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 Theobald ...
Zhengli, was an official serving under the warlord
Cao Cao
Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate Grand chancellor (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...
during the late
Eastern Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
of China.
Life
Ding Yi was from Pei State (), which is around present-day
Suixi County, Anhui
Suixi County () is a county in the north of Anhui Province, China, bordering Henan province to the southeast. It is under the administration of Huaibei
Huaibei () is a prefecture-level city in northern Anhui Province, China. It borders Suzhou ...
. His father, Ding Chong (), was an old acquaintance 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 (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...
, the warlord who controlled the Han central government and the figurehead
Emperor Xian
Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 11 December 220.
Liu Xie was a so ...
from 196 to 220. Ding Chong served as the Colonel-Director of Retainers () in Cao Cao's administration.
After Ding Chong's death, Cao Cao wanted to arrange for Ding Yi to marry one of his daughters, Princess Qinghe (). However, Cao Cao's eldest surviving son,
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 son ...
, strongly opposed because Ding Yi had an eye disorder which affected his physical appearance and hence made him an unsuitable spouse for Princess Qinghe. Cao Pi then suggested to his father to let Princess Qinghe marry
Xiahou Mao
Xiahou Mao ( 220s–230s), courtesy name Zilin, was a military general and marquis of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Xiahou Dun, a general who served under the warlord Cao Cao, while Xiah ...
instead; Cao Cao agreed.
Ding Yi hated Cao Pi for spoiling his chance of becoming Cao Cao's son-in-law, so he grew determined to oppose Cao Pi. He became close to Cao Pi's younger brother
Cao Zhi
Cao Zhi (; ; 192 – 27 December 232), courtesy name Zijian (), posthumously known as Prince Si of Chen (陈思王), was a prince of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China, and an accomplished poet in his time. His style o ...
, who was Cao Pi's rival in a power struggle over the succession to their father's position as a vassal king under the Han Empire. Along with Yang Xiu and others, Ding Yi often sang praises of Cao Zhi in front of Cao Cao in the hope of helping Cao Zhi earn his father's favour. However, Cao Zhi ultimately lost to Cao Pi, whom Cao Cao officially designated as his heir apparent.
Cao Cao initially assigned Ding Yi to be an Assistant Officer in the West Bureau (). After Cao Pi became the heir apparent, Ding Yi was reassigned to be a Right Assistant Security Officer (). Cao Cao noted Ding Yi's literary talent and once regretted his decision to not have Ding Yi as a son-in-law.
In 220, following Cao Cao's death, Cao Pi inherited his father's position as a vassal king of the Han Empire and eventually usurped the throne from Emperor Xian later that year and established the state of
to replace the Eastern Han dynasty. One of the first things he did after coming to power was to have Ding Yi and his entire family executed.
Family
Ding Yi had a similarly named younger brother, Ding Yi (丁廙; ''Dīng Yì''; note the different Chinese character for ''Yi''), whose
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 Theobald ...
was Jingli ().
See also
*
Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms
The following are lists of people significant to the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of Chinese history. Their names in Mandarin pinyin are sorted in alphabetical order.
Fictional characters in the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of ...
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– ...
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 ...