Princess Dongxiang (東鄉公主, b. after 207) was an Imperial princess 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 of China. She was the daughter of

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 ...

, the first emperor of Cao Wei, and

Lady Zhen Lady Zhen (26 January 183 – 4 August 221), personal name unknown, was the first wife of Cao Pi, the first ruler of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period. In 226, she was posthumously honoured as Empress Wenzhao when her son Cao R ...

. She was the younger sister of

Cao Rui Cao Rui () (204 or 205 – 22 January 239), courtesy name Yuanzhong, was the second emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. His parentage is in dispute: his mother, Lady Zhen, was Yuan Xi's wife, but she later remarr ...

, the second emperor of Cao Wei, who succeeded their father. Her father Cao Pi eventually orchestrated a coup d'état against the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, 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 ...

to stabilize the state of Cao Wei.

Biography

She was the granddaughter 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 ...

, a warlord who initiated the formation of the state of Cao Wei, and Lady Bian, who would become

Grand Empress Dowager Grand empress dowager (also grand dowager empress or grand empress mother) ( (太皇太后) was a title given to the grandmother, or a woman from the same generation, of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultur ...

after the death of Cao Cao and her son Cao Pi. In 216, Cao Cao launched a campaign to attack the southeastern warlord

Sun Quan Sun Quan (; 182 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumous name, posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime established by hi ...

, leading to the Battle of Ruxu in 217. Princess Dongxiang accompanied her grandfather on the campaign and stayed there for a year along with her brother Cao Rui and her grandmother Lady Bian. When Princess Dongxiang and her family returned to Ye in late 217 after the campaign, Lady Bian's attendants were surprised to see that Lady Zhen was very cheerful. They asked, "Lady, you've not seen your children for about a year. We thought you would miss them and be worried about them, but yet you're so optimistic. Why is that so?" Lady Zhen laughed and replied, "Why should I be worried when (Cao) Rui and the others are with Madam (Lady Bian)?" After Cao Cao died in March 220, Cao Pi inherited his title as the King of Wei, and later that year forced

Emperor Xian Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty of China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until his abdication and subsequent end ...

to abdicate in his favor, ending the

and establishing the state of Cao Wei. Shortly after, Lady Zhen was forced to commit suicide in August 221 by Cao Pi, due to accusations made by Lady Guo. After Lady Zhen's death, Princess Dongxiang and Cao Rui were left in Lady Guo's care. After Cao Pi's death, Cao Rui succeeded him and granted Lady Zhen's family many titles and lands. It is unknown whether the imperial title given to Princess Dongxiang was during the reign of Cao Pi or Cao Rui. In some variations on her artistic image, Princess Dongxiang lived through the rise of the Sima family and continued to support the fading Cao family.

Popular culture

TV series

* Zhao Yunzhuo portrayed Princess Dongxiang in the 2017 TV series '' The Advisors Alliance''. * Princess Dongxiang is featured in the 2013 series ''Legend of Goddess Luo'' (新洛神) as Cao Ying (曹瑛)'','' the actress who portrayed her is unknown.

Games

* Princess Dongxiang appears with the name "Cao Ling" (曹綾) in the game ''Legend of Jiang Wei'' (三國志姜維傳), a popular Taiwanese mod of '' Sangokushi Sōsōden''.

References

Citations

Sources

* * {{People of Cao Wei 2nd-century Chinese women 2nd-century Chinese people 3rd-century Chinese women 3rd-century Chinese people Family of Cao Cao