Cao Chun (died 210),

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 China, officially the People's R ...

Zihe, was a military officer 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 w ...

of China. He was a younger second cousin of Cao Cao, and is best known for leading the "Tiger and Leopard Cavalry" (虎豹騎), an elite mounted unit, in several battles against Cao Cao's rivals, including Yuan Tan, Tadun 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 H ...

. His elder brother,

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 – ...

, also served as a military officer under Cao Cao.

Life

Cao Chun and his elder full brother,

, were younger second cousins of

. Their grandfather Cao Bao (曹襃) and father Cao Chi (曹熾) served in the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...

of the

. Their father died when Cao Chun was 13 years old, so Cao Chun and Cao Ren lived with another family. They inherited their family fortune when they became older; they were wealthy and had hundreds of servants and retainers. Cao Chun was known for being a strict, rule-abiding and fair leader among his followers. His fellow townsfolk regarded him highly. A well-read man who respected scholars, Cao Chun was also popular among the literati, many of whom flocked to him and became his retainers. At the age of 17, Cao Chun was called to serve in the Han government as a Gentleman of the Yellow Gate (黃門侍郎). Two years later, he followed his second cousin,

, to Xiangyi (襄邑; present-day Sui County, Henan) to recruit soldiers. Since then, he had fought on Cao Cao's side in several battles against rival warlords. He became a Consultant (議郎) and Military Adviser to the Minister of Works (參司空軍事) sometime between 196 and 205. In early 205, he led the "Tiger and Leopard Cavalry" (虎豹騎) during the Battle of Nanpi against a rival warlord, Yuan Tan. When his forces suffered heavy casualties, Cao Cao wanted to call for a retreat, but Cao Chun stopped him and said, "We've travelled a long distance to attack the enemy. While we can't defeat them at the moment by advancing, we'll definitely lose our might if we retreat. Besides, we're already deep in enemy territory and we won't be able to last long. The enemy has become complacent after their initial victory against us; we've become fearful after our initial defeat by them. We can use our fear to overcome their complacency and defeat them." Cao Cao agreed and ordered his forces to press on their attack, and eventually defeated Yuan Tan. Cao Chun's "Tiger and Leopard Cavalry" killed Yuan Tan and cut off his head during the battle. In 207, Cao Chun led the "Tiger and Leopard Cavalry" again at the Battle of White Wolf Mountain against the Wuhuan tribes, who were allied with Cao Cao's rival Yuan Shang. During the battle, Cao Chun's unit captured Tadun, who was later executed by Zhang Liao, a general under Cao Cao. In recognition of Cao Chun's contributions in battle, Emperor Xian enfeoffed Cao Chun as the Marquis of Gaoling Village (高陵亭侯) and gave him 300 taxable households to form his marquisate. In 208, Cao Chun accompanied Cao Cao on the campaign in Jing Province. During the Battle of Changban, Cao Chun led his troops in pursuit of the rival warlord

and captured Liu Bei's two daughters, along with much of his equipment. They also rounded up some of Liu Bei's soldiers who were scattered during the battle and recruited them to join Cao Cao's forces. After Cao Cao occupied Jiangling County (江陵縣; present-day

Jingzhou Jingzhou () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the 2020 census, 1,068,291 of whom resided in the built-up (''or metro' ...

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 pr ...

), Jing Province's capital, Cao Chun headed back to Qiao County (譙縣; present-day

Bozhou Bozhou () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Anhui province, China. It borders Huaibei to the northeast, Bengbu to the southeast, Huainan to the south, Fuyang to the southwest, and Henan to the north. Its population was 4,996,844 at the ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

). It is not known whether Cao Chun participated in the

Battle of Red Cliffs The Battle of Red Cliffs, also known as the Battle of Chibi, was a decisive naval battle in the winter of AD 208–209 at the end of the Han dynasty, about twelve years prior to the beginning of the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history. ...

. Cao Chun died in 210, the 15th year of the Jian'an era in the reign of Emperor Xian. In 220, Cao Cao's son and heir,

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 ...

, forced Emperor Xian to abdicate in his favour, ended the Eastern Han dynasty, and established the state of

Cao Wei Wei (Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' < Middle Chinese: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

. After becoming emperor, Cao Pi awarded Cao Chun the posthumous title "Marquis Wei" (威侯). The "Tiger and Leopard Cavalry" (虎豹騎) unit that Cao Chun led was an elite mounted unit in Cao Cao's forces. Its recruitment process was highly selective – only soldiers who had at least 100 men under them were eligible. Even Cao Cao himself found it difficult to lead such a unit, which was why he chose Cao Chun, who was able to gain the trust and respect of those elite soldiers. After Cao Chun's death, when someone asked Cao Cao to select a new candidate to replace Cao Chun, Cao Cao said, "Who is comparable to (Cao) Chun? Am I not the only person capable of leading (this unit)?" He did not choose anyone.

Descendants

Cao Chun's son, Cao Yan (曹演), served as a military officer in the state of

Cao Wei Wei (Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' < Middle Chinese: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

during the

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 Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

period and held the position of General Who Leads the Army (領軍將軍). Sometime between 254 and 256, he was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Pingle District (平樂鄉侯). After his death, his son, Cao Liang (曹亮), inherited his marquis title.(子演嗣，官至領軍將軍，正元中進封平樂鄉侯。演薨，子亮嗣。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 9.

Notes

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''). * * 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, P ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Cao, Chun 210 deaths Year of birth unknown 2nd-century births Generals under Cao Cao

Life

Descendants

See also

Notes

References