Imperial warlord : a biography of Cao Cao 155-220 AD 9781283039314, 1283039311, 9786613039316, 6613039314, 9789004188303, 9004188304

Table of contents :
List of Maps and Tables
Introduction
A Summary Chronology of Cao Cao
Chapter One Grandson of a Eunuch 155–189
Chronology
The problems of Later Han
The eunuch connection
Young man about town
Yellow Turbans
Ruin of Government
Chapter Two To Guard the Emperor 190–196
Chronology
To govern Yan province 190–192
Fight for survival 193–195
Welcome to Xu city 196
Captive Emperor
Chapter Three To Battle at Guandu 197–200
Chronology
Troublesome neighbours 196–198
Conduct at court
Approaches to Guandu 199–200
Yuan Shao's Call to Arms
Decisive victory 200
The Guandu campaign: a reappraisal
Chapter Four The Conduct of Civil War
The heritage of Later Han
Rebels, bandits, gentry and self-defence groups: the development of hereditary troops
Weapons and tactics
Numbers, supply and control
Casualties, prisoners, hostages and the behaviour of gentlemen
Chapter Five Conquest of the North 201–207
Chronology
The fall of the Yuan clan 201–204
Settlement of the North 204–206
White Wolf Mountain 207
Chapter Six Red Cliffs 208
Chronology
Government of the empire
To defeat in Jing province
War on water: weapons, techniques and tactics
Chapter Seven Military Matters 209–217
Military Chronology
Northwest and southeast 209–214
Liu Bei and Sun Quan 209–214
Two surrenders: Zhang Lu and Sun Quan 215–217
Cao Cao and the Art of War
Chapter Eight Court and Capital
The elegance of Ye and the Masters of Jian'an
Poems and an Apologia
Character and style of government
Chapter Nine Tensions of Loyalty 210–217
Chronology
The Trappings of power
Imperial consorts
Women and children
A question of succession
217: the year of the plague
Chapter Ten The Last Years 218–220
Chronology 218–220
Chronology from 220
Liu Bei in Hanzhong 218–219
Guan Yu and Lü Meng in Jing province 219
Posthumous emperor 220
The later history of Cao Wei
Chapter Eleven Another Life: History, Anecdote and Fiction
Pei Songzhi, Fan Ye and Shishuo xinyu
Story-tellers, poets, playwrights and Pinghua
Revisionist history, Romance and the Peking opera
Marxist debate and the modern actor
Why Cao Cao?
Bibliography
Early Sources: Standard Histories
Early Sources: Works by Cao Cao
Early Sources: Other Texts
Modern Works
Index

Citation preview

Imperial Warlord

Sinica Leidensia Edited by

Barend J. ter Haar Maghiel van Crevel In co-operation with

P.K. Bol, D.R. Knechtges, E.S. Rawski, W.L. Idema, H.T. Zurndorfer

VOLUME 99

Imperial Warlord A Biography of Cao Cao 155–220 AD

By

Rafe de Crespigny

LEIDEN • BOSTON 2010

This book has been published with financial aid from the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation. Cover illustration: The cover shows the first section, Guan canghai, of the Jieshi Poem of Cao Cao translated at the end of Chapter Five. Calligraphy by Chiang Yee. Photograph by Darren Boyd. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data De Crespigny, Rafe. Imperial warlord : a biography of Cao Cao, 155–220 AD / by Rafe de Crespigny. p. cm. — (Sinica Leidensia ; v. 99) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-18522-7 (hbk. : alk. paper) 1. Cao, Cao, 155–220. 2. Statesmen—China—Biography. 3. Politicians—China— Biography. 4. China—History—Han dynasty, 202 B.C.–220 A.D. 5. Cao, Cao, 155– 220—Military leadership. 6. China—History, Military—221 B.C.–960 A.D. I. Title. II. Series. DS748.16.T76D39 2010 931’.04092—dc22 [B] 2010022325

ISSN 0169-9563 ISBN 978 90 04 18522 7 Copyright 2010 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change.

For Nicholas and Alexander

CONTENTS List of Maps and Tables ....................................................................

xi

Introduction ......................................................................................... A Summary Chronology of Cao Cao .........................................

1 6

Chapter One Grandson of a Eunuch 155–189 ........................... Chronology ...................................................................................... The problems of Later Han .......................................................... The eunuch connection ................................................................. Young man about town ................................................................ Yellow Turbans ............................................................................... Ruin of Government ......................................................................

9 9 9 16 25 35 41

Chapter Two To Guard the Emperor 190–196 .......................... Chronology ...................................................................................... To govern Yan province 190–192 ............................................... Fight for survival 193–195 ............................................................ Welcome to Xu city 196 ................................................................ Captive Emperor ............................................................................

51 51 52 68 81 92

Chapter Three To Battle at Guandu 197–200 ............................ Chronology ...................................................................................... Troublesome neighbours 196–198 .............................................. Conduct at court ............................................................................ Approaches to Guandu 199–200 ................................................. Yuan Shao’s Call to Arms ............................................................. Decisive victory 200 ....................................................................... The Guandu campaign: a reappraisal .........................................

97 97 98 111 121 128 135 147

Chapter Four The Conduct of Civil War .................................... The heritage of Later Han ............................................................. Rebels, bandits, gentry and self-defence groups: the development of hereditary troops .................................... Weapons and tactics ...................................................................... Numbers, supply and control ...................................................... Casualties, prisoners, hostages and the behaviour of gentlemen ....................................................................................

153 153 160 167 181 193

viii

contents

Chapter Five Conquest of the North 201–207 ........................... Chronology ...................................................................................... The fall of the Yuan clan 201–204 .............................................. Settlement of the North 204–206 ................................................ White Wolf Mountain 207 ...........................................................

203 203 203 217 230

Chapter Six Red Cliffs 208 ............................................................. Chronology ...................................................................................... Government of the empire ........................................................... To defeat in Jing province ............................................................ War on water: weapons, techniques and tactics .......................

241 241 241 258 278

Chapter Seven Military Matters 209–217 .................................... Military Chronology ...................................................................... Northwest and southeast 209–214 .............................................. Liu Bei and Sun Quan 209–214 ................................................... Two surrenders: Zhang Lu and Sun Quan 215–217 ................ Cao Cao and the Art of War ........................................................

