View source for Cao Pi

{{Short description|Cao Wei emperor from 220 to 226}}
{{redirect|Emperor Wen of Wei|the emperor of [[Western Wei]] (Yuan Baoju)|Emperor Wen of Western Wei}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Emperor Wen of Wei<br/>{{normal|{{lang|zh|魏文帝}}}}
| image        = Cao Pi Tang.jpg
| image_size   = 180px
| caption      = A [[Tang dynasty]] painting of Cao Pi and two ministers flanking him, by [[Yan Liben]]
| succession   = [[Emperor of China|Emperor]] of [[Cao Wei|Wei]]
| reign        = 11 December 220{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=555}} – 29 June 226
| successor    = [[Cao Rui]]
| succession1  = [[Kings of the Han dynasty|King]] of Wei (魏王)<br>{{small|(under the [[Han dynasty|Han Empire]])}}
| reign1       = 15 March 220 – 11 December 220
| reign-type1  = Tenure
| predecessor1 = [[Cao Cao]]
| succession2  = [[Chancellor (China)|Imperial Chancellor]] (丞相)<br>{{small|(under the [[Han dynasty|Han Empire]])}}
| reign2       = 15 March 220 – 11 December 220
| reign-type2  = Tenure
| predecessor2 = [[Cao Cao]]
| birth_date   = {{c.}} late 187<ref name="birth year">Cao Pi's biography in ''Sanguozhi'' mentioned that he was born in the winter (10th to 12th month) of the 4th year of the ''Zhongping'' era (184–189) in the reign of [[Emperor Ling of Han]]. (中平四年冬，生于譙。) ''Sanguozhi'', vol. 02. The period corresponds to 19 Nov 187 to 14 Feb 188 in the Julian calendar.</ref>
| birth_place  = [[Bozhou|Qiao County]], [[Pei Commandery|Pei State]], [[Han dynasty|Han Empire]]<ref name="birth year"/>
| death_date   = {{death date and age|226|6|29|187||}}<ref name="death date">Cao Pi's biography in ''Sanguozhi'' mentioned that he died on the ''dingsi'' day of the 5th lunar month in the 7th year of the ''Huangchu'' era (220–226) in his reign. He was 40 years old (by [[East Asian age reckoning]]) at the time of his death. ({{lang|zh|[黃初七年五月]丁巳，帝崩于嘉福殿，時年四十。}}) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 02</ref>
| death_place  = [[Luoyang]], [[Cao Wei|Wei Empire]]
| place of burial = Shouyang Mausoleum (首陽陵), [[Yanshi]], [[Henan]]
| full name    = '''Family name:''' Cao (曹)<br>'''Given name:''' Pi (丕)<br>'''[[Courtesy name]]''': Zihuan (子桓)
| era name     = Huangchu (黄初)
| era dates    = 220–226
| posthumous name = Emperor Wen (文帝)
| temple name  = Gaozu (高祖)
| dynasty      = [[Cao Wei]]
| father       = [[Cao Cao]]
| mother       = [[Empress Dowager Bian|Empress Wuxuan]]
| spouse       = {{plainlist|
*[[Lady Zhen|Empress Wenzhao]]
*[[Guo Nüwang|Empress Wende]]
*Lady Li
*Lady Pan
*Lady Zhu
*Lady Qiu
*Lady Ren
*[[Emperor Xian of Han#Family background|Lady Liu]] (elder)
*[[Emperor Xian of Han#Family background|Lady Liu]] (younger)
*Consort Xu
*Consort Su
*Consort Zhang
*Consort Song
*Consort Yin
*Consort Chai}}
| spouse-type  = Consorts
| issue        = {{plainlist|
*[[Cao Rui]]
*''[[Cao Xie]]''
*[[Cao Rui (Prince of Beihai)|Cao Rui]]
*[[Cao Jian]]
*[[Cao Lin (Prince of Donghai)|Cao Lin]]
*[[Cao Li]]
*[[Cao Yong (Three Kingdoms)|Cao Yong]]
*[[Cao Gong]]
*[[Cao Yan]]
*[[Princess Dongxiang]]}}
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| pic = Cao Pi (Chinese characters).svg
| piccap = "Cao Pi" in Chinese characters
| picupright = 0.375
| c = 曹丕
| p = Cáo Pī
| w = Ts'ao<sup>2</sup> P'i<sup>1</sup>
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|c|ao|2|-|p|i|1}}
| gr = Tsaur Pi
| j = Cou<sup>4</sup> Pei<sup>1</sup>
| y = Tsòuh Pēi
| ci = {{IPAc-yue|c|ou|4|-|p|ei|1}}
| tl = Tsô Phi
| mc = Dzaw Pʰi
}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Cao (Chinese surname)|Cao]]|lang=Chinese}}

