Cao Bao (died 196) was a military officer serving under Tao Qian, the Governor of Xu Province, during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He became a subordinate of Tao Qian's successor,

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the ...

, after Tao's death in 194. He was killed by

Zhang Fei Zhang Fei () (died July or August 221 AD), courtesy name Yide, was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, who were among the earlie ...

in 196 after a quarrel.

In historical records

The only known information about Cao Bao in history comes from Pei Songzhi's

annotations An annotation is extra information associated with a particular point in a document or other piece of information. It can be a note that includes a comment or explanation. Annotations are sometimes presented in the margin of book pages. For anno ...

to Chen Shou's '' Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi''), which recorded the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. An annotation from the ''Yingxiong Ji'' (英雄記; " Records of Heroes", authored by

Wang Can Wang Can (177 – 17 February 217), courtesy name Zhongxuan, was a Chinese politician and poet who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He contributed greatly to the establishment of laws and standards during the founding days o ...

) in the ''Sanguozhi'' recorded: Another annotation, also from the ''Yingxiong Ji'', in the ''Sanguozhi'', recorded a different account:

Sima Guang Sima Guang (17 November 1019 – 11 October 1086), courtesy name Junshi, was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer. He was a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official who authored the monumental history book ''Zizhi Tongjian''. Sima was ...

used the second account when he compiled the ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song (960–1127), Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959&n ...

''.

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

Cao Bao's conflict with Zhang Fei was dramatised in the 14th-century historical novel '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms''. In the novel, Cao Bao was

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 betr ...

's father-in-law. He was coerced by

to drink wine even though he insisted that he abstained from alcohol. When Cao Bao pleaded with Zhang Fei to stop forcing him to drink by asking the latter to "spare him in consideration of his son-in-law", Zhang became furious because he hated Lü Bu. He ordered his men to flog Cao Bao 50 times and only gave up when the other officers begged him to stop. Cao Bao bore a grudge against Zhang Fei for the beating, so he secretly contacted Lü Bu and assisted his son-in-law in seizing control of Xiapi. Zhang Fei was drunk when Lü Bu attacked the city so he lost the battle and fled from Xiapi. Cao Bao led about a hundred soldiers to pursue Zhang Fei but ended up being killed by the latter.''Sanguo Yanyi'' ch. 14.

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). '' Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi''). * * Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguo Yanyi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). '' Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). * Sima, Guang (1084). ''

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cao, Bao 2nd-century births 196 deaths Tao Qian and associates Lü Bu and associates Generals under Liu Bei

In historical records

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

See also

References