Cao Xiu
Cao Xiu | |
|---|---|
| 曹休 | |
| Grand Marshal (大司馬) | |
| In office 227–228 | |
| Monarch | Cao Rui |
| Governor of Yang Province (揚州牧) | |
| In office 223–227 | |
| Monarch | Cao Pi |
| Senior General Who Attacks the East (征東大將軍) | |
| In office 222–223 | |
| Monarch | Cao Pi |
| General Who Attacks the East (征東將軍) | |
| In office 221–222 | |
| Monarch | Cao Pi |
| Inspector of Yang Province (揚州刺史) | |
| In office 221–222 | |
| Monarch | Cao Pi |
| General Who Guards the South (鎮南將軍) | |
| In office 220–221 | |
| Monarch | Cao Pi |
| General Who Leads the Army (領軍將軍) | |
| In office 220–220 | |
| Monarch | Cao Pi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Unknown |
| Died | 228[1] |
| Resting place | Mengjin County, Henan |
| Children |
|
| Occupation | General |
| Courtesy name | Wenlie (文烈) |
| Posthumous name | Marquis Zhuang (壯侯) |
| Peerage | Marquis of Changping (長平侯) |
Cao Xiu (died 228),[1] courtesy name Wenlie, was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He served the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period under its first emperor, Cao Pi, and briefly under the second emperor, Cao Rui. As Cao Xiu was a distant nephew of his, Cao Cao gave him special attention and once said that he could be a military commander. When the warlord Liu Bei started the Hanzhong Campaign to seize control of Hanzhong Commandery from Cao Cao, Cao Xiu outwitted and defeated two of Liu Bei's generals, Zhang Fei and Ma Chao. He became a provincial-level military commander later in his career, and led various campaigns against forces from Wei's rival state, Eastern Wu. Despite defeating several enemy units, few of the campaigns achieved success. He died in 228 shortly after his disastrous final campaign against Wu.
Early life
Cao Xiu was a distant younger relative of Cao Cao. When the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in the late Eastern Han dynasty, the Cao clan left their ancestral home in Qiao County (譙縣; present-day Bozhou, Anhui) and went in different directions throughout the Han Empire to avoid getting caught up in the chaos. When Cao Xiu was around 10 years old, his father died and he only had one person to help him arrange for his father to be properly buried. Cao Xiu and his mother crossed the Yangtze to southern China and settled down in Wu Commandery (吳郡; around present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu).[2] Cao Xiu's grandfather, Cao Chang (曹嘗), had previously served as the Administrator of Wu Commandery. One day, after seeing a portrait of his grandfather in the Administrator's office, Cao Xiu became so overwhelmed by emotions that he knelt down and cried. Everyone present at the scene felt touched when they saw him crying.[3]
Service under Cao Cao
In 190, Cao Cao was raising an army to join the Guandong Coalition against the warlord Dong Zhuo, who controlled the Han central government and held Emperor Xian hostage. When Cao Xiu heard about it, he adopted a fake identity and travelled via Jing Province to Cao Cao's base in Chenliu Commandery (陳留郡; around present-day Kaifeng, Henan). Cao Cao was pleased to see him and he remarked, "This is the thousand-li horse of my clan."[4]
Cao Cao treated Cao Xiu like a son and even allowed him to live with his own son, Cao Pi. Cao Xiu fought on Cao Cao's side in the various battles against rival warlords throughout the late Eastern Han dynasty. He was also one of the commanders of the elite "Tiger and Leopard Cavalry" (虎豹騎) unit in Cao Cao's army.[5]
Cao Xiu participated mainly in campaigns against the forces of rival warlord Liu Bei during Cao Cao's time, notably against Zhang Fei and Ma Chao. When Cao Hong was threatened by Zhang Fei that his retreat route would be cut off, Cao Xiu saw though the ruse and stated that if Zhang Fei indeed wanted to block their retreat route, he would do so secretly instead of showing his intention so obviously. He then suggested Cao Hong that they should strike the enemy upfront when Zhang Fei and Ma Chao were still dwelling on the fantasy that their tactic would work out. Zhang Fei and Ma Chao retreated back to Hanzhong Commandery after being defeated by Cao Hong, while Wu Lan (吳蘭) fled to join the Di tribes, who killed him. Cao Xiu was later appointed as a zhonglingjun (中領軍; a commander of the imperial guards).
