he would not deceive him.
Military achievements
Taishi Ci broke the Yellow Turban siege of Duchang by fetching Liu Bei’s troops; dueled Sun Ce at Shenting; pacified Liu Yao’s remnant for Sun Ce; shot the Mabao bandit “through hand into beam”; and as Commandant of Jianchang kept Liu Pan and Huang Zhong from raiding. He did not hold independent field command in large campaigns but was relied on to hold the south.
Relationships
He repaid Kong Rong (and his mother’s wish) by relieving Duchang; served Liu Yao briefly and dueled Sun Ce; after capture served Sun Ce and Sun Quan faithfully. Cao Cao tried to recruit him with “dang gui”; he did not respond. His son Taishi Heng served Wu as Gentleman of the Household, Colonel of the Rapid as Tigers, Director of the Secretariat, and Administrator of Wu commandery.
Anecdotes and allusions
Arrow through hand into beam
贯手著棼 (Guàn shǒu zháo fén)
At the Mabao bandit fort an enemy on the tower held a beam and cursed. Taishi Ci shot; the arrow went through the man’s hand and pinned it to the beam. The army cheered. The phrase denotes superlative archery.
Source: SGZ (Taishi Ci zhuan)
Type: Historical
Dang gui
当归 (Dāngguī)
Cao Cao sent Taishi Ci a letter with a little “dang gui” (Chinese angelica) inside—“ought to return”—to invite him to defect. Taishi Ci did not respond.
Source: SGZ (Taishi Ci zhuan)
Type: Historical
Seven-foot sword
带七尺之剑，以升天子之阶 (Dài qī chǐ zhī jiàn, yǐ shēng tiānzǐ zhī jiē)
On his deathbed Taishi Ci said: “A man is born to buckle on a seven-foot sword and ascend the Son of Heaven’s steps. My aim is still unfulfilled—why must I die?” Often cited as a hero’s unfulfilled ambition.
Source: Wu shu (in SGZ)
Type: Historical
Achievements
- Military: Relieved Duchang for Kong Rong; Shenting duel; pacified Liu Yao’s troops for Sun Ce; “arrow through hand into beam”; Commandant of Jianchang, kept Liu Pan at bay.
- Legacy: Model of keeping faith and repaying kindness; superb archer; deathbed line on the seven-foot sword; Romance moves his death to Hefei (arrow wound from Zhang Liao).
Behind the scenes
Taishi Ci is in SGZ Wu 49 with Liu Yao and Shi Xie. His burial place is disputed (Beigu in Zhenjiang, Wucheng in Huzhou, Fengxin in Jiangxi). The Romance has him die later at Hefei, wounded by Zhang Liao in a failed ruse; historically he died in 206 of illness. In Song he was honoured as Linghui Hou and later Guangyou Linghui Shen in Fengxin.
Historical evaluations
- Kong Rong: “You are my young friend.”
- Liu Yao: “If I used Ziyi, would not Xu Zijiang laugh at me?”
- Sun Ce (Jiangbiao zhuan): “Taishi Ziyi is a Qingzhou famous scholar; he puts trust and duty first and in the end did not deceive me.”
- Chen Shou: “Taishi Ci was faithful to his word and ardent—he had the quality of the ancients.”
- Hong Mai: “In the age of Han and Wei when heroes fought, the bold and principled were beyond what later men could match—and Taishi Ci was especially to be praised.”
Legacy
Taishi Ci is remembered for repaying Kong Rong, for the Shenting duel with Sun Ce, for keeping his promise to return in sixty days, and for the “arrow through hand into beam” and his deathbed words about the seven-foot sword. He appears in the Romance (including a later death at Hefei), in opera, film, and games.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 166 | Born in Huang County, Donglai |
| c. 187 | Cuts provincial memorial at Luoyang; flees to Liaodong |
| 191 | Helps Liu Zheng escape Liaodong (Bing Yuan) |
| 193–195 | Kong Rong cares for his mother; Guan Hai besieges Duchang |
| 195 | Breaks out, fetches Liu Bei’s troops; Kong Rong relieved; joins Liu Yao at Qu’a |
| 195 | Shenting duel with Sun Ce; later captured; sent to gather Liu Yao’s troops; returns in sixty days |
| 196+ | General of the Household Who Charges into Battle; “arrow through hand into beam” at Mabao |
| c. 203 | Commandant of Jianchang, Haichun; resists Liu Pan; Cao Cao sends “dang gui” |
| 206 | Dies at 41; “seven-foot sword” deathbed words; Cheng Pu succeeds him |