Cao Pi

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Cao Pi Tang-detail.jpg
Wèi Wéndì ( 曹魏文 帝 )
Family name : Cáo ( 曹 )
First name : Pī ( 丕 )
Major Age Name (Zi): Zǐhuán ( 子 桓 )
Posthumous title :
(short) 		Wén ( 文 )
Temple name : Gāozǔ ( 高祖 )
Reign: 220 - 226
Era names : Huángchū ( 黃 初 ) 220–226

Cáo Pī ( Chinese  曹丕 , IPA ( standard Chinese) [ [tsʰɑo̯35 pʰi55] ]) (* 187 ; † 226 ) was the first emperor of the Chinese Wei dynasty and the son of the warlord Cao Cao (155–220). With the ousting of the last emperor of the Han Dynasty by him in 220, the Three Kingdoms began in China.

Like his father, he was also active as a poet. His swallow song ( 燕 歌行 , Yàngēxíng ) is the first Chinese seven-silver ( 七言 詩 , Qīyánshī ). In a non-preserved discourse on literature ( Chinese  論 論 ) he dealt with contemporary writers.

Life

The three realms.

Childhood and youth

Cao Pi was born in 187 to warlord Cao Cao and his concubine Bian . His father was still an officer in the imperial bodyguard in the capital Luoyang . During the following years Cao Cao rose to one of the most powerful warlords of the ruined Chinese empire in numerous campaigns. In 196-207 he defeated his rival Yuan Shao and his sons and seized the underage emperor Xian of Han (181-234). Cao Cao's eldest son Cao Ang was killed on the battlefield in 197, placing Cao Pi first in primogeniture . His name did not appear again in history until 204 when he married the wife of the defeated warlord Yuan Xi , Zhen Luo . Their son Cao Rui was born eight months later, which led to rumors that he was not Cao Pi's biological child.

Cao Pi appeared on the political scene in 211 when he asked his father, who was then Chief Minister, for two high posts: that of Commander of the Imperial Guard and that of Deputy Chief Minister. His father denied him both offices because he was not yet sure about his successor. In addition to his eldest son Cao Pi, the younger Cao Zhi (192–232) was very dear to him, who (like his father and brother) had made a name for himself not only as a poet, but also as a speaker. In the following years, a succession dispute took place at the imperial court in Luoyang, which was conducted covertly by both parties. Outwardly, the brothers had a harmonious relationship. In 216, Cao Zhi managed to eliminate two important supporters of his brother, Cui Yan and Mao Jie: one was executed and the other released. At the instigation of adviser Jia Xu , Cao Cao decided in favor of his firstborn. Jia Xu had warned his master not to ignore the rules of primogeniture and reminded him of the fate of his competitors Liu Biao and Yuan Shao, who had both perished. In the meantime, Cao Pi had improved his standing among the officials, portraying his younger brother as a spendthrift incapable of government. In the year 217, Cao Cao, then Prince of Wei, named Cao Pi as his successor.

Succession and overthrow of the Han Dynasty

Cao Cao died in the spring of 220, and Cao Pi, who at that time was in Yecheng (in present-day Handan , Hebei ), was to succeed him. A general unrest in the empire initially prevented him from taking up his father's office. In addition, the troops from Qing Province rose and returned to their homeland from Luoyang. General Cao Zhang (189–223), another son of Cao Cao, rushed to Luoyang when he heard the news of his father's death and thus gave the impression that he wanted to precede his brother in the succession. When this news reached Cao Pi, he took the initiative and had his mother make him Prince of Wei by edict. This step was a clear sign of his autocratic plans, for such an appointment could only be made by the emperor. Cao Pi had secured his position and ordered Cao Zhang and Cao Zhi to return to their fiefdoms. In order to avert any danger that could threaten him from Cao Zhi, he reduced his fiefdom and had many of his supporters executed.

In the winter of the same year, Cao Pi prepared the deposition of the emperor. He ordered him to offer his resignation, and when the emperor did, Cao Pi refused three times. (This model caught on with later usurpers.) Eventually he accepted and ascended the throne as Emperor Wen of Wei. He made Emperor Xian Prince of Shanyang; until the barbarian invasions in 325 the fiefdom remained in the possession of his successors.

Cao Pi soon distributed honorary posts to his family: he appointed his grandfather Cao Song, who died in 193 (and his adoptive father Cao Teng ) and his father Cao Cao posthumously as emperors, his mother Bian as empress mother . He also moved the capital from Xu back to Luoyang, which had been the capital under the Eastern Han Dynasty . The city was still in a desolate state since it was almost completely destroyed in the civil war 189–197.

Emperor of the Wei Dynasty

Ideal portrait of Cao Pi on the Thirteen Emperor's Scroll ( Tang dynasty , 7th century, attributed to Yan Liben ).

Foreign policy and campaigns

Cao Pi's accession to the throne was a signal for the two remaining warlords in China, Liu Bei (161-223) and Sun Quan (182-252). So far, none of them had dared to accept the imperial title, and Cao Pi had now presented himself as the rightful successor to the Han dynasty. Liu Bei, who, as a distant cousin of the imperial family, considered himself the rightful emperor of China, took the news of Cao Pi's accession to the throne in the spring of 221 as an insult and a challenge and made himself the emperor of his empire Shu Han . Sun Quan, on the other hand, warlord in the southeast, did not react and waited to see how events unfolded. Cao Cao had already been severely defeated in the Battle of Chibi (207), and since then there had been a balance between the three power blocs. Sun Quan's greatest concern remained Liu Bei, who suffered a severe defeat against Lord von Wu in 219, in which he lost control of the strategically important Jing Province and its most capable general, Guan Yu .