'''Cao Pi''' ({{audio|Cao Pi.ogg|pronunciation}}) ({{circa}}late 187<ref name="birth year"/> – 29 June 226<ref name="death date"/>),{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=45}} [[courtesy name]] '''Zihuan''', was the first [[Emperor of China|emperor]] of the state of [[Cao Wei]] in the [[Three Kingdoms]] period of China. He was the second son of [[Cao Cao]], a warlord who lived in the late [[Eastern Han dynasty]], but the eldest son among all the children born to Cao Cao by his concubine (later wife), [[Empress Dowager Bian|Lady Bian]]. According to some historical records, he was often in the presence of court officials in order to gain their support.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} He was mostly in charge of defence{{Clarify|date=January 2010}} at the start of his career. After the defeat of Cao Cao's rival [[Yuan Shao]] at the [[Battle of Guandu]], he took [[Yuan Xi]]'s wife, [[Lady Zhen]], as a concubine, but in 221 Lady Zhen died and [[Guo Nüwang]] became empress.

On 25 November 220,{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=xxxiii}} Cao Pi forced [[Emperor Xian of Han|Emperor Xian]], the last ruler of the Eastern Han dynasty, to abdicate in his favour, after which on 11 December 220{{sfnp|de Crespigny|2007|p=555}} he proclaimed himself emperor and established the state of Cao Wei. Cao Pi continued the wars against the states of [[Shu Han]] and [[Eastern Wu]], founded by his father's rivals [[Liu Bei]] and [[Sun Quan]], respectively, but did not make significant territorial gain in the battles. Unlike his father, Cao Pi concentrated most of his efforts on internal administration rather than on waging wars against his rivals. During his reign, he formally established [[Chen Qun]]'s [[nine-rank system]] as the base for [[civil service]] nomination, which drew many talents into his government. On the other hand, he drastically reduced the power of princes, stripping off their power to oppose him, but at the same time, rendering them unable to assist the emperor if a crisis arose within the state. After Cao Pi's death, his successor [[Cao Rui]] granted him the [[posthumous name]] "Emperor Wen" and the [[temple name]] "Gaozu".

Cao Pi was also an accomplished poet and scholar, just like his father Cao Cao and his younger brother [[Cao Zhi]]. He wrote ''Yan Ge Xing'' ({{lang|zh|燕歌行}}), the first [[Chinese poetry|Chinese poem]] in the style of seven syllables per line ({{lang|zh|七言詩}}). He also wrote over a hundred articles on various subjects.

