Cao Cao: Encyclopedia II - Cao Cao - Life

Cao Cao - Life

Cao Cao - Early life

Cao Cao was born in the county of Qiao (譙, present day Bozhou, Anhui) in 155. His father Cao Song (曹嵩) was a foster son of Cao Teng (曹騰), who in turn was one of the favorite eunuchs of Emperor Huan. Some historical records, including Biography of Cao Man, claim that Cao Song was originally surnamed Xiahou (thus making Cao Cao a cousin of Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan, two of his most prominent generals). In Romance of the Three Kingdoms , it states that Cao Cao's father was origianlly a Xiahou and was adopted into the Cao family.

Cao Cao was known for his craftiness as a young man. Cao Cao's uncle often complained to Cao Song regarding Cao Cao's childhood indulgence in hunting and music. To counter this, Cao Cao one day feigned a fit before his uncle, who hurriedly informed Cao Song. Cao Song rushed out to see his son, who was by then back to normal. When asked, Cao Cao replied, "I have never had such illness, but I lost the love of my uncle, and therefore he had deceived you." Henceforth, Cao Song ceased to believe the words of his brother regarding Cao Cao, and thus Cao Cao became even more blatant in his wayward pursuits.

At that time, there was a man living in Runan (汝南) named Xu Shao (許劭) who was famed for his ability to identify hidden talents of others. Cao Cao paid him a visit. Under persistent questioning, Xu Shao finally said, "You would be a capable minister in peaceful times and an unscrupulous hero in chaotic ones." Cao Cao took this as a compliment and was very pleased.

At twenty, Cao Cao was recommended to be a district captain of Luoyang. Upon taking up the post, Cao Cao placed rows of multicolored staffs outside his office and ordered his deputies to flog those who violated the law, regardless of their status. An uncle of Jian Shuo, an influential eunuch under Emperor Ling, was once caught walking in the city beyond the curfew hour by Cao Cao and given his fair share of flogging.

When the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in 184 Cao Cao was promoted to a captain of the cavalry (騎都尉) and sent to Yingchuan (潁川) to put down the rebels there. He was successful in his military exploits and was further promoted to Governor of Dong Commandery (東郡).

Cao Cao - Alliance against Dong Zhuo

In 189, Emperor Ling died and was succeeded by his eldest son, though it was the empress dowager and the eunuchs who held true power. The two most powerful generals of that time, He Jin and Yuan Shao, plotted to eliminate the clan of influential eunuchs. He Jin summoned Dong Zhuo, governor of Liangzhou (凉州), to lead his army into the capital Luoyang to lay pressure on the empress dowager. Before Dong Zhuo arrived, however, He Jin was assassinated by the eunuchs and Luoyang fell into chaos. After his force ridded the palace ground of opposition, Dong Zhuo deposed the emperor and placed in the throne the puppet Emperor Xian.

Not seeing eye to eye with Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao left Luoyang for Chenliu (陳留, southeast of present day Kaifeng, Henan), where he raised his own troops. The next year, regional warlords combined their forces under Yuan Shao against Dong Zhuo. Cao Cao joined their cause. When Dong Zhuo was eventually killed in 192 by his own foster son, mighty warrior Lü Bu, China fell into civil war. Through short-term and regional-scale wars, Cao Cao continued to expand his power.

In 196, Cao Cao convinced Emperor Xian to move the capital to Xuchang, into the warlord's custody. Henceforth, the last emperor of Han remained mostly a figurehead in the hands of Cao Cao. Cao Cao was then instated as the General-in-Chief (大將軍) and Marquis of Wuping (武平侯), though both titles had little practical implication.

In 200, Yuan Shao amassed more than 100,000 troops and marched southwards on Xuchang in the name of rescuing the emperor. Cao Cao gathered 20,000 men in Guandu, a strategic point on the shore of the Yellow River. With his craft, brilliant military maneuvers and the help of a defector from Yuan Shao's camp, Cao Cao won a decisive and seemingly impossible victory.

Yuan Shao fell ill and died shortly after returning from the defeat, leaving his legacy to two of his sons – the eldest son, Yuan Tan and the youngest son, Yuan Shang (袁尚). As he had designated the youngest son, Yuan Shang, as his successor, rather than the eldest as tradition dictated, the two brothers consistently feuded against each other, as they fought Cao Cao. Because of their internal divisions, Cao Cao was easily able to defeat them by using their differences to his advantage. Henceforth Cao Cao assumed effective rule over all of northern China. He sent armies further out and extended his control past the Great Wall into northern Korea, and southward to the Han River.

However, Cao Cao's attempt to extend his domination south of the Yangtze River was dashed as his forces were defeated by the first coalition of his archrivals Liu Bei and Sun Quan (who later founded the kingdoms of Shu and Wu respectively) at the Red Cliffs in 208.

Cao Cao - The three kingdoms

In 213, Cao Cao was titled Duke of Wei (魏公), given the Nine Dignities and given a fief of ten cities under his domain, known as the State of Wei. In 216, Cao Cao was promoted to Prince/King of Wei (魏王). Over the years, Cao Cao, as well as Liu Bei and Sun Quan, continued to consolidate their power in their respective regions. Through many wars, China became divided into three powers – Wei, Shu and Wu, which fought sporadic battles among themselves without the balance tipping significantly in anyone's favor.

In 220, Cao Cao passed away in Luoyang at the age of 66, without realizing his ambition to unify China. His will instructed that he be buried in everyday clothes and without burial artifacts, and that his subjects on duty at the frontier to stay in their posts and not attend the funeral as, in his own words, "the country is still unstable".

His eldest surviving son Cao Pi succeeded him. Within a year, Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian to abdicate and proclaimed himself the first emperor of the Kingdom of Wei. Cao Cao was then posthumously titled Emperor Wu.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Life", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki