Cao Huan () (246 – 302/303),

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 ...

Jingming, was the fifth and last emperor of the state of

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

during the

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 ...

period. On 4 February 266, he abdicated the throne in favour of regent Sima Yan (later Emperor Wu of the Jin dynasty), and brought an end to the Wei regime. After his abdication, Cao Huan was granted the title " Prince of Chenliu" and held it until his death, after which he was posthumously honoured as "Emperor Yuan (of Cao Wei)".

Family background and accession to the throne

Cao Huan's birth name was "Cao Huang" (). His father, Cao Yu, the Prince of Yan, was a son of

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 ...

, the father of Wei's first emperor,

Cao Pi Cao Pi () (late 187 – 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 ...

. In 258, at the age of 12, in accordance with Wei's regulations that the sons of princes (other than the first-born son of the prince's spouse or wife, customarily designated the prince's heir) were to be instated as dukes, Cao Huan was instated as the "Duke of Changdao District" (). In June 260, after the ruling emperor Cao Mao was killed in an attempt to seize back state power from the regent Sima Zhao, Cao Huang was selected to succeed Cao Mao.

Reign

At the time Cao Huang became emperor, his name was changed to "Cao Huan" because it was difficult to observe naming taboo with the name "Huang" (which was a homonym to many common terms—including "yellow" and "emperor" ). During Cao Huan's reign, the Sima clan controlled state power and Cao was merely a figurehead and head of state in name. On 28 Nov 263, Cao Huan instated his wife Lady Bian as empress. For the first few years of Cao Huan's reign, there were constant attacks by forces from the rival

Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu ( zh, t=蜀, p=Shǔ; Sichuanese Pinyin: ''Su'' < Middle Chinese: *''źjowk'' < Eastern Han Chinese: *''dźok''), was a Dynasties in ...

state under the command of Shu general Jiang Wei. While Jiang Wei's attacks were largely easily repelled, Sima Zhao eventually ordered a counterattack on Shu with an invading force of 180,000 men commanded by Zhong Hui and

Deng Ai Deng Ai (197 – late March 264Vol.04 of ''Sanguozhi'' and vol.02 of ''Jin Shu'' both indicated that Deng Ai was arrested in the 1st month of the 1st year of the ''Xianxi'' era. The month corresponds to 15 Feb to 14 Mar 264 in the Julian calendar ...

. In late 263, Liu Shan, then Shu emperor, surrendered to Deng, bringing an end to the state of Shu. After the fall of Shu, Deng Ai was framed for treason by Zhong Hui and stripped of command. In early 264, Zhong Hui plotted with Jiang Wei to restore Shu and eliminate all the Wei generals who might oppose him. However, the generals started a counterinsurgency and killed Zhong Hui and Jiang Wei. Shu's former territories (in present-day

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

, southern

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

, and southeastern

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

) were completely annexed by Wei.

Abdication and later life

Wei itself did not last much longer after Shu's collapse. In December 263, Sima Zhao again forced Cao Huan to grant him the nine bestowments and this time he finally accepted, signifying that a usurpation was near; at the same time he was also made Duke of Jin. In May 264, Sima Zhao became a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

king under the title "King of Jin" — the final step before usurpation. After Sima Zhao died in September 265, his son, Sima Yan, inherited his father's position and on 4 February 266 forced Cao Huan to abdicate. Two days later, Cao Huan was located to Ye city, where he would live for the rest of his life. Sima Yan then established the Jin dynasty on 8 February. He granted Cao Huan the title "Prince of Chenliu" which Cao Huan carried until his death. Not much is known about Cao Huan's life as a prince under Jin rule. Sima Yan (later known as Emperor Wu of Jin) permitted him to retain imperial banners and wagons and to worship ancestors with imperial ceremonies. He also permitted Cao Huan not to refer to himself as a subject of his. He died in 302 during the reign of Emperor Wu's son, Emperor Hui. He was buried with honours due an emperor and given the

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...

"Yuan" by the Jin court. It is not known who immediately succeeded Cao Huan as Prince of Chenliu, but in November or December 326, the title of Prince of Chenliu was conferred upon Cao Mai, a great-great-grandson of Cao Cao, who held the title until his death on 1 December 358. He was succeeded by his son, Cao Hui, whose title was confirmed on 24 November 363. The title of Prince of Chenliu would remain within the Cao clan until it was abolished on 25 September 479''guisi'' day of the 8th month of the 1st year of the ''Jian'yuan'' era, per vol.04 of ''Nan Shi'' during the reign of Xiao Daocheng, founding emperor of

Southern Qi Qi, known in historiography as the Southern Qi ( or ) or Xiao Qi (), was a Chinese imperial dynasty and the second of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It followed the Liu Song dynasty and was succee ...

; the final Prince of Chenliu was Cao Can (曹粲).

Era names

*''Jingyuan'' () 260–264 *''Xianxi'' () 264–266

Titles held

*Prince of Chenliu () *Emperor Yuan of Wei () (posthumous title)

Family

Consorts

* Empress, of the Bian clan ()

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). '' Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Cao, Huan 246 births 300s deaths 3rd-century Chinese monarchs Cao Wei emperors People from Handan