==Early life and career==
Cao Pi was the eldest son of [[Cao Cao]] and his concubine [[Empress Dowager Bian|Lady Bian]], but he was the second among all of Cao Cao's sons, the eldest being [[Cao Ang]]. At the time of Cao Pi's birth, Cao Cao was a mid-level officer in the imperial guards in the capital [[Luoyang]], with no hint that he would go on to the great campaigns he eventually carried out after the collapse of the imperial government in 190. Cao Pi was recorded as excellent swordsman as he studied martial arts from Shi E, a gentleman of the household from the "Rapid as Tigers" ({{lang|zh|虎賁}}) division of the imperial guards.<ref>[http://the-scholars.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=23447 {{lang|zh|曹丕, 典論}}  Cao Pi, Dianlun; the Gentlemen of the Household Rapid as Tigers [huben zhonglang<nowiki>]</nowiki> were a corps of soldiers who served as the emperor's bodyguards. It is theorised that they were candidates for military appointments, though the phrasing in the ''Dianlun'' gives one the impression that they were a permanent fixture.]</ref> In the period after 190 when Cao Cao was constantly waging war against other rival warlords, it is not known where Cao Pi and Lady Bian were, or what they did. The lone reference to Cao Pi during this period was in 204. After Cao Cao defeated [[Yuan Shang]] then conquered the city of [[Ye (ancient China)|Ye]] and massacred his population. The women of the Yuan household were often raped while Cao Pi took [[Yuan Xi]]'s wife<ref>Yuan Xi would only die in {{circa}}December 207.</ref> [[Lady Zhen]] as his wife.<ref>({{lang|zh|初，曹操攻屠鄴城，袁氏婦子多見侵略，而操子丕私納袁熙妻甄氏。}}) ''Houhanshu'' vol. 70.</ref>

==Succession struggle with Cao Zhi==
The next immediate reference to Cao Pi's activities was in 211, when he was appointed General of the Household for All Purposes ({{lang|zh|五官中郎將}}) and Vice [[Chancellor (China)|Imperial Chancellor]] ({{lang|zh|副丞相}}). This position placed him second to his father, who was then Imperial Chancellor ({{lang|zh|丞相}}) and the ''de facto'' head of government in China. The eldest of all of Cao Cao's sons, [[Cao Ang]], had died early, so Cao Pi was regarded as the eldest among all his father's sons. Besides, Cao Pi's mother had also become Cao Cao's official spouse after Cao Cao's first wife Lady Ding was deposed. Cao Pi thus became the presumptive heir to his father.

However, Cao Pi's status as heir was not immediately made legal, and for years there were lingering doubts on whom Cao Cao intended to make heir. Cao Cao greatly favoured [[Cao Zhi]] (his third son with Lady Bian), who was known for his literary talents. Both Cao Pi and Cao Zhi were talented poets, but Cao Zhi was more highly regarded as a poet and speaker. By 215, the brothers appeared to be in harmony with each other, but each had his own group of supporters and close associates engaging the other side in clandestine rivalry. Initially, Cao Zhi's party appeared to be prevailing, and in 216 they were successful in falsely accusing two officials supporting Cao Pi—[[Cui Yan]] and [[Mao Jie]]. Cui Yan was executed, while Mao Jie was deposed. However, the situation shifted after Cao Cao received advice from his strategist [[Jia Xu]], who concluded that changing the general rules of succession ([[primogeniture]]) would be disruptive—using [[Yuan Shao]] and [[Liu Biao]] as negative examples. Cao Pi was also fostering his image among the people and created the sense that Cao Zhi was wasteful and lacking actual talent in governance. In November or December 217,<ref>10th month of the 22nd year of the ''Jian'an'' era, per Cao Cao's biography in ''Sanguozhi''. The month corresponds to 17 Nov to 15 Dec 217 in the Julian calendar.</ref> Cao Cao, who had received the title of a [[vassal]] king—King of Wei ({{lang|zh|魏王}})—from [[Emperor Xian of Han|Emperor Xian]] (whom he still paid nominal allegiance to), finally declared Cao Pi as his heir apparent ({{lang|zh|世子}}). Cao Pi would remain as such until his father's death in March 220.