287 287 288 306 311 319

Chapter Eight Court and Capital .................................................. The elegance of Ye and the Masters of Jian’an ......................... Poems and an Apologia ................................................................. Character and style of government .............................................

333 333 349 364

Chapter Nine Tensions of Loyalty 210–217 ............................... Chronology ...................................................................................... The Trappings of power ................................................................ Imperial consorts ............................................................................ Women and children ..................................................................... A question of succession ............................................................... 217: the year of the plague ............................................................

381 381 382 397 400 407 420

Chapter Ten The Last Years 218–220 .......................................... Chronology 218–220 ...................................................................... Chronology from 220 .................................................................... Liu Bei in Hanzhong 218–219 ..................................................... Guan Yu and Lü Meng in Jing province 219 ............................ Posthumous emperor 220 ............................................................. The later history of Cao Wei ........................................................

423 423 424 424 430 438 450

contents

ix

Chapter Eleven Another Life: History, Anecdote and Fiction ....................................................................................... Pei Songzhi, Fan Ye and Shishuo xinyu ..................................... Story-tellers, poets, playwrights and Pinghua ........................... Revisionist history, Romance and the Peking opera ................ Marxist debate and the modern actor ........................................ Why Cao Cao? ................................................................................

463 463 479 490 499 504

Bibliography ......................................................................................... Early Sources: Standard Histories ............................................... Early Sources: Works by Cao Cao .............................................. Early Sources: Other Texts ........................................................... Modern Works ...............................................................................

507 507 508 508 510

Index ..................................................................................................... 525

LIST OF MAPS AND TABLES Table 1. The Cao, Xiaohou and Ding families ............................. Map 1. Map 2. Map 3. Map 4. Map 5. Map 6. Map 7. Map 8. Map 9. Map 10. Map 11. Map 12. Map 13. Map 14. Map 15. Map 16. Map 17. Map 18. Map 19. Map 20. Map 21.

Sili Province: the capital region ........................................ Approaches to Luoyang ..................................................... North China in the 190s ................................................... Yan Province under Cao Cao ........................................... The Expulsion of Yuan Shu 193 ....................................... Xu and Qing Provinces ..................................................... Imperial Travels 195–196 ................................................. Rival Warlords 190–200 ................................................... Operations about Guandu 199–200 ................................ Ji Province under the Yuan family 191–205 .................. Waterways about Ye City 204–220 ................................. Cao Cao in the northeast 206–207 .................................. Jing Province ....................................................................... The Red Cliffs Campaign 208 ........................................... The Lower Wei Valley and the Huayin Campaign 211 ..................................................................... The Lower Yangzi and the Huai ...................................... The Hanzhong Region 215–219 ....................................... Ye City 210–220 ................................................................. The provinces arranged by Cao Cao 213 ........................ The Campaigns of 219 ....................................................... The Empire of Han in 189 AD .........................................

21 47 53 59 65 69 73 83 122 138 207 215 232 260 267 297 302 312 337 392 436 555

INTRODUCTION In the years and centuries since his time, Cao Cao has been remembered as one of the great villains of Chinese history, talented and powerful, but cruel, immoral, and ultimately fated to failure. On the other hand, Cao Cao lived at a time when the dynasty of Han was collapsing and the empire was falling into ruin, and he became a leader in a time of destruction and civil war. He proved himself on the battlefield as a brilliant tactician and strategist, he restored a degree of civil government over the greater part of north China, and not only was he a fine poet in his own right, but he presided over one of the most splendid periods of literature in early China. Few men in any society have demonstrated such talent and achievement, and still fewer have received such attention from posterity. For a man who lived so long ago, there is a remarkable amount of information available, from historical texts, from archaeology and from his own writings. The standard official history of the Three Kingdoms period, the Sanguo zhi of Chen Shou, was compiled quite close to Cao Cao’s time, and the commentary attached by Pei Songzhi in the early fifth century includes parallel accounts, some of them compiled by Cao Cao’s direct contemporaries. Unlike many traditional chronicles, Sanguo zhi provides alternative versions of events, and a wealth of detail and opinion. Endorsed by imperial authority, the transmission of the text is quite reliable, and the quantity of material concerning Cao Cao makes it possible to attempt a rounded interpretation of his life.1 Cao Cao was born a subject of Han and maintained that position until his death. Though he would claim to defend the imperial dynasty, his son Cao Pi ended the sovereignty of Han and Cao Cao received posthumous title as Martial Emperor Wu of Wei, the successor state

1 The historiography of Sanguo zhi and the commentary of Pei Songzhi are discussed by deC, Records of the Three Kingdoms, Leban, “Ts’ao Ts’ao,” and the Prolegomenon of Cutter & Crowell, Empresses and Consorts. Chapter 9 of deC, Generals of the South, has a survey of the texts with particular emphasis on sources for the history of Wu. The major work on Cao Cao’s poetry is that of Diény, Poèmes de Cao Cao.

2

introduction

which divided the territory of China with the rival kingdoms of ShuHan and Wu. At the time of Cao Cao’s birth, in the middle of the second century AD, the empire of China was already in difficulty. Constant trouble on the northern frontier had caused a steady migration of settlers to the south, weakening Han control and encouraging raiding and disruption by the erratic tribes of the steppe. The costs of such warfare put excessive strain upon the resources of the central government, and that government itself was badly affected by a succession of rulers who came to the throne as minors and were subject to regencies by the great clans of relatives by marriage. In 159 the cycle of dependency was broken by the youthful Emperor Huan, who destroyed the over-powerful Liang family with the aid of the eunuchs of his harem, but the favour which he showed to these allies disturbed the gentlemen of Confucian principles who served as imperial officials. In 168 the eunuchs confirmed their authority by a successful coup to overthrow the regent Dou clan which had sought to establish a regency government for Emperor Huan’s successor, Emperor Ling, and the division between the court and the landed gentry in the provinces—core alliance of traditional China—was confirmed by a great Proscription of those who opposed the eunuch regime. In 184 these quarrelling parties were faced by a more potent threat from the religious rebellion of the Yellow Turbans, which looked for a destruction of the old world and the coming of a new millennium. The rising was defeated within a year, but at the cost of a massive loss of life and vast damage to the heartland of China across the North China plain. At the same time, continuing difficulty on the frontier culminated in a mutiny and rebellion in the northwest, which removed a valuable region from the resources of the empire. Finally, in 189, the death of the weak and extravagant Emperor Ling brought chaos to the imperial capital, Luoyang, where a slaughter of the eunuchs by young men of family created opportunity for the frontier general Dong Zhuo. As the usurper took power and put his own nominee on the throne, armies were raised to oppose him, and within less than a year the boy Emperor Xian was notional sovereign of a gigantic battleground. This was the background into which Cao Cao was born. His father Cao Song had been adopted by the powerful eunuch Cao Teng and