Cao Pi was able to gather strength and play the two southern rivals against each other. Sun Quan did not want to risk a war on two fronts and therefore sought an understanding with the emperor. He offered himself to him as a vassal, but Cao Pi's adviser Liu Ye advised a campaign of conquest against Sun Quan, which would be defeated on two fronts. However, the emperor refused and accepted Sun Quan's submission. He made him Prince of Wu and presented him with the Nine Medals .

Sun Quan's submission should not last. After defeating Liu Bei in the Battle of Xiaoting , he gradually broke away from Wei. The break finally came when Sun Quan refused to send his son Sun Deng hostage to Luoyang. Cao Pi sent his forces south, but Sun Quan's general Lu Xun was able to prevent them from crossing the Yangtze. Sun Quan made himself Emperor of the Wu Dynasty and declared his independence from the government in the north. Cao Pi's troops failed to achieve success in the following years either, and the tripartite division of China, as it had existed since the Battle of Chibi, cemented itself. In particular, Liu Bei's death in 223 and the peace treaty between his Supreme Minister Zhuge Liang (181-234) and the Supreme Minister of Wu Zhuge Jin (174-241), his brother, contributed to this.

Domestic politics

Cao Pi's domestic policies have been useful, but without relevant reforms. He maintained his father's course for the most part and fended off any critical advice. He had some of his critics executed. During his brief reign, the empire remained stable, but the social ills that led to the fall of the Han dynasty were not remedied.

Marriage and Succession Regulations

Shortly after his accession to the throne, Cao Pi was concerned with the question of who to choose as empress. His wife Zhen Luo had lost his favor at the time, and Cao Pi turned more to his concubine Guo Nuwang . In order to make herself empress, she used the early birth (and therefore questionable origin) of his son Cao Rui as an excuse to be appointed empress instead of his wife. The emperor, who had already called his wife to the capital, sent her back to Yecheng. Zhen Luo was injured, and when the news reached the emperor, he forced her to commit suicide. In 222 he made Guo Nüwang empress.

Since the relationship between the emperor and son was broken and he had no sons with the empress, the question of Cao Pi's successor remained open for a long time. He had a few other sons from different concubines, but all of them were significantly younger than Cao Rui. When the emperor became seriously ill in the summer of 226, he finally decided to raise his first-born to crown prince. Soon after, Cao Pi died, and the Crown Prince succeeded him to the throne as Emperor Ming.

Offspring

Cao Pi. Woodcut on the history of the Three Kingdoms from the Qing Dynasty .
  • Wives:
    • Zhen Luo (183 (?) - 221)
      • Cao Ruì ( 曹叡 ), 222 Prince of Pingyuan, 226 Crown Prince, 226 Emperor Ming of Wei
      • Cao Dongxian (princess)
    • Guo Nuwang (184-235)
  • Concubines:
    • Mrs. Li
    • Mrs. Yin
      • Cao Xie ( 曹 協 ), 231 Prince Sang of Jing, 235 Prince Ai of Zan
    • two daughters of Emperor Xian of Han (Ms. Liu)
    • Mrs. Pan
      • Cao Ruí ( 曹 蕤 ), 226 Prince of Yangping, 232 Prince Dao of Beihai († 233)
    • Ms. Zhu
      • Cao Jian ( 曹 鑒 ), 225 Prince Huai of Dongwuyang († 225)
    • Mrs. Chou
      • Cao Lin ( 曹 霖 ), 222 Prince of Hedong, 225 Prince of Guantao, 232 Prince of Donghai († 249)
    • Ms. Xu
      • Cao Li ( 曹 禮 ), 221 Prince of Qin, 222 Prince of Jingzhao, 225 Prince Ai of Yuancheng († 229)
    • Mrs. Su
      • Cao Yong ( 曹 邕 ), 221 Prince of Huainan, 222 Prince of Huainan, 223 Prince of Chen, 225 Prince Huai of Handan († 229)
    • Ms. Zhang
      • Cao Gong ( 曹 貢 ), 222 Prince Dao of Qinghe († 223)
    • Ms. Song
      • Cao Yan ( 曹 儼 ), 222 Prince Ai of Guangping († 223)

Source studies

The most important source for the life of Cao Pi are the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms of Chen Shou (233-297), who served as an officer of the Shu Han until 263 and later under the Jin Dynasty as a historian of his views and experiences about the time of the three Rich put down in writing.

In the 11th century, the historian Sima Guang created an extensive history work for the time from 403 BC with his summarized Zeitspiegel to aid the government . Chr. To 959 AD. For the time of the three kingdoms he made particular use of the chronicles of Chen Shou.

Lore

Cao Pi became one of the main characters in Luo Guanzhong's classic novel The Tale of the Three Kingdoms . In this rework from the 14th century, his falling out with his younger brother Cao Zhi served as a template for an imaginative interpretation of the material.

literature

Web links

Commons : Cao Pi  - album with pictures, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Cao Cao  - Sources and full texts (Chinese)
predecessor Office successor
Xian from Han Emperor of China (North)
220–226 		Cao Rui
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, Pi is the first name.
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on April 7, 2007 .
personal data
SURNAME Cao, Pi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cáo, Pī; 曹丕 (Chinese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Emperor of the Wei Dynasty
DATE OF BIRTH 187
DATE OF DEATH 226