Cao Zhi 曹植

Cao Zhi (192-232), zi Zijian 子建, last title Prince Si of Chen 陳思王. Wei period prince and writer.

Cao Zhi's ancestral home was Qiao 譙 in Pei 沛 kingdom (modern Bo 亳 county, Anhui). He was the third son of Cao Cao 曹操 (155-220) by Lady Bian 卞 (160-230), who was selected as Cao Cao's principal wife in 179. He was born the same year that Dong Zhuo 董卓 (d. 192) was assassinated. Cao Cao was just beginning his rise to power at this time. Much of Cao Zhi's early life was spent in the camps of his father's army. From 204 until 220, except for brief periods when he accompanied Cao Cao on military campaigns, he resided in Ye 鄴 (modern Linzhang, Hebei), where he was a leading participant in the literary salon that was centered around the Cao family. One of his earliest compositions was a fu on the Bronze Bird Terrace (Tong que tai 銅雀臺) ordered constructed by Cao Cao in 210. At a gathering held at the terrace probably in 212, Cao Zhi composed the "Deng tai fu" 登臺賦 (Fu on ascending the terrace), in which he describes the view from the terrace and pays tribute to the achievements of his father. Cao Zhi also began to write shi poetry during his youth but few of the poems attributed to his early years can be dated with any certainty.

From the time he was quite young, Cao Zhi was one of his father's favorites. Cao Cao seriously considered naming him heir, rather than the older son Cao Pi. Cao Cao's indecision on naming him heir led to a rivalry and enmity between the two brothers. Each brother had support of different groups at court. Cao Zhi's main supporters were literary men: the brothers Ding Yi 丁儀 (d. 220) Ding Yi 丁廙 (d. 220), and Yang Xiu 楊脩 (175-219), who was the nephew of Cao Cao's rival Yuan Shu 袁術 (d. 199). Mainly because of his reckless and irresponsible behavior, Cao Zhi eventually fell from his father's good graces. In 217, Cao Zhi got drunk and rode his chariot down the imperial roadway out the Sima men 司馬門 or Major's Gate. This was a capital offense, for access to the imperial roadway and the Major's Gate was restricted to the emperor. Angered at his son's impudence, Cao Cao issued a decree declaring that from now on he "would look on this son with different eyes indeed." Thus, in winter of Jian'an 22 (217), Cao Cao named Cao Pi heir.

After Cao Pi became emperor in December 220, he immediately began to introduce measures to curb the power of his chief rival, Cao Zhi. He ordered the execution of the Ding brothers. He then sent all of his brothers to their estates and did not allow them to come to the capital except with special permission. To make sure that they did not plot against him, he established the office of jian guo yezhe 監國謁者 (internuncios who supervise the vassal kingdoms). In 221, one of these internuncios, Guan Jun 灌均 charged Cao Zhi with "being drunk and insolent and trying to intimidate the imperial envoy." Cao Pi then ordered Cao Zhi brought to Luoyang, where officials were asked to deliberate on his punishment. Some officials recommended that he be reduced to the status of commoner. Others even proposed that he be put to death. However, after the intervention of the Empress Dowager Bian, Cao Pi demoted Cao Zhi from the rank of Marquis of Linzi 臨淄 to Marquis of Anxiang 安鄉. The number of households in his estate was reduced from ten thousand to one thousand. Later in the same year (221), he received the title of Marquis of Juancheng 鄄城 (north of modern Zhuancheng, Shandong). In 222, several officials accused Cao Zhi of an unspecified offense. He then went to the capital to plead his own case. He was allowed to return to his old home in Ye, where he stayed for a short time before returning to Juancheng. In April 222, Cao Zhi had his title elevated to that of Prince of Juancheng. However, his status as still lower than that of most of his brothers, whose fiefs were commanderies. Juancheng was only a county.

In June-July 223, Cao Zhi and his brothers were allowed to come to Luoyang to participate in the seasonal festival. While he was in the capital, Cao Zhi's elder brother, Cao Zhang 曹彰, died suddenly. After the funeral for Cao Zhang, for which Cao Zhi composed the elegy, Cao Zhi was ordered to return to his estate. As he was about to leave, he presented a six-part poem to his brother, Cao Biao 曹彪, who also was visiting the capital at the time. This poem is "Zeng Baima wang Biao" 贈白馬王彪 (Presented to Biao, Prince of Baima). In the poem Cao Zhi expresses his great regret at having to leave the capital and part from his brother Biao.

