Cao Pi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Emperor Wen of Wei |
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A Tang dynasty painting of Cao Pi and two ministers flanking him, by Yan Liben
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| Emperor of Wei | |||||||||||||||||
| Reign | 11 December 220 – 29 June 226 | ||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Cao Rui | ||||||||||||||||
| King of Wei (魏王) (under the Han Empire) |
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| Tenure | 15 March 220 – 11 December 220 | ||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Cao Cao | ||||||||||||||||
| Imperial Chancellor (丞相) (under the Han Empire) |
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| Tenure | 15 March 220 – 11 December 220 | ||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Cao Cao | ||||||||||||||||
| Born | c.late 187 Qiao County, Pei State, Han Empire |
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| Died | June 29, 226 (aged 38–39) Luoyang, Wei Empire |
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| Burial | Shouyang Mausoleum (首陽陵), Yanshi, Henan | ||||||||||||||||
| Consorts | |||||||||||||||||
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| Dynasty | Cao Wei | ||||||||||||||||
| Father | Cao Cao | ||||||||||||||||
| Mother | Empress Wuxuan | ||||||||||||||||
| Cao Pi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Cao Pi" in Chinese characters
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| Chinese | 曹丕 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cao Pi (born around late 187 – died 29 June 226), also known by his courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei. This was during the Three Kingdoms period in China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a powerful warlord from the late Eastern Han dynasty. Cao Pi was the oldest son born to Cao Cao's concubine, Lady Bian, who later became his official wife. He often spent time with court officials to gain their support. Early in his career, he was mostly in charge of defense.
In 220, Cao Pi took over the throne from Emperor Xian, the last ruler of the Eastern Han dynasty. He then declared himself emperor and started the state of Cao Wei. Cao Pi continued the wars against the states of Shu Han and Eastern Wu. These states were founded by his father's rivals, Liu Bei and Sun Quan. However, Cao Pi did not gain much land in these battles. Unlike his father, Cao Pi focused more on managing his empire from the inside. He made the nine-rank system official, which helped bring many talented people into his government. After Cao Pi died, his son Cao Rui became emperor and gave him the special name "Emperor Wen".
Cao Pi was also a skilled poet and writer, just like his father Cao Cao and his younger brother Cao Zhi. He wrote Yan Ge Xing, which was the first Chinese poem with seven words per line. He also wrote over a hundred articles on different topics.
Contents
Early Life and Rise to Power
Cao Pi was born around 187. His father was Cao Cao, and his mother was Lady Bian. He was Cao Cao's second son overall, but the oldest son of Lady Bian. When Cao Pi was born, his father Cao Cao was a mid-level officer in the capital city of Luoyang. No one knew then that Cao Cao would become such a powerful leader.
Cao Pi was known as an excellent swordsman. He learned martial arts from Shi E, a household gentleman. In 204, Cao Pi married Lady Zhen, who was the wife of Yuan Xi.
Becoming the Heir
In 211, Cao Pi was given important roles, becoming General of the Household for All Purposes and Vice Imperial Chancellor. This meant he was second in command to his father, Cao Cao, who was the main head of the government. Cao Pi's older brother, Cao Ang, had died earlier. This made Cao Pi the oldest living son of Cao Cao. Also, Cao Pi's mother, Lady Bian, had become Cao Cao's official wife. Because of these reasons, Cao Pi was expected to be his father's heir.
However, Cao Pi's position as heir was not immediately set in stone. For several years, there were questions about who Cao Cao would choose. Cao Cao really liked Cao Zhi, his third son with Lady Bian, because Cao Zhi was very talented at writing. Both Cao Pi and Cao Zhi were good poets, but Cao Zhi was seen as a better poet and speaker.
By 215, the brothers seemed to get along, but they each had groups of supporters who were secretly competing. Eventually, Cao Cao's advisor Jia Xu suggested that changing the usual rules of succession (where the oldest son inherits) could cause problems. He used examples of other warlords whose families faced trouble because they didn't follow this rule. Cao Pi also worked to improve his image among the people. In 217, Cao Cao, who had become the King of Wei, finally declared Cao Pi as his official heir. Cao Pi remained the heir until his father's death in March 220.
Taking the Throne
When Cao Cao died in the spring of 220, there was some confusion about what would happen next. Cao Pi quickly declared himself the new King of Wei. He did this with the support of his mother, Queen Dowager Bian. No one challenged him, and the situation became stable.
Becoming Emperor
In late 220, Cao Pi strongly suggested to Emperor Xian that he should give up his throne. Emperor Xian agreed. Cao Pi formally refused the offer three times, which was a tradition in China for people taking over the throne. Then, he finally accepted. He established the state of Cao Wei on 11 December 220. This event marked the official end of the Han dynasty and the start of the Three Kingdoms period.
Emperor Xian, who had given up his throne, was given a special title, "Duke of Shanyang." Cao Pi also honored his grandfather and father by giving them special titles as emperors. His mother, Queen Dowager Bian, became the empress dowager. Cao Pi also moved the capital city from Xuchang to Luoyang.
Wars with Other Kingdoms
When Liu Bei heard that Cao Pi had become emperor (and a false rumor that Emperor Xian had been killed), Liu Bei also declared himself emperor in May 221. He started the state of Shu Han. Sun Quan, who controlled much of southeastern China, did not immediately choose a side.
