| Emperor Wen of Wei 魏文帝 | |||||||||||||||||
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 A Tang dynasty painting of Cao Pi and two ministers flanking him, by Yan Liben | |||||||||||||||||
| Emperor of Wei | |||||||||||||||||
| Reign | 11 December 220[1] – 29 June 226 | ||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Cao Rui | ||||||||||||||||
| King of Wei (魏王) (under the Han Empire) | |||||||||||||||||
| Tenure | 15 March 220 – 11 December 220 | ||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Cao Cao | ||||||||||||||||
| Imperial Chancellor (丞相) (under the Han Empire) | |||||||||||||||||
| Tenure | 15 March 220 – 11 December 220 | ||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Cao Cao | ||||||||||||||||
| Born | c.late 187[2] Qiao County, Pei State, Han Empire[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | June 29, 226 (aged 38–39)[3] Luoyang, Wei Empire | ||||||||||||||||
| Burial | |||||||||||||||||
| Consorts |
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| Issue | |||||||||||||||||
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| Dynasty | Cao Wei | ||||||||||||||||
| Father | Cao Cao | ||||||||||||||||
| Mother | Empress Wuxuan | ||||||||||||||||
| Cao Pi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.svg){kind=small} "Cao Pi" in Chinese characters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 曹丕 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cao Pi () (c.late 187[2] – 29 June 226[3]),[4] 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 among all the children born to Cao Cao by his concubine (later wife), Lady Bian. According to some historical records, he was often in the presence of court officials in order to gain their support.[citation needed] He was mostly in charge of defence[clarification needed] at the start of his career. After the defeat of Cao Cao's rival Yuan Shao at the Battle of Guandu, he took Yuan Xi's wife, Lady Zhen, as a concubine, but in 221 Lady Zhen died and Guo Nüwang became empress.
On 25 November 220,[5] Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian, the last ruler of the Eastern Han dynasty, to abdicate in his favour, after which on 11 December 220[1] he proclaimed himself emperor and established the state of Cao Wei. Cao Pi continued the wars against the states of Shu Han and Eastern Wu, founded by his father's rivals Liu Bei and Sun Quan respectively, but did not make significant territorial gain in the battles. Unlike his father, Cao Pi concentrated most of his efforts on internal administration rather than on waging wars against his rivals. During his reign, he formally established Chen Qun's nine-rank system as the base for civil service nomination, which drew many talents into his government. On the other hand, he drastically reduced the power of princes, stripping off their power to oppose him, but at the same time, rendering them unable to assist the emperor if a crisis arose within the state. After Cao Pi's death, his successor Cao Rui granted him the posthumous name "Emperor Wen" and the temple name "Gaozu".
Cao Pi was also an accomplished poet and scholar, just like his father Cao Cao and his younger brother Cao Zhi. He wrote Yan Ge Xing (燕歌行), the first Chinese poem in the style of seven syllables per line (七言詩). He also wrote over a hundred articles on various subjects.
- ^ a b de Crespigny (2007), p. 555.
- ^ a b c Cao Pi's biography in Sanguozhi mentioned that he was born in the winter (10th to 12th month) of the 4th year of the Zhongping era (184–189) in the reign of Emperor Ling of Han. (中平四年冬，生于譙。) Sanguozhi, vol. 02. The period corresponds to 19 Nov 187 to 14 Feb 188 in the Julian calendar.
- ^ a b Cao Pi's biography in Sanguozhi mentioned that he died on the dingsi day of the 5th lunar month in the 7th year of the Huangchu era (220–226) in his reign. He was 40 years old (by East Asian age reckoning) at the time of his death. ([黃初七年五月]丁巳，帝崩于嘉福殿，時年四十。) Sanguozhi vol. 02
- ^ de Crespigny (2007), p. 45.
- ^ de Crespigny (2007), p. xxxiii.