introduction

3

became wealthy enough to buy his way into the highest position in the bureaucracy. The family was on the margins of acceptable society, but wealth and power did much to cover an unorthodox origin, and the collapse of social and political order gave Cao Cao the opportunity to display his abilities. He was fortunately placed to do so: his father’s money meant that he was able to acquire a good education and take junior rank in the imperial service by his early twenties; he held military command against the Yellow Turban rebels in 184; and he received senior provincial appointment before he was thirty. When the political situation at the capital collapsed in 189, Cao Cao collected a small contingent of troops and joined the loyal rebels who claimed they sought to restore the dynasty. His background was not distinguished enough to guarantee pre-eminence, but he had some success fighting bandits, and in 192 he became the ruler of Yan province, a large and prosperous territory on the Yellow River. The first years were dangerous and difficult, and he made several serious mistakes, but he managed to survive and he learned from experience. In 196 he took control of the young emperor, and in 200 he defeated his chief rival Yuan Shao in hard-fought campaign at Guandu by the Yellow River. Within a few years Cao Cao controlled north China. Besides the Guandu campaign, which may serve as a model for the art of war ascribed to Sunzi, Cao Cao’s two greatest victories were achieved against the Wuhuan people of the northeast in 207 and the north-western warlords in 211; both are dramatic examples of the indirect approach. They are traditionally over-shadowed by his defeat at the Red Cliffs on the middle Yangzi, an engagement which determined the division of China between north and south for centuries to come; but that decision was essentially a matter of demography—for the people of the south were now numerous enough to hold the north at bay. Though Cao Cao thus failed to restore the unified empire, he did rebuild a viable state among its ruins. His civil government, notably through a system of agricultural colonies, gave people displaced by war the opportunity to settle and rebuild their lives, and his capital at Ye city became a cultural centre worthy to compare with the finest of the past. His own poetry was among the first to offer a personal, refreshing style of expression, and his son Cao Zhi is recognised as one of the greatest literary figures of all Chinese history. Cao Cao’s was a career opened by talent: though wealth and family gave an initial advantage, many were better placed yet achieved far

4

introduction

less. Once he gained the opportunity to command, he sought men of ability to serve him, and he several times observed that he was concerned with competence and skill, not with status or morality: I have never heard that a state could be established or restored when its officials were incompetent and its soldiers would not fight. . . . In times of peace we may admire fine virtue, but in time of trouble it is achievement and ability which obtain rewards.2

This was a leader with no particular interest in class or clan, but only with personal quality—and while Cao Cao had many women, he chose a former sing-song girl to become his chief wife. Besides the historical record compiled by others, we have Cao Cao’s poems, a number of proclamations and an autobiographical Apologia. The Apologia is a political document, and the poems were also for public consumption, but they nonetheless present a strong character, self-confident and courageous:3 Each season gives way to another; Days and nights become years. . . . The years may pass, but without regrets, Only concern for the troubles of the world. Life and death have their purpose, And it is foolish to be concerned. Let us voice our ambitions with song As each season gives way to another.

Though a great part of Cao Cao’s story has been confused by the slanders of his enemies and the romantic enthusiasm of later generations, a core of fact remains; indeed there are few people from such a distant past of whom so much can be known. Seeking the history behind the legend, this book offers an interpretation of one of the exceptional men of China—a strategist, a statesman, a reformer and a poet.

2

SGZ 1:24 PC quoting Wei shu, and see Chapter Five at 212 and note 17. On Cao Cao’s Apologia, a proclamation issued on 1 January 211, see Chapter Eight at 356 ff. On his poetry, see Chapter Eight at 349–356. The passage which follows is a stanza from the second of two “Songs of Qiu Hu,” further discussed and translated in Chapter Eight at 352. 3

introduction

5

Some Technical Matters All dates are given as AD unless otherwise specified. While recognising that the Chinese year ends in late January or early February of the West, unless precise dating is required I follow the convention which expresses the Chinese year by its major Western equivalent in the Julian calendar. Renderings of offices and titles follow those used in de Crespigny, A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (Leiden 2006); cited as LH3K. The system is largely based on that devised by Professor H H Dubs and developed by Professor Hans Bielenstein. LH3K also provides a summary biography for most individuals mentioned in the text. Acknowledgements I am most grateful for the advice and support I have received from many different scholars, and in particular the late Professor Liu Ts’unyan of the Australian National University, who for very many years was a constant source of encouragement and advice. I also thank Amanda Brown of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Andrew Chittick of Eckerd College, Jean-Pierre Diény, Feng Suiping of the Hanzhong Municipal Museum, Howard L Goodman, Christoph Harbsmeier of the University of Oslo, Hsing I-tien of Academic Sinica in Taiwan, Huang Yijun of the Central University for Nationalities at Beijing, David Jupp, Michael Loewe of Cambridge, Anne McLaren of Melbourne University, John Minford and John Makeham of ANU, Ilkka Syvänne, and William G Crowell. Other colleagues whom I have consulted with great profit include Robert Joe Cutter, Nicola di Cosmo, Igor de Rachewiltz, Burchard Mansvelt Beck, Michael Nylan and Hans van Ess. I offer special thanks to the staff of the Menzies Library at the Australian National University, particularly Darrell Dorrington and Renata Osborne, for their constant assistance and for their maintenance of a splendid collection. The Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation has made a grant to assist in preparing the manuscript for publication. The original maps were drawn by Winifred Mumford, and the index, with editorial work, has been created by Greg Young. Patricia Radder and her colleagues at Brill have given constant assistance since my initial proposal. Rafe de Crespigny June 2010

