Cao Cao (155–220) was a warlord who rose to power towards the final years of the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 CE) and became the de facto head of government in China. He laid the foundation for what was to become the state of Cao Wei (220–265), founded by his son and successor Cao Pi, in the Three Kingdoms period (220–280). Poetry, among other things, was one of his cultural legacies.