Shortly after returning to Juancheng, Cao Zhi had his fief transfered to Yongqiu 雍丘 (modern Qi 杞 county, Henan). In 225, while returning from an expedition against Wu, Cao Pi stopped at Yongqiu to visit Cao Zhi. According to an anecdote in the Shishuo xinyu, Cao Pi ordered Cao Zhi to compose a poem while taking seven paces. If he could not complete it, he would receive the maximum penalty. On the spot, Cao Zhi composed the poem known by the title "Qi bu shi" 七步詩 (Seven-step poem). Hans Frankel ("Fifteen Poems," 1, n. 4) has shown that this most likely is a folk tale. He notes that if Cao Pi really had wanted to get rid of his brother, he would not have given him a chance to save his life by passing a test, particularly a test that Cao Zhi could easily pass.

In 226, Cao Pi died and was succeeded by his son Cao Rui 曹叡 (Emperor Ming 明, r. 226-239), who was Cao Zhi's nephew. Although he did not receive the harsh treatment his brother had given him, Cao Zhi continued to move from one fief to another. In 227, he was transferred to Junyi 浚儀 (near modern Kaifeng). Shortly thereafter, he returned to his old fief in Yongqiu. In 228, Cao Zhi moved to Dong'e 東阿 (southwest of modern Dong'e, Shandong), where he remained for three years until 232, when he was transferred to Chen 陳 (modern Huaiyang 懷陽, Henan). He died in Chen in 232 at the age of forty-one.

Cao Zhi compiled a collection of his fu. He claims in the preface to what he calls his Qian lu 前錄 (Former catalogue) that he wrote a large number of fu some of which were "weedy." He reduced them to seventy-eight pieces. As late as the early Western Jin Cao Zhi's son by a concubine Cao Zhi 曹志 (d. 288) possessed a catalogue of Cao Zhi's writings. In the Jingchu 景初 period (237-239) Emperor Ming ordered that over a hundred of Cao Zhi's writings in various genres, including fu, eulogies, poems, inscriptions, and diverse disquisitions be compiled into a collection with copies to be deposited inside and outside the palace. There is evidence that a manuscript of Cao Zhi's writings perhaps in his own hand circulated in the Sui period. The monograph on bibliography of the Sui shu (35.1059) lists Cao Zhi's collection in thirty juan. The monographs on bibliography of the Jiu Tang shu (47.2053) and Xin Tang shu (60.1579) record collections in twenty and thirty juan. Thus, these works survived as late as the Northern Song. During the Southern Song, Chen Zhensun 陳振孫 (1211-1249) mentions a twenty-juan collection that was reconstructed from texts found in various Tang and Song compendia. Thus, this must have been a different work from that listed in the standard history monographs on bibliography.

In the Song period, the only printed version of Cao Zhi's collection was a ten-juan edition. The earliest known printing was in 974. A Ming reprint of this is held in the Peking University library. The Shanghai library contains a ten-juan large character printing done in Jiangxi in the reign of the Southern Song emperor Xiaozong 孝宗 (r. 1162-1189). In 1922, a photo-reproduction of the copy held in the Tie qin tong jian lou 鐵琴銅劍樓 was included in the Xu guyi congshu 續古逸叢書. A ten-juan printing dated 1213 served as the basis for the edition included in the Siku quanshu. The first critical edition of Cao Zhi's collected works was done by Ding Yan 丁晏 (1794-1875). This was published in 1872 under the title Cao ji quan ping 曹集銓評.

Cao Zhi's extant writings consist of over 160 prose pieces (including fu). His extant fu include 57 titles (not all of these works have texts). Cao Zhi has an even greater number of poems. However, different editions contain varying numbers of pieces, ranging from 73 in the Ming movable type edition to 101 in the collection prepared by Zhu Xuzeng (fl. 1837).