6

introduction A Summary Chronology of Cao Cao

155 174 177 178 184 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197–198 198 200 203–206 207 208

211 214 215 216

birth of Cao Cao Cao Cao commences his official career Cao Cao becomes a county magistrate Cao Cao dismissed from office Cao Cao holds military command against the Yellow Turban rebels, then becomes Chancellor of Ji’nan Cao Cao retires from office Cao Cao appointed a colonel of the Western Garden Corps massacre of the eunuchs at Luoyang; Dong Zhuo takes power Cao Cao joins the “loyal rebels” in the east led by Yuan Shao Cao Cao named Administrator of Dong commandery Cao Cao takes over in Yan province; he persuades Yellow Turbans to surrender Cao Cao attacks Xu province Lü Bu invades Yan province Cao Cao drives Lü Bu away Emperor Xian escapes from Chang’an Emperor Xian comes to Xu city under Cao Cao’s control unsuccessful campaigns against Zhang Xiu in Nanyang Cao Cao captures and kills Lü Bu at Xiapi Yuan Shao attacks Cao Cao but is defeated at Guandu Cao Cao takes north China from the Yuan family Cao Cao defeats the Wuhuan at White Wolf Mountain Cao Cao named Imperial Chancellor Cao Cao occupies Jing province, but is defeated at the Red Cliffs on the Yangzi by the forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei Cao Cao defeats the warlords of the northwest at the battle of Huayin Liu Bei takes Yi province Zhang Lu surrenders Hanzhong to Cao Cao Cao Cao takes title as King of Wei

introduction 219

220

7

Liu Bei defeats Cao Cao’s general Xiahou Yuan at Dingjun Mountain and takes Hanzhong Liu Bei takes title as King of Hanzhong; Liu Bei’s general Guan Yu attacks northwards in Jing province; he is driven back by Cao Cao’s troops and then destroyed by Sun Quan’s general Lü Meng Cao Cao dies at Luoyang he is succeeded by his son Cao Pi, who later receives the abdication of Emperor Xian of Han and proclaims himself Emperor of the Wei dynasty; Cao Cao is awarded posthumous honours as Emperor Wu of Wei

CHAPTER ONE

GRANDSON OF A EUNUCH 155–189 The problems of Later Han The Cao family and the eunuch connection Young man about town Yellow Turbans Ruin of Government Chronology 155 birth of Cao Cao 174 Cao Cao is nominated Filial and Incorrupt and becomes a gentleman cadet 175 Commandant of the Northern Division of Luoyang county 177 Magistrate of Dunqiu county in Dong commandery Cao Ang born to Cao Cao’s wife the Lady Liu 178 Cao Cao dismissed from office and retires to Pei 179 Cao Cao takes the Lady Bian as a concubine 180 Cao Cao returns to Luoyang as a Consultant 184 Yellow Turban rebellion; Cao Cao becomes Commandant of Cavalry, then Chancellor of Ji’nan; rebellion in Liang province 187 Cao Cao resigns office and retires again to Pei [conspiracy of Wang Fen?]; birth of Cao Pi, Cao Cao’s eldest son by the Lady Bian 188 Cao Cao appointed a Colonel of the Western Garden 189 death of Emperor Ling; massacre of the eunuchs; Dong Zhuo seizes power; Cao Cao flees the capital to join the “loyal rebels” The problems of Later Han1 In the mid-second century AD, the empire of Han was matched only by that of Rome, at the opposite end of the Eurasian continent. Its 1 Much material on the second half of the second century AD is discussed in deC, Huan and Ling, and deC, Establish Peace, which present an annotated translation

10

chapter one

power extended from the Korean peninsula to the coast of Vietnam, and there was a claim to authority over the oasis states of present-day Xinjiang. Except for these last, the territory was controlled by thirteen provinces supervising the administration of a hundred commandery units. Below the commanderies were some 1100 counties, and the registered population was just under fifty million. Provinces, commanderies and counties were governed by inspectors, administrators and magistrates appointed from the capital, Luoyang, and the empire as a whole was managed by a bureaucracy of some seven and a half thousand commissioned, literate officials.2 The structure was remarkably successful, but its effect was limited. The average population of each county throughout the empire was between forty-five and fifty thousand, with some very much larger, and each was governed by a single magistrate, appointed for a limited term, and guided by local staff. Taxes were collected, corvée service was enforced, and most major crimes could be dealt with—frequently by brutal means—but otherwise the day-to-day life of the community was largely unaffected by official intervention, and magistrates were vulnerable to pressure, particularly from the leading families of their territory whose members were either colleagues in the imperial service or who provided the officers who advised and assisted them. As a result, behind a façade of country peace, there was endemic exploitation of the poor by the rich, punctuated by oppressive violence and family feuding, and illustrated now by the tomb-models of fortified houses and texts advising land-owners about weapons and training.3

of the Zizhi tongjian chronicle compiled by Sima Guang for the years 157 to 220. A short account of Later Han is provided in the introductory material of deC, LH3K, xvi–xxxi. 2 The Treatise on the Bureaucracy 百官志, HHS 114/24–118/28, is discussed by Mansvelt Beck, Treatises, 196–226. Bielenstein, Bureaucracy, and deC, LH3K, 1216– 1241, describe the administrative structure based upon the Treatise and other texts. Below the commissioned officials were a further 145,000 officers of lesser rank, ranging from senior and trusted clerks to guards, police and yamen runners: deC, “Recruitment Revisited,” 5, citing Tong dian 36:205c. The Treatise on Administrative Geography 郡國志, HHS 109/19–113/23, lists the provinces, commandery units and counties of the empire in the early 140s, with their population. Based upon household returns, they are arranged by provinces and commanderies with figures precise to the last digit, and total figures are given at 113/23:3533 with commentary citing additional records. See Bielenstein, “Census,” and Mansvelt Beck, Treatises, 175–195. 3 The Simin yueling almanac, a guide for the management of a country estate compiled in the mid-second century by the gentleman Cui Shi, identifies the times

