Tao Gu (陶穀) | 24 Histories

Overview

The translated histories identify Tao Gu as an envoy, official, scholar, and writer. This record brings together 14 passages from 8 chapters across 4 histories, with names, dates, relationships, offices, and events preserved as source-backed claims.

Names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal	Tao Gu	陶穀	Tao Gu
Title	Academician Tao Gu
Given	Gu	穀	Gǔ
Given	Gu	穀	Gu
Title	Hanlin Academician	翰林學士	Hanlin xueshi
Surname	Tao	陶	Táo
Surname	Tao	陶	Tao
Surname	Tao	陶
Personal name	Tao Gu	陶穀	Táo Gǔ
Personal name	Tao Gu	陶穀	Tao Gu
Personal	Tao Gu	陶谷	Tao Gu
Personal	Tao Gu	陶穀
Personal name	Tao Gu	陶谷	Táo Gǔ
Alternate name	Tao Gu	陶穀	Táo Gǔ

Identity

Historicity: Historical
Identification: Named
Sex: Male

Sex: male
Strongly inferred · jinshi:043:s0016, jiuwudaishi:144:s0149, songshi:118:s0088, songshi:120:s0023, xinwudaishi:012:s0183
Sex: male
Explicit · xinwudaishi:031:s0041, xinwudaishi:069:s0055

Roles

Envoy
Official
Scholar
Writer

Life and dates

Attested activity

Source Date: Text: 開運二年 · Regnal Year: 2 · Western Year: AD 945
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:144:s0149
Source Date: Text: 世宗之時 · Western Year: AD 954
Explicit event contextual date · xinwudaishi:031:s0041
Source Date: Text: 乾德二年 · Western Year: AD 964
Explicit event contextual date · songshi:118:s0084, songshi:118:s0088, songshi:120:s0017, songshi:120:s0023
Source Date: Text: 宋陶穀創意為之 · Western Interval: Start: AD 960 · End: AD 970
Explicit · jinshi:043:s0016
Source Date: Text: 显德中 · Western Year: AD 956
Explicit event contextual date · xinwudaishi:012:s0183
Source Date: Text: 晉高祖 · Western Year: AD 936
Explicit event contextual date · xinwudaishi:069:s0055
Source Date: Text: 顯德六年 · Western Year: AD 959
Explicit event contextual date · jiuwudaishi:119:s0016

Career and standing

Label: Vice Minister of Personnel / 尚書吏部侍郎 · Action: appointed
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:119:s0016
Label: Hanlin Academician and Drafter-in-Chief / 翰林學士承旨 · Action: held
Explicit · songshi:118:s0088
Label: Hanlin academician / 翰林學士 · Action: held
Explicit · xinwudaishi:069:s0055
Label: Hanlin Academician / 翰林學士 · Action: held
Explicit · songshi:120:s0023, xinwudaishi:031:s0041
Label: Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices / 太常少卿 · Action: held
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:144:s0149

Places and affiliations

Label: Song / 宋 · Relation: served
Strongly inferred · songshi:118:s0088
Polity: Song / 宋 · Relation: served
Explicit · jinshi:043:s0016
Polity: Song / 宋 · Relation: served
Strongly inferred · songshi:120:s0023

Works and attributed material

Work: Regulations for officials meeting one another / 內外群臣相見之儀 · Relation: author
Explicit · songshi:118:s0087, songshi:118:s0088
Kind: memorial · Role: author · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 開運二年 · Regnal Year: 2 · Western Year: AD 945
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:144:s0149
Kind: encomium · Role: author · Other Person Id: Li Gu (李穀)
Explicit · xinwudaishi:012:s0183
Kind: letter · Role: author · Other Person Id: Shizong (世宗)
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:119:s0154, jiuwudaishi:119:s0158
Kind: memorial · Role: author · Quoted: true
Explicit · songshi:118:s0088, songshi:118:s0089
Kind: report · Role: reporter
Explicit · xinwudaishi:069:s0056
Kind: speech · Role: speaker · Quoted: true
Explicit · songshi:120:s0023, songshi:120:s0024, songshi:120:s0025, songshi:120:s0026, songshi:120:s0027, songshi:120:s0028

Events and relationships

Kind: political · Role: advocate · Action: argued-for-war
Explicit · xinwudaishi:031:s0041
Kind: deliberation · Role: participant · Action: argued-memorial-precedence
Explicit · songshi:120:s0023, songshi:120:s0028
Kind: invention · Role: inventor · Action: devised · Item: great palanquin / 大輦
Explicit · jinshi:043:s0016
Kind: administrative · Role: official · Action: memorialized-to-abolish-two-dances · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 開運二年 · Regnal Year: 2 · Western Year: AD 945
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:144:s0149

Assessments and attributes

Assessment: worst literary skill among the group; especially lacking in conduct; flattered the ruler · Provenance: Mode: historian-judgment
Explicit · xinwudaishi:031:s0092, xinwudaishi:031:s0093
Item: great palanquin / 大輦 · Relation: devised
Explicit · jinshi:043:s0016

References in the histories

Open any source group to read the Chinese and English passage in context.

