Cao Que (曹確),

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 ...

Gangzhong (剛中), was an official of the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

, serving as a

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

during the reign of Emperor Yizong.

Background

It is not known when Cao Que was born. His family was from the

eastern capital

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), 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 ...

.''

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kin ...

'', vol. 177. His traceable ancestry went back only to his grandfather Cao Zhou (), and neither Cao Zhou nor his father Cao Jingbo () was listed with any offices,'' New Book of Tang''
vol. 75
. although Cao Jingbo was said to have passed the

imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

s in the ''Jinshi'' class in 803, during the reign of Emperor Dezong. Cao Que had at least one younger brother, Cao Fen (), who would also eventually serve in the imperial government.

Early career

Cao Que himself passed the imperial examinations in the ''Jinshi'' class in 837, during the reign of Emperor Dezong's great-great-grandson Emperor Wenzong, and subsequently served on the staffs of several regional governors. He was later recalled to the capital

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 ...

to serve as an imperial censor with the title ''Shi Yushi'' (), and later, he was given the office of ''Gongbu Yuanwailang'' (), a low-level official at the minister of public works (工部, ''Gongbu''), and put in charge of drafting edicts. He was promoted to the supervisory position of ''Gongbu Langzhong'' (), and also made an imperial scholar (翰林學士, ''Hanlin Xueshi''). He was later made ''Zhongshu Sheren'' (), a mid-level official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, ''Zhongshu Sheng''). He went on to serve as the acting mayor of Henan Municipality (河南, i.e., the Luoyang region), before being recalled serving as the deputy minister of defense (兵部侍郎, ''Bingbu Shilang'').

Chancellorship

In 863, by which time Cao Que was, in addition to being deputy minister of defense, the director of finances, then-reigning Emperor Yizong (Emperor Wenzong's cousin) gave him the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (), making him a

''de facto''.''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynas ...

'', vol. 250. It was said that Cao was well-learned in

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

regulations, was cautious, and followed the laws. In 867, when Emperor Yizong made his favorite musician Li Keji () a general of the imperial guards, Cao pointed out that such a title was inappropriate for a musician, but Emperor Yizong did not listen to him.

After chancellorship

Cao Que served as chancellor until 870, when he was sent out of Chang'an to serve as the military governor (''

Jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", " legate ...

'') of Zhenhai Circuit (鎮海, headquartered in modern

Zhenjiang Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) and b ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its c ...

), continuing to carry the ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' title as an honorary title. ''Zizhi Tongjian'', voll. 252. He later served as the military governor of Hezhong Circuit (河中, headquartered in modern

Yuncheng, Shanxi Yuncheng is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Linfen and Jincheng municipalities to the north and east, and Henan (Luoyang and Jiyuan to the east, Sanmenxia to the south) and Shaan ...

) and died while at Hezhong, but it is not known when that occurred. ''New Book of Tang'', vol. 181.

Son

* Cao Xifu (), courtesy name Songchen ()

Notes and references

* ''

'', vol. 177. * '' New Book of Tang'', vol. 181. * ''

'', vols. 250,

252 Year 252 ( CCLII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Trebonianus and Volusianus (or, less frequently, year 1005 ''Ab urbe ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cao, Que Chancellors under Emperor Yizong of Tang Tang dynasty historians Tang dynasty jiedushi of Zhenhai Circuit Tang dynasty jiedushi of Hezhong Circuit Year of death unknown Politicians from Luoyang Historians from Henan Year of birth unknown Tang dynasty generals from Henan Tang dynasty politicians from Henan Writers from Luoyang