Jing,
Yang and Yi provinces. He also received the title "Marquis of Chen" (陳侯) and was given 2,000 more taxable households in his marquisate, making it a total of 3,500 households.
Cao Ren moved to Wan (宛; present-day
Wancheng District
Wancheng District () is one of two districts of the city of Nanyang, in the southwest of Henan province, People's Republic of China.
Administrative divisions
As 2012, this district is divided to 6 subdistricts, 4 towns and 6 townships.
;Subdistr ...
,
Nanyang,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
) in northern Jing Province and garrisoned there. Later, when
Sun Quan sent Chen Shao (陳邵) to attack
Xiangyang, Cao Pi ordered Cao Ren to lead an army to Xiangyang to resist Sun Quan's forces. Cao Ren and
Xu Huang
Xu Huang () (died 227), courtesy name Gongming, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He later served in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period under the first ...
defeated Chen Shao and their forces entered Xiangyang. Cao Ren had the general Gao Qian (高遷) oversee the relocation of civilians from the southern bank of the
Han River to the north. Cao Pi appointed Cao Ren as General-in-Chief (大將軍). Later, Cao Pi ordered Cao Ren to move to Linying (臨潁) and promoted him to Grand Marshal (大司馬). Cao Ren was placed in charge of the armies along the Wu River (烏江) and he garrisoned at
Hefei. In 222, Cao Ren led several tens of thousands men to assail Sun Quan's garrison at Ruxu (濡須; north of present-day
Wuwei County
Wuwei () is a county-level city in the southeast of Anhui Province, China, under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Wuhu. Previously a county, Wuwei was upgraded to a county-level city in late 2019. It has population of 1,214,000 as ...
,
Anhui), where the defending general,
Zhu Huan
Zhu Huan (177–238), courtesy name Xiumu, was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Although he started his career early under the warlord Sun Quan, he did not receive any important responsibil ...
, had only 5,000 troops remaining inside the city walls. However, Cao Ren was deemed only as an inferior commander by Zhu Huan and his colleagues, so the defenders put up a staunch defence. Even though Cao Ren had a complete numerical advantage, the
battle concluded with Zhu Huan as the victor – Cao Ren lost not only over 1,000 men, but also two of his subordinates, Chang Diao (常雕) and
Wang Shuang.
Death
Cao Ren died on 6 May 223 at the age of 56 (by
East Asian age reckoning
Countries in the East Asian cultural sphere (China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and their diasporas) have traditionally used specific methods of reckoning a person's numerical age based not on their birthday but the calendar year, and what age one is ...
). He was posthumously granted the title "Marquis Zhong" (忠侯), which literally means "loyal marquis". He was best remembered for his bravery and courage, which placed him above
Zhang Liao
Zhang Liao () (169–222), courtesy name Wenyuan, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He served briefly in the state of Cao Wei, founded by Cao Cao's successor Cao Pi, in the ...
among all of Cao Cao's generals.
Family
Cao Ren's grandfather Cao Bao (曹褒) served as the Administrator (太守) of
Yingchuan Commandery (潁川郡) in the Eastern Han dynasty. Cao Ren's father Cao Chi (曹熾) also served as a Palace Attendant (侍中) and Changshui Colonel (長水校尉) in the Eastern Han dynasty, and was posthumously awarded the title "Marquis Mu of Chen" (陳穆侯) by
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 ...
. Cao Ren's younger brother
Cao Chun
Cao Chun (died 210), courtesy name Zihe, was a military officer serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was a younger second cousin of Cao Cao, and is best known for leading the "Tiger and Leopard Cava ...
was also a general under
Cao Cao.
Cao Ren's titles were inherited by his son Cao Tai (曹泰), who served as General Who Guards the East (鎮東將軍) and later had his marquis title changed to "Marquis of Ningling" (寗陵侯). Cao Tai was succeeded by his son Cao Chu (曹初). Cao Ren's other sons (Cao Tai's younger brothers) Cao Kai (曹楷) and Cao Fan (曹範) also received marquis titles.
[(子泰嗣,官至鎮東將軍,假節,轉封寗陵侯。泰薨,子初嗣。又分封泰弟楷、範,皆為列侯,而牛金官至後將軍。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 9.]
In popular culture
Cao Ren is featured as a playable character in
Koei's ''
Dynasty Warriors'' and ''
Warriors Orochi
is a hack and slash video game for PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360, developed by Koei and Omega Force. It is a crossover of two of Koei's popular video game series, ''Dynasty Warriors'' and '' Samurai Warriors'' (specifically ''Dynasty Warriors 5'' a ...
'' video game series.
In the collectible card game ''
Magic: The Gathering
''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a Tabletop game, tabletop and Digital collectible card game, digital Collectible card game, collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards ...
'' there is a card named "Cao Ren, Wei Commander" in the ''
Portal Three Kingdoms'' set.
See also
*
Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms
Notes
References
*
Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''
Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi'').
*
*
Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''
Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi zhu'').
*
Sima, Guang (1084). ''
Zizhi Tongjian
''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song (960–1127), Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959&n ...
''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cao, Ren
168 births
223 deaths
Generals under Cao Cao
Cao Wei generals