Records of the Three Kingdoms
Taishi Ci, courtesy name Ziyi, was from Huang in Donglai. As a young man he carried a memorial to Luoyang and slipped past officers sent to stop it. When Kong Rong, chancellor of Beihai, was besieged, Taishi Ci volunteered to break out and ride to Pingyuan for help from Liu Bei. That is the early deed the biography tells at length.
He later served Inspector Liu Yao. When Sun Ce crossed the river the two met and fought at Shenting. Sun Ce struck Taishi Ci’s horse, and riders on both sides pulled their masters apart. After Liu Yao’s defeat Sun Ce captured Taishi Ci, untied him himself, and sent him to gather Liu Yao’s remnants. Under the Sun family he was also sent toward Yuzhang to watch Liu Pan, a kinsman of Liu Biao. Sun Quan continued to trust him. He died of illness in 206, at forty-one. His last words regret that a man should have climbed the emperor’s steps with a sword in hand, and that his own aims were unfinished.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
The novel turns Shenting into a long duel: Sun Ce and Taishi Ci trade spear thrusts and snatch at each other’s weapon, then respect each other afterward. The marksmanship and the Little Conqueror’s daring are the point of the chapter.
The ride to save Kong Rong is there, and shorter. The book counts Taishi Ci among the named officers of Jiangdong and passes quickly over his death. Readers remember him for the duel.
Reference: Wikipedia · Taishi Ci