Dong Cheng (died 11 February 200According to Liu Xie's biography in ''Book of the Later Han'', Dong Cheng was killed on the ''renwu'' day of the 1st month of the 5th year of the ''Jianan'' era of his reign. This corresponds to 11 Feb 200 on the Julian calendar. 建安)五年春正月，车骑将军董承、偏将军王服、越骑校尉种辑受密诏诛曹操，事泄。壬午，曹操杀董承等，夷三族.''Houhanshu'', vol.09) was a Chinese military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was also the father of Lady Dong, a concubine of

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 ...

Life

Dong Cheng's origins are obscure: the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

scholar Zhao Yiqing deduced that he was from the same clan as

Dong Zhuo Dong Zhuo () (died 22 May 192), courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. At the end of the reign of the Eastern Han, Dong Zhuo was a general and powerful minist ...

, while the

Liu Song dynasty Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period ...

historian Pei Songzhi claimed that he was a nephew of Empress Dowager Dong, the mother of Emperor Ling ( 168–189). Dong Cheng served as a military officer under

Niu Fu Niu Fu () (died 192) was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Dong Zhuo during the late Eastern Han dynasty. Life Niu Fu had served under the warlord Dong Zhuo when the latter was still serving as a military genera ...

, a son-in-law of the warlord

, who controlled the Han central government and the figurehead

( 189–220) between 189 and 192. His service under Niu Fu ended in 192 following Dong Zhuo's death and Niu Fu's assassination by his subordinate Huchi'er (胡赤兒). In 195, Emperor Xian managed to escape from the generals Li Jue and

Guo Si Guo Si () (died 197), also known as Guo Duo, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord serving under the warlord Dong Zhuo during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He assisted Dong Zhuo in his many campaigns and served as a su ...

, who had been holding him hostage in

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 ...

since 192, and return to the old imperial capital,

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 ...

. Dong Cheng, Zhang Yang,

Yang Feng Yang Feng (died 197) was a military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Yang Feng was a leader of the White Wave Bandits. Later, he became a subordinate of Li Jue. In 192, Li Jue, Guo Si and other former follo ...

, the

White Wave Bandits The Yellow Turban Rebellion, alternatively translated as the Yellow Scarves Rebellion, was a peasant revolt in China against the Eastern Han dynasty. The uprising broke out in 184 CE during the reign of Emperor Ling. Although the main rebell ...

and other loyalists came to protect the emperor from Li Jue and Guo Si, who attempted to capture him and bring him back to Chang'an. After Emperor Xian and the loyalists reached Luoyang, internal conflict broke out between Dong Cheng and Yang Feng, who had support from the White Wave Bandits. Dong Cheng then chose to ally with the warlord Cao Cao. When Cao Cao showed up in Luoyang with his forces, Dong Cheng reported Han Xian and Yang Feng's wrongdoings to Emperor Xian and forced them to leave. Cao Cao then received Emperor Xian and escorted him to his own base in Xu (許; in present-day

Xuchang Xuchang (; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe to the southeast, and Pi ...

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 ...

), which became the new imperial capital. As Emperor Xian feared that Cao Cao would attempt to dominate him and the central government and use him as a "trump card" against rival warlords, in 199 he appointed Dong Cheng as General of Chariots and Cavalry (車騎將軍) to balance against Cao Cao's influence in the imperial court. The emperor also gave Dong Cheng permission to open his own office and have his own staff – in the same way as Cao Cao did. Dong Cheng's daughter also became a concubine of Emperor Xian. In the first lunar month of the year 200, Dong Cheng allegedly received a secret imperial edict from Emperor Xian ordering him to eliminate Cao Cao, so he contacted a few officials and plotted with them to assassinate Cao Cao. These officials included Zhong Ji (种輯), Wang Zifu (王子服), Wu Zilan (吳子蘭) and

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 ...

. However, Cao Cao caught wind of their plot and had them arrested. He then charged them with treason and had all of them (except Liu Bei, who had already fled) executed along with their families. Dong Cheng's daughter, who was pregnant at the time, was also killed despite Emperor Xian's efforts to save her.

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). '' Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Fan, Ye (5th century). '' Book of the Later Han'' (''Houhanshu''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). '' Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Dong, Cheng 2nd-century births 200 deaths 2nd-century Chinese people Han dynasty generals People executed by the Han dynasty

Life

See also

References