Dong Cheng (died 11 February 200According to Liu Xie's biography in ''Book of the Later Han'', Dong Cheng was killed on the ''renwu'' day of the 1st month of the 5th year of the ''Jianan'' era of his reign. This corresponds to 11 Feb 200 on the Julian calendar. 建安)五年春正月，车骑将军董承、偏将军王服、越骑校尉种辑受密诏诛曹操，事泄。壬午，曹操杀董承等，夷三族.''Houhanshu'', vol.09) was a Chinese military general who lived during 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 ...

of China. He was also the father of Lady Dong, a concubine of Emperor Xian.

Life

Dong Cheng's origins are obscure: the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

scholar Zhao Yiqing deduced that he was from the same clan as

Dong Zhuo Dong Zhuo () (died 22 May 192), courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. At the end of the reign of the Eastern Han, Dong Zhuo was a general and powerful minist ...

, while the

Liu Song dynasty Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties ...

historian

Pei Songzhi Pei Songzhi (372–451), courtesy name Shiqi, was a Chinese historian and politician who lived in the late Eastern Jin dynasty and Liu Song dynasty. His ancestral home was in Wenxi County, Shanxi, but he moved to the Jiangnan region late ...

claimed that he was a nephew of

Empress Dowager Dong Empress Dowager Dong (156 - 7 July 189), personal name unknown, formally known as Empress Xiaoren, was an empress dowager of the Eastern Han dynasty of China. She was never empress throughout her early life because she was the wife of a marquis; ...

, the mother of Emperor Ling ( 168–189). Dong Cheng served as a military officer under Niu Fu, a son-in-law of the warlord

, who controlled the Han central government and the figurehead Emperor Xian ( 189–220) between 189 and 192. His service under Niu Fu ended in 192 following Dong Zhuo's death and Niu Fu's assassination by his subordinate Huchi'er (胡赤兒). In 195, Emperor Xian managed to escape from the generals Li Jue and

Guo Si Guo Si () (died 197), also known as Guo Duo, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord serving under the warlord Dong Zhuo during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He assisted Dong Zhuo in his many campaigns and served as a su ...

, who had been holding him hostage in

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 ...

since 192, and return to the old 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 ...

. Dong Cheng, Zhang Yang,

Yang Feng Yang Feng (died 197) was a military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Yang Feng was a leader of the White Wave Bandits. Later, he became a subordinate of Li Jue. In 192, Li Jue, Guo Si and other former follo ...

, the

White Wave Bandits The Yellow Turban Rebellion, alternatively translated as the Yellow Scarves Rebellion, was a peasant revolt in China against the Eastern Han dynasty. The uprising broke out in 184 CE during the reign of Emperor Ling. Although the main rebell ...

and other loyalists came to protect the emperor from Li Jue and Guo Si, who attempted to capture him and bring him back to Chang'an. After Emperor Xian and the loyalists reached Luoyang, internal conflict broke out between Dong Cheng and Yang Feng, who had support from the White Wave Bandits. Dong Cheng then chose to ally with 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 of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the dynasty's final years. As one o ...

. When Cao Cao showed up in Luoyang with his forces, Dong Cheng reported Han Xian and Yang Feng's wrongdoings to Emperor Xian and forced them to leave. Cao Cao then received Emperor Xian and escorted him to his own base in Xu (許; in present-day

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 ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is a ...

), which became the new imperial capital. As Emperor Xian feared that Cao Cao would attempt to dominate him and the central government and use him as a "trump card" against rival warlords, in 199 he appointed Dong Cheng as General of Chariots and Cavalry (車騎將軍) to balance against Cao Cao's influence in the imperial court. The emperor also gave Dong Cheng permission to open his own office and have his own staff – in the same way as Cao Cao did. Dong Cheng's daughter also became a concubine of Emperor Xian. In the first lunar month of the year 200, Dong Cheng allegedly received a secret imperial edict from Emperor Xian ordering him to eliminate Cao Cao, so he contacted a few officials and plotted with them to assassinate Cao Cao. These officials included Zhong Ji (种輯), Wang Zifu (王子服), Wu Zilan (吳子蘭) and

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 ...

. However, Cao Cao caught wind of their plot and had them arrested. He then charged them with treason and had all of them (except Liu Bei, who had already fled) executed along with their families. Dong Cheng's daughter, who was pregnant at the time, was also killed despite Emperor Xian's efforts to save her.

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''). * Fan, Ye (5th century). ''

Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Lat ...

'' (''Houhanshu''). * 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:Dong, Cheng 2nd-century births 200 deaths 2nd-century Chinese people Han dynasty generals People executed by the Han dynasty

Life

See also

References