Cao Zhi (; ; 192 – 27 December 232),

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 ...

Zijian (), posthumously known as Prince Si of Chen (陈思王), was a prince 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 of China, and an accomplished poet in his time. His style of poetry, greatly revered during the Jin dynasty and

Southern and Northern Dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...

, came to be known as the ''Jian'an'' style. Cao Zhi was a son of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to power towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty and laid the foundation for the state of Cao Wei. As Cao Zhi once engaged his elder 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 ...

in a power struggle to succeed their father, he was ostracised by his victorious brother after the latter became the emperor and established the Cao Wei state. In his later life, Cao Zhi was not allowed to meddle in politics, despite his many petitions to seek office.

Early life

Born in 192, Cao Zhi was the third son of the warlord Cao Cao and Lady Bian. According to the '' Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi''), Cao Zhi could recite the ''

Shi Jing The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, co ...

'', '' Analects'' and more than ten thousand verses worth of poems before he even turned 20. His literary talent made him a favorite son of Cao Cao in the early stage of his life.

Character and failure

However, Cao Zhi was an impetuous man with little self-discipline. He was also a heavy drinker. On the other hand, his elder brother

knew how to act at the right times. Cao Pi also enjoyed a much closer relationship to the servants and subjects around Cao Cao, and they spoke well of him. In 217, Cao Cao eventually picked Cao Pi to succeed himself. This further aggravated Cao Zhi's already eccentric behaviour. He once rode his chariot along the road reserved for the emperor and through the front gate of the palace. This infuriated his father, who had the chariot driver executed. Having chosen a successor, Cao Cao took measures to undermine other contestants. He did this by executing Yang Xiu, a chief adviser to Cao Zhi. This greatly unsettled Cao Zhi, but failed to jolt him back to his senses. On the contrary, he sank further into his drunken habits. In 219, Cao Cao's cousin and leading general

Cao Ren Cao Ren () (168 – 6 May 223), courtesy name Zixiao, was a military general serving during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China under the warlord Cao Cao, who was also his older second cousin. He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei � ...

was besieged at the fortress at Fancheng (樊城; present-day

Fancheng District Fancheng is a District (PRC), district of the city of Xiangyang, Hubei, People's Republic of China. History Fancheng, or Fan City, was an ancient city in Hubei, situated on the northern side of the Han River (Hanshui), Han River, opposite Xia ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...

) by

Guan Yu Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on ...

. Cao Cao named Cao Zhi to lead a relief force to the rescue, in the hope that the task would instil into the latter a sense of responsibility. However, Cao Zhi was so drunk that he could not come forth to take the order. Cao Cao then gave up on this son. Within months, Cao Cao died. One of the first things Cao Pi did was to do away with Ding Yi (丁儀) and Ding Yì (丁廙), two firm supporters of Cao Zhi. He also sent Cao Zhi, along with the other brothers, away from the capital to a country estate exiling them into the countryside, and prohibited them from taking part in central political issues.

Continued rejection

Prospects for Cao Zhi did not improve after Cao Pi died in 226. He wrote to the second Wei emperor

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 ...

many times, seeking a position to apply his talents. In 232, he even sought a private meeting with Cao Rui to discuss politics. However, Cao Rui probably still considered him a threat to the throne and declined all the offers.

Death

Severely depressed by the setbacks, Cao Zhi soon developed a fatal illness. Aged 41, he quickly died leaving behind instructions for a simple burial. His tomb in Yushan (魚山) of

Dong'e county Dong'e County () falls under the jurisdiction of Liaocheng Prefecture-level city, in the Shandong Province of China. It is located on the left (northern) bank of the Yellow River, some upstream from the provincial capital Jinan. The county is re ...

was excavated in 1951, during which 28 bones were recovered. However, the whereabouts of these bones are currently unknown.

Poetry

Despite his failure in politics, Cao Zhi was hailed as one of the representatives of the poetic style of his time, together with his father Cao Cao, his elder brother

and several other poets. Their poems formed the backbone of what was to be known as the ''

Jian'an poetry Jian'an poetry, or Chien'an poetry (), refers to the styles of Chinese poetry particularly associated with the end of the Han dynasty and the beginning of the Six Dynasties era of China. This poetry category is particularly important because, in ...