History of Jin, Chapter 43Volume 43 Treatises 24: Carriages and Clothing 1: Emperor's Carriages, Empress' and Consorts' Carriages; Crown Prince's Carriages; Princes, Dukes, and Below Carriages and Saddlery; Carriages and Clothing 2: Emperors' Robes and Crowns; Clothing for Those Accompanying the Emperor; Empresses' Crown and Clothing; Crown Princes' Crown and Clothing; Dress for the Imperial Clan, Families of Imperial Consorts, and Titled Nobility; Court Dress for Officials; Ceremonial Clothing; Official Clothing; Carriages and Clothing 3: Tailoring · 1 passage

Open chapter

又大輦，宋陶穀創意為之，至祥符中以其太重，減七百餘斤，可見當時亦無定制，各以意從長斟酌造之。 The great palanquin, moreover, was a Song invention of Tao Gu's; by the Xiangfu reign its weight had been cut by more than seven hundred jin, which shows that even then there was no fixed standard and each was built as convenience dictated.

Old History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 119Volume 119 Book of Later Zhou 21: Shizong Annals 6 · 2 passages

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丙戌，以翰林學士承旨、尚書兵部侍郎陶穀為尚書吏部侍郎充職。 On bingxu, Tao Gu, Hanlin academician-in-chief and vice minister of war, was appointed vice minister of personnel to fill the post.

即陶穀之詞也。 These were the words of Tao Gu.

Old History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 144Volume 144: Treatises 6 Music 1 · 1 passage

Open chapter

開運二年，太常少卿陶穀奏廢二舞。）〉 In the second year of Kaiyun, Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices Tao Gu memorialized to abolish the two dances.)〉

History of Song, Chapter 118Volume 118 Treatises 71: Rites 21 · 1 passage

Open chapter

翰林學士承旨陶穀等奏： Hanlin Academician and Drafter-in-Chief Tao Gu and others memorialized:

History of Song, Chapter 120Volume 120 Treatises 73: Rites 23 · 1 passage

Open chapter

翰林學士陶谷等曰：「按唐制：上臺、東宮並是廷臣，當時左右僕射、侍中、中書令為正宰相。 Hanlin Academician Tao Gu and others argued: 'Under Tang rules, both the superior platform and the Eastern Palace counted as court officials; at that time the Left and Right Vice Directors, the Attendant-in-Chief, and the Director of the Secretariat were the true chief ministers.

New History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 12Volume 12 Later Zhou Annals 3: Shizong, Emperor Gong · 1 passage

Open chapter

后克淮南，出穀疏，使学士陶穀为赞，而盛以锦囊，尝置之坐侧。 After Huainan fell he produced Gu’s memorial, had Academician Tao Gu compose an encomium, and kept it in a brocade pouch at his side.

New History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 31Volume 31 Later Zhou Biographies 11: Wang Pu, Zheng Renhui, Hu Zai · 5 passages

Open chapter

惟翰林學士陶谷竇儀、御史中丞楊昭儉與朴皆言用兵之策，朴謂江淮為可先取。 Only Hanlin Academician Tao Gu, Dou Yi, Censor-in-Chief Yang Zhaojian, and Pu argued for war—and Pu said take the Jianghuai first.

是時，天子英武，樂延天下奇才，而尤禮文士，載與張昭、竇儼、陶穀、徐臺符等俱被進用。 The Son of Heaven was bold and martial, hungry for extraordinary men, and especially honored men of letters. Zai, with Zhang Zhao, Dou Yan, Tao Gu, Xu Taifu, and others, all rose into office.

穀居數人中，文辭最劣，尤無行。 Among them Gu wrote worst—and behaved worst.

昭、儼數與論議，其文粲然，而穀徒能先意所在，以進諛取合人主，事無大小，必稱美頌贊，至於廣京城，為木偶耕人、紫芝白兔之類，皆為頌以獻，其辭大抵類俳優。 Zhao and Yan often argued with him; their prose shone. Gu could only read the ruler’s mood, flatter ahead of it, and praise every deed, great or small. Widening the capital, wooden farm figures, purple fungus, white hares—all won his hymns of praise, his words mostly fit for a clown.

而載以不幸早卒，論議雖不及昭、儼，而不為穀之諛也。 Zai, cut off young, never matched Zhao and Yan in argument—but he never flattered like Gu.

New History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 69Volume 69: Hereditary House of Nanping · 2 passages

Open chapter

晉高祖遣翰林學士陶穀為從誨生辰國信使，從誨宴穀望沙樓，大陳戰艦於樓下，謂穀曰：「吳、蜀不賓久矣，願修武備，習水戰，以待師期。」 Emperor Gaozu of Jin sent the Hanlin academician Tao Gu as birthday envoy to Conghui. Conghui entertained him at the Wangsha Tower with a great display of warships below and said, "Wu and Shu have long withheld submission. I mean to strengthen my defenses, train for naval warfare, and await the day when your armies march."

穀還，具道其語，晉高祖大喜，復遣使賜以甲馬百匹。 On his return Gu repeated the speech in full. Gaozu was delighted and sent another envoy with a gift of a hundred suits of armor and horses.