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 of China.
Life
Cao Ju was a son of
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 ...
, a warlord who rose to prominence towards the
end of the Han dynasty
The end of the Han dynasty was the period of Chinese history from 189 to 220 CE, roughly coinciding with the tumultuous reign of the Han dynasty's last ruler, Emperor Xian. During this period, the country was thrown into turmoil by the Yellow ...
and laid the foundation for the Cao Wei state. His mother was Lady Huan (環氏), a concubine of Cao Cao. He had two full brothers:
Cao Chong
Cao Chong (196–208), courtesy name Cangshu, was a son of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to power towards the end of the Han dynasty and laid the foundation of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. A child prodigy, Cao ...
(elder) and
Cao Yu
Cao Yu (, September 24, 1910 — December 13, 1996) was a Chinese playwright, often regarded as one of China's most important of the 20th century. His best-known works are ''Thunderstorm'' (1933), ''Sunrise'' (1936) and ''Peking Man'' (1940). ...
(younger).
In 211, Cao Ju was enfeoffed as the "Marquis of Fanyang" (范陽侯) by
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 in China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 11 December 220.
Liu Xie was a so ...
, the figurehead emperor of the Han dynasty under Cao Cao's control. In 217, his title was changed to "Marquis of Wan" (宛侯).
In 220, following Cao Cao's death, Cao Ju's half-brother
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 ...
usurped the throne from Emperor Xian, ended the Han dynasty, and established the
state with himself as the new emperor. Cao Pi first enfeoffed Cao Ju as a duke in 221, but promoted him to a prince under the title "Prince of Zhangling" (章陵王) in 222. Later in 222, he changed Cao Ju's title to "Prince of Yiyang" (義陽王). Sometime between 222 and 224, he changed Cao Ju's title to "Prince of Pengcheng" (彭城王) and relocated him to
Pengcheng
Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...
(彭城; around present-day
Xuzhou
Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...
,
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
), where Cao Ju's mother Lady Huan was living. Later, he changed Cao Ju's title to "Prince of Jiyin" (濟陰王). In 224, Cao Pi issued an edict to reform the nobility system by reducing the sizes of princedoms from commanderies to counties. Cao Ju's title was thus changed to "Prince of Dingtao (County)" (定陶王).
In 232, after
Cao Rui
Cao Rui () (204 or 206 – 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 ...
(Cao Pi's successor) restored the nobility system to the previous one, Cao Ju became the "Prince of Pengcheng (Commandery/State)" (彭城王) again. In 237, Cao Ju had 2,000 taxable households removed from his princedom as punishment after he was found guilty of ordering the manufacture of restricted items. Cao Rui also issued an imperial edict to reprimand Cao Ju for his conduct. The 2,000 taxable households were returned to him in 239.
Throughout the reigns of the subsequent Wei emperors (
Cao Fang
Cao Fang () (232–274), courtesy name Lanqing, was the third emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He was an adopted son of Cao Rui, the second ruler of Wei. Cao Fang ruled from 239 to 254 as a nominal emperor bef ...
and Cao Huan), the number of taxable households in Cao Ju's princedom increased until it reached 4,600.
Family
Cao Ju had at least three sons. One of them, Cao Cong (曹琮), was designated as the heir of Cao Ju's elder brother
Cao Chong
Cao Chong (196–208), courtesy name Cangshu, was a son of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to power towards the end of the Han dynasty and laid the foundation of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. A child prodigy, Cao ...
, because Cao Chong died early and had no son to succeed him. The other two, Cao Fan (曹範) and Cao Chan (曹闡), were consecutively designated as the heirs of
Cao Zizheng
Cao Zizheng (died 218) was a son of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to power in the late Eastern Han dynasty and laid the foundation for the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. His mother was Lady Li (李姬), a concubine of Cao ...
, a half-brother of Cao Ju, because Cao Zizheng too died early and had no son to succeed him.(以彭城王據子範奉整後。三年，封平氏侯。四年，徙封成武。太和三年，進爵為公。青龍三年薨。謚曰悼公。無後。四年，詔以範弟東安鄉公闡為郿公，奉整後。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 20.
Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms
The following are lists of people significant to the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of Chinese history. Their names in Mandarin pinyin are sorted in alphabetical order.
Fictional characters in the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of ...
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– ...
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, Pei ...