'' style (建安風骨). The civil strife towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty gave the ''Jian'an'' poems their characteristic solemn yet heart-stirring tone, while lament over the ephemerality of life was also a central theme of works from this period. In terms of the history of Chinese literature, the ''Jian'an'' poems were a transition from the early folk songs into scholarly poetry. Although ''Jian'an'' refers to the

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of ...

between 196 and 220, Cao Zhi's poems could in fact be categorised into two periods, with the year 220 as the watershed. The earlier period consisted of poems that expressed his ambitions. These poems were optimistic and romantic in nature. On the other hand, his setbacks in political pursuits after the death of his father in 220 gave rise to the grievous tone of his later works. More than 90 poems by Cao Zhi remain today, more than 60 of which are five-character poems (五言詩). These are held in high esteem for their significant influence over the development of five-character poetry in later ages. The most complete collection of Cao Zhi's poems and other literary works is '' Chen Si Wang Ji'' (陳思王集, ''Collection of Works by King Si of Chen''), compiled during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

. One of Cao Zhi's most celebrated poems is ''On the White Horse''. Written in the early years of his life, the poem portrayed a young warrior who answered fearlessly to the need of his country and reflected Cao Zhi's own aspiration to contribute to his times. Portrait full-length Cao Zhi

Cao Zhi's most famous poem was the '' Seven Steps Verse'', often translated as ''The Quatrain of Seven Steps''. However, his authorship of this poem is disputed since the poem comes from the ''

Shishuo Xinyu ''A New Account of the Tales of the World'', also known as ''Shishuo Xinyu'' (), was compiled and edited by Liu Yiqing (Liu I-ching; 劉義慶; 403–444) during the Liu Song dynasty (420–479) of the Northern and Southern dynasties (420–589 ...

'', a collection of ahistorical anecdotes.

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

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 ...

'', a 14th-century historical novel, was a romanticisation of the events that occurred during the late Eastern Han dynasty and

period. Exploiting the complicated relationship among the Cao Cao's sons, especially

and Cao Zhi, Luo Guanzhong was able to create a scenario where the elder brother, having succeeded his father, tried to do away with his younger brother. After the death of Cao Cao, Cao Zhi failed to turn up for the funeral. Men sent by Cao Pi found Cao Zhi drunk in his own house. Cao Zhi was then bound and brought to Cao Pi. When Empress Bian, their common birth mother, heard of this, she went to Cao Pi and pleaded for the life of her younger son. Cao Pi agreed. However, Hua Xin then convinced Cao Pi to put Cao Zhi's literary talent to a test. If Cao Zhi failed the test, it would be excuse enough to put him to death, Hua Xin suggested. Cao Pi agreed and held audience with Cao Zhi, who in great trepidation bowed low and confessed his faults. On the wall there was a painting of two oxen fighting, one of which was falling into a well. Cao Pi told his brother to make a poem based on the painting after walking seven paces. However, the poem was not to contain explicit reference to the subjects of the drawing. Cao Zhi took seven paces as instructed, and the poem was already formulated in his heart. He then recited:

Two butcher's victims lowing walked along,
Each head bore curving bones, a sturdy pair.
兩肉齊道行，頭上帶凸骨。 They met just by a hillock, both were strong,
Each would avoid a pit newly-dug there.
相遇塊山下，欻起相搪突。 They fought unequal battle, for at length
One lay below a gory mess, inert.
二敵不俱剛，一肉臥土窟。 'Twas not that they were of unequal strength
Though wrathful both, one did not strength exert.
非是力不如，盛氣不泄畢。

However, Cao Pi was not satisfied. He then bade Cao Zhi make another poem on the spot based on their fraternal relationship, without using the word "brother". Not taking a second to think, Cao Zhi recited:

Cooking beans on a fire of beanstalks,
煮豆燃豆萁， The beans weep in the pot.
豆在釜中泣。 Born of the same roots,
本是同根生， Why the eagerness to destroy one another?
相煎何太急?

Having heard this,

was moved to tears. He then let his brother go after merely degrading the peerage of the latter as a punishment.

Family

Modern references

In 2002,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and ...

produced the television drama, ''

Where the Legend Begins ''Where the Legend Begins'' is a 2002 Hong Kong television series produced by TVB. The series is based on the life story of Zhen Fu (Cantonese: Yan Fuk), a noble lady who lived during the Three Kingdoms period. It contains embellishments from fol ...

'', featuring Cao Zhi as the intelligent and compassionate protagonist. Steven Ma played the role of Cao Zhi in the series. There is also a 2013 Chinese television series

Legend of Goddess Luo A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

produced by Huace Film and TV, starring Yang Yang as Cao Zhi. Cao Zhi (Ts'ao Chih) may be the titular figure of Ezra Pound's poem ''Ts'ai Chi'h'', included in ''

Des Imagistes ''Des Imagistes: An Anthology'', edited by Ezra Pound and published in 1914, was the first anthology of the Imagism movement. It was published in ''The Glebe'' in February 1914, and later that year as a book by Charles and Albert Boni in New Yo ...

'' (1914).

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cao, Zhi 192 births 232 deaths Han dynasty poets Cao Wei poets Family of Cao Cao Cao Wei imperial princes 3rd-century Chinese poets Poets from Shandong