Cao Xing () ( 190s) was a military officer serving under the warlord

Lü Bu Lü Bu (; died 7 February 199), courtesy name Fengxian, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of Imperial China. Originally a subordinate of a minor warlord Ding Yuan, he betrayed a ...

in the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

of China.

In historical records

Cao Xing was a subordinate of Hao Meng, an officer serving under

. One night in July or August 196, Hao Meng started a rebellion against Lü Bu in Xiapi (下邳; present-day

Pizhou Pizhou () is a county-level city under the administration of Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China. As of 2020 it had a population of 1,462,563; it borders the Shandong prefecture-level cities of Linyi to the northeast and Zaozhuang to the northwest ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

), the capital of Lü Bu's domain

Xu Province Xuzhou as a historical toponym refers to varied area in different eras. Ordinarily, it was a reference to the Nine Provinces which modern Xuzhou inherited. History Pre-Qin era Xuzhou or Xu Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient Ch ...

, and attacked Xiapi's administrative office. Lü Bu escaped from the office and went to the camp of his subordinate

Gao Shun Gao Shun () (died 7 February 199) was a military officer serving the warlord Lü Bu during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Although he only had 700 men under his command, his unit was nicknamed as the "camp crusher (or formation breaker ...

. Gao Shun led his soldiers to Lü Bu's office and drove away the rebels, who fled back to their own camp. Cao Xing refused to betray Lü Bu so he turned against Hao Meng and fought with his superior. During the fight, although Hao Meng injured Cao Xing with his spear, Cao Xing also managed to cut off one of Hao Meng's arms. By then, Gao Shun had shown up to attack Hao Meng's camp and he beheaded the traitor. Cao Xing was placed on a stretcher and sent to Xiapi to meet Lü Bu. Lü Bu asked him: "Hao Meng was instigated by

Yuan Shu Yuan Shu () (155 – 199), courtesy name Gonglu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han central government in 189. He decla ...

. Who else is involved in the plot?" Cao Xing replied: "

Chen Gong Chen Gong () (died 7 February 199), courtesy name Gongtai, was an adviser to the warlord Lü Bu in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. However, he had started his career under another warlord, Cao Cao, before defecting to Lü Bu. He was ex ...

is an accomplice." At the time, Chen Gong was nearby and he gave an obvious angry expression when his name was mentioned. Lü Bu felt that Chen Gong was his key adviser so he refused to believe the accusation. Cao Xing said: "Hao Meng often urged me to rebel, but I said that you, General, are like a god and cannot be defeated. Unfortunately, Hao Meng refused to believe what I told him." Lü Bu then exclaimed: "You are a true soldier!" He treated Cao Xing well and placed him in charge of Hao Meng's men after he had recovered.

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

In the 14th-century historical novel ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...

'', Cao Xing played a greater role in the events preceding the

Battle of Xiapi The Battle of Xiapi was fought between the forces of Lü Bu against the allied armies of Cao Cao and Liu Bei from the winter of 198 to 7 February 199 towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. The battle concluded with victory for C ...

in 198. Cao Xing and

were sent by

to defend Xiaopei (小沛; present-day Pei County,

) from

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

's general

Xiahou Dun Xiahou Dun () (died 13 June 220), courtesy name Yuanrang, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.''Sanguozhi'' vol.9. He served for a few months under Cao Cao ...

. When the two armies met outside the city, Xiahou Dun duelled with Gao Shun for about 40 or 50 rounds before Gao Shun retreated. While pursuing Gao Shun, Xiahou Dun was hit in the left eye by an arrow fired by Cao Xing. With a cry, Xiahou Dun pulled out the arrow along with his eyeball. He exclaimed: "Essence of my father, blood of my mother, I cannot throw this away!" He then swallowed his eyeball and charged towards Cao Xing and impaled the latter right in the face with his spear. Cao Xing fell off his horse and died.''Sanguo Yanyi'' ch. 18.

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). ''

'' (''Sanguo Yanyi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms ''Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms'' () by Pei Songzhi (372–451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After the fall of the Eastern Jin ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Cao, Xing Military officers under Lü Bu 2nd-century births Year of death unknown Chinese duellists

In historical records

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

See also

References