Cao Rui 曹叡, Emperor Ming of Wei

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cao_Rui&oldid=430279200

Cao Rui 曹叡 (206-239; alt. 205-239), zi Yuanzhong 元仲, Emperor Ming 明 of the Wei (r. 226-239). Emperor and writer of Wei.

Cao Rui was the eldest son of Cao Pi 曹丕 (187-226), founding emperor of the Wei. His mother was Empress Zhen 甄 (183-221), who according to most accounts Cao Pi ordered to commit suicide in August 221. Cao Rui reputedly doted on his mother, and after her death he was so disconsolate he refused to associate with court officials. He spent most of his time reading books. When he became emperor in 226, Cao Rui established a temple at his mother's tomb and bestowed on her a posthumous title. In his first several years as emperor Cao Rui was guided by the "regents" Cao Zhen 曹真 (d. 231), Sima Yi 司馬懿 (179-251), and Chen Qun 陳羣 (d. 236). Although Cao Rui is usually portrayed as an ineffective ruler, he took a strong interest in promoting cultural activities at the Wei court. In 228, he issued an edict ordering that officials recommended for appointment from localities be well-versed in the Classics. In 230, he ordered that his father's collection of essays, the Dian lun 典論 (Normative disquisitions), be carved on stone and be placed at the Wei ancestral temple. In 233, he issued an edict commanding He Zhen 何楨, who was well known for his writing skill, to compose a fu on the city of Xu 許 (modern Xuchang, Henan). In the 230s, Cao Rui engaged in extensive building projects, especially in Xu, and some of his court officials presented petitions protesting his waste of state resources.

The monograph on bibliography of the Sui shu list Cao Rui's collected works in three different versions: seven, five, and nine juan. A ten-juan collection is also listed in the Jiu Tang shu. This probably was lost in the Song. There is no single collection of Cao Rui's writings. He has ninety-one prose pieces in Yan Kejun's Quan Shanggu sandai Qin Han Sanguo Liuchao wen, most of which are edicts. One of his more moving pieces is the "Zhen huanghou aici wen" 甄皇后哀策文 (Lament tablet for Empress Zhen) that he composed in 235 for his mother, Lady Zhen, for her burial in Xiling 西陵, which was Cao Cao's tomb. Lu Qinli has collected fourteen poems in Xian Qin Han Wei Jin Nanbeichao shi, all of which are yuefu.

DRK

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

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Cao Rui 曹睿 [30271] Giles, p. 758. — RMH