Cao Wei (original) (raw)

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Chinese kingdom (220–266) during the Three Kingdoms period

This article is about the Three Kingdoms state. For the Northern and Southern Dynasties Wei dynasty, see Northern Wei. For the modern curator, see Cao Wei (curator).

Wei魏
220–266
China in 262, with territories of Cao Wei in yellow
Capital	Xuchang (220–226)Luoyang (226–266)
Common languages	Eastern Han Chinese
Religion	Taoism, Confucianism, Chinese folk religion
Government	Monarchy
Emperor
• Dec 220 – Jun 226	Cao Pi
• Jun 226 – Jan 239	Cao Rui
• Jan 239 – Oct 254	Cao Fang
• Oct 254 – Jun 260	Cao Mao
• Jun 260 – Feb 266	Cao Huan
Historical era	Three Kingdoms
• Abdication of Emperor Xian of Han	11 December 220
• Eastern Wu declaring independence from Wei	222
• Conquest of Shu by Wei	263
• Abdication of Cao Huan	4 February 266
Population
• 260	4,432,881 (disputed)[1][a]
Currency	Chinese coin, Chinese cash (Wu Zhu)
Preceded by Succeeded by Eastern Han Western Jin
Today part of	ChinaNorth Korea

Wei (Chinese: 魏[b]) was one of the major dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dynasty. Its capital was initially located at Xuchang, and was later moved to Luoyang.

The name Wei first became associated with Cao Cao when he was named the Duke of Wei by the Eastern Han government in 213, and became the name of the state when Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor in 220. Historians often add the prefix "Cao" to distinguish it from other Chinese states known as Wei. The authority of the ruling Cao family dramatically weakened following the deposition and execution of Cao Shuang, a regent for the dynasty's third emperor Cao Fang. Beginning in 249, another regent in Sima Yi gradually consolidated state authority for himself and his relatives, with the last Wei emperors largely being puppets of the Sima family. In 266, Sima Yi's grandson Sima Yan forced Emperor Yuan to abdicate, proclaiming himself to be emperor of the newly established Jin dynasty; he would be posthumously known as Emperor Wu (of Jin).

Beginnings and founding

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Towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, northern China came under the control of Cao Cao, the chancellor to the last Han ruler, Emperor Xian. In 213, Emperor Xian granted Cao Cao the title of "Duke of Wei" (魏公) and gave him ten cities as his dukedom. The area was named "Wei". At that time, the southern part of China was divided into two areas controlled by two other warlords, Liu Bei and Sun Quan. In 216, Emperor Xian promoted Cao Cao to the status of a vassal king – "King of Wei (魏王)".

Cao Cao died on 15 March 220 and his vassal king title was inherited by his son Cao Pi. Later that year, on 11 December, Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian to abdicate in his favour and took over the throne, establishing the state of Wei. However, Liu Bei immediately contested Cao Pi's claim to the Han throne and declared himself "Emperor of Han" a year later. Sun Quan was nominally a vassal king under Wei, but he declared independence in 222 and eventually proclaimed himself "Emperor of Wu" in 229.[_citation needed_]

To distinguish the state from other historical Chinese states of the same name, historians have added a relevant character to the state's original name: the state that called itself "Wei" (魏) is also known as "Cao Wei" (曹魏)[_citation needed_]

Reigns of Cao Pi and Cao Rui

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Cao Pi ruled for six years until his death on 29 June 226[7] and was succeeded by his son, Cao Rui, who ruled until his death on 22 January 239.[8] Throughout the reigns of Cao Pi and Cao Rui, Wei had been fighting numerous wars with its two rival states – Shu and Wu.[_citation needed_]

Between 228 and 234, Zhuge Liang, the Shu chancellor and regent, led a series of five military campaigns to attack Wei's western borders (within present-day Gansu and Shaanxi), with the aim of conquering Chang'an, a strategic city which lay on the road to the Wei capital, Luoyang.[_citation needed_] The Shu invasions were repelled by the Wei armies led by the generals Cao Zhen, Sima Yi, Zhang He and others; Shu did not make any significant gains in the expeditions.[_citation needed_]

On its southern and eastern borders, Wei engaged Wu in a series of armed conflicts throughout the 220s and 230s, including the battles of Dongkou (222–223), Jiangling (223) and Shiting (228).[_citation needed_] However, most of the battles resulted in stalemate and neither side managed to significantly expand its territory.[_citation needed_]

Sima Yi's Liaodong Campaign

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Cao Wei horse figure.

