Du Tao


Du Tao (died 315), courtesy name Jingwen, was an rebel leader during the Jin Dynasty (266-420). Originally from Yizhou, he fled west to avoid a rebellion led by Li Xiang (李驤) in and shortly served as a Jin official in 311. The same year, he was proclaimed a leader of an uprising led by Ba and Shu refugees, many who had fled before him to escape the Ba-Di conflict that started in 301. Du Tao fought with the Jin forces led by Wang Dun, Tao Kan and Zhou Fang in Jingzhou and Xiangzhou (modern Hunan) for four years, before he presumably died while fleeing in 315, putting an end to his rebellion.

Du Tao
杜弢
Prefect of Liling (醴陵令)
In office
311 (311) – 311 (311)
MonarchEmperor Huai of Jin
Personal details
BornUnknown
Chengdu, Sichuan
Died318
RelationsDu Zhi (grandfather)
Courtesy nameJingwen (杜弢)
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Du.

Prior rebellion

Du Tao was from Chengdu, Yizhou (in present-day Sichuan) and was the grandson of a famous official in Shu Han named Du Zhi (杜植) during the Three Kingdoms period. In 311, he was forced to migrate to Nanping commandery (南平郡, in present-day Gong'an County, Hubei) due to a recent uprising by a Shu native named Li Xiang. There, he was appointed as the Prefect of Liling by the Administrator of Nanping, Ying Zhan (應詹). Together, they routed Li Xiang, and he was later executed by the Inspector of Jingzhou, Wang Cheng. Wang tricked Li by pretending to accept his surrender, and after he killed him, he drowned 8,000 of the rebels in the Yangtze.[1]

Resentment grew among the Ba and Shu refugees, who were fleeing their homelands west to avoid the rise of Cheng Han in Yizhou since 301.[2] They were treated poorly by the local administrators and populace, and the recent actions by Wang Cheng only made them anxious. Not long after, another native of Shu named Du Chou (杜疇) rebelled. The consistent uprisings by Shu refugees were beginning to arouse suspicion among the officials of Jingzhou and Xiangzhou. Finally, the Inspector of Xiangzhou, Xun Tiao (荀眺), decided to plan and carry out a mass execution on the refugees. However, before it could occur, news of this managed to get out to the public, and hearing this, the refugees revolted en masse in Jingzhou and Xiangzhou. They proclaimed Du Tao as their leader, as he was from Shu and a popular official.[3]

Du Tao's rebellion

Du Tao agreed to lead the rebellion, declaring himself Governor of Liangzhou and Yizhou and acting Inspector of Xiangzhou. He occupied the city of Changsha where Xun Tiao resided, forcing him to retreat to Guangzhou. The Inspector of Guangzhou, Guo Ne (郭訥), and Wang Cheng sent their general to quell the rebellion but Du Tao routed their forces. Du Tao then killed the newly appointed Inspector of Jingzhou, Guo Cha (郭察), and continued his successes by conquering Lingling and Wuchang while killing many officials along the way.[4]

The following year, Wang Cheng was dismissed by Sima Rui as Inspector of Jingzhou in favor of Zhou Yi due to Wang's inefficient leadership. Just as Zhou Yi arrived, a refugee from Jianping (建平, in present-day Jingzhou), Fu Mi (傅密) rebelled under Du Tao's name, and Du Tao sent his subordinate Wang Zhen (王眞) to jointly attack Zhou. With Jingzhou at risk of falling, the commander of the western provinces, Wang Dun, immediately sent Tao Kan and Zhou Fang to support Zhou Yi.[5] In 313, Tao Kan defeated Du Tao and saved Zhou Yi at Xunshui and later predicted that Du Tao would go to Wuchang next. His predictions were true and Du was beaten again, causing him to retreat back to Changsha.

