Cao E (Chinese: 曹娥,

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

: Cáo É) (130–143), was a young girl from

Shangyu District Shangyu District () is a district of the prefecture-level city of Shaoxing in the northeast of Zhejiang province, China. At the 2010 census, its population in the built-up (''or metro'') area was 779,412, up from 722,523 in the 2000 census. Shang ...

Shaoxing Shaoxing (; ) is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. It was formerly known as Kuaiji and Shanyin and abbreviated in Chinese as (''Yuè'') from the area's former inhabitants. ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

Province in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. She was the daughter of the

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

Cao Xu. The girl died in the year 143 while trying to save her father from drowning. In the year 151 a temple was built for her and the river in which she and her father drowned, was named after her.

Life

Cao Xu (曹盱) was the father of Cao E. He was a

who led local

ceremonies A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular) ...

Shangyu Shangyu District () is a district of the prefecture-level city of Shaoxing in the northeast of Zhejiang province, China. At the 2010 census, its population in the built-up (''or metro'') area was 779,412, up from 722,523 in the 2000 census. Shang ...

. At the ceremony of the

Dragon Boat Festival The Dragon Boat Festival ( zh, s=端午节, t=端午節) is a traditional Chinese holiday which occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar, which corresponds to late May or June in the Gregorian calendar. Names The Engl ...

in the year 143, Cao Xu fell into the Shun river. A large-scale search was launched that lasted 17 days, but yielded nothing. Cao E, his daughter of 13 years old, decided in the course of

filial piety In Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, and Daoist ethics, filial piety (, ''xiào'') (Latin: pietas) is a virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors. The Confucian ''Classic of Filial Piety'', thought to be written around the late W ...

(孝, ''xiao'') to search for her father in the river. After five days, she appeared above water with her father in her arms, both dead from drowning. This act made Cao E a very famous girl, a textbook example of filial piety. The veneration of the girl started right away; from that moment on, she received the courtesy name 曹孝女 (Cao Xiaonü; Cao, the filial piety daughter). Eight years later, in 151, a temple and a tomb were built in memory of Cao E in honor of her sacrifice to save her father. A stone

stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...

was made to honor her memory, but it has been lost. In 1093, Cai Bian (蔡卞) made a similar stele for her. The Shun River was renamed the Cao'e River in her honor.

Things named after Cao E

Cao'e River

The

Cao'e River The Cao'e River () is one of the largest rivers in Zhejiang Province of East China, named after Cao E, a Han dynasty girl venerated for her filial piety. Its main source is in Pan'an County in the Dapan Mountains, and the river empties into the Ha ...

arises at an altitude of 870 meters on the Jiangongling mountain in the Dapan Mountains in the province of

in China. The river is 182.4 km long and flows into the

Hangzhou Bay Hangzhou Bay, or the Bay of Hangzhou (), is a funnel-shaped inlet of the East China Sea, bordered by the province of Zhejiang and the municipality of Shanghai, which lies north of the Bay. The Bay extends from the East China Sea to its head a ...

. The river has had several names such as, Shun river, named after

Emperor Shun Emperor Shun () was a legendary leader of ancient China, regarded by some sources as one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors being the last of the Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he lived sometime between 2294 and 2184 BC. Tradition a ...

and

river, named after the region it flows through. The name the river still bears today is from the girl Cao E (130-143), who drowned in that river along with her father.

Cao'e Temple

The

Cao'e Temple The Cao'e Temple (Chinese language, Chinese:曹娥庙) was built to honor Cao E, a young girl who was drowned when she tried to save her father in an act of filial piety. The temple was built for the first time in the year 151, and has been rel ...

was first built in 151, after which the temple was rebuilt many times. The last time the temple was rebuilt was after a major fire in 1929, the reconstruction then lasted until 1936. The construction was made with a lot of

wood carving Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...

in addition to the

stone carving Stone carving is an activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped by the controlled removal of stone. Owing to the permanence of the material, stone work has survived which was created during our prehistory or past time. Work carried ...

. The temple stands in the

and its

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

faces east and overlooks the Cao'e-river, the other side has a view on the Phoenix mountain. The land on which the temple stands has an area of 6000 square meters, the temple has an area of 3840 square meters. Since 1989, the Cao'e-temple has been included in the list of protected national and cultural relics. Inside the temple, several wall paintings have been created describing the story of Cao E. Every year from May 15-22, there is a festival in the Cao'e-temple, with a Cao E

memorial service A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

at the temple on May 22. The temple is called the number one temple of

Jiangnan Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...

Cao'e Tomb

The Cao'e Tomb has been destroyed and rebuilt a few times after its construction in 151. The current

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a :wikt:repository, repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be ...

is 2.7 meters high and measures 7 meters wide and deep and is placed in the northern part of the Cao'e-temple.