grandson of a eunuch 155–189

11

These matters, however, were of no great concern to the imperial regime. If disorder or banditry became too great, troops could be raised to deal with the problem, and if the situation became more serious then larger forces were sent. The threat was normally sufficient to restrain the magnates from abusing their power too greatly, while the vast majority of peasants, bound to their farms by tenancy and tax, could only accept the dominance of their local masters and the distant authority of the emperor. Such a system of government generally kept the people settled and controlled, but it was not well equipped to deal with major changes, and by the early 150s the empire of Han was faced by a number of challenges: weakness on the northern frontier; shortage of government revenue; a series of immature rulers; and a concomitant growth of alternative sources of power at the capital, notably the eunuchs of the palace and the great families which were connected to the throne by marriage. In the late 40s AD the founding Emperor Guangwu of Later Han had been fortunate enough to benefit from a succession quarrel among the Xiongnu, dominant tribespeople of the steppe. The weaker of the claimants, Prince Bi, was driven to take refuge with the Han, who recognised him as Shanyu. He was granted access to land in the Ordos and maintained a court there under Chinese supervision, while his forces served as auxiliaries against the Northern Xiongnu state which controlled the steppe from the region of Ulan Bator in present-day Mongolia. Some forty years of occasional rapprochement and frequent raiding followed, but in 89 a great expedition led by the general Dou Xian, brother of the Empress-Dowager who was regent for Emperor He, drove the Northern Shanyu away to the west and established a notional hegemony over the steppe. Aided by this, the Protector Ban Chao restored Chinese authority over the Western Regions, the Tarim Basin and Turfan.4

of the year for maintenance and exercise of weapons: Hsü, Han Agriculture, 215–228. And tomb models of the Han period include many examples of fortified houses, some with armed men inside. 4 On the dealings of Han with the Xiongnu during the first century AD, see deC, Northern Frontier, 219–283. On the achievement of Ban Chao, see deC, “Some Notes on the Western Regions,” 12–16 and 23–24.

12

chapter one

Success was short-lived, however, for the Chinese could not maintain control of such distant territories, while the puppet state of the Southern Xiongnu was split by tension between old loyalists and their newly-surrendered enemies. Most of the former subjects of the North turned to the Xianbi, a loose confederation of tribes which was pressing in from the east, and within a few years the comparatively stable state of the Northern Shanyu had been replaced by these erratic and warlike newcomers. The frontier was now less secure than it had been before. In 107, moreover, the Qiang people of the northwest turned on their Chinese neighbours in Liang province. The turmoil which followed was not ended until 118, and the devastation which accompanied it not only ruined the economy of the region but drove great numbers of settlers to seek safety elsewhere. There were attempts at resettlement, but they were frustrated by further rebellion and raiding, and a second Qiang rising in 140, this time joined by dissident Xiongnu, compelled the government to withdraw the headquarters of several commanderies to places of greater security. Though administrative boundaries were formally retained within the Ordos loop of the Yellow River, the territory was largely beyond the control of any civilian regime. Chinese presence was maintained by military means, with a standing army in Wuyuan and occasional preventive or punitive exercises to keep the tribespeople under control.5 By the 170s, however, as the Xianbi warleader Tanshihuai established a broad dominance among his people, frontier raiding became increasingly severe, and in 177 a major Chinese expedition, with Xiongnu auxiliaries, was destroyed on the open steppe. The Southern Shanyu lost all authority over his people, and Han was forced permanently onto the defensive.6 Fortunately for China, Tanshihuai died in the early 180s, and his successors were less dangerous, but the frontier was thoroughly unstable, and frequent incursions had to be dealt with—not always successfully—by conscripted troops with the aid of local militia.

5 On the command of the General on the Liao stationed at Wuyuan near presentday Baotou, see deC, Northern Frontier, 252–253, and on the campaigns of the generals Huangfu Gui, Zhang Huan and Duan Jiong during the 160s and early 170s, Northern Frontier, 318–329. 6 On Tanshihuai, the campaign of 177 and its aftermath, see Northern Frontier, 331–342.

grandson of a eunuch 155–189

13

This history of confusion and retreat had two major effects. Firstly, the Chinese population, bedevilled by rebellion and raiding, and faced with erratic government policy and constant demands for military service, steadily migrated to the south. The registered population of the northern commanderies fell from 4.5 million in 2 AD to some 750,000 in the mid-second century, too few to maintain an effective presence against the non-Chinese; while the lands south of the Qin Ling ranges and the middle and lower Yangzi gained very considerably—a development which would prove significant for the future unity of the empire.7 More immediately, the devastation of the north and northwest brought a serious reduction in tax revenue. Throughout the dynasty there had been problems making a proper survey of arable land, while increasing numbers of peasant farmers commended themselves as clients or tenants to great families in order to avoid government demands, and monopoly rights of salt and iron established by Former Han were farmed out to private interests. As a result, though the empire as a whole was prosperous, the imperial regime was unable to obtain an adequate share of its resources. For most of the first century AD, income was largely sufficient, but the great expedition of Dou Xian against the Xiongnu was more than the government could afford, and within a few years the Dowager Deng, regent for Emperor An, had introduced economy measures, reducing ceremonies and offices and selling official positions. The situation was rendered very much worse by the continuing trouble on the frontier. Not only was the court faced with heavy military expenditure, but the loss of tax from the devastated territories meant that the shortfall had to be sought elsewhere, notably from the settled and prosperous provinces of the North China plain. The government, however, lacked the machinery to enforce its requirements against entrenched local interests, and the very attempt to do so brought resentment and disruption. The great land-owning families, successfully defending themselves against the demands of the state, became increasingly wealthy and powerful, while for most of the second century the Later Han government was effectively bankrupt, unable to

7 On the withdrawal from the north, see deC, Northern Frontier, 143–146 and 243– 246, with Tables 1 and 2 and Map 9 at 310. On the increase in the south, see deC, Generals of the South, 25–29 and 47–52, and Chapter Ten at 453–455.