==As King of Wei==
Cao Cao died in the spring of 220 in [[Luoyang]]. Even though Cao Pi had been his father's heir apparent for several years, there was initially some confusion as to what would happen next. The apprehension was particularly heightened when, after Cao Cao's death, the [[Qing Province|Qingzhou]] Corps under the general [[Zang Ba]] suddenly deserted, leaving Luoyang and returning home. Besides, Cao Pi's younger brother [[Cao Zhang]] (also born to [[Empress Dowager Bian|Lady Bian]]) had arrived in Luoyang in a hurry, resulting in rumours that he was intending to seize power from his elder brother. Upon hearing these news at Cao Cao's headquarters at [[Ye (ancient China)|Ye]], Cao Pi hastily declared himself the new King of Wei and issued an edict in the name of his mother Queen Dowager Bian, before receiving an official confirmation from [[Emperor Xian of Han|Emperor Xian]], to whom he still nominally paid allegiance. After Cao Pi's self-declaration, neither Cao Zhang nor any other individual took action against him. Cao Pi then ordered his brothers, including Cao Zhang and Cao Zhi, to return to their respective fiefs. With the help of [[Jiang Ji]], the political situation soon stabilised.

==As emperor of Cao Wei==

===Succeeding Emperor Xian===

In the winter of 220, Cao Pi made his move for the imperial throne, strongly suggesting to [[Emperor Xian of Han|Emperor Xian]] that he should yield the throne. Emperor Xian did so, and Cao Pi formally declined three times (a model that would be followed by future usurpers in Chinese history), and then finally accepted on 25 November of that year, establishing the state of [[Cao Wei]]. This event marked the official end of the Han dynasty and the beginning of the [[Three Kingdoms]] period. The dethroned Emperor Xian was granted the title "Duke of Shanyang" ({{lang|zh|山陽公}}). Cao Pi granted posthumous titles of emperors to his grandfather [[Cao Song]] and his father [[Cao Cao]], while his mother Queen Dowager Bian became [[empress dowager]]. He also moved the imperial capital from [[Xuchang]] to [[Luoyang]].

===Military failures against Sun Quan===
{{main|Cao Pi's invasions of Eastern Wu}}
[[File:CaoPiPortrait.jpg|thumb|upright|right|A block print of Cao Pi wearing anachronistic clothing]]

After news of Cao Pi's ascension (and an accompanying false rumour that Cao Pi had executed Emperor Xian) arrived in [[Liu Bei]]'s domain of [[Yi Province]] (covering present-day [[Sichuan]] and [[Chongqing]]), Liu Bei also declared himself emperor in May 221, establishing the state of [[Shu Han]]. [[Sun Quan]], who controlled the vast majority of southeastern and southern China, did not take any affirmative steps one way or another, leaving his options open.

An armed conflict between Liu Bei and Sun Quan quickly materialised, because in late 219 Sun Quan had sent his general [[Lü Meng]] to [[Lü Meng's invasion of Jing Province|invade]] [[Jing Province]] and seize the territories from Liu Bei, which resulted in the death of Liu's general [[Guan Yu]]. To avoid having to fight on two fronts, Sun Quan formally paid allegiance to Cao Pi, expressing his willingness to become a [[vassal]] under Wei. Cao Pi's strategist [[Liu Ye (Three Kingdoms)|Liu Ye]] suggested rejecting this offer and instead attacking Sun Quan on a second front. This would effectively partition Sun Quan's domain with Shu, and would eventually allow Cao Pi to destroy Shu as well. Cao Pi declined this suggestion, in a fateful choice that most historians believe doomed his empire to ruling only northern and central China; such an opportunity would not come again. Indeed, against Liu Ye's advice, Cao Pi granted Sun Quan the title "King of Wu" ({{lang|zh|吳王}}) and the [[nine bestowments]].

