Liu Tao 劉陶
| Occupation | NOfficial · Grandee Remonstrant | Faction | Eastern Han |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | N | Biography in | |
| Cause of death | NKilled Unverified | ||
| Existence | Fictional | Mentions |
Profile
Liu Tao is a Grandee Remonstrant of the Han who appears in Chapter 2 of the Romance. At a time when the Ten Regular Attendants are hiding all the urgent memorials and not reporting them, he comes straight before the emperor, who is drinking with the Ten Regular Attendants in the rear garden, weeps aloud, and declares that the calamity of bandits rising on all sides all stems from the Ten Regular Attendants selling offices, harming the people and deceiving their sovereign. Romance, Ch. 2 §30–31
When the angered emperor orders him dragged out and beheaded, the Minister over the Masses Chen Dan stops the execution and goes into the palace to remonstrate, but the emperor has Chen Dan dragged out as well and thrown into prison together with Liu Tao, and that night the Ten Regular Attendants kill the two men in prison. Romance, Ch. 2 §32–34
He appears only in Chapter 2, 1 of the Romance's 120 chapters, and his name is in no chapter title. He appears neither in Chen Shou's main text nor in Pei Songzhi's commentary. Liu Tao, the youngest son of Liu Ye, who is recorded in Records of Wei 14 of Chen Shou's main text as having risen to Grand Administrator of Pingyuan, is a different person whose name is written with the same characters. Romance, Ch. 2 §31Records, Wei 14 §111
In the Romance
In Chapter 2 of the Romance, the Ten Regular Attendants, holding great power, agree to kill anyone at all who does not follow them. Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang demand gold and silk from the generals who crushed the Yellow Turbans and have Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun, who refuse to give anything, stripped of their offices, and the emperor makes Zhao Zhong and others Generals of Chariots and Cavalry and enfeoffs Zhang Rang and others, thirteen men in all, as marquises. The government of the court decays further, and Ou Xing rebels in Changsha and Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun in Yuyang, but although urgent memorials fly in like snowflakes, the Ten Regular Attendants hide them all and do not report them. Romance, Ch. 2 §29–30
One day, while the emperor is holding a drinking party with the Ten Regular Attendants in the rear garden, the Grandee Remonstrant Liu Tao comes straight before the emperor and weeps aloud. When the emperor asks why, Liu Tao says that the realm is in peril from one moment to the next, yet His Majesty is still drinking with eunuchs. When the emperor asks what danger there can be when the state is at peace, Liu Tao declares that bandits have risen together on all sides and are raiding and plundering provinces and commanderies, that this calamity all stems from the Ten Regular Attendants selling offices, harming the people and deceiving their sovereign, and that since the upright men of the court have all left, disaster is before their eyes. Romance, Ch. 2 §31–32
The Ten Regular Attendants all take off their caps, prostrate themselves before the emperor and weep, saying that since the high ministers will not tolerate them they cannot live, and that if they are allowed to return to their home villages they will give all their family property to help pay for the army. The emperor angrily says to Liu Tao that his household too must have close attendants, so why should he alone not tolerate the emperor's, and calls for guards to drag him out and behead him. Liu Tao cries out that he does not regret dying, but alas, the realm of the house of Han, which has lasted more than four hundred years, now comes to an end in a single morning. Romance, Ch. 2 §32
Just as the guards are about to carry out the execution, the Minister over the Masses Chen Dan shouts for them to stop, goes straight into the palace and remonstrates, asking for what crime Remonstrant Liu is being put to death. When the emperor says that Liu Tao slandered his close servants and affronted the emperor himself, Chen Dan declares that the people of the realm wish to chew the flesh of the Ten Regular Attendants, yet His Majesty has enfeoffed them all as marquises though they have not a hair's breadth of merit, and moreover Feng Xu and others colluded with the Yellow Turbans and intended to stir up rebellion from within. The emperor answers that the matter of Feng Xu's rebellion is not clear, and when Chen Dan remonstrates by striking his head against the steps, the emperor angrily has him dragged out and thrown into prison together with Liu Tao. That night the Ten Regular Attendants kill the two men in prison, and forging an imperial edict, make Sun Jian Grand Administrator of Changsha and have him attack Ou Xing. Romance, Ch. 2 §33–34
Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.
Abilities
There is no record in the main text of Chen Shou’s Records, so only the Romance score is given.
- LEA31
- STR31
- INT58
- POL45
- CHA40
- VIR86
- ADP30
- SCH42
- DIP48
- DIS35
Evidence by ability
NNo direct record — estimated from his post as Grandee RemonstrantCh. 2 §31
NNo direct record — estimated from his post as Grandee RemonstrantCh. 2 §31
NPointed out that the root of the banditry lay in the Ten Regular Attendants' selling of offices and deceitCh. 2 §31
NNo direct record — estimated from his conduct as Grandee Remonstrant in denouncing the court's misruleCh. 2 §31
NNo direct record — estimated from his post as Grandee RemonstrantCh. 2 §31
NNo direct record — estimated from his post as Grandee RemonstrantCh. 2 §31
NNo direct record — estimated from his post as Grandee RemonstrantCh. 2 §31
Romance Unverified No direct record; scored from their actions (evidence grade C)
3KDEX scoring — the Records use the main text of Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms; the Romance uses the 120-chapter Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Click a source tag to open that passage in the reader.
Romance chapters (1)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →
Allegiance history
- Eastern Han · Romance · Romance ch. 2 s31 「諫議大夫劉陶，徑到帝前大慟」 · s32 「劉陶大呼」 · s33 「武士擁陶出…劉諫議」 · 「與劉陶皆下獄…獄中謀殺之」