Died 256 (aged 95) Wade–Giles Lu Tai Pinyin | Simplified Chinese 吕岱 Traditional Chinese 呂岱 Name Lu Dai | |
Courtesy name Dinggong (Chinese: 定公; pinyin: Dinggong; Wade–Giles: Ting-kung) | ||
Lü Dai (161–256), courtesy name Dinggong, was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. Following the death of Sun Quan, Zhuge Ke and Lü Dai were entrusted to govern the state. However, according to history, Lü Dai served during Sun Quan's reign as Senior General-in-Chief (上大將軍). It is said that he remained active even at an old age.
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Life
Lu Dai was initially designated to be the Inspector of Jiaozhi (present-day Northern Vietnam) by imperial decree after the passing of Shi Xie. His predecessor's son Shi Hui, however, forcibly took his father's position, leaving Lu Dai to rely on the former's cousin Shi Kuang for aid. Shortly after Shi Hui's surrender, he and his accomplices were killed. During his time in Jiaozhi, Lu Dai was assisted by Wu Can and Xue Zong in dealing with the Shanyue tribes terrorizing Wu's southern provinces. At one point, Yu Fan, who had been exiled to the province, asked Lu Dai to help him convince Sun Quan to not lead an expedition against Gongsun Yuan. However, Lu Dai ignored Yu Fan's instructions.
On his deathbed, Sun Quan decreed that Zhuge Ke would be the new regent. As Zhuge Ke was leaving Wuchang, the more experienced Lu Dai warned the regent to think ten times before acting, fully aware of the younger man's recklessness. Zhuge Ke was incensed by these words and proceeded to state that Ji Wenzi, the student of Confucius, was only told to think twice when he himself stated that he would think thrice before each decision. Lu Dai was unable to respond to the younger man's scathing remarks, but his words would ring true in later years as Zhuge Ke was murdered due to his overaggressive attacks on Wei.
In 256, Lu Dai died at the age of 96, giving him the oldest recorded lifespan in the Three Kingdoms period. At the time of his death, he was the Grand Marshal of the Wu army.