Chen Dao

**Chen Dao** (170-241), courtesy name **Shuzhi** is a military general who serves under Warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He joins Liu Bei when the later became the Governor of Xu Province somewhere between the early 190s and had since fought many battles under Liu Bei's banner. He continued serving in the state of Shu Han – founded by Liu Bei in 221 – in the Three Kingdoms period.

Chen Dao's bravery and accomplishment were often compared to Zhao Yun and widely . In the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he was lauded as a member of the Ten Tiger Generals under Liu Bei.

## Early Life

Chen Dao was from Runan Commandery (汝南郡), which covers parts of present-day southern Henan. He started following the warlord Liu Bei sometime in the 190s when Liu Bei held the appointment of Governor of Xu Province

## Service under Liu Bei

Chen Dao accompanied Liu Bei on his return to Xu Province, which was now under Lü Bu's control, and reluctantly accepted Lü Bu's offer to move to Xiaopei (小沛; in present-day Pei County, Jiangsu) while Lü Bu remained in Xiapi. Tensions between Liu Bei and Lü Bu increased until the point of conflict. Liu Bei sought help from Cao Cao, a warlord who controlled the Han central government. Cao Cao and Liu Bei combined forces and defeated Lü Bu at the Battle of Xiapi in 198, after which they returned to the imperial capital Xu (許; present-day Xuchang, Henan) together. In Xu, Chen Dao was appointed as a General of the Household (中郎將).

After Liu Biao died in 208, his younger son Liu Cong succeeded him as the Governor of Jing Province. When Cao Cao launched a military campaign in the same year to eliminate opposing forces in southern China, Liu Cong surrendered and yielded Jing Province to him. Liu Bei and his followers abandoned their stronghold in Xinye County and headed further south towards Xiakou (夏口; present-day Hankou, Hubei), which was guarded by Liu Biao's elder son Liu Qi and was independent of Cao Cao's control.

In 208, Liu Bei and Sun Jian combined forces and defeated Cao Cao at the decisive Battle of Red Cliffs. Liu Bei later took control of southern Jing Province, with his headquarters at Nan Commandery (南郡; around present-day Jingzhou, Hubei) and Gong'an County. Chen Dao was appointed General Who Attacks West (征虜將軍) and Administrator (太守) of Zhijiang Commandery. He was also enfeoffed as the Marquis of Huan Village (新亭侯).

Around 211, Liu Bei led an army west into Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) to assist the provincial governor Liu Zhang in countering a rival warlord, Zhang Lu of Hanzhong Commandery. Chen Dao and others remained behind to guard Jing Province.

Liu Bei and Liu Zhang were friendly towards each other in the beginning, but tensions between them gradually increased until the point of armed conflict around late 212. Liu Bei was initially stationed at Jiameng Pass (葭萌關; in present-day Zhaohua District, Guangyuan, Sichuan), where he was helping Liu Zhang defend the area from Zhang Lu. However, he turned against Liu Zhang later and attacked him. He ordered Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun Chen Dao, and others to lead reinforcements from Jing Province into Yi Province to help him, while Guan Yu remained behind to defend Jing Province

## Service under Liu Shan

In the early Jianxing era (223–237) of Liu Shan's reign, Chen Dao was appointed General Who Attacks the West (征西將軍) and Army Protector (護軍), and awarded the title of a village marquis (亭侯).

In 227, Chen Dao have move into the staging at the Hanzhong Commandery to join Zhuge Liang, who had mobilised military forces from throughout Shu in preparation for a large-scale military campaign against Shu's rival state, Wei.

## Family

Chen Dao has three sons his eldest son Chen Xiu served as an Officer of the Standard (牙門將). Chen Qian served as an official in Shu Imperial Court.

## Appraisal

Chen Dao was noted for being strict and resilient man and known for his strict disciplinarian behavior, He rewarded his men for their merits and punished them for their boasting or lack of training and give orders in timely and simple manner for his soldier to understand.

Chen Dao was noted be closed friends with Zhao Yun and both of them worked well together and both of them were well regarded by Liu Bei for their bravery, courage and loyalty. Both Chen Dao and Zhao Yun are often worshipped as door gods in Chinese folk religion.