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, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theob ...
Ziwen, nickname "The Yellow Goatee" (黃鬚兒), was a prince of the state of
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 Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...
period of China. He was a son of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to power towards the end of the Han dynasty and laid the foundation of Wei. Cao Zhang was said to have wrestled and killed wild animals with his bare hands. He also served as a general under his father, having led his troops to significant victories against
The second of Cao Cao's four sons by Lady Bian, Cao Zhang was said to excel and obsessed in archery and armed combat in his youth so much so that he would fight fierce beasts with his bare hands. Though Cao Cao criticised his lack of academic knowledge, Cao Zhang had always aspired to pursue a career in the military. Once, his father sent him to the imperial university to study, but Cao Zhang lamented to his aides, saying a real man should command the army to make a name for himself instead of being a Doctor.(博士)
tribe rebelled on the northern frontier in 218, Cao Zhang, holding the rank of Northern General of the Household, acting on the authority of General of the Resolute Cavalry (驍騎將軍), led a force of 1,000 infantry and several hundreds of cavalry from the central government to suppress the revolt. Before his departure, Cao Cao summoned him and specially warned him: "We are father and son in home, but we are supervisor and subordinate when assigned a task: the law will be applied straightly if you ever made any mistake, keep this in mind." When Cao Zhang arrived the field, his force had not been joined by that of the local government as planned. Outnumbered by the enemy, Cao Zhang took up a passive stance and defended the vital passes and routes. The rebels could not gain an advantage and dissipated. Cao Zhang then led his force out in pursuit, displaying great valour in the ensuing battles. The ''Sanguozhi'' says Cao Zhang personally fought against the enemy soldiers at close quarters and shot down many enemy cavalries with arrows. Several arrows were embedded in his armor by the end of a half-day long battle. Despite opposition from his subordinates, he ordered the pursuit be continued after the initial victory. One of his staff came out and reminded him that Cao Cao's order was that the army could not cross the jurisdiction of Dai, and further pursuit was straightly prohibited, but Cao Zhang argued that a good general did not follow dull orders, and threatened if anyone did not join the pursuit would be penalised with death sentence; thus, they performed a 24-hour dash to catch up with the Wuhuan cavalry, and dealt the latter a major blow which caused a few thousands casualties. The
Xianbei
The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into th ...
tribe leader Kebineng had led a 10,000-strong cavalry force nearby to observe the ongoing war between the Cao Wei and Wuhuan tribes. Having seen the splendid victories Cao Zhang scored, Kebineng submitted to him. Unrest on the northern frontier was then quelled.
Cao Zhang then hurried west to take part in the
Hanzhong Campaign
The Hanzhong Campaign was a military campaign launched by the warlord Liu Bei to seize control of Hanzhong Commandery from his rival, Cao Cao. The campaign took place between 217 and 219 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period. Althou ...
against
Liu Bei
Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the ...
. Upon reaching
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 S ...
, however, he found out that the war had already been lost. Cao Cao then promoted his son to General of the Elite Cavalry (越騎將軍) and left him to defend Chang'an against probable advances of Liu Bei.
According to unofficial supplementary records works by Wang Jia from eastern Jin dynasty, Cao Zhang once said has personally tamed a
White elephant
A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, sch ...
from
Nanyue
Nanyue (), was an ancient kingdom ruled by Chinese monarchs of the Zhao family that covered the modern Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, Macau, southern Fujian and central to northern Vietnam. Nanyue was establis ...
, which was sent through king Sun Quan of eastern Wu. The act caused the audiences amazed.
Death
Shortly after returning to
Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of 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 southeast, Nanyang ...
in 220, Cao Cao fell ill. He died as Cao Zhang was en route to see him. His successor
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 ...
then sent all his brothers, including Cao Zhang, back to their individual fiefdoms, for fear that they might contest his position. In 222, Cao Zhang was enfeoffed as the Prince of Rencheng (任城王). In the following year, Cao Zhang died due to sickness while attending court at the capital, most likely poisoned to prevent any contenders to the stolen throne. He received the
posthumous title
A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments o ...
"Prince Wei" (威王), literally meaning awe-inspiring prince.
Theory of death
There are legends surrounding the death of Cao Zhang. The most famous of these legends is that Cao Zhang was poisoned by Cao Pi. After Cao Cao died, Cao Pi summoned Cao Zhang to the palace to meet him. During a casual conversation, Cao Zhang asked his brother if he could see his imperial seal. This got Cao Pi worried that his brother wanted to usurp his throne so Cao Pi decided to kill him. Cao Pi knew that Cao Zhang was their mother's favourite son, so in order to get away with it, he had to make Cao Zhang's death seem natural. A few weeks later, Cao Pi invited his brother to a game of weiqi during their mother's birthday. The match was very close in the middle game when Cao Pi's servants brought some prunes, some that were poisoned. Cao Pi made sure he ate the unmarked ones that were not poisonous and make sure his brother ate the other ones. When Cao Zhang realised that he had been poisoned, he screamed for help. Empress Bian got to the scene on her bare feet and tried to search for water to flush down the poison that was now in Cao Zhang's body. But unfortunately for Cao Zhang, the crafty Cao Pi had secretly placed all the containers away beforehand and so Empress Bian failed to get the water; Cao Zhang then died at the hands of his own brother.
Family
In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''
''
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD ...
'', a 14th-century historical novel, is a romanticisation of the events that occurred before and during the Three Kingdoms era. The author probably exaggerated the tension between Cao Zhang and his elder brother Cao Pi just after their father Cao Cao's death.
Cao Pi, the eldest surviving son of Cao Cao and the rightful heir, succeeded his late father. However, news came that Cao Zhang, leading a 100,000-strong army from Chang'an, was approaching the capital. Cao Pi was gripped by fear that his brother would contest the heirship with the military power he held.
Jia Kui, an adviser to Cao Pi, then volunteered to persuade Cao Zhang to desist. Jia Kui then went out of the city to meet Cao Zhang and ask him if he came as a mourner or a rival claimant to the throne. "I come as a mourner with no ulterior motive," replied Cao Zhang. "That being so, why bring in your soldiers?" Jia Kui said, whereupon Cao Zhang ordered his troops to wait outside the city while he entered alone. When the brothers met, they embraced and wept. Cao Zhang then passed the command of his force to Cao Pi and returned to his own fiefdom. Thus Cao Pi's position was more or less secured.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD ...
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 ...