Cao Pi 曹丕, Emperor Wen of Wei

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Cao Pi 曹丕 (187-226), zi Zihuan 子桓, Emperor Wen of Wei 魏文帝 (r. 220-226). Sanguo Wei emperor and writer.

Cao Pi's ancestral home was Qiao 譙 in Pei 沛 kingdom (modern Bo 亳 county, Anhui). Cao Pi was the eldest son of Cao Cao 曹操 (155-220) by Lady Bian 卞 (160-230). In his early years, during his father's military campaigns, Cao Pi acquired a number of martial skills. At age five, he learned archery, and at age eight he learned how to ride horseback. In addition to military arts, Cao Pi demonstrated literary ability at a young age. He reputedly was able to compose at age eight, and was well versed in the Classics and Masters. One of Cao Pi's earliest compositions was the "Cai Bojie nu fu" 蔡伯喈女賦 (Fu on the daughter of Cai Yong), of which only the preface survives. This poem is about Cai Yan (ca. 178-post 206), whom Cao Cao had ransomed from the Xiongnu around 206. In the preface, Cao Pi tells of how Cao Cao was able to ransom Cai Yan from the Xiongnu and arrange a marriage for her to Dong Si 董祀. In 204, Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shang 袁商 (d. 207), one of the sons of Yuan Shao 袁紹 (d. 202), at Ye 鄴 (modern Linzhang, Hebei). Yuan Shao's middle son Yuan Xi 袁熙 (d. 207) had a wife named Zhen 甄 (183-221), who had remained behind in Ye to care for her mother-in-law. Cao Pi became infatuated with her, and Cao Cao granted permission for her to become his bride.

Although he accompanied his father on several military campaigns, Cao Pi spent most of the period between 204 and 219 in Ye. After Cao Pi was named wuguan zhonglang jiang 五官中郎將 (leader of court gentleman for miscellaneous uses) in 211, he, along with his brother Cao Zhi hosted numerous literary gatherings in Ye. Many of the pieces from this period are group compositions in which the participants composed poems and fu on the same topic. These include fu on fighting cocks, rosemary, the locust tree and an agate bridle. The most common poetry topic was designated "Gong yan" 公宴 or "Lord's Feast."

Not all of Cao Pi's time was spent in literary pursuits, for Cao Cao also gave him administrative responsibilities. Thus, in 211, 215, and 219, when Cao Cao was out on military campaigns, Cao Pi remained behind to guard Ye. In 219, he actually put down an attempted coup led by Wei Feng 魏風 (d. 219). Although Cao Pi was the oldest son, his father did not appoint him heir-designate until quite late. Cao Cao actually considered three of his twenty-five sons as possible heirs. Besides Cao Pi, Cao Cao was fond of two other sons: Cao Zhi and Cao Chong 曹沖 (d. 208), the oldest son of the concubine Lady Huan 環夫人. He was eight years younger than Cao Pi. Known for his intelligence and maturity even as a young boy, he was Cao Cao's favorite. However, he died of illness in 208 at the young age of thirteen. Cao Zhi was the third son born of Lady Bian. Although five years younger than Cao Pi, Cao Zhi was a much more talented writer than his older brother. He early became a favorite of Cao Cao, who considered several times naming him his heir. The competition between Cao Pi and Cao Zhi for designation as heir was fierce and involved intrigue and scheming on both sides. Eventually, Cao Zhi's reckless behavior resulted in the loss of his father's favor. One particularly serious offense was the riding of his chariot down the speedway of the palace and going out through the major's gate, possibly in 217. Thus, in Nov.-Dec. 217, Cao Cao named Cao Pi heir designate.

On March 15, 220, Cao Cao died in Luoyang. Cao Pi, who was still residing in Ye, almost immediately assumed his father's title of King of Wei and the post of chancellor. In April, Cao Pi then sent all of his younger brothers to their fiefs. Cao Pi's main rival, Cao Zhi, was charged with showing disrespect for the throne by getting drunk and insulting the king's envoy. Cao Pi degraded him to the rank of marquis, and ordered Cao Zhi's partisans, Ding Yi 丁儀 and his younger brother Ding Yi 丁廙 put to death. On 11 December 220, Cao Pi deposed the Han emperor and had himself designated emperor of the new dynasty, which was called the Wei. He then changed the reign title to Huangchu 黃初. After reigning as Wei emperor for five and one half years, Cao Pi died of illness on 29 June 226.

According to the "Annals of Emperor Wen" in the Sanguo zhi (2.88), Cao Pi "was fond of letters and learning, and considered composition as an important endeavor. A hundred pieces that he himself had written have been handed down." The monograph of bibliography of the Sui shu mentions a collection of Cao Pi's writings in twenty-three juan that was listed in a Liang dynasty catalogue. However, the size of his collection in early Tang was only a ten-juan collection. The extant collections are later reconstructions.