Sun Quan's submission did not last long. After Sun Quan's forces, under the command of [[Lu Xun (Three Kingdoms)|Lu Xun]], defeated Shu forces at the [[Battle of Xiaoting]] in 222, Sun Quan began to distance himself from Wei. When Cao Pi demanded that Sun Quan send his heir apparent, [[Sun Deng (Eastern Wu)|Sun Deng]], to Luoyang as a hostage, Sun Quan refused and formally broke ties with Wei. Cao Pi personally led an expedition against Sun Quan, and in response, Sun Quan declared independence from Wei, establishing the state of [[Eastern Wu]] (but he continued ruling as "King of Wu" and did not declare himself emperor until 229). By this time, having defeated Shu, the Wu forces enjoyed high morale and effective leadership from Sun Quan, Lu Xun and a number of other capable generals. Cao Pi's forces were not able to make significant advances against them despite several large-scale attacks in the next few years. The division of the former Han Empire into three states has become firmly established, particularly after Liu Bei's death in 223. The Shu [[Chancellor (China)|chancellor]] [[Zhuge Liang]], serving as regent for Liu Bei's son and successor [[Liu Shan]], re-established the alliance with Wu, resulting in Wei having to defend itself on two fronts and unable to conquer either. Exasperated, Cao Pi made a famous comment in 225 that "Heaven created the Yangtze River to divide the north and the south."<ref>{{cite web |last=de Crespigny |first=Rafe |author-link=Rafe de Crespigny |title=Online Publications |url=http://www.anu.edu.au/asianstudies/decrespigny/gos_ch7.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608020555/http://www.anu.edu.au/asianstudies/decrespigny/gos_ch7.pdf |archive-date=8 June 2011 |access-date=2 January 2015 |work=Asian Studies |quote="Alas. It is truly the will of Heaven which divides the south from the north." And he gave the order to withdraw.}}</ref>

===Domestic matters===
Cao Pi was generally viewed as a competent, but unspectacular, administrator of his empire. He commissioned a number of capable officials to be in charge of various affairs of the empire, employing his father's general guidelines of valuing abilities over heritage. However, he was not open to criticism, and officials who dared to criticise him were often demoted and, on rare occasions, put to death.

====Treatment of princes====
Since Cao Pi was still fearful and resentful of [[Cao Zhi]], he soon had the latter's fief reduced in size and had a number of his associates executed. [[Ding Yi (Han dynasty)|Ding Yi]], who was chief among Cao Zhi's strategists, had his whole clan exterminated as a result of assisting the latter in the past. In summary, under regulations established by Cao Pi, not only were the Wei princes (unlike princes of the Han dynasty) distanced from central politics, they also had minimal authority even in their own principalities and were restricted in many ways, particularly in the use of military force.

====Treatment of officials====
Cao Pi was recorded to frequently ridicule his subordinates. For example, [[Yu Jin]] was captured by Liu Bei's general [[Guan Yu]] at the [[Battle of Fancheng]] in 219, and was later taken back to Wu and detained there after the [[Lü Meng's invasion of Jing Province|Wu invasion of Jing Province]]. Yu Jin was allowed to return to Wei after Wu briefly became a vassal state under Wei in 221. Cao Pi reinstated Yu Jin as General Who Pacifies the Borders ({{lang|zh|安遠將軍}}) and announced that he would send Yu Jin back to Eastern Wu—where he had been imprisoned—as an envoy. However, before Yu Jin's departure, he was instructed to travel to [[Ye (ancient China)|Ye]] to pay his respects at Cao Cao's tomb. When Yu Jin arrived, he found that the emperor had commissioned artists to paint, in his father's tomb, scenes of the Battle of Fancheng. These scenes showed Yu Jin begging for his life to be spared and succumbing to the victorious Guan Yu, while his subordinate [[Pang De]] was shown dying an honourable death by resisting the invading forces to his last breath. Upon seeing the vivid mural, Yu Jin was so filled with regret and shame that he fell ill and soon died. Cao Pi further gave the deceased Yu Jin a negative-sounding [[posthumous title]], "Marquis Li" ({{lang|zh|厲侯}}), for people to remember the latter as the "stony marquis (or vicious marquis)".<ref>({{lang|zh|暴慢無親曰厲。殺戮無辜曰厲。}}) There are two possibilities for someone to be given a posthumous title as "Li":  Being Cold-blooded and arrogant, or having innocent people slaughtered. See '''''[http://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E9%80%B8%E5%91%A8%E6%9B%B8 Lost book of Zhou]. Rules on assigning a posthumous name'''''.  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615044944/http://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E9%80%B8%E5%91%A8%E6%9B%B8 |date=June 15, 2011 }}</ref> Wang Zhong, a general who followed Cao Cao for many years, was also a subject of ridicule by Cao Pi.

