Tao Kan Tao Kan ( ) ( 259 – 334 ) , courtesy name Shixing ( 士行 ) , formally Duke Huan of Changsha ( 長沙桓公 ) , was a renowned Jin Dynasty ( 265 - 420 ) general and governor . He was the great - grandfather of the Jin Dynasty poet Tao Yuanming . Early career . Tao Kan was born under the rule of Eastern Wu , and his father was an Eastern Wu general . Early in his career , he was a low - level county official , but subsequently on recommendation of the commandery governor Zhang Kui ( 張夔 ) , he was sent to the Jin prime minister Zhang Hua for commission ; however , Zhang Hua , who did not favor people from former Eastern Wu lands , did not give him a commission , and he ended up serving on staff of the general Sun Xiu ( 孫秀 , not to be confused with the Eastern Wu emperor ) , a member of the Eastern Wu imperial household . Later , Tao served on the staff of the famed Jing Province ( 荊州 , modern Hubei and Hunan ) governor Liu Hong ( 劉弘 ) . Liu once personally told him , " When I was serving on General Yang Hu ' s staff , he told me that I would one day have his position . Now , I tell you that you will one day have my position . " Tao later played a large role in Liu ' s suppression of the rebel Chen Min ( 陳敏 ) . He later served successively as several commanderies ' governor , and later served under the general Wang Dun , participating in Wang ' s campaign against various agrarian rebels , including the powerful Du Tao ( 杜弢 ) . For his accomplishments , Wang commissioned Tao as the governor of Jing Province , fulfilling Liu ' s prior words . However , Wang soon became apprehensive about Tao ' s abilities . In 315 , he suddenly detained Tao and ordered him to be the governor of Guang Province ( 廣州 , modern Guangdong ) - - considered to be a demotion and an exile . He even considered executing Tao , but fearful that killing Tao would lead to reactions from the general Zhou Fang ( 周訪 ) , whose daughter was Tao ' s daughter - in - law , he allowed Tao to report to Guang Province , which had been in control of the semi - rebel Wang Ji ( 王機 ) . Upon arrival in Guang Province , Tao defeated Wang easily and pacified the province . As the provincial affairs did not require him to work all day , Tao developed the exercise habit of moving a hundred bricks a day from his study to his courtyard , and then from the courtyard back to the study , reasoning that he needed to continue to exercise himself for future campaigns to recover central China . He was therefore often cited in Chinese history as an example of the importance of physical exercise . Later career . When Wang Dun rebelled against Emperor Yuan in 322 , Emperor Yuan commissioned Tao to be the governor of Jiang Province ( 江州 , modern Jiangxi ) with intent that Tao participate in attacking Wang ' s rear . However , Tao sent only a small force to assist Sima Cheng ( 司馬承 ) the governor of Xiang Province ( 湘州 , modern Hunan ) , who was loyal to Emperor Yuan , and Tao ' s force was insufficient to prevent Sima Cheng from being defeated and killed by Wang . After Wang was successful in capturing the capital Jiankang and forcing Emperor Yuan to submit to his will , he kept Tao at Guang Province . Subsequently , after Wang died during his campaign to overthrow Emperor Ming in 324 , Emperor Ming made Tao the governor of Jing Province and military commander of the western provinces . He was effective in that role — and the military improvements he made later helped to pave the way for Huan Wen ' s later campaign to conquer Cheng Han in 347 . However , Tao became resentful when Emperor Ming died in 325 and failed to list him among the officials who were promoted or honored — leading him to suspect that Emperor Ming ' s brother - in - law , the regent Yu Liang , had erased his name . As a result , Yu became apprehensive of Tao , and subsequently , when Su Jun rebelled in 327 and attacked Jiankang , he ordered Wen Jiao the governor of Jiang Province " not " to come to Jiankang ' s aid but instead defend against a possible Tao attack , and this contributed to Jiankang ' s fall to Su in 328 . After Jiankang fell , Yu fled to Wen ' s domain , and they considered how they could defeat Su . Wen ' s cousin Wen Chong ( 溫充 ) suggested that they offer the title of the supreme commander to Tao , and they did so . However , Tao was still resentful of Yu and therefore initially refused . Eventually , however , after his anger was over , he accepted , and he , Wen , and Yu combined their forces and headed east to Jiankang . In winter 328 , during a battle with Su , Su was killed , and they subsequently defeated the remnants of Su ' s army in 329 . For his contributions , Tao was created the Duke of Changsha . When he later suppressed the rebellion of Guo Mo ( 郭默 ) in 330 , he was given the military command over eight provinces — an extreme authority not even matched by Wang Dun . As he grew ill in 334 , he resigned and tried to retire to his dukedom of Changsha , but died on the way .