Cao Shen or Cao Can (died 24 September 190 BCE),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Jingbo (), was a Chinese military general and politician. He served as a

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the

Western Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring in ...

. He participated in the

Chu–Han Contention The Chu–Han Contention (), also known as the Chu–Han War (), was an interregnum in Imperial China between the fall of the Qin dynasty and the establishment of the Han dynasty. After the Qin dynasty was overthrown in 206 BCE, the empir ...

on Liu Bang (

Emperor Gaozu of Han Emperor Gaozu of Han (2561 June 195 BC), also known by his given name Liu Bang, was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 202 to 195 BC. He is considered by traditional Chinese historiography to be one o ...

)'s side and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han dynasty.

Early life

Cao Shen was from Pei County in present-day

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

and he served as a prison warden in his early days. He was a close friend of

Liu Bang Emperor Gaozu of Han (2561 June 195 BC), also known by his given name Liu Bang, was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 202 to 195 BC. He is considered by traditional Chinese historiography to be one o ...

. Once, Liu Bang was tasked with escorting some convicts to

Mount Li Mount Li () is a mountain located in the northeast of Xi'an in Shaanxi Province, China. The mountain is part of the Qinling mountain range and rises to a height of 1302 metres (4271 ft) above sea level. It is one of the eight scenic spots of th ...

to become labourers, but some prisoners escaped and Liu was forced to become a fugitive. He sought refuge with his followers on Mount Mangdang (in present-day Yongcheng,

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

) and maintained secret contact with Cao Shen and

Xiao He Xiao He (257 BC – 16 August 193 BC''xinwei'' day of the 7th month of the 2nd year of Emperor Hui's reign, per vol. 12 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'') was a Chinese calligrapher and politician of the early Western Han dynasty. He served Emperor Gaozu of ...

. In 209 BC, after the

Dazexiang Uprising The Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprising (), August 209 B.C.– January 208 B.C., was the first uprising against the Qin dynasty following the death of Qin Shi Huang. Led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, the uprising was unsuccessful. Name It is also ...

broke out, the magistrate of Pei County considered rebelling against the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

as well, so he heeded Cao Shen and Xiao He's advice to invite Liu Bang back to support him. However, the magistrate changed his mind later and denied Liu Bang entry into the city. He was worried that Xiao He and Cao Shen might open the city gates for Liu Bang, so he planned to have them killed, but Xiao and Cao managed to escape and join Liu. The townsfolk rebelled against the magistrate and killed him, allowing Liu Bang and his men to enter. Liu Bang built up his rebel army in Pei County and Cao Shen served as one of his advisors.

Insurrection against the Qin dynasty

Cao Shen defeated the Qin armies led by Xue Guo, Hu Ling and Fang Yu, and was promoted to a high rank by Liu Bang for his contributions. Cao Shen defeated Zhang Han's army and drove Zhang towards

Puyang Puyang is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Henan province, People's Republic of China. Located on the northern shore of the Yellow River, it borders Anyang in the west, Xinxiang in the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Hebei ...

. He returned to help Liu Bang, who was trapped at Yongqiu, and defeated Li You, the Qin general defending Sanchuan. By then, Cao Shen had conquered two fiefs and 122 counties in total. In the following battles against Qin, Cao Shen defeated the Qin generals Wang Li and Zhao Ben and captured the Wu and Yao passes leading to

Xianyang Xianyang ( zh, s=咸阳 , p=Xiányáng) is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now int ...

(the Qin capital).

Chu–Han Contention

After the fall of the Qin dynasty, Liu Bang received the title of "King of Han" from Xiang Yu, and was relocated to

Hanzhong Hanzhong ( zh, s= , t= , l=middle of the Han River (Hubei), Han River; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in Southern Shaanxi, the southwest of Shaanxi, Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gans ...

. Liu Bang granted Cao Shen the title of "Marquis of Jiancheng" () and promoted him to a general rank. Cao Shen helped Liu Bang conquer the

Three Qins The Three Qins () refer to three of the Eighteen Kingdoms (Yong, Sai and Zhai), the short-lived power-sharing arrangement formed in 206 BC after the collapse of the Qin dynasty. The three kingdoms were located in Guanzhong Plain (in present-day c ...

. During the

, a power struggle between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, Cao Shen joined

Han Xin Han Xin (; ? – early 196 BCE) was a Chinese military general and politician who served Liu Bang during the Chu–Han Contention and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han dynasty. Han Xin was named as one of the "Three Heroes of the ...

's army in the campaigns on the northern front. They scored victories against Wei Bao's forces, the Zhao army at the

Battle of Jingxing The Battle of Jingxing (), also known as the Battle of Tao River (), was fought in October 205 BC between the army of Han, commanded by Han Xin, and a Zhao army. The Zhao were led by King Zhao Xie () of Zhao and Chen Yu (), also known as the Lo ...