After Guanqiu Jian failed to subjugate the Gongsun clan of the Liaodong Commandery,[9] it was Sima Yi who, in June 238, as the Grand Commandant (太尉), launched an invasion with 40,000 troops at the behest of Emperor Cao Rui against Liaodong,[10] which at this point had been firmly rooted under Gongsun control for 4 decades. After a three-month long siege, involving some assistance from the Goguryeo Kingdom, Sima Yi managed to capture the capital city of Xiangping, resulting in the conquest of the commandery by late September of the same year.[11]

Around that time, as the Korean kingdom Goguryeo consolidated its power, it proceeded to conquer the territories on the Korean peninsula which were under Chinese rule.[12] Goguryeo initiated the Goguryeo–Wei Wars in 242, trying to cut off Chinese access to its territories in Korea by attempting to take a Chinese fort. However, Wei responded by invading and defeated Goguryeo. Hwando was destroyed in a reprisal raid by Wei forces in 244.[12] The invasions sent its king fleeing, and broke the tributary relationships between Goguryeo and the other tribes of Korea that formed much of Goguryeo's economy. Although the king evaded capture and eventually settled in a new capital, Goguryeo was reduced to such insignificance that for half a century there was no mention of the state in Chinese historical texts.[13]

Celadon standing figures, Haidian Museum, Cao Wei Dynasty.

In 249, during the reign of Cao Rui's successor, Cao Fang, the regent Sima Yi seized state power from his co-regent, Cao Shuang, in a coup. This event marked the collapse of imperial authority in Wei, as Cao Fang's role had been reduced to that of a puppet ruler while Sima Yi wielded state power firmly in his hands. Wang Ling, a Wei general, tried to rebel against Sima Yi, but was swiftly dealt with, and took his own life. Sima Yi died on 7 September 251,[14] passing on his authority to his eldest son, Sima Shi, who continued ruling as regent.[_citation needed_]

Sima Shi deposed Cao Fang in 254, on grounds of planning to stage a rebellion, and replaced him with Cao Mao. In response, Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin staged a rebellion, but were crushed by Sima Shi in an event that nevertheless took a heavy toll on Sima Shi's health, having undergone eye surgery prior to the insurrection, causing him to die on 23 March 255,[15] but not before handing his power and regency over to his younger brother, Sima Zhao.[_citation needed_]

In 258, Sima Zhao quelled Zhuge Dan's rebellion, marking an end to what are known as the Three Rebellions in Shouchun. In 260, Cao Mao attempted to seize back state power from Sima Zhao in a coup, but was killed by Cheng Ji, a military officer who was serving under Jia Chong, a subordinate to the Simas. After Cao Mao's death, Cao Huan was enthroned as the fifth ruler of Wei. However, Cao Huan was also a mere figurehead under Sima Zhao's control, much like his predecessor. In 263, Wei armies led by Zhong Hui and Deng Ai conquered Shu. Afterwards, Zhong Hui and former Shu general Jiang Wei grouped and plotted together in order to oust Sima Zhao from power, however, various Wei officials turned against them when it was found out that Jiang Wei had urged Zhong Hui to get rid of these officials before the planned coup. Sima Zhao himself received and finally accepted the nine bestowals and the title Duke of Jin in 263, and was further bestowed with the title King of Jin by Cao Huan in 264, but he died on 6 September 265,[16] leaving the final step of usurpation up to his eldest son, Sima Yan.[_citation needed_]

On 4 February 266, Sima Zhao's son, Sima Yan, forced Cao Huan to abdicate in his favor, replacing Wei with the Jin dynasty on 8 February 266.[c] Cao Huan himself was spared, though, and continued to live until 302, before dying.[18]

The system of government in Wei inherited many aspects from that of the Eastern Han dynasty. During his reign, Cao Pi established two separate government bodies – the Central Inspectorate (中書監) and the Mobile Imperial Secretariat (行尚書臺) – to reduce the authority of the Imperial Secretariat (尚書臺) and consolidate the power of the central government.[_citation needed_]

During this time, the minister Chen Qun developed the nine-rank system for civil service nomination, which was adopted by later dynasties until it was superseded by the imperial examination system in the Sui dynasty.[_citation needed_]

Cao Pi felt that the Han dynasty collapsed because the Governors (州牧) of the various provinces wielded too much power and fell outside the control of the central government. He reduced the role of a Governor to that of an Inspector (刺史), and permitted the Inspectors to administer only civil affairs in their respective provinces, while military affairs were handled by military personnel based in regional offices or in the capital.[_citation needed_]

