Chen Dao
Chen Dao, courtesy name Shuzhi, was a military general of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under the warlord Liu Bei, the founding emperor of Shu Han, in the late Eastern Han dynasty.
Historical sources on Chen Dao's life
Little is recorded about Chen Dao in history; unlike other notable persons of the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period, he does not have a biography in the 3rd-century text Records of the Three Kingdoms, the authoritative source for that era in Chinese history. Information on him is scattered throughout the biographies of other persons in the Sanguozhi and other sources such as the Chronicles of Huayang and Taiping Yulan.Life and career
Chen Dao was from Runan Commandery, 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 Yu Province.Chen Dao served under the Shu Han state, founded by Liu Bei, during the Three Kingdoms period. In the early Jianxing era of Liu Shan's reign, he was appointed General Who Attacks the West and Army Protector, and awarded the title of a village marquis. In 226, when the Shu regent Zhuge Liang was preparing to launch a military campaign against Wei, he reassigned the general Li Yan to Jiangzhou and put him in charge of logistics. Chen Dao was ordered to replace Li Yan at his previous post in Yong'an County near the border between Shu and its ally state Wu. Chen must have retired, or died by 234 as Deng Zhi was soon stationed there as the new area commander.
Appraisal
Chen Shou, who wrote the Records of the Three Kingdoms in the 3rd century, recorded that Chen Dao was second to the Shu general Zhao Yun in terms of fame and status, and that he exhibited loyalty and courage throughout his life.Yang Xi, who wrote the Ji Han Fuchen Zan, a collection of praises of notable persons who served in the Shu Han state, appraised him as follows: "General Who Attacks the South (征南將軍) was kind and conscientious, General Who Attacks the West was loyal and diligent. Both were at the time elite warriors and ferocious generals among the illustrious."
Zhuge Liang, the Shu regent from 223 to 234, mentioned in a letter that his brother Zhuge Jin, commented that the soldiers guarding Baidicheng were not well trained. Zhuge Liang reassured him that the one in charge of military affairs was Chen Dao, who previously served as the leader of Liu Bei's bodyguards, the "White Feather Soldiers", which was one of the most elite units in the Shu army at the time.