By 315, Du Tao's forces were beginning to collapse. Continuous defeats against Tao Kan were diminishing his numbers, leading him to ask for surrender from Sima Rui. When Sima Rui rejected it, he then sent a letter to Ying Zhan, justifying his rebellion by stating the oppression faced by his followers under the Jin regime. Ying Zhan sent the letter to Sima Rui, who was impressed and retracted his previous rejection. Du Tao was pardoned and appointed as Chief of military affairs in Badong commandery (巴東郡; around present-day Chongqing). Despite that, Du rebelled again the same year after he was disrespected by the Jin generals and killed Rui's candidate to accept his surrender, Wang Yun (王運).[6]

Du Tao exchanged bouts with Tao Kan. In their final battle, Du sent his general Wang Gong (王貢) to lead against Tao Kan. However, Tao managed to convince Wang to defect to his side which created confusion in Du Tao's army and caused them to scatter. Du Tao also retreated but what became of him after this was unknown. Three different accounts stated that he either was killed[7], successfully escaped and disappeared[8] or drowned himself in a river.[9] Regardless, the rebellion ended in 315 after Tao Kan recovered Changsha. Du Tao's followers were granted amnesty by Sima Rui after they surrendered.

References
  1. (巴、蜀流民布在荊、湘間，數爲土民所侵苦，蜀人李驤聚衆據樂鄕反，南平太守應詹與醴陵令杜弢共擊破之。王澄使成都內史王機討驤，驤請降，澄僞許而襲殺之，以其妻子爲賞，沈八千餘人於江；流民益怨忿。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 87
  2. (後為醴陵令。時巴蜀流人汝班、蹇碩等數萬家，布在荊湘間，而為舊百姓之所侵苦，並懷怨恨。) Book of Jin, Volume 100
  3. (蜀人杜疇、蹇撫等復擾湘州，參軍馮素與汝班不協，言于刺史荀眺曰：「流人皆欲反。」眺以為然，欲盡誅流人。班等懼死，聚眾以應疇。時弢在湘中，賊眾共推弢為主，弢自稱梁益二州牧、平難將軍、湘州刺史。) Book of Jin, Volume 100
  4. (攻破郡縣，眺委城走廣州。廣州刺史郭訥遣始興太守嚴佐率眾攻弢，弢逆擊破之。荊州刺史王澄復遣王機擊弢，敗于巴陵。弢遂縱兵肆暴，偽降于山簡，簡以為廣漢太守。眺之走也，州人推安成太守郭察領州事，因率眾討弢，反為所敗，察死之。弢遂南破零陵，東侵武昌，害長沙太守崔敷、宜都太守杜鑒、邵陵太守鄭融等。) Book of Jin, Volume 100
  5. (蜀賊杜弢作亂，荊州刺史周顗退走，敦遣武昌太守陶侃、豫章太守周訪等討韜，而敦進住豫章，為諸軍繼援。) Book of Jin, Volume 98
  6. (王敦遣陶侃、甘卓等討杜弢，前後數十戰，弢將士多死，乃請降於丞相睿，睿不許。弢遺南平太守應詹書，自陳昔與詹「共討樂鄕，本同休戚。後在湘中，懼死求生，遂相結聚。儻以舊交之情，爲明枉直，使得輸誠盟府，廁列義徒，或北清中原，或西取李雄，以贖前愆，雖死之日，猶生之年也！」詹爲啓呈其書，且言「弢，益州秀才，素有清望，爲鄕人所逼。今悔惡歸善，宜命使撫納，以息江、湘之民！」睿乃使前南海太守王運受弢降，赦其反逆之罪，以弢爲巴東監軍。弢旣受命，諸將猶攻之不已。弢不勝憤怒，遂殺運復反，遣其將杜弘、張彥殺臨川內史謝摛，遂陷豫章。三月，周訪擊彥，斬之，弘奔臨賀。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 89
  7. (八月癸亥，戰于襄垣，王師敗績。荊州刺史陶侃攻杜弢，弢敗走，道死，湘州平。) Book of Jin, Volume 5
  8. (於是侃等諸軍齊進，真遂降侃，眾黨散潰。弢乃逃遁，不知所在。) Book of Jin, Volume 100
  9. (城潰，弢投水死) The Annals of Han and Jin
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