Soon, Liu Bei and Sun Quan started fighting each other. This was because Sun Quan's general Lü Meng had taken over Jing Province from Liu Bei, which led to the death of Liu Bei's general Guan Yu. To avoid fighting on two fronts, Sun Quan offered to become a loyal follower of Cao Pi. Cao Pi's advisor Liu Ye suggested that Cao Pi should refuse this offer and attack Sun Quan. This would have allowed Cao Pi to divide Sun Quan's land and eventually defeat Shu Han. However, Cao Pi did not take this advice. Instead, he made Sun Quan the "King of Wu."
Sun Quan's loyalty did not last long. After Sun Quan's forces defeated Shu Han at the Battle of Xiaoting in 222, Sun Quan started to pull away from Wei. When Cao Pi demanded that Sun Quan send his son, Sun Deng, to Luoyang as a hostage, Sun Quan refused. He then officially broke ties with Wei. Cao Pi personally led an army against Sun Quan, but Sun Quan declared independence and started the state of Eastern Wu.
The Wu forces were strong and had good leaders. Cao Pi's armies could not make much progress against them, even with several large attacks. The former Han Empire was now clearly divided into three states: Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. After Liu Bei died in 223, Shu Han and Eastern Wu formed an alliance again. This meant Wei had to defend itself on two sides and could not conquer either. Cao Pi once famously said in 225 that "Heaven created the Yangtze River to divide the north and the south," showing his frustration.
Managing the Empire
Cao Pi was seen as a good leader for his empire. He appointed many skilled officials to manage different parts of the government. He followed his father's idea of choosing people based on their abilities, not their family background. However, he did not like it when officials criticized him. Those who dared to speak against him were often removed from their positions.
Treatment of Princes
Cao Pi was still worried about his brother Cao Zhi. He reduced the size of Cao Zhi's land and had some of his brother's close friends executed. Under Cao Pi's rules, the princes of Wei were kept away from central government decisions. They had very little power even in their own areas and were limited in many ways, especially in using military force.
Treatment of Officials
Cao Pi was known for sometimes making fun of his officials. For example, the general Yu Jin was captured by Liu Bei's general Guan Yu in 219. Later, Yu Jin was allowed to return to Wei. Cao Pi sent Yu Jin to visit his father Cao Cao's tomb. At the tomb, Yu Jin saw paintings that Cao Pi had ordered. These paintings showed Yu Jin begging for his life during the battle, while his subordinate Pang De was shown dying bravely. Seeing this made Yu Jin so ashamed that he became sick and died. Cao Pi even gave Yu Jin a negative posthumous title, "Marquis Li," meaning "stony" or "vicious marquis."
Succession and Death
After Cao Pi became emperor in 220, a big question was who would be the empress. His wife was Lady Zhen. Cao Pi asked Lady Zhen to come to Luoyang, but she refused due to poor health. In August 221, Lady Zhen died, and Guo Nüwang became empress.
Empress Guo Nüwang did not have any children with Cao Pi. Cao Rui was Cao Pi's oldest son, but because his mother had died, he was not immediately made the crown prince. Instead, Cao Rui was given the title "Prince of Pingyuan." Cao Pi did not seem to seriously consider any other son as his heir. In the summer of 226, when Cao Pi became very ill, he finally named Cao Rui as his crown prince. On his deathbed, he asked three important officials—Cao Zhen, Chen Qun, and Sima Yi—to take care of Cao Rui. After his father's death, Cao Rui became emperor at the age of 21.
Family
Consorts and Issue:
- Empress Wenzhao, of the Zhen clan (文昭皇后 甄氏; 183–221)
- Cao Rui, Emperor Ming (明皇帝 曹叡; 204–239), first son
- Princess Dongxiang (東鄉公主)
- Empress Wende, of the Guo clan (文德皇后 郭氏; 184–235)
- Furen, of the Ren clan (夫人任氏)
- Guiren, of the Li clan (貴人 李氏)
- Cao Xie, Prince Ai of Zan (贊哀王 曹協, d. 235)
- Shuyuan, of the Pan clan (淑媛 潘氏)
- Cao Rui, Prince Wen'an (文安王 曹蕤; d. 233), third son
- Shuyuan, of the Zhu clan (淑媛 朱氏)
- Cao Jian, Prince Huai of Dongwuyang (東武陽懷王 曹鑑; d. 225/226)
- Zhaoyi, of the Qiu clan (昭儀 仇氏)
- Cao Lin, Prince Ding of Donghai (東海定王 曹霖; d. 251)
- Lady, of the Xu clan (徐氏)
- Cao Li, Prince Liang (梁王 曹禮; 208–229)
- Lady, of the Su clan (蘇氏)
- Cao Yong, Prince Luyang (魯陽王 曹邕; died 229)
- Lady, of the Zhang clan (張氏)
- Cao Gong, Prince Dao of Qinghe (清河悼王 曹貢; d. 223)
- Lady, of the Song clan (宋氏)
- Cao Yan, Prince Ai of Guangping (廣平哀王 曹儼; d. 223)
- Lady, of the Xue clan (薛氏), personal name Lingyuan (灵芸)
- Lady, of the Chen clan (陈氏), personal name Shangyi (尚衣)
- Lady, of the Li clan (李氏)
- Lady, of the Duan clan (段氏), personal name Qiaoxiao (巧笑)
- Lady, of the Li clan (李氏)
- Unknown
- Cao Jie (曹喈)
See also
In Spanish: Cao Pi para niños
- Cao Wei family trees
- Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms
