Cao Mao

Cao Mao ( Chinese  曹 髦 , Pinyin Cáo Máo , W.-G. Ts'ao Mao ; Zì 彥 士 , Yànshì , Yen-shih ; * 241 ; † 260 ) was the grandson of Cao Pi and the fourth emperor of the Wei dynasty .

Family background and ascent to the throne

Cao Mao was born in 241 to Cao Lin , the prince of Donghai, and was thereby the grandson of the first Wei emperor Cao Pi and the cousin of his predecessor Cao Fang . In 244 , at the age of three, he was made prince of Gaoguixiang (高貴鄉公), because in the Wei empire the rule was that the sons of princes were made princes. Cao Mao was known for his intelligence and erudition as a child.

In 249, his father died when Cao Mao was only eight years old. His older brother Cao Qi then became the Prince of Donghai.

Since 254, rule over the empire was firmly in the hands of the Sima clan, whose head, Sima Yi , had gained power from Cao Shuang in 249 . After Sima Yi's death (251), his son Sima Shi took over power. He thwarted a conspiracy by Cao Fang's stepfather Zhang Ji (張 緝) and his subordinates Li Feng (李豐) and Xiahou Xuan (夏侯玄) and deposed the emperor.

On this occasion, Cao Fang's stepmother, Empress Mother Guo (wife of Cao Fang's adoptive father, Cao Rui ), made one last attempt to restore the authority of the Cao clan by intervening in the election of Cao Fang's successor. Sima Shi proposed Cao Pi's brother Cao Ju , but the Empress convinced him that this line of succession would be unfavorable, since this candidate was already old and childless. Sima Shi had to give in to her suggestion that Cao Mao be crowned emperor in his place.

Although Cao Mao was still young, she knew his intelligence and probably hoped that he could break the power of the Sima clan. She also gave him the imperial seal in Sima Shi's place.

Rule under the Sima clan

Despite Empress Dowager Guo's hopes and Cao Mao's talent, he barely succeeded in overturning the Sima's growing power. In 255 Generals Wuqiu Jian and Wen Qin (文欽) rose against Sima Shi, but were quickly suppressed. Wuqiu was slaughtered with his clan, Wen and his sons escaped to Wu .

Sima Shi was sick when the rebellion broke out; his condition worsened during the campaign, and he died barely a month after the victory. Cao Mao immediately took action to regain power. With Sima Shi's brother and heir Sima Shao, he negotiated an edict that Sima Zhao should remain in the south in order to pacify him completely, while Sima Shi's assistant Fu Gu (傅 嘏) and the main armed forces should return to the capital Luoyang . At Fu Gu's and Zhong Hui's instructions, Sima Zhao also went to the capital and took over the government again. Since then he has not let the Emperor and Dowager Guo leave his side in order to always have them under his control.

For the next few years, Cao Mao engaged in studies. Gradually he gathered a circle of literarily talented court officials who were known for their devotion to the Sima clan, but who would also have gained an advantage from a stronger position of the emperor. These included Sima Zhao's cousin Sima Wang, Wang Chen, Pei Xiu, and Zhong Hui. Cao Mao hoped to gain her sympathy over time. He met with them often to chat about literature and gave Sima Wang, who lived farthest from the palace, a two-axle carriage and five-man escort.

When it became apparent that Sima Zhao was planning to take over the throne, General Zhuge Dan became restless. Sima Zhao sent his subordinate Jia Chong to find out whether the general would support a takeover of the Sima clan. But because General Sima severely reprimanded Zhao's envoy, Sima decided to summon him to the capital. Zhuge Dan started a riot and sought help from Wu, to whom he promised to hand over his Shouchun Province. Sima Shi acted quickly and surrounded Shouchun shortly after a Wu unit under Wen Qin got there. The main Wu armed forces under Sun Lin, however, could no longer rush to help and returned home without having achieved anything. In the spring of 258, Zhuge Dan and Wen Qin were trapped in the provincial capital. In a dispute over how to proceed, Zhuge killed the general, whose sons defected to Sima Zhao and surrendered the city. Zhuge Dan was captured and executed along with his kin; only his son Zhuge Jing (諸葛 靚), who was sent as a messenger to Wu, survived.

After Zhuge Dan's defeat, none of the generals dared to rise up against the power of the Sima clan. This embittered Cao Mao, and so he wrote the Ode to the Hidden Dragons in 259 after an account of dragons in a spring reached him (dragons were a sign of divine pleasure) :

The poor dragon is trapped, alone and cold;

He cannot rise from the depths;

He cannot soar into heaven;

He can't even get to the fields.

The poor dragon fell into this deep well;

And all the fish dance before him;

He conceals his teeth and his claws and sighs;

And so am I too depressed.

Sima Zhao disliked this completely and from then on he watched the emperor's steps very closely.

Also in 258, at Sima's pressure, Cao Mao wrote an edict awarding him the Nine Badges of Honor (a sign of imminent usurpation ), and since Sima refused them, his intentions became even clearer.

Attempted coup and death

At the age of nineteen (260), Cao Mao was again forced to offer Sima Zhao the Nine Medals, which he again refused. Cao Mao's anger awakened. He gathered his subordinates Wang Chen, Wang Jin and Wang Ye and told them of his plan to overthrow Sima Zhao, even though he knew the chances of success were slim. He is said to have said: "Even a day laborer knows Sima Zhao's heart." (Sima Zhao zhi xin, luren jie zhi) , which later became an "an open secret" proverb . Cao Mao was determined to die for his plan if necessary, but still felt a certain chance of success. Wang Jing tried unsuccessfully to dissuade him, but unlike Wang Chen and Wang Ye, he did not report to Sima Zhao when Cao Mao went to the Dowager Empress Guo to tell her about his plan.

Cao Mao armed himself with a sword and went with his servants and the palace guard to Sima Zhao's country house. Sima Zhao's brother Sima Zhou opposed them, but withdrew from the Emperor's resolve. Jia Chong fought, but because he too did not dare to lay a hand on the emperor, he too withdrew. His officer Cheng Ji asked for orders, and Jia Chong told him to ruthlessly defend the power of the Sima clan. So Cheng Ji took a spear and killed Cao Mao.

After the emperor's death, the people demanded the death penalty for Jia Chong, but Sima Zhao forced the dowager Empress Guo to posthumously demote Cao Mao to an ordinary citizen and to bury him that way. Then he executed Wang Jing and his clan. The next day, however, at the request of his uncle Sima Fu, Sima Zhao ordered Cao Mao to be declared prince instead and to be buried like an imperial prince.

Sima Zhao appointed Cao Huang (whose name was later changed to Cao Huan ) as the emperor's successor in the capital, and the dowager Empress Guo was no longer given any participation in the succession. Nineteen days later, Sima Zhao accused General Cheng Ji and his brothers of treason and executed them and their clans to calm the minds of the citizens while he spared Jia Chong.

Era names

• Zhengyuan (正 元 zhèng yúan) 254-256
• Ganlu (甘露 gān lù) 256–260

predecessor	Office	successor
Cao Fang	Emperor of China (North) 254–260	Cao Huang

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Chinese. Cao is the family name here, Mao is the first name.