Cao Fang () (232–274),

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 Theob ...

Lanqing, was the third emperor of the state of

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. He was an adopted son of

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 ...

, the second ruler of Wei. Cao Fang ruled from 239 to 254 as a nominal emperor before he was deposed by the regent

Sima Shi Sima Shi () (208 – 23 March 255), courtesy name Ziyuan, was a military general and regent of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. In 249, he assisted his father Sima Yi in overthrowing the emperor Cao Fang's regent Cao Shuang, al ...

, after which he became known as the "Prince of Qi". After the fall of Wei in 265, Cao Fang was conferred the title of "Duke of Shaoling" by Emperor Wu of the Jin dynasty. When he died in 274, he was granted the posthumous name "Li", so his full posthumous title became "Duke Li of Shaoling".

Background

Cao Fang's parentage is disputed, though he was probably a son of Cao Kai, the Prince of Rencheng, a son of

Cao Zhang Cao Zhang () (189 – 1 August 223), courtesy name Ziwen, nickname "The Yellow Goatee" (黃鬚兒), was a prince of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a son of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to power towards t ...

. He was adopted by Wei's second emperor

at a young age. He was instated as the Prince of Qi in 235. Around 239, when Cao Rui became ill, he resolved to pass the throne to Cao Fang. Initially, he wanted to entrust Cao Fang to his uncle Cao Yu (曹宇), who would serve as a regent along with Xiahou Xian (夏侯獻),

Cao Shuang Cao Shuang (died 9 February 249), courtesy name Zhaobo, was a Chinese military general and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the eldest son of Cao Zhen, a prominent general of Wei. He initially hel ...

, Cao Zhao (曹肇), and Qin Lang (秦朗). However, Cao Rui's trusted officials Liu Fang (劉放) and Sun Zi (孫資) were not on good terms with Xiahou Xian and Cao Zhao, and were apprehensive about them becoming regents. Eventually, Cao Rui was persuaded to appoint Cao Shuang and Sima Yi. Cao Yu, Cao Zhao and Qin Lang were excluded from the regency. Half a month later, when Cao Rui was on his deathbed, Sima Yi arrived at

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, Nanyang ...

. Cao Rui held onto Sima's hand and summoned Cao Fang and

Cao Xun Cao Xun (231 – September or October 244) was an imperial prince of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was an adopted son of Cao Rui, the second emperor of Wei. While the identities of his parents are unknown, Cao Xu ...

(another adopted son of Cao Rui) to his bedside. He pointed out Cao Fang and told the boy to hug Sima, as he would hug his father. Cao Rui then instated Cao Fang as

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...

and died on the same day.

Reign

Although Cao Fang ruled for the longest period of time of all the rulers of Cao Wei, he was not in control of state power at any time during his reign. During his reign, the political scene was dominated by regents -

initially; then Sima Yi after he seized power from Cao Shuang during the

Incident at Gaoping Tombs The Incident at the Gaoping Tombs was a ''coup d'état'' that took place on 5 February 249 in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. The parties involved were Sima Yi and Cao Shuang, who were both regents fo ...

. After Sima Yi's death, Cao Fang attempted to take back state power from Sima Yi's son,

, but was not successful and was eventually deposed by Sima Shi.

Under Cao Shuang's regency

Cao Shuang and Sima Yi initially shared state power when they ruled as regents, but over time, Cao gradually stripped off Sima's power. He requested for Sima to be promoted to higher appointments and granted honorific titles, but the holder of these appointments and titles do not wield any power. After that, Cao Shuang made all important decisions and stopped consulting Sima. Many of Cao's associates, such as Deng Yang (鄧颺), Li Sheng (李勝), He Yan (何晏), and Ding Mi (丁謐), were appointed as high-ranking officials. Those not associated with Cao were excluded from holding positions in the imperial court. Sima was granted military authority, including command in defending Cao Wei from Eastern Wu's attack in 241, but he had no real authority on governance. In 29 May 243,According to Cao Fang's biography in ''Sanguozhi'', Lady Zhen was made empress on the ''yimao'' day of the 4th month of the 4th year of the ''Zhengshi'' era of Cao Fang's reign. This corresponds to 29 May 243 in the proleptic Gregorian calendar.((正始四年)夏四月乙卯，立皇后甄氏) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 4. Cao Fang married Empress Zhen, a granddaughter of his grandmother Lady Zhen's brother Zhen Yan (甄儼). In 244, Cao Shuang led an attack on Shu Han's border city of

Hanzhong Hanzhong (; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gansu to the west. The founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, was once enfeoffed as th ...

, without careful planning, hoping that he would gain a reputation in the military. The battles were inconclusive and Cao was forced to withdraw with great losses when their food supplies ran out. Despite this failure, Cao continued to hold on to state power firmly. In 247, Sima Yi retired from government service, claiming that he was ill. In 249, Sima launched a coup to seize power from Cao Shuang. While Cao Fang and Cao Shuang left the capital

to visit Cao Rui's tomb, Sima rallied a group of anti-Cao Shuang officials and closed all gates of Luoyang. He sent an edict to Cao Fang in the name of Empress Dowager Guo, accusing Cao Shuang of dominating and corrupting the government, and demanding that Cao Shuang and his brothers be removed from power. Cao Shuang eventually decided to surrender his authority, against the advice of

Huan Fan Huan Fan (died 9 February 249), courtesy name Yuanze, was an official and military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Life Huan Fan was from Pei State (), which is around present-day Suixi County, Anhui ...

