Zhou Tai
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Zhou Tai (周泰; d. 225), courtesy name Youping (幼平), was an officer who served the kingdom of Wu in the Three Kingdoms era of China.
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[edit] Life
He originally served as a bodyguard of Sun Ce with his former comrade in piracy Jiang Qin, but was eventually promoted to lead troops. Numerous times throughout his career, he saved Sun Quan from danger by risking his own life. He was scarred for life by saving the then-young Sun Quan from an attack of Shanyue rebels while Sun Ce was away on campaign, suffering twelve deep wounds from the battle.
Later in life, he rescued Sun Quan yet again, this time from Zhang Liao's ambush at the Battle of Hefei. After this amazing feat, having charged enemy lines to accomplish the rescue, Sun Quan would for the rest of his living days request Zhou Tai present at his side during all major battles. The two shared a bond of friendship, and it was said that Sun Quan held none of his generals in higher regard.
When Sun Quan promoted Zhou Tai to Controller of Ruxu, the other generals would not accept Zhou Tai's command at first, citing his common background. Thus Sun Quan made a special trip to Ruxu, where during a party, he personally brought Zhou Tai wine and asked for him to remove his outer garments. Pointing at each scar, Sun Quan asked Zhou Tai the story behind it, whereupon Zhou Tai would respond with his memories of past battles. The other officers gained much respect for Zhou Tai and accepted his command.
It should be noted that Zhou Tai was a pirate who had battled Sun Jian before the Three Kingdoms, showing impressive prowess and being noted as a match for the warriors of lore by Sun Jian.
[edit] Zhou Tai in popular culture
[edit] Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it was Zhou Tai who killed Shamoke, avenging Gan Ning, who had been killed with an arrow by Shamoke earlier during the Battle of Yiling.
[edit] Video games
Zhou Tai is a playable character in the popular Koei video game series, Dynasty Warriors, being introduced in Dynasty Warriors 4. He is portrayed as a man who prefers actions to words. He is strong, brave, determined and inexorable, fearing no-one and nothing. His storyline follows his commitment and unwavering loyalty to the Wu Kingdom, but more specifically to Sun Quan, consistently moving to assist Sun when threatened by the enemy. In game, his weapon is the "Dusk," a Japanese tachi (erroneously labelled as the katana, however), which he wields one-handed, and is stored in an intricate scabbard. This causes discontinuity in the storyline, as there is no historical record of a tachi being used in China around this time period. It is likely Zhou's weapon is designed to create a more unique and individualised character, as several of the 48 characters represented have very similar fighting styles and weapons, which was seen in past incarnations of the series as one of its more prominent weak points.
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