Cao'e Stele

The original Cao'e Stele (Chinese: 曹娥碑) was lost but in 1093, Cai Bian (蔡卞) crafted another

for Cao E, this stele is over 2 meters high and 1 meter wide. The Cao'e Stele is set up in the Cao'e Temple. The stele has been titled "The stele of Cao E, the

daughter". This stele has become a historical monument.

Small Cao E town

Xiaocao'ezhen,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: "Small Cao E town" (

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 va ...

: 小曹娥镇,

: xiǎo Cáo É zhèn), is named after Cao E and is part of

Yuyao Yuyao () is a county-level city in the northeast of Zhejiang province, China. It is under the jurisdiction of the sub-provincial city of Ningbo. It is located west of central Ningbo, east of Hangzhou, bordering Hangzhou Bay in the north. Yuyao ...

(

Ningbo Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...

) in the

province,

. Small Cao E town has an area of 33.4 square kilometers and a population of 40,400 (2017). There is a Cao'e-post-office, Cao'e-health-center, Cao'e-school and Cao'e-supermarket in the town. The town is located about 50 km away from the port of

and is known for its industry. Small Cao E town has a reputation for

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

and

mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...

. Small Cao E town has been chosen as one of the 1000 top towns in China.

Cao E tribute

* There are more than 30 steles donated by famous people and exhibited in the temple in honor of Cao E, some of these famous people are:

Mi Fu Mi Fu (, also given as Mi Fei, 1051–1107 CE)Barnhart: 373. His courtesy name was Yuanzhang (元章) with several sobriquets: Nangong (南宮), Lumen Jushi (鹿門居士), Xiangyang Manshi (襄陽漫士), and Haiyue Waishi (海岳外史) was a ...

Tang Yin Tang Yin (; 1470–1524), courtesy name Bohu (), was a Chinese painter, calligrapher, and poet of the Ming dynasty period. Even though he was born during the Ming dynasty, many of his paintings, especially those of people, were illustrated with el ...

Zhu Yunming Zhu Yunming (; 1461–1527) was a Chinese calligrapher, poet, writer, and scholar-official of the Ming dynasty, known as one of the "Four Talents of Wu" (Suzhou). Most admired for his accomplishment in calligraphy, he is also a popular cultural ...

Wen Zhengming Wen Zhengming (28 November 1470 – 1559), born Wen Bi, was a Chinese painter, calligrapher, and poet during the Ming dynasty. He was regarded as one of the Four Masters of Ming painting. Biography Wen Zhengming was born Wen Bi near present-da ...

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

. * Over time, a number of dignitaries have visit the temple of Cao E. * A number of dignitaries have invested in the temple, for example, in 1093 Emperor Song Zhezong had a main hall built in the temple. * Poems have been written for Cao E by famous people, including

Xu Wei Xu Wei (, 1521–1593), other department Qingteng Shanren (), was a Chinese painter, playwright, poet, and tea master during the Ming dynasty. A noted painter, poet, writer and dramatist famed for his artistic expressiveness.Cihai: Page 802. ...

Yu Youren Yu Youren (); (April 11, 1879 – November 10, 1964) was a Chinese educator, scholar, calligrapher, and politician. Early life He was born on April 11, 1879, in the town of Hedaogang (), Sanyuan County (north of Xi'an), Shaanxi Province, Qing Chin ...

Xiong Xiling Xiong Xiling, or Hsiung Hsi-ling (); 1870–1937) was a Chinese philanthropist and politician, who served as premier of the Republic of China from July 1913 to February 1914. Biography Born in Fenghuang, Xiangxi prefecture of Hunan, China, Xiong ...

Ju Zheng Ju Zheng (; November 8, 1876 – November 23, 1951) né Ju Zhijun (居之骏), was a Chinese politician who was a leader in the Chinese Nationalist Party, or KMT, in the 1930s and 1940s. As president of the Judicial Yuan, he administered China's ...

Liu Chunlin / ( or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'kill', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the classic tex ...

, Wang Ruan , Wang Zhen. * Several writers incorporated Cao E's story into their own works, including

Luo Guanzhong Luo Ben (c. 1330–1400, or c.1280–1360), better known by his courtesy name Guanzhong (Mandarin pronunciation: ), was a Chinese writer who lived during the Ming dynasty. He was also known by his pseudonym Huhai Sanren (). Luo was attri ...

Cao Xueqin Cáo Xuěqín ( ; ); (4 April 1710 — 10 June 1765)Briggs, Asa (ed.) (1989) ''The Longman Encyclopedia'', Longman, was a Chinese writer during the Qing dynasty. He is best known as the author of ''Dream of the Red Chamber'', one of the Four G ...

. * Cao E is included in the

Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Later ...

. * Cao E is included in the

Wu Shuang Pu ''Wu Shuang Pu'' () is a book of woodcut prints, first printed in 1694, early on in the Qing dynasty. This book contains the biographies and imagined portraits of 40 notable heroes and heroines from the Han Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, all acco ...

(無雙譜; Book of Peerless Heroes) by Jin Guliang.

References

{{Authority control Deaths by drowning Legendary Chinese people Chinese legends Deified Chinese people