Early Career
Tao Kan was born under the rule of Eastern Wu, and his father was an Eastern Wu general. Early in his career, he was a low-level county official, but subsequently on recommendation of the commandery governor Zhang Kui (張夔), he was sent to the Jin prime minister Zhang Hua for commission; however, Zhang Hua, who did not favor people from former Eastern Wu lands, did not give him a commission, and he ended up serving on staff of the general Sun Xiu (孫秀, not to be confused with the Eastern Wu emperor), a member of the Eastern Wu imperial household.
Later, Tao served on the staff of the famed Jing Province (荊州, modern Hubei and Hunan) governor Liu Hong (劉弘). Liu once personally told him, "When I was serving on General Yang Hu's staff, he told me that I would one day have his position. Now, I tell you that you will one day have my position." Tao later played a large role in Liu's suppression of the rebel Chen Min (陳敏). He later served successively as several commanderies' governor, and later served under the general Wang Dun, participating in Wang's campaign against various agrarian rebels, including the powerful Du Tao (杜弢). For his accomplishments, Wang commissioned Tao as the governor of Jing Province, fulfilling Liu's prior words.
However, Wang soon became apprehensive about Tao's abilities. In 315, he suddenly detained Tao and ordered him to be the governor of Guang Province (廣州, modern Guangdong) -- considered to be a demotion and an exile. He even considered executing Tao, but fearful that killing Tao would lead to reactions from the general Zhou Fang (周訪), whose daughter was Tao's daughter-in-law, he allowed Tao to report to Guang Province, which had been in control of the semi-rebel Wang Ji (王機). Upon arrival in Guang Province, Tao defeated Wang easily and pacified the province. As the provincial affairs did not require him to work all day, Tao developed the exercise habit of moving a hundred bricks a day from his study to his courtyard, and then from the courtyard back to the study, reasoning that he needed to continue to exercise himself for future campaigns to recover central China. He was therefore often cited in Chinese history as an example of the importance of physical exercise.
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