Cao Wei society was feudalized and vassalized. When China was divided in the Period of Disunion, south and north were economically and socially dominated by an aristocratic hereditary class enshrined in law, who were exempt from conscript labor, special kinds of taxes, had legal immunities and other privileges. This situation was created by Cao Wei with rigid social stratification backed by law between shu (庶) (commoner) households and shi (士) (noble) households in the Nine ranks system which was created by Cao Wei and enabled hereditary officeholding by the aristocratic magnate families. Magnates took in farming families and war refugees into their fortress villages as ke (客) (private clients) and as buqu (military retainers) who made up their private militias. These magnates were rich landowners and local warlords and their economic and social power only grew at this time. The military retainers stayed own as private agricultural laborers bonded to the magnate families even after war ended. They did not contribute any labor service or taxes to the central government while their magnate lord received 50% or more of their grain harvest. They effectively were bondservants to their lords.[19]

A Cao Wei tomb, 247 CE

The kaishu style of Chinese calligraphy was developed at some time between the late Eastern Han dynasty and the Cao Wei dynasty, as well as the Jian'an poetry style. The first known master of the former was Zhong Yao, an official of Wei,[20] of the latter; Cao Cao's son, Cao Zhi.[_citation needed_]

Since the beginning of the Cao Wei dynasty, finding their roots in Cao Cao's administrative influences, intellectual constraints were relaxed, leading to the formation of new groups of intellectuals, such as the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. These intellectual freedoms were overturned by the time of the Jin dynasty (it was Sima Yi himself who associated with the orthodox Confucianists, who despised these new intellectual groups, and therefore were more willing to offer their support to the Sima clan).[_citation needed_]

According to the Book of Wei by Wang Chen, the Cao family descended from the Yellow Emperor through his grandson Zhuanxu. They were of the same lineage as Emperor Shun. Another account says that the Cao family descended from Emperor Shun. This account was attacked by Jiang Ji, who claimed that those with the family name "Tian" descended from Shun, but not those surnamed "Cao".[21] He also claimed that "Gui" (媯) was Emperor Shun's family name.[22]

List of territories

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Cao Wei rulers

Cao Wei family tree

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• Three Kingdoms
  • Shu Han
  • Eastern Wu

1. ^ This figure, based on numbers given in the Records of the Three Kingdoms, has been called into question since the census system is claimed to have been flawed. The actual population is likely to be far greater.[2] Tanner (2009) estimates the population of Wei to be over ⅔ of the Han population.[3]

2. ^ Pinyin: Wèi < Middle Chinese: ŋjweiC < Eastern Han Chinese: *ŋuiC[4]) (220–266)Also known as Cao Wei (曹魏) or Former Wei.[5][6]

3. ^ On the bingyin (丙寅) day of the 12th month of the 1st year of the Taishi era, Sima Yan became emperor and adopted "Taishi" (泰始) as the era name of his reign.[17] This date corresponds to 8 February 266 in the Gregorian calendar.

4. ^ Zou Jiwan (鄒紀萬), Zhongguo Tongshi – Weijin Nanbeichao Shi 中國通史·魏晉南北朝史, (1992).

5. ^ Institute of Advanced Studies (December 1991). Barme, Gerome (ed.). East Asian History: THE CONTINUATION OF Papers on Far Eastern History (PDF) (Number 2 ed.). Canberra, Australia: Australian National University. pp. 149–152. Retrieved 29 March 2015.

6. ^ Tanner, Harold M. (13 March 2009). "The Age of Warriors and Buddhists". China: A History. Hackett. p. 142. When it was established, Wu had only one-sixth of the population of the Eastern Han Empire (Cao Wei held over two-thirds of the Han population).

7. ^ Schuessler, Axel. (2009) Minimal Old Chinese and Later Han Chinese. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi. p. 291

8. ^ BSod-nams-rgyal-mtshan; Sørensen, Per K. (1994). The Mirror Illuminating the Royal Genealogies. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 80. ISBN 3-447-03510-2.

9. ^ Wu, Ching-hsiung, ed. (1940). T'ien Hsia Monthly. Vol. 11. Kelly and Walsh. p. 370.

10. ^ ([黃初七年五月]丁巳，帝崩于嘉福殿，時年四十。) Sanguozhi, vol. 02

11. ^ ([景初三年]春正月丁亥，....即日，帝崩于嘉福殿.) Sanguozhi, vol.3

12. ^ Achilles Fang. Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms. The Emperor sent a sealed edict to summon Gongsun Yuan. In the end, Gongsun Yuan arose in an armed rebellion, meeting Guanqiu Jian at Liaosui. It so happened that it rained for more than ten days and the water of Liaosui rose greatly. Guanqiu Jian fought him, but was unsuccessful and withdrew his troops to Youbeiping.