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offer meaningful assistance in time of famine or other misfortune, and suffering in consequence from a lack of authority and respect. The financial problems of the regime were compounded by the political situation at the court and the capital. When Emperor Zhang died in 88 AD, his son and heir Emperor He was just ten sui, nine years old by Western reckoning, and the Empress-Dowager Dou held the regency. From that time on, for the next hundred years every emperor came to the throne as a minor, and every reign began with a regency controlled by a dowager empress and her family. None of these arrangements ended well: the Dou clan was destroyed by Emperor He in 91; the Dowager Deng held power until her death in 120, but Emperor An then took his revenge upon her kinsmen; in 125 the regency of the Lady Yan was ended by a eunuch coup on behalf of Emperor Shun; and though the Liang clan of the consort of Emperor Shun managed to hold power for almost twenty years, they were eventually overthrown by Emperor Huan, aided by eunuchs of the imperial palace. This last coup took place in 159, four years after Cao Cao’s birth.8 The power of the imperial relatives by marriage was largely accepted by the officials of the bureaucracy, and by the Confucianist gentry which provided the greater part of their number. Most empresses and senior concubines were chosen for their family background, and the Dou, Deng and Liang clans had been respected for generations. Emperor Huan might have objected to his own weak position, but the majority of gentlemen who served the regime were content to give allegiance to the regency: when the emperor at last seized power, so many officials were proscribed for their collusion that it is said the court was empty. On two occasions eunuchs had played a decisive role in restoring the authority of their sovereign, and Emperor Huan in particular, unable to obtain effective support from the regular officials, was obliged to seek their aid in a secret plot. Following that success, these allies and favourites of Emperor Huan gained increasing influence at court, and in 168, when the death of their patron allowed another generation of the Dou clan to acquire the regency, they attacked directly. Persuad-

8 The fall of the Liang clan is described by HHS 34/24:1186–87 and 78/68:2520, summarised by ZZTJ 54:1745–46; deC, Huan and Ling, 11–13, and Bielenstein, Loyang, 91–95.

grandson of a eunuch 155–189

15

ing the young Emperor Ling to endorse their actions, the eunuchs arranged the dismissal of Dou Wu, head of the family. Dou Wu and his allies sought to gather troops, but after a brief confrontation they were arrested and executed, and for the next twenty years the eunuchs held a dominant role in government.9 To a true Confucian, eunuchs were unacceptable: mutilated creatures incapable of maintaining a true lineage, they were inherently vicious and corrupt. Dou Wu and his party, moreover, had been patrons of a reform movement which sought to purify the administration and restore good conduct throughout the empire; their defeat was all the more bitter. There were wide-spread protests, answered by the persecution and proscription of those who opposed the regime, and many men now rejected the idea of public service, refused nomination and appointment, and were honoured for doing so. The division between the court and the gentry was maintained until both groups were faced by a greater threat: the Yellow Turban rebellion of 184. The problem, however, reached further than the struggle for power at the capital. Leading eunuchs had received marks of imperial favour in the past, and Zheng Zhong, who had supported Emperor He against the Dou family in the early 90s, was awarded a marquisate. His adopted son was permitted to inherit the fief, and in 135 Emperor Shun formally endorsed the practice.10 Following this precedent, other eunuchs were enfeoffed, and their original and adoptive kinfolk shared their good fortune. Relatives and associates of high-ranking eunuchs now began to develop estates in the provinces, and used the backing of the court to extend their privileges. They were often opposed by the established families and local officials,11 but many acquired great stretches of land and vast amounts of property, so that their wealth rivalled that of the greatest in the empire and their status matched their neighbours.

9 The destruction of the Dou clan is described by HHS 66/56: 2169–70 and 69/59:2241–44, summarised by ZZTJ 54:1808–11; deC, Huan and Ling, 95–101, and Bielenstein, Lo-yang, 95–98. 10 On Zheng Zhong, see HHS 78/68:2512–13; Ch’ü, Han Social Structure, 463–464. On Emperor Shun’s edict, see HHS 6:264 and 78/68:2518. 11 For examples of local opposition to eunuchs and their associates, see deC, “Political Protest,” 8–9, citing HHS 78/68:2522–23 and 67/57:2210 and 2212; also the accounts of Hou Lan, Teng Yan and Zhang Jian in deC, LH3K, sub voce.

16

chapter one The eunuch connection12

Cao Cao’s father Song was the adopted son of Cao Teng, a high-ranking eunuch at the imperial court who came originally from Qiao county in the kingdom of Pei, on the North China plain by present-day Boxian in northern Anhui.13 The family held property in their home country, but Cao Song had already embarked upon an official career, largely at the capital, Luoyang; though we know that Cao Cao was born in 155 AD, it is not certain whether it was at Luoyang or at Qiao.14 The Annals/Biography of Cao Cao in Sanguo zhi says that Cao Teng was descended from the Chancellor Cao Shen, adviser to the founding Emperor Gao of Former Han more than three hundred years before.15 The same claim was made by other holders of the surname throughout China, and the lineage was traced to the fief awarded to a brother of the legendary King Wu of Zhou; by this means one could go still further back, to the ancient Sovereign Shun or the mythical Yellow Emperor, and such ideal genealogy was popular at the time.16 Though it would be irrelevant to a son or daughter adopted from an unrelated

12 The Annals/Biography of Cao Cao occupies the first chapter of Sanguo zhi, and much of the information about his life is taken from that text and the supporting commentary of Pei Songzhi. In 210, however, Cao Cao himself published an Apologia, with an account of his career which differs in some places from those histories. Where appropriate, these variants are noted and discussed. Other sources, such as biographies in Hou Han shu and Sanguo zhi, may likewise be identified and compared. 13 The biography of Cao Teng is at HHS 78/68:2519, followed by that of his adopted son Cao Song. The family history is also discussed at the beginning of Cao Cao’s biography, SGZ 1:1–2. Liu Fu, son of Emperor Guangwu by his first empress, was named King of Pei in 44, and his descendants held the title until the end of the dynasty in 220. Under Later Han, the difference between a commandery and a kingdom was essentially one of form: a kingdom was headed by a Chancellor and a commandery by an Administrator, but both officials were appointed by the central government, and kings had no executive authority in their nominal territories. 14 Cao Cao died in 220, at the age of 66 sui: SGZ 1:53. It is perhaps notable that there is no record of any portent attending his birth, nor is he said to have had any special physical features. The mothers of Emperor Xian of Han and of Sun Quan, future Emperor of Wu, are said to have dreamt of the sun [HHS 10B:449 and SGZ Wu 5:1195 PC], while Liu Bei, future Sovereign of Shu-Han, is said to have had exceptionally long ears and a remarkable mulberry tree [SGZ Shu 2:871–72]. Though Cao Cao would prove to be a man of comparable and even greater distinction, he received no such marks of supernatural favour. 15 SGZ 1:1; SGZJJ 1:2b–3a. The personal name of Cao Shen 參 has the alternative reading Can; biographies are in SJ 54 and HS 39; Loewe, QHX, 20–22. 16 For example, Ebrey, “Stone Inscriptions,” 340–344, translating a stele preserved at Xi’an which honours the magistrate Cao Quan from the far northwest.