Cao Zhi clearly was unhappy with the treatment he received from Cao Pi and Cao Rui who not only did not assign him any important court position, but transferred him from one fief to another so that he could not establish a power base in one place. One of the recurring subjects of the study of Cao Zhi's writings is the extent to which they express complaint about his frustrated official career. Hans Frankel's seminal article published in 1964 was an important contribution in pointing out the circularity of the attempts to read autobiography into Cao Zhi's writings, especially his poetry.

Some of Cao Zhi's poems have a clear connection with contemporary events. One good example is Cao Zhi's long six-part poem "Zeng Baima wang Biao shi" 贈白馬王彪詩 (Presented to Cao Biao, Prince of Baima). During the early Wei period, Cao Pi had sent all of his brothers to their fiefs, and they could only visit the capital with special permission. In the summer of 223, Cao Zhi and two other brothers, Cao Biao 曹彪 (195-251) and Cao Zhang 曹彰 (d. 223), were allowed to come to the capital to participate in the seasonal festival. Shortly after he arrived in the capital Cao Zhang died. Some sources claim that Cao Pi had him poisoned. After the festival was over, the brothers had to return to their homes. Cao Zhi wanted to travel part way with Cao Biao, but Cao Pi would not allow this. Outraged at this treatment, Cao Zhi wrote this poem recounting his travels but also expressing grief at the death of Cao Zhang. He also expresses resentment that he must separate from the Prince of Baima. The poem combines several themes, including the hardships of travel, a lament for his deceased brother, and affection for Cao Biao. At the end of the piece, Cao Zhi even expresses skepticism about the quest for immortality.

Many of Cao Zhi's fu were written for social occasions and include pieces that were part of a group composition. Such pieces include "Chou lin fu" 愁霖賦 (Grieving over the downpour), "Xi ji fu" 喜霽賦 (Rejoicing at the clearing rain), "Bai he fu" 白鶴賦 (Fu on the white crane), "Huai fu" 槐赋 (Fu on the pagoda tree), and "Liu fu" 柳賦 (Fu on the willow). One of Cao Zhi's more inventive pieces is the "Yao que fu" 鷂雀賦 (Fu on the hawk and the sparrow), a dialogue between a hawk and sparrow.The sparrow uses his clever wit to convince the hawk not to kill him. This piece, written in a colloquial style, is an example of the "vernacular fu"(su fu 俗賦). Another similar work is the "Dulou shuo" 髑髏說 (Disquisition on the skull), which is inspired by the famous story of Zhuangzi's dialogue with a skull that he finds by the side of the road.

Cao Zhi's best-known fu is "Luo shen fu" 洛神賦 (Fu on the Luo River Goddess). According to tradition, the Luo River Goddess is Fu Fei 宓妃, who was the daughter of the ancient culture hero Fuxi. She drowned in the Luo River and was subsequently worshiped as the Luo River Goddess. Cao Zhi composed "Luo shen fu" in imitation of the "Shen nu fu" 神女賦 (Fu on the goddess) attributed to Song Yu 宋玉 (late Warring States period). His motivation in writing the piece long has been the subject of speculation. There is the tradition, recorded in a note in the You Mao edition of the Wen xuan that the Luo River goddess actually stands for Empress Zhen 甄, the wife of his elder brother Cao Pi, with whom Cao Zhi reputedly was in love. However, this account clearly does not accord with historical circumstances and should not be given serious consideration. The fu also is read as a frustration poem in which Cao Zhi uses the beautiful goddess to represent his brother, Emperor Wen, who refused to grant Cao Zhi an important position in the Wei regime. As in Qu Yuan's quest for Fu Fei in Li sao, Cao Zhi's encounter with the Luo River Goddess is short-lived. Some scholars have concluded that the Goddess represents the Wei court that refused to grant Cao Zhi a government post in which to demonstrate his loyalty and talent. This interpretation is more credible than the previous one, but there is no solid evidence that the poem is a political allegory.

David R. Knechtges

Citation

• 曹植 Cao Zhi, Brill’s Chinese Reference Shelf. Brill Online, 2017. http://chinesereferenceshelf.brillonline.com/ancient-literature/ent...

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Cao Zhi 曹植 [30270] Giles, p. 756. — RMH