Tao Ching

Tao Ching is a fictional character in the Shaman King manga and anime series. He is the 41st head and oldest living member of the Tao Family. He is the grandfather of Tao Jun and Ren.

Appearance
Ching appears as a short and yet stubby man. He is completely bald but has a thin grey goatee and he has violet eyes. Ching is usually seen wearing a red Chinese Hanfu tied with a yellow sash and a purple zhaoshan on top.

In his youth, Ching heavily resembled his grandson, Ren, except he wore Chinese robes instead of casual school clothes.

Personality
As a member of the Tao Family, Ching follows the family's strict doctrine. In his youth, he appears to be rather sadistic at times as he claimed that he would rather hear the sound of a soldiers neck snapping instead of a song and also he believed that Jōtarō's ideals of friendship were rather stupid.

As an adult, he appears more calm and level-headed, though he would still threaten to kill even members of his own family if they go against his wishes. He acknowledges that the Tao Family is known as an evil one, but reasons that their late actions were only to defend their beliefs in an ever-changing world. Despite this, when the Dong Family began attacking the Tao Family, Ching reasoned that his generation had to break the chains of hatred in order to prevent Ren from being caught in the same darkness.

Abilities and Powers
Like many other members of the Tao Family, Ching is a talented Dàoshì, being able to control up to hundred ninety-nine Jiang Shi at the same time with ease.

Spirit

 * See More: Four Perils | Corpse Infantry

His primary guardian ghost is the ghost of a tiger he named Kyuuki because it looked the same as the evil god of legend. His main media are a pair of Chinese Berettas with the image of Emperor Shun engraved on the grips.

Past
Tao Ching Originating from Guizhou, China and was born on January 8, 1926. In his youth, during World War II, Ching was hired by the government and killed over nine hundred ninety-nine members of the Japanese Imperial Infantry and made them all into Jiang Shi under his command. One of them was Private Shimamura Jōtarō, that he met at Manchuria, whom he later killed. instead of hearing the song Jōtarō offered to play him.

He was once the head of the Tao Family until he resigned due to unknown reasons and gave the position to his son-in-law, Tao Yúan.

He would later go on to kill the famous martial artist and actor Lee Pyron and turn him into a Jiang Shi and gave him as a gift to his granddaughter Tao Jun. As the Shaman Fights grew even closer, he presented the Jiang Shi he later created from the Japanese Imperial Infantry to his grandson, Tao Ren as a gift for his ninth birthday and had him cut them all down.

Shaman Fights in Tokyo
Asakura Keiko traveled to the Tao Family's residence and told them that Asakura Hao was predicted to win the Shaman Fight. The Asakura Family's divination confirmed what Ching had divined as well.

Even after Ren had defeated both of his father's Over Souls, Yúan claimed that he could still fight, forcing Ching and his daughter Ran to step in and interfere. Ching later reasoned that to his son-in-law that he had already lost the battle when he lost his path and even threatened to kill him if he continued any further. Ren and Jun were surprised to see the pair and revealed their family relation, much to the shock of everyone else.

Ching then invited them to a banquet to celebrate that his grandson had gotten so many friends. Usui Horokeu and the others were uncertain about trusting the Tao Family and the food, but Ran assured them that it was safe since they were guests. Ching then explained the family's history and the reasoning for their actions.

The next morning, Ching and Ran saw their guests off, although Ching threatened to kill Ren for wanting to leave immediately.

Shaman Fight Second Round
Months later, Ching and the rest of the family flew to the island Tokyo in order to watch the Shaman Fight matches and support Ren. After Ren dealt the finishing blow to Peyote Diaz in his team's match against Team "Tsuchi-Gumi", the Tao Family rejoiced as Ren declared his challenge to Asakura Yoh.

Following Team "Hoshi-Gumi"'s match against Team "X-III", the Tao Family met with Asakura Keiko and Mikihisa for a small talk about the young shamans and Hao. Having now witnessed Hao's strength, Ching accepted Mikihisa's offer to train Ren with techniques from the Chō-Senjiryakketsu. Yúan, however, objected and challenged Mikihisa but was defeated.

Funbari no Uta
Ching was present when Ren brought Iron Maiden Jeanne home with him, to announce their intentions of getting married. Afterwards, Ching and the rest of the Tao Family arranged a party to celebrate their engagement and acknowledged the couple's devotion towards one another.

Due to his ailing health, Ching attended Ren and Jeanne's wedding in a wheelchair.

Flowers
At some point, Ching's health began to deteriorate, confining him to a bed where he was hooked up to a lot of medical equipment, including an oxygen mask. He was also placed in a secure room in the Tao Family's mansion, one to which only Ran, Yúan, and Jun had access.

When Horokeu stayed at the residence after being saved from an attack by Dong Honhon, Ching and Yúan agreed to tell him the truth about Jeanne's death and showed him the security footage of the event in Ching's room. They explained the mysterious events in the footage and how the Dong Family and YVS were involved, as well as how the Dong Family had become involved in the affairs of the country ever since their conflict with Tao Family.

Ahead of the ceasefire with the Dong Family, Ching decided to release the Four Perils so that they could lend their strength to Jun and Ren.