Cao Xiu

Cao Xiu , ( Chinese  曹休 , Pinyin Cáo Xiū , W.-G. Ts'ao Hsiu ; Zì 文 烈 , Wénliè , Wen-borrowed ; * before 170 ; † 228 ) was a general under the Chinese warlord Cao Cao at the time of Three realms . He was also distantly related to Cao Cao.

Life

According to the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms , Cao Xiu lost his father before he was twenty when the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out. He and his mother fled south across the Yellow River .

When Cao Cao joined the coalition against Dong Zhuo in 190 and raised his army, Cao Xiu put himself in his service. Cao Cao was delighted with the support of this distant family branch and treated Cao Xiu like his own son.

Cao Xiu later took part in many campaigns against the Shu Han , particularly in the Battle of Wulan. He was a good advisor and was later appointed commander of the Imperial Guard.

After Cao Cao's death in 220, Cao Xiu enjoyed a good relationship with heir Cao Pi . This made Cao Xiu the general who guards the south and sent him to the front, where he should fight Sun Quan's armies.

In 222 Cao Pi personally led an offensive against Sun Quan. Cao Xiu was appointed general who conquered the east . He monitored more than twenty armies from different regions and defeated Sun Quan's force under Lü Fan near Dongpu (near today's Wuhu , Anhui ).

After Cao Pi's death (226), Cao Xiu served the second Wei emperor, Cao Rui . He was appointed Commander in Chief of the Defensive Forces and kept command of the Defense of Yang Province.

In 228 Cao Rui launched another offensive against Sun Quan. Cao Xiu led his force to Xunyang . He followed the advice of the apparently defected Wu officer Zhou Fang and led his army deep into impassable land, where he was ambushed and defeated in the Battle of Shiting . In a memorandum, Cao Xiu confessed his misjudgment, but Cao Rui forgave him.

Shortly afterwards, Cao Xiu died of a skin disease on his back. Posthumously he was given the title of Marquis Zhuang (= resilient).

Web links

• Family Trees Cao and Xiahou (English)
• Ancient general Cao Xiu's tomb discovered in Luoyang (English)
• Ancient general's tomb unearthed in Henan (English)

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, Xiu is the first name.