grandson of a eunuch 155–189

17

family, there may in fact have been a connection between Cao Teng and his adopted son Song. Cao Teng’s father, whose personal name was probably Meng,17 appears to have been a farmer. The Xu Han shu of Sima Biao tells how one of his neighbours lost a pig and thought he recognised it among Cao Meng’s herd. An honest and generous man, Cao Meng passed the animal over without demur. When the original pig returned home of its own accord, its owner returned Cao Meng’s property with profuse apologies; Cao Meng laughed and accepted it. Xu Han shu goes on to say that Cao Meng sired four sons, and had Cao Teng, the youngest, castrated so he could enter service in the imperial palace.18 In 120 the Empress-Dowager Deng, who controlled the government of Emperor An, ordered the Prefect of the Yellow Gates, head of the eunuch office, to recommend a suitable boy to attend the emperor’s only son, Liu Bao. Cao Teng was chosen and became study companion to the Heir. Liu Bao was five years old by Western reckoning at that time, and Cao Teng may have been five or even ten years older. He remained close to the future Emperor Shun, and though he played no major role in the events of his reign he rose to be a Regular Attendant, highest rank that a eunuch could aspire to, and comparable to a minister in the imperial bureaucracy. When Emperor Shun died in 144, the government came into the hands of his widowed Empress Liang, now regent Dowager, and her brother Liang Ji. The emperor’s only son died in infancy a few months after his father’s death, and in such circumstances the Dowager had

17 Xu Han shu is quoted by SGZ 1:1–2 PC with the personal name as Jie, but the variorum edition of Qijia Hou Han shu, at XHS 5:11b, cites one version of the text which gives it as Meng. The Empress Cao of Emperor Xian, an adoptive great-greatgranddaughter of this man, had the personal name Jie, and this would appear to offend the principle which placed taboo on the name of an ancestor. The reading Meng may therefore be correct. 18 HHS 78/68:2510, cited by Jugel, Eunuchen, 47, refers to “voluntary” castration at the behest of the parents—probably before puberty—with a view to a career in a rather special civil service. During the second half of the first century AD, castration was used in some cases as a substitute for the death penalty—women were subject to solitary confinement: Jugel, Eunuchen, 62–63. Castration, however, was not regarded as one of the regular mutilating punishments, and the provision was repealed by the regent Dowager Deng about 120, on the advice of the Minister of Justice Chen Zhong: e.g. HHS 1:80 and 46/36:1556. Cao Teng suffered the operation about this time, but there is no suggestion that it was administered on criminal grounds; indeed there is no record of any palace eunuch having suffered his castration as penalty for a crime.

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absolute right to choose any male of the imperial clan for the succession.19 The Dowager and her brother selected the seven-year-old Liu Zuan, but after he showed signs of resenting their control he became ill and died. Several ministers now argued that a mature man be given power, but Cao Teng encouraged Liang Ji and his sister to maintain their prerogatives. The fourteen-year-old Liu Zhi, future Emperor Huan, was duly placed upon the throne, and Cao Teng was rewarded with enfeoffment as Marquis of Bi Village.20 More generally, it was said that he served for thirty years without making a mistake, and he was admired for the manner in which he sponsored men of quality for office. As a consequence of Cao Teng’s success and influence, several full men among his kinfolk reached high rank in the imperial service, and a group of family tombs near Boxian, excavated in the mid-1970s, contained impressive grave goods and inscriptions referring to Administrators of commanderies and Chancellors of kingdoms, senior positions in the provincial administration; the eulogistic text of an inscription to Cao Teng himself, set up in 160, has been preserved separately.21

19 The tradition had been established in Former Han, and the precedent was confirmed by the Dowager Deng of Emperor He in 106, who chose the younger son of her late husband. When that child died a few months later, she again passed over his elder brother and brought a cousin, Emperor An, to the throne: HHS 5:195–203, 10A:421–23, and LH3K, 1216–17. 20 In present-day Mandarin the character of the name of the village 費 can be sounded either Bi or Fei. It is not possible to identify the place, but it was quite possibly in the area of the Cao family home in Qiao. The holder of a marquisate, however, had no direct authority over his nominal fief, but only the right to a pension based upon the revenue of the territory. 21 The tomb complex is mentioned in SJZ 23:743, and the excavation is described in Wenwu 1978/8:32–45, discussed by Tian Changwu at 46–50. The inscription to Cao Teng is quoted in Li shi 15:3a-4b, and this and other stele are described at 20:14b15a. Besides the grave goods, the tombs also contained fragments of “jade armour” shrouds, a privilege awarded by the emperor. Some of the brick inscriptions are statements of mourning or commemoration, but there are a few with informal and presumably concealed comments by those working on the construction of the tomb; see note 75 below. Powers, Art and Political Expression, 330–333, discusses the complex and its dating to the time of Emperor Ling [though he mistakenly ascribes Cao Teng’s inscription to 170 rather than 160]. Noting that the tombs had been robbed, and considering the fine goods which were left, he fairly concludes at 331 that the original deposits must have been of remarkable quality: “Presumably, the grave robbers considered all these [remaining items] to be of too little value to take along!” Powers further identifies the “decorative” style of the tombs with the attitude of nouveau riche eunuchs, whose sophisticated taste presented a “challenge and an assertion” to the classical rhetoric of the scholar gentry: 371–377, particularly 375–376.