13. ^ Achilles Fang. Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms. The Emperor summoned Sima Yi from Chang'an and had him lead an army of forty thousand men in a campaign against Liaodong.

14. ^ Achilles Fang. Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms. On the day ren-wu (September 29), Xiangping fell. Gongsun Yuan and his son Gongsun Xiu, leading several hundred mounted men, got through the encirclement and fled towards the southeast. The large Wei forces instantly struck at them and killed Gongsun Yuan and his son on the Liangshui.

15. ^ a b Charles Roger Tennant (1996). A history of Korea. Kegan Paul International. p. 22. ISBN 0-7103-0532-X. capital on the middle reaches of the Yalu near the modern Chinese town of Ji'an, calling it 'Hwando'. By developing both their iron weapons and their political organization, they had reached a stage where in the turmoil that accompanied the break-up of the Han empire they were able to threaten the Chinese colonies

16. ^ Byington, Mark E. "Control or Conquer? Koguryǒ's Relations with States and Peoples in Manchuria," Journal of Northeast Asian History volume 4, number 1 (June 2007):93.

17. ^ ([嘉平三年]秋八月戊寅，崩于京师，时年七十三。) Jin Shu, vol.01

18. ^ ([正元二年]闰月疾笃，使文帝总统诸军。辛亥，崩于许昌，时年四十八。) Jin Shu, vol.02

19. ^ ([咸熙二年]秋八月辛卯，帝崩于露寝，时年五十五。) Jin Shu, vol.02

20. ^ ([泰始元年十二月]丙寅，王卽皇帝位，大赦，改元。) Zizhi Tongjian vol. 79.

21. ^ (年五十八，太安元年崩...) Wei Shi Pu annotation in Sanguozhi, vol. 04. The year corresponds to 14 Feb 302 to 02 Feb 303 in the Julian calendar.

22. ^ Glahn, Richard von (2016). An Economic History of China: From Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century (illustrated, reprint ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 157. ISBN 978-1107030565.

23. ^ Qiu Xigui (2000). Chinese Writing. Translated by Mattos and Jerry Norman. Early China Special Monograph Series No. 4. Berkeley: The Society for the Study of Early China and the Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley. ISBN 1-55729-071-7, pp. 142–143

24. ^ While Chen Shou only briefly mentioned in Jiang Ji's biography in Sanguozhi that Jiang had a debate with Gaotang Long over the lineage of the Cao clan ([初，侍中高堂隆论郊祀事，以魏为舜后，推舜配天。济以为舜本姓妫，其苗曰田，非曹之先，著文以追诘隆。] Sanguozhi, vol.14), Pei Songzhi included more material and gave his opinion in his annotations to Jiang Ji's biography (〈臣松之案蒋济立郊议称《曹腾碑》文云“曹氏族出自邾”，《魏书》述曹氏胤绪亦如之。魏武作家传，自云曹叔振铎之后。故陈思王作武帝诔曰：“于穆武皇，胄稷胤周。”此其不同者也。及至景初，明帝从高堂隆议，谓魏为舜后，后魏为禅晋文，称“昔我皇祖有虞”，则其异弥甚。寻济难隆，及与尚书缪袭往反，并有理据，文多不载。济亦未能定氏族所出，但谓“魏非舜后而横祀非族，降黜太祖，不配正天，皆为缪妄”。然于时竟莫能正。 济又难：郑玄注《祭法》云“有虞以上尚德，禘郊祖宗，配用有德，自夏已下，稍用其姓氏。”济曰：“夫虬龙神于獭，獭自祭其先，不祭虬龙也。骐𬴊白虎仁于豺，豺自祭其先，不祭骐虎也。如玄之说，有虞已上，豺獭之不若邪？臣以为祭法所云，见疑学者久矣，郑玄不考正其违而就通其义。”济豺獭之譬，虽似俳谐，然其义旨，有可求焉。)

25. ^ Howard L. Goodman (1998). Ts'ao P'i transcendent: the political culture of dynasty-founding in China at the end of the Han (illustrated ed.). Psychology Press. p. 70. ISBN 0-9666300-0-9. Retrieved 2012-04-01.

• de Crespigny, Rafe. "To Establish Peace: being the Chronicle of the Later Han dynasty for the years 201 to 220 AD as recorded in Chapters 64 to 69 of the Zizhi tongjian of Sima Guang". Volume 2. Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine Faculty of Asian Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra. 1996. ISBN 0-7315-2526-4.