Cao Biao (195 – July 251),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theo ...

Zhuhu, was an imperial prince of the

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' < Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

period of China.

Life

Cao Biao was a son of

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the dynasty's final years. As one o ...

, a warlord who rose to power in the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

and laid the foundation for the

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

period. His mother was Consort Sun (孫姬), a concubine of Cao Cao. He had two full brothers:

Cao Zishang Cao Zishang (birth and death dates unknown) was a son of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to power in the late Eastern Han dynasty and laid the foundation for the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. His mother was Lady Sun (孫姬 ...

and

Cao Ziqin Cao Ziqin (birth and death dates unknown) was a son of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to power in the late Eastern Han dynasty and laid the foundation for the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. His mother was Lady Sun (孫姬 ...

. In 216, Cao Biao was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Shouchun (壽春侯) by Emperor Xian, the figurehead last emperor of the

. During this time, he attended a banquet hosted by his half-brother

Cao Pi Cao Pi () ( – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the eldest s ...

. One of the guests was Zhu Jianping (朱建平), a notable fortune teller. Zhu Jianping told Cao Biao, "You'll become the lord of a vassal state. When you're 57, you'll get into a military-related disaster. You'll do well to be careful." In 221, a year after his half-brother

usurped the throne from Emperor Xian and replaced the Eastern Han dynasty with the

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' < Cao Rui Cao Rui () (204 or 206 – 22 January 239), courtesy name Yuanzhong, was the second emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. His parentage is in dispute: his mother, Lady Zhen, was Yuan Xi's wife, but she later rem ...

(Cao Pi's successor) summoned Cao Biao to the imperial capital,

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyan ...

, to pay his respects. In the following year, Cao Rui changed Cao Biao's title to "Prince of Chu" (楚王); Cao Biao's princedom, known as the Chu State (楚國), was centred around present-day

Shou County Shou County or Shouxian () is a county in the north-central part of Anhui Province, China, and is located on the southern (right) bank of the Huai River. It is the southernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Huainan. Its ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze Riv ...

. In 233, an official reported to Cao Rui that Cao Biao did not follow imperial protocol when he visited Luoyang in 231. As a punishment, three counties were removed from Cao Biao's princedom, bringing the total number of taxable households in his princedom down to 1,500. In 234, Cao Biao regained the three counties after Cao Rui ordered a general amnesty. In 239, 500 taxable households were added to Cao Biao's princedom, bringing the total number up to 3,000. In 249, the Grand Commandant Wang Ling plotted with his maternal nephew Linghu Yu (令狐愚), the Inspector of

Yan Province Yan Province or Yanzhou was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China. During the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), it covered roughly present-day southwestern Shandong, eastern Henan, and the northwestern corner of Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ...

, to overthrow the Wei emperor

Cao Fang Cao Fang () (232–274), courtesy name Lanqing, was the third emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He was an adopted son of Cao Rui, the second ruler of Wei. Cao Fang ruled from 239 to 254 as a nominal emperor be ...

(Cao Rui's successor) and replace him with Cao Biao, whom they perceive to be intelligent and courageous. They also planned to establish the new imperial capital in

Xuchang Xuchang (; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe to the southeast, and Pi ...

. In late September or October 249, Linghu Yu sent his subordinate Zhang Shi (張式) to contact Cao Biao and tell him that there were two popular sayings circulating in

Dong Commandery Dong Commandery ( zh, 東郡) was a commandery in historical China from the Warring States period to Sui dynasty. Its territories were situated in present-day Henan, Hebei and Shandong provinces. The commandery was established by the state of Qin i ...

(東郡; around present-day

Puyang County Puyang County () is a county in the northeast of Henan province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Puyang. Administrative divisions As 2012, this county is divided to 8 towns and 12 townships. ;Towns ;Township ...

, Henan): Both sayings hinted that Cao Biao should become the emperor. Zhang Shi also told Cao Biao, "His Excellency (Linghu Yu) sends Your Highness his greetings. There is great uncertainty in this world. We hope that Your Highness will love yourself." Cao Biao caught the hint and replied, "I thank His Excellency for his generosity and support." In December 249 or January 250, Linghu Yu sent Zhang Shi to remind Cao Biao again, but he died of illness before Zhang Shi returned. On 7 June 251, the Wei imperial court received news that Wang Ling was plotting a rebellion in Shouchun (壽春; present-day

) aimed at overthrowing the emperor Cao Fang and replacing him with Cao Biao. The Grand Tutor

Sima Yi Sima Yi ( ; 179 CE – 7 September 251 CE), courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He formally began his political career in 208 un ...

then led imperial forces from

to Shouchun to preempt Wang Ling before he could effectively carry out his plans. Zhang Shi and others involved in the plot surrendered themselves and confessed everything. As Wang Ling did not expect Sima Yi to show up so quickly, he was caught off guard and had no choice but to surrender. He committed suicide on 15 June while being escorted as a prisoner to Luoyang for trial. Sima Yi and officials from the Imperial Censorate went to Cao Biao's princedom, conducted an investigation and arrested everyone involved in the plot. The Minister of Justice urged the imperial court to punish Cao Biao for treason, so in July 251, the imperial court sent an emissary to reprimand Cao Biao for his conduct and force him to commit suicide. Several of Cao Biao's subordinates, who knew of his involvement in the plot but did not report him, were implicated and executed along with their families. Cao Biao's family members were spared, but reduced to commoner status and relocated to

Pingyuan Commandery Pingyuan Commandery ( zh, 平原郡) was a historical commandery of China, existing from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty. It was centered around present-day northwestern Shandong province. The commandery was carved out of the Jibei Kingdom during ...

(平原郡). His princedom was converted to a

commandery In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and ...

and renamed Huainan Commandery (淮南郡), with the commandery capital at present-day

Succession

In 254, the Wei emperor

Cao Mao Cao Mao () (241 – 2 June 260), courtesy name Yanshi, was the fourth emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a grandson of Cao Pi, the first emperor of Wei. Described as intelligent and studious ...

issued an imperial decree to pardon Cao Biao's family members and restore them to noble status. He enfeoffed Cao Biao's son and former heir apparent, Cao Jia (曹嘉), as the Prince of Changshan Zhending (常山真定王). In 260, during the reign of

Cao Huan Cao Huan () (245/246–302/303), courtesy name Jingming, was the fifth and last emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. On 4 February 266, he abdicated the throne in favour of Sima Yan (later Emperor Wu of the Jin d ...

, the number of taxable households in Cao Jia's princedom increased until it reached 2,500.(正元元年詔曰：「故楚王彪，背國附姧，身死嗣替，雖自取之，猶哀矜焉。夫含垢藏疾，親親之道也，其封彪世子嘉為常山真定王。」景元元年，增邑，并前二千五百戶。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 20.

Notes

References

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

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220� ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms Annotations to 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 leaving his native land, Pei ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Cao, Biao 195 births 251 deaths Cao Wei imperial princes Forced suicides of Chinese people Suicides in Cao Wei

Life

Succession

See also

Notes

References