grandson of a eunuch 155–189

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Much of the information from the tomb complex is fragmentary, but the Cao appear to have been somewhat more than ordinary peasants. They were connected by marriage to the Xiahou, a leading clan in the county, and though eunuchs may have been generally disapproved of, once the change had been made there was advantage to a reasonable background. It is probable that Cao Teng owed his initial contact to Emperor Shun because he was well spoken and had some education. His family may have been in straits, but they had pretensions to gentility, and the inscriptions make proud references to literary and scholarly ability.22 The chief purpose of adoption was to provide for ancestral sacrifices where male heirs were lacking:23 thus Cao Cao’s future rival Yuan Shao was adopted by his father’s elder brother, who had no son to succeed him.24 Conservative commentators such as Ying Shao regarded such adoption within the male lineage as the only proper and effective procedure, but there is evidence that in Han times “outside” adoption was acceptable, to salvage a related family which lacked a male heir,25 and eunuchs used the process for similar reasons.26 The adoption of Cao 22 On references to literature and scholarship, see Wenwu 1978/8:48, and on the connection to the Xiahou clan indicated by inscriptions, see Tian Changwu at 48 and 49. The Xiahou claimed descent from Xiahou Ying, a senior minister at the beginning of Former Han: SGZ 9:267; Loewe, QHX, 596–597. 23 The general topic is considered by Brown and deC, “Adoption in Han China.” 24 See HHS 74/64A:2373 TC quoting the Hou Han shu of Yuan Shansong, and SGZ 6:188–89 PC note 2. Both sources indicate that Yuan Shao was the natural son of Yuan Feng by a concubine, adopted across to maintain the lineage of Yuan Feng’s elder brother Cheng. Such a system had been endorsed by the Former Han conference in the Shiqu Pavilion [or Hall of the Stone Conduit/Canal] in 51 BC: e.g. Tjan, White Tiger Hall I, 130. Biographies of Yuan Shao are in HHS 74/64A and at SGZ 6:188–201; those of his half-brother and adoptive cousin Yuan Shu are at HHS 75/65:2438–43 and SGZ 6:207–10. 25 Thus Sun He of Wu was adopted into the Yu family of his aunt to revive a male lineage [SGZ Wu 6:1214], Zhu Zhi of Danyang adopted a son of his sister [SGZ Wu 11:1305] and Chen Jiao was born into the Liu surname but was adopted out [SGZ 22:644 PC quoting the Weishi chunqiu “Chronicle of the House of Wei” by Sun Sheng of the fourth century]. On this last, see note 32 below. On Ying Shao’s opinion, see the Yiwen 佚文 chapter of his Fengsu tongyi 風俗 通義 “A Compendium of Popular Customs” at 591, debated by Brown and deC, “Adoption,” 229–231. 26 HHS 78/68:2521 tells how the eunuch favourites of Emperor Huan took women of good family as titular concubines, and adopted children of different surnames 異姓 and even slaves to maintain their lineages and inherit their fiefs. There are also a number of references to adoptive daughters, who were obviously supernumerary. Such extravagance, however, is recorded under Huan and Ling, and may be exaggerated by the historian. Earlier eunuchs such as Cao Teng were probably more conservative.

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Song was not unusual, and in due course he succeeded to Cao Teng’s marquisate. The historian Chen Shou claimed that no-one knew the natural origins of Cao Song, and there has been extensive debate on the matter, particularly about his connection to the Xiahou. The anonymous Cao Man zhuan “Biography of Cao Man” and Wei-Jin shiyu “Tales of the Generations of Wei and Jin” by Guo Ban both claim that Cao Song was a younger brother of the father of Xiahou Dun, which latter became a trusted associate of Cao Cao.27 Many other Xiahou came later to join Cao Cao, and despite Chen Shou’s doubts, Chapter 9 of his Sanguo zhi combines biographies of members of both families. The recently excavated tombs of the Cao family, moreover, have inscriptions which confirm the relationship, and Table 1 presents a summary of the likely connections between the families.28

27 SGZ 1:2 PC note 3. We are told that Cao Man zhuan “The Biography of Cao Man” was compiled, probably in the mid-third century, by a subject of Wu, rival to the state of Wei founded by Cao Cao. In a previous citation, Cao Man zhuan says that Cao Cao had the secondary personal name of Jili and a childhood name of A’man, and it is generally accepted that the title of the book was chosen as a means to denigrate him by a show of familiarity. As Kroll, “Portraits,” points out at 124 and 203 note 23, the character man indicates deception and cheating. “A’man” could have been an affectionate term, “Little Trickster,” for a small boy, but the book itself, dealing with the career of the grown man, may be understood, less favourably, as “The Account of Cao the Deceiver.” See further at 25–26 below. Guo Ban wrote some fifty years later, in the late third and early fourth century. Though he had no such obvious motive as the author of Cao Man zhuan, his work contains a number of anecdotes which reflect badly on Cao Cao: see in particular page 49 below. 28 Though the adoptive lineage through Cao Meng/Jie to Cao Teng and then to Cao Song and Cao Cao is clear enough, and the Xiahou connection is discussed immediately below, it must be recognised that there are several other areas of uncertainty. Little is known of the elder brothers of Cao Teng, though Cao Chi fathered the twins Ren and Chun who became generals under Cao Cao. SGZ 1:1 gives the styles Boxing, Shuxing and Zhongxing, but the personal name of one brother has not been recorded and the order of birth is unknown, so the styles cannot be attributed. Again, though Cao Hong, like Cao Ren and Cao Chun, served Cao Cao with distinction, there is contradiction and confusion whether he was a son or a grandson of the unnamed brother of Cao Teng; i.e. whether he was of the same generation of Cao Song or of Cao Cao. There is further discussion in deC, LH3K, 32–51 sub voce; such questions, of course, are only marginal as regards Cao Song and Cao Cao and their connection to the Xiahou.

grandson of a eunuch 155–189 Table 1

21

A Summary of the Alleged Connections Between the Cao, Xiaohou and Ding Families of Pei Cao Shen/Can [Former Han] unknown generations Cao Meng/Jie ( fl.100 AD)

Cao Bao

Cao Ding

Cao ? personal name unknown

Cao Teng [eunuch] (d.c.160) [ youngest son] ∨ ∨ adopted ∨ ∨