Cao Pi's extant literary works consist of over 160 prose pieces (including fu) and some forty poems. A goodly number of his poems such as "Furong chi zuo shi" 芙蓉池作詩 (Poem written at Lotus Pond) and "Yu Xuanwu bei zuo" 於玄武陂作 (Composed at Black Warrior Dike) were written for gatherings in Ye. Cao Pi is best known for his yuefu. Over half of his extant poems consist of yuefu. Cao Pi's most famous yuefu is "Yan ge xing" 燕歌行 (Song of Yan). He actually has two poems on this title, both of which are written entirely in seven-syllable lines, with end rhyme in every line. Some scholars consider this the earliest fully mature example of a seven-syllable-line poem. The theme is a familiar one: the longing of a young wife for her absent husband, who is away from home on a military campaign.

Cao Pi also was a prolific fu writer. His extant writings include twenty-six fu compositions. Most of these are fragments. The longest extant fu is "Liu fu" 柳賦 (Fu on the willow). Cao Pi planted this tree in 200 at the age of fourteen when he accompanied his father on the battle against Yuan Shao at Guandu. He returned to this place fifteen years later (215) to find the tree still there. Cao Pi first portrays the tree as the "grandest tree" in the northern heartland. The reason it surpasses all other trees is that it is the first to bud in spring. Cao Pi then describes the lush vegetation that the willow tree displays in full spring. In the next section, Cao Pi personalizes his account of the willow tree as he tells of how he had planted the tree fifteen years earlier when he was fourteen years old. Struck by the willow's growth from a sapling into a giant tree, Cao Pi reflects both on the rapid passage of time as well as the transformation of the tree into a form that he barely recognizes. In the final extant section, Cao Pi relates how the willow tree provides shade in the hot summer heat. The willow tree has become a special site to which travelers pay tribute. Cao Pi presumes for this reason no woodsman has taken his axe to it for this long period of time.

During his reign as emperor, Cao Pi wrote fewer poems, and most of them are moralistic pieces about such subjects as his succession to the throne, his quest for wise men to serve in his government, and military campaigns. One particularly famous poem is "Zhi Guangling yu mashang zuo" 至廣陵於馬上作 (Written on horseback upon reaching Guangling) that Cao Pi composed in winter of 225, when he led his troops to Guangling 廣陵 (modern Yangzhou) from which he planned to cross the Yangzi and do battle with the Wu forces on the other side. Because the Yangzi waters were frozen, he could not cross. Frustrated, Cao Pi declared, "Indeed it is Heaven that separates south from north!" Before he arrived at the river, he composed a long poem the first part of which describes the power and might of his army, and the second part of which confidently declares that his army will be victorious over the enemy.

The bulk of Cao Pi's extant writings are prose much of which consists of edicts and commands that he issued during his short tenure as King of Wei or while he was emperor. He was also a prolific letter writer, and many of his letters are important statements of his views on literature. The best known of his letters are "Yu Wu Zhi shu" 與吳質書 (Letter to Wu Zhi), "Yu Zhaoge ling Wu Zhi shu" 與朝歌令吳質書 (Letter to Magistrate of Zhaoge Wu Zhi), and "Da Po Qin shu" 答繁欽書 (Letter replying to Po Qin).

Around 217, Cao Pi began writing essays on such matters as the quest for immortality (Cao Pi denounces it), history (notably assessments of Han emperors), literature, stories about famous swords, and even an account of his early life. Around 222, he collected some twenty essays in a work he titled Dian lun 典論 (Normative disquisitions). In 230 his son Emperor Ming had it carved on six stone steles, thus showing the importance of his text in the Jian'an era. Cao Pi even sent a copy written on silk to his rival Sun Quan 孫權 (182-252) in Wu.

The only complete essay in this collection is "Lun wen" 論文 (Discussing literature). This work is often hailed as the first declaration of independence for literature. For example, Cao Pi is the first to divide literature into four classes and identify the style that is best suited for each group. He also attributes to writing the quality of "breath" or "vitality (qi 氣) that a writer imparts to his composition. However, at the end of the essay Cao Pi defines "writing" (wenzhang 文章) as the "great undertaking that pertains to managing the state." Although Cao Pi modifies this claim by going on to specify that it is through literature that a man can be known in later ages, the type of writing that Cao Pi attaches highest value to is moral and political philosophy. He singles out one contemporary work as the most exemplary form or writing, the Zhong lun 中論 (Discourses on the Mean) by Xu Gan 徐幹 (170-217/18). Xu Gan had earlier served the Cao court where he write both poetry and fu. In 216, he retired to a country village where he gave up writing poetry, fu, stele inscriptions and other genres of belles lettres. He then wrote the Zhong lun a work that was intended "to propagate the greater meaning of the Way." Cao Pi's endorsement of Xu Gan's work shows that he did not conceive of literature as fully autonomous.

Cao Pi had a strong interest in preserving the literary works of his time. In 218, he compiled a collection of the writings of Xu Gan, Chen Lin 陳琳 (b. ca. 160, d. 217), Ying Yang 應瑒 (ca. 176-217), and Liu Zhen 劉楨 (d. 217), who had died in an epidemic that struck much of north China during 217.

Cao Pi is attributed with a collection of stories of anomalies and supernatural occurrences, the Lieyi zhuan 列異傳. However, the question of Cao Pi's authorship is a much debated subject among scholars.

DRK

• 曹丕 Cao Pi, Brill’s Chinese Reference Shelf. http://chinesereferenceshelf.brillonline.com/ancient-literature/ent...

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Cao Pi 曹丕 [30261] Giles, p. 759. — RMH