Service under Cao Pi
After Cao Cao's death in 220, Cao Xiu enjoyed a close relationship with Cao Pi, who had usurped the throne from Emperor Xian, the last emperor of the Han dynasty, in 220 and established the state of Cao Wei. After becoming emperor, Cao Pi appointed Cao Xiu as General who Guards the South (鎮南將軍) and sent him to the southern frontier to guard against invasions from Cao Pi's rival, Sun Quan. While personally seeing Cao Xiu off, Cao Pi dismounted from his carriage and held Cao Xiu's hands, reluctant to part.
In 222, Cao Pi personally led an offensive against Sun Quan. Cao Xiu was appointed Senior General Who Attacks the East (征東大將軍). He supervised over 20 juns (a jun was a military unit composed of about 12,500 soldiers)[citation needed] from various regions and defeated Sun Quan's forces under Lü Fan at Dongpu (洞浦; in the vicinity of present-day Wuhu, Anhui). Despite his victory over Lü Fan, who was able to regroup his forces, Cao Xiu eventually lost to Wu reinforcements sent by Xu Sheng and Quan Cong.
Service under Cao Rui
Following Cao Pi's death in 227, Cao Xiu continued to serve under the second Wei emperor, Cao Rui. He was promoted to Grand Marshal (大司馬) but retained governorship of Yang Province.
In 228, Cao Rui launched yet another offensive against Sun Quan, leading to the Battle of Shiting. Cao Xiu led a force towards Xunyang (尋陽; present-day Huangmei County, Hubei). Believing the words of an enemy general, Zhou Fang, who pretended to defect to his side, Cao Xiu led his army deep into hostile territory and suffered a disastrous defeat, which amounted to tens of thousands of casualties. Submitting a memorial, Cao Xiu pleaded guilty for his misjudgment. Cao Rui, however, not only forgave him but treated him with even more respect thereafter.
Death
Cao Xiu died shortly after the Battle of Shiting from skin infections on his back resulting from wounds incurred in the battle. He was given the posthumous title "Marquis Zhuang" (壯侯), literally meaning "robust marquis".
Discovery of Cao Xiu's tomb
In May 2010, archaeologists announced the discovery of Cao Xiu's tomb in Mengjin County, Henan. The tomb, 50 metres long and 21 metres wide, held chinaware, copperware, liquor cups and jars as well as some human bones. Tests suggested that these bones belonged to a 50-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman. A bronze seal, about the size of a coin and engraved with Cao Xiu's name, revealed the tomb owner's identity.[6]
In Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, on one occasion when Yue Jin was losing to the enemy general Ling Tong in a duel, Cao Xiu fired an arrow which hit Ling Tong's horse. Ling Tong fell from the horse's back and would have been killed by Yue Jin if Gan Ning had not intervened and saved him.
See also
References
- ^ a b de Crespigny (2007), p. 49.
- ^ (曹休字文烈，太祖族子也。天下亂，宗族各散去鄉里。休年十餘歲，喪父，獨與一客擔喪假葬，攜將老母，渡江至吳。) Sanguozhi vol. 9.
- ^ (魏書曰：休祖父嘗為吳郡太守。休於太守舍見壁上祖父畫像，下榻拜涕泣，同坐者皆嘉歎焉。) Wei Shu annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 9.
- ^ (以太祖舉義兵，易姓名轉至荊州，閒行北歸，見太祖。太祖謂左右曰：「此吾家千里駒也。」) Sanguozhi vol. 9.
- ^ (使與文帝同止，見待如子。常從征伐，使領虎豹騎宿衞。) Sanguozhi vol. 9.
- ^ Li, Yajing (18 May 2010). "Three Kingdoms general Cao Xiu's tomb discovered; experts say it is difficult to use DNA to confirm authenticity of Cao Cao's tomb 三国名将曹休墓出土 专家称难用其DNA鉴定曹操墓". ScienceNet.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- Chen, Shou (3rd century). Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).
- de Crespigny, Rafe (2007). A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms 23-220 AD. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9789004156050.
- Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Yanyi).
- Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).
- Sima, Guang (1084). Zizhi Tongjian.