Cao Bao (died 196) was a military officer serving under
Tao Qian, the Governor of
Xu Province, during the late
Eastern Han dynasty of China. He became a subordinate of Tao Qian's successor,
Liu Bei
Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a China, Chinese warlord in the late Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty who later became the founding Emperor of China, emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms of ...
, after Tao's death in 194. He was killed by
Zhang Fei in 196 after a quarrel.
In historical records
The only known information about Cao Bao in history comes from
Pei Songzhi's
annotations to
Chen Shou's ''
Records of the Three Kingdoms
The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...
'' (''Sanguozhi''), which recorded the history of the late
Eastern Han dynasty and the
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...
period.
An annotation from the ''Yingxiong Ji'' (英雄記; "
Records of Heroes", authored by
Wang Can) in the ''Sanguozhi'' recorded:
Another annotation, also from the ''Yingxiong Ji'', in the ''Sanguozhi'', recorded a different account:
Sima Guang used the second account when he compiled the ''
Zizhi Tongjian
The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...
''.
In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''
Cao Bao's conflict with Zhang Fei was dramatised in the 14th-century historical novel ''
Romance of the Three Kingdoms''.
In the novel, Cao Bao was
Lü Bu
Lü Bu (; died 7 February 199), courtesy name Fengxian, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of Imperial China. Originally a subordinate of a minor warlord Ding Yuan, he betrayed a ...
's father-in-law. He was coerced by
Zhang Fei to drink wine even though he insisted that he abstained from alcohol. When Cao Bao pleaded with Zhang Fei to stop forcing him to drink by asking the latter to "spare him in consideration of his son-in-law", Zhang became furious because he hated Lü Bu. He ordered his men to flog Cao Bao 50 times and only gave up when the other officers begged him to stop. Cao Bao bore a grudge against Zhang Fei for the beating, so he secretly contacted Lü Bu and assisted his son-in-law in seizing control of Xiapi. Zhang Fei was drunk when Lü Bu attacked the city so he lost the battle and fled from Xiapi. Cao Bao led about a hundred soldiers to pursue Zhang Fei but ended up being killed by the latter.
[''Sanguo Yanyi'' ch. 14.]
See also
*
Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms
References
*
Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''
Records of the Three Kingdoms
The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...
'' (''Sanguozhi'').
*
*
Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). ''
Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguo Yanyi'').
*
Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''
Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi zhu'').
*
Sima, Guang (1084). ''
Zizhi Tongjian
The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...
''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cao, Bao
2nd-century births
196 deaths
Generals under Liu Bei