, and the combined forces of Qi and

Chu Chu or CHU may refer to: Chinese history * Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty * Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu * Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the H ...

at the

Battle of Wei River The Battle of Wei River () was fought in November 204 BC between the Han and a combined force of Qi and Western Chu. The famous General Han Xin led the Han force, while the Chu were led by Long Ju () and the Qi by King Tian Guang (). The result ...

. During this time, Cao Shen was appointed as acting-Left

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of Liu Bang's Han kingdom, and subsequently promoted to Right Chancellor. After the conquest of the Qi kingdom, Cao Shen left Han Xin and returned to Liu Bang's side to join him in resisting Xiang Yu. Liu Bang later sent Cao Shen to suppress the remnants of Qi. In 202 BC, Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu at the Battle of Gaixia and unified China under his rule. Liu Bang became the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

and his dynasty was named " Han". He was historically known as "Emperor Gao" (or Emperor Gaozu). When rewarding his subjects, Gaozu named Cao Shen as the person who made the most contributions in battle. However, Cao Shen resigned from his post as Right

. In 201 BC, Cao Shen was appointed as chancellor of Qi Kingdom, which was then ruled by Liu Fei (Gaozu's eldest son). He was also conferred the title of "Marquis of Pingyang" () and given 10,630 households in his marquisate.

As chancellor

While serving as chancellor, Cao Shen sought the help of

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

scholars in governing Qi but was not impressed by their ideas. After discussing with a scholar called Gai Gong, Cao Shen was influenced by the Huang-Lao () school of thought, which used a mix of persuasion and coercion. Cao Shen followed Gai Gong's advice to implement policies to restore social stability and frequently consulted Gai Gong on how to govern Qi. In 196BC, he commanded the Qi forces that assisted the emperor in suppressing Chen Xi's rebellion. in Dai (present-day northern

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

and northwestern

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

). In 193 BC, the chancellor

died and was succeeded by Cao Shen. Cao Shen spent his time drinking and feasting, and maintained well Xiao He's system of governance but did not implement any new changes. When Emperor Hui asked him why he did not change the system, Cao Shen replied that he was not as good as Xiao He and did not want to make changes for fear of negatively affecting the system left behind by Xiao. This became the origin of a Chinese idiom, ''Xiao Gui Cao Sui'' (萧规曹随; lit. "Cao following Xiao's rules"), which is used to describe the continuation of the work of one's predecessor.

Appraisal

The historian

Sima Qian Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China cov ...

commented in ''

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

'' that he felt that among all of Liu Bang's subjects, Cao Shen's contributions in battle was second only to

. Commenting on Cao Shen's role as chancellor, Sima Qian mentioned that Cao had done well in preserving

's system of governance and achieved the peace and stability desired by the people.

Family and descendants

Cao Shen's son, Cao Zhu (曹窋; died 161 BC), inherited his father's marquis title "Marquis of Pingyang". Cao Zhu was in turn succeeded by his son, Cao Qi (曹奇; died 153 BC), who helped Emperor Jing suppress the

Rebellion of the Seven States The Rebellion of the Seven States or Revolt of the Seven Kingdoms ( zh, s=七国之乱, t=七國之亂, p=Qī Guózhī Luàn) took place in 154 BC against the rule of Emperor Jing of Han dynasty by its regional semi-autonomous kings, to resist ...

. Cao Qi's son, Cao Shi (曹時; died 131 BC), married

Princess Pingyang Princess Pingyang (, formally Princess Zhao of Pingyang (, died March 623) was a Chinese princess and general. She was the only daughter of Li Yuan (later crowned as Emperor Gaozu), the founding emperor of the Tang dynasty, and his wife Empres ...

, one of Emperor Jing's daughters. Cao Shi's son, Cao Xiang (曹襄; died 115 BC), married Princess Wei (a daughter of Emperor Wu and Empress Wei Zifu) and served as a general in the Han campaigns against the Xiongnu. Cao Xiang's son, Cao Zong (曹宗; died 91 BC), was implicated in a plot to overthrow Emperor Wu in 91 BC and was stripped of the marquis title he inherited from his ancestor. He and his family also lost their inherited marquisate as a consequence.

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

warlord

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

claimed to be a descendant of Cao Shen. However this has been rebuked through genetic evidence.

References

Citations

Bibliography

Ban Gu Ban Gu (AD32–92) was a Chinese historian, poet, and politician best known for his part in compiling the ''Book of Han'', the second of China's 24 dynastic histories. He also wrote a number of '' fu'', a major literary form, part prose ...

et al. ''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' is a history of China finished in 111 CE, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), ...

'', vol. 39. * . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cao, Shen 190 BC deaths Chu–Han contention people Han dynasty chancellors Politicians from Xuzhou Year of birth unknown