Dou Kang Dou Kang ( 竇抗 ) ( died 621 ) , courtesy name Daosheng ( 道生 ) , was an official and general during the Chinese dynasties Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty who briefly served as a chancellor early in the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Tang . Background . It is not known when Dou Kang was born . His father was Dou Rongding ( 竇榮定 ) , who carried the Sui title of Duke of Chen . His mother was the Princess Ancheng , sister to Sui Dynasty ' s founder Emperor Wen . As the emperor ' s nephew , Dou Kang was treated well by Emperor Wen , and was a student at the imperial university in his youth . He also became a guard for Emperor Wen . During Sui Dynasty . After Dou Rongding died in 586 , Dou Kang inherited the title of Duke of Chen . He was then made the governor of Liang Province ( 梁州 , roughly modern Hanzhong , Shaanxi ) . Before his departing the capital Chang ' an to report to Liang Province , Emperor Wen personally visited Dou Kang and Princess Ancheng . Later , when Princess Ancheng died , Dou Kang was said to be in much distress in mourning that he fainted several times , and Emperor Wen sent his servants to comfort Dou Kang . Thereafter , Emperor Wen recalled him to governmental service as the governor of Qi Province ( 岐州 , roughly modern Baoji , Shaanxi ) , and then as the commandant at Youzhou ( modern Beijing , Tianjin and northern Hebei ) . Dou developed a reputation for being generous and merciful , during these terms of service . In 604 , Emperor Wen died — a death that traditional historians generally believe to be a murder ordered by his son and crown prince Yang Guang , although they admitted a lack of direct evidence . Yang Guang took the throne as Emperor Yang . Immediately thereafter , another son of Emperor Wen , Yang Liang the Prince of Han , rebelled against Emperor Yang at Bing Province ( 并州 , roughly modern Taiyuan , Shanxi ) . Emperor Yang , for reasons not stated in historical accounts , suspected Dou of collaborating with Yang Liang and sent the general Li Zixiong ( 李子雄 ) rushing to You Province to arrest Dou and replace him . Li subsequently alleged that Dou had received letters from Yang Liang urging him to join the rebellion but had not reported them to Emperor Yang . However , after an investigation , Emperor Yang concluded that there was a lack of evidence that Dou collaborated with Yang Liang , but nevertheless removed him from governmental service and further stripped him of the title of Duke of Chen , bestowing that title on his younger brother Dou Qing ( 竇慶 ) instead . Dou Kang was friendly with another general , Li Yuan the Duke of Tang , the husband of a cousin of his . During the rebellion of the general Yang Xuangan in 613 , when Li Yuan was commissioned with an army , it was said that Dou told Li , Li responded , " I will not be the start of a rebellion . Why do you speak in such daring terms ? " Nevertheless , he kept Dou ' s suggestion in mind . Toward the end of Emperor Yang ' s reign , Dou was commissioned with an army at Lingwu to secure the northern border . After Li Yuan rebelled against Emperor Yang in 617 and subsequently captured Chang ' an , declaring Emperor Yang ' s grandson Yang You the Prince of Dai emperor ( as Emperor Gong ) , Dou submitted to him in spring 618 , along with the several commanderies he controlled in the region . During Tang Dynasty . Soon thereafter , Emperor Yang was killed in a coup at Jiangdu ( 江都 , in modern Yangzhou , Jiangsu ) led by the general Yuwen Huaji . When the news reached Chang ' an , Li Yuan had Emperor Gong yield the throne to him , establishing Tang Dynasty as its Emperor Gaozu . Dou Kang , who was then the minister of engineering , was given the additional title of " Nayan " ( 納言 ) , the head of the examination bureau of the government and a post considered to be one for a chancellor . He often attended Emperor Gaozu in the palace . Emperor Gaozu referred to him as " brother , " and within the palace , he was referred to as " uncle . " In winter 618 , Dou Kang was no longer " Nayan " , and was made a general . He soon assisted Emperor Gaozu ' s son Li Shimin the Prince of Qin in defeating a major enemy , Xue Rengao the Emperor of Qin . In 621 , he also assisted Li Shimin in attacking Wang Shichong the Emperor of Zheng , and after Wang surrendered , nine officials were particularly honored at the imperial ancestors ' temple , among them were Dou Kang and his cousin Dou Gui ( 竇軌 ) ; he was also given much material rewards . Later that year , during an imperial feast , Dou Kang died suddenly .