. Sima promised Cao Shuang that he could still retain his titles. However, not long later, Sima had Cao Shuang and his family and associates executed on charges of treason. By then, Sima Yi was in complete control of the government.

Under Sima Yi's regency

After Sima Yi took over as regent, he carefully but inexorably eliminated his political opponents. Cao Fang, under coercion by Sima's supporters, offered Sima the

nine bestowments The nine bestowments () were awards given by Chinese emperors to officials, ostensibly to reward them for their accomplishments. While the nature of the bestowments was probably established during the Zhou Dynasty, there was no record of anyone r ...

, but Sima declined. During Sima's regency, he eliminated inefficiency and corruption that characterized Cao Shuang's time, and many honest officials were promoted on Sima's recommendation. In 249, Wang Ling, the general in charge of the southeastern city of Shouchun, plotted a rebellion against Sima Yi, in association with Cao Biao (曹彪), the Prince of Chu. In 251, when Wang was ready to carry out his plan, his subordinates Huang Hua (黃華) and Yang Hong (楊弘) betrayed him to Sima. Sima led an army to Shouchun before Wang could take action, and promised to pardon Wang for rebelling. Wang surrendered and was forced to commit suicide together with Cao Biao later. Wang's clan and followers were also slaughtered. Sima Yi died later that year and was succeeded by his son

as regent, who continued wielding state power.

Deposal by Sima Shi

In 252, Sima Shi led a campaign against Eastern Wu, whose founding emperor Sun Quan had recently died, and the current ruler

Sun Liang Sun Liang (245–260), courtesy name Ziming, was the second emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the youngest son and heir of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu. He is also known as the Prince of ...

was under

Zhuge Ke Zhuge Ke (203 – November or December 253), courtesy name Yuanxun (元逊), was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the eldest son of Zhuge Jin, a military gene ...

's regency. Although Sima was defeated, he maintained himself well by publicly admitting his faults and promoting the generals who had advised him against the campaign. In 253, Sima defeated Zhuge Ke in a major battle and established a reputation in the military. In 254, Sima made a violent move to consolidate power at the expense of Cao Fang. Cao Fang had endeared himself to the minister Li Feng, and Sima suspected that they were plotting against him. Sima summoned and interrogated Li, who refused to disclose his conversations with the emperor. Sima beat Li to death with a sword handle and accused Li and his associates

Xiahou Xuan Xiahou Xuan (209 – March 254), courtesy name Taichu, was a Chinese essayist, historian, military general, philosopher, and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Family background Xiahou Xuan was the so ...

and Zhang Ji (張緝) of treason, and had them and their clans exterminated. Cao Fang was forced to depose Empress Zhang (Zhang Ji's daughter) and replace her with Empress Wang. Cao Fang was angry with Sima Shi about the deaths of Li Feng and Zhang Ji. Later in 254, his supporters proposed a plan for him to seize power from Sima Shi: when Sima Shi's brother Sima Zhao arrived at the palace for an official visit before heading to

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin S ...

, Cao Fang would kill Sima Zhao and take control of his troops, and use those troops to attack Sima Shi. Cao Fang was apprehensive and hesitated in implementing the plan. Sima Shi heard about the plot and removed Cao Fang from the throne. Cao's life was spared and he was demoted to his previous title of Prince of Qi.

Later life and death

After his deposal, Cao Fang was moved to a palace in

Henei Henei Commandery ( zh, 河內郡) was a commandery of China from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in modern Henan province, to the north of Yellow River. In ancient China, Henei ("Inside the Yellow River") referred to the land north of the low ...

. When Sima Zhao's son

Sima Yan Emperor Wu of Jin (; 236 – 16 May 290), personal name Sima Yan (), courtesy name Anshi (安世), was the grandson of Sima Yi, nephew of Sima Shi and son of Sima Zhao. He became the first emperor of the Jin dynasty after forcing Cao Huan, ...

usurped the throne of Cao Wei in 265 and established the Jin Dynasty, Cao Fang and other Cao Wei princes were demoted to the status of dukes. He died in 274 and was posthumously granted the title of "Duke Li of Shaoling", with a funeral befitting that of a duke instead of an emperor. He did not have any known descendants.

Era names

*''Zhengshi'' (正始) 240–249 *''Jiaping'' (嘉平) 249–254

Titles held

:''Informal titles'' *Emperor Shao of Wei (魏少帝; lit. "young emperor of Wei") *Emperor Fei of Wei (魏廢帝; lit. "deposed emperor of Wei") :''Posthumous titles'' *Prince Ai of Qi (齊哀王) *Duke Li of Shaoling (邵陵厲公)

Family

Consorts: * Empress Huai, of the Zhen clan (; d. 251) * Empress, of the Zhang clan () * Empress, of the Wang clan ()

Ancestry

References

Chen Shou Chen Shou (; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is most known for his most celebrated work, the '' Records of ...

(3rd century). '' Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Pei Songzhi (5th century). '' Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Cao, Fang 232 births 274 deaths Cao Wei emperors 3rd-century Chinese monarchs