Cao Bin () (931 - 999) was a military general in imperial China. A nephew-in-law of

Guo Wei Guo Wei () (10 September 904 – 22 February 954According to Guo Wei's biography in "Old Histories of the Five Dynasties", he died between 9am and 11 am on the ''renchen'' day of the 1st month of the 1st year of the ''Xiande'' era of his reign ...

, who founded the

Later Zhou Zhou, known as the Later Zhou (; ) in historiography, was a short-lived Chinese imperial dynasty and the last of the Five Dynasties that controlled most of northern China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Founded by Guo Wei ...

in 951, Cao first rose up through the ranks of the Later Zhou military. After the

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

replaced Later Zhou in 960, Cao participated in the conquest of the

Later Shu Shu (referred to as Later Shu () to differentiate it from other states named Shu in Chinese history), also known as Meng Shu (), was one of the Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in China. It was located in present ...

state in 965, where he distinguished himself from the other generals for disciplining his troops from pillaging the area, and was promoted as a result. In 974, he was named the overall commander to invade the

Southern Tang Southern Tang () was a state in Southern China that existed during Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, which proclaimed itself to be the successor of the former Tang dynasty. The capital was located at Jinling, Nanjing in present-day Jiangsu ...

state, which he successfully conquered in 976, again taking careful measures to prevent unnecessary killing. However, in one last campaign in 986 against the northern

Liao Dynasty The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yel� ...

, he suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Yelü Xiuge.

Early life

Cao Bin's father Cao Yun () was a military commander of Chengde Commandery (成德軍; centered in modern

Zhengding County Zhengding (), originally Zhending (), is a county in southwestern Hebei Province, North China, located approximately south of Beijing. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Shijiazhuang, the capital of the province, and ...

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and ...

) under the Later Han. Before the age of 20, Cao Bin served under his father as a minor general, and Wu Xingde (), the

military governor A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...

of Chengde Commandery, was reportedly very impressed by him. At that time his maternal aunt Lady Zhang () was married to

, another military governor. In 950, she was killed by Later Han emperor

Liu Chengyou Liu Chengyou () (28 March 931 Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter – 2 January 951), also known by his posthumous name Emperor Yin (), was the second and last emperor of imperial China's short-lived Later Han dynasty, during ...

as Guo rebelled. Guo eventually overthrew Later Han to found the

Career under Later Zhou

He was known for instilling discipline in his army, and for his disregard for anything material. Once, a messenger refused to believe he was the general, saying "how could the emperor's relative dress in modest clothing and sleep on a commoner's bed?" In 958, he was sent to

Wuyue Wuyue (; ), 907–978, was an independent coastal kingdom founded during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960) of Chinese history. It was ruled by the Haiyan Qian clan (海盐钱氏), whose family name remains widespread in t ...

Kingdom as a

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be use ...

and adamantly refused all bribes from

. After Later Zhou was overthrown by the

, Cao Bin was part of Song's conquest of

. After victories, some of the Song generals suggested

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

to show Song's power but Cao Bin prevented it. When the other generals robbed the territory of its wealth, Cao Bin was only interested in books and the traditional clothing. Returning to the capital, Cao Bin reported the other generals, and was named ''

jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", " legate ...

''. In 974 Cao Bin commanded the army that conquered

, and after a few other battles against

Northern Han The Northern Han () was a dynastic state of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was founded by Liu Min (), formerly known as Liu Chong (), and lasted from 951 to 979. Founding of the Northern Han The short-lived state of Later Ha ...

and

, he was given control over the entire

's army. His granddaughter was Empress Cao, married to

Emperor Renzong of Song Emperor Renzong of Song (30 May 1010 – 30 April 1063), personal name Zhao Zhen, was the fourth emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned for about 41 years from 1022 to his death in 1063, and was the longest reigning Song dynasty emp ...

Notes and references

Sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cao, Bin 931 births 999 deaths Later Zhou people Song dynasty generals People from Shijiazhuang Generals from Hebei