===Succession issues and death===
An immediate issue after Cao Pi became emperor in 220 was who the empress would be. [[Lady Zhen]] was his wife. Cao Pi summoned Lady Zhen to Luoyang, but Lady Zhen refused because of her poor health. In August 221, Lady Zhen died and the position of empress went to Guo Nüwang.<ref>This account was found in ''Wei Shu'' (Book of Wei) and was not included in the original ''Sanguozhi''. Pei Songzhi added this annotation to Lady Zhen's biography in ''Sanguozhi'' and went on to speculate that there were hidden reasons as to why Cao Pi did not make Lady Zhen his empress and killed her later on. Pei also wrote of his skepticism of the truthfulness of the anecdotes between Ladies Bian and Zhen, and approved of Chen Shou not including them when he compiled the original ''Sanguozhi''. ({{lang|zh|臣松之以为春秋之义，内大恶讳，小恶不书。文帝之不立甄氏，及加杀害，事有明审。魏史若以为大恶邪，则宜隐而不言，若谓为小恶邪，则不应假为之辞，而崇饰虚文乃至于是，异乎所闻于旧史。推此而言，其称卞、甄诸后言行之善，皆难以实论。陈氏删落，良有以也。}}) Pei Songzhi's annotation in ''Sanguozhi'', vol.5</ref>

Guo Nüwang did not bear Cao Pi any children. Cao Rui was the eldest of Cao Pi's sons, but because of his mother's death, he was not instated as the crown prince. Instead, Cao Rui was appointed "Prince of Pingyuan" after his father's ascension to the throne. Cao Pi did not appear to have seriously considered any other son as heir. (It might have been because the other sons were all significantly younger, although their ages were not recorded in history.) In the summer of 226, when Cao Pi was seriously ill, he finally named Cao Rui as his crown prince. On his deathbed, he entrusted Cao Rui to the care of [[Cao Zhen]], [[Chen Qun]] and [[Sima Yi]]. Following his father's death, Cao Rui ascended the throne at the age of 21.

==Consorts and issue==
* [[Lady Zhen|Empress Wenzhao]], of the Zhen clan ({{lang|zh|文昭皇后 甄氏}}; 183–221)
** [[Cao Rui]], Emperor Ming ({{lang|zh|明皇帝 曹叡}}; 204–239), 1st son
** [[Princess Dongxiang]] ({{lang|zh|東鄉公主 }}), 1st daughter
* [[Guo Nüwang|Empress Wende]], of the Guo clan ({{lang|zh|文德皇后 郭氏}}; 184–235)
* ''Furen'', of the Ren clan ({{lang|zh|夫人任氏}})
* ''Guiren'', of the Li clan ({{lang|zh|貴人 李氏}})
** ''[[Cao Xie]], Prince Ai of Zan'' ({{lang|zh|贊哀王 曹協}}, d. 235)
* ''Shuyuan'', of the Pan clan ({{lang|zh|淑媛 潘氏}})
** [[Cao Rui (Prince of Beihai)|Cao Rui]], Prince Wen'an ({{lang|zh|文安王 曹蕤}}; d. 233), 3rd son
* ''Shuyuan'', of the Zhu clan ({{lang|zh|淑媛 朱氏}})
** [[Cao Jian]], Prince Huai of Dongwuyang ({{lang|zh|東武陽懷王 曹鑑}}; d. 225/226)
* ''Zhaoyi'', of the Qiu clan ({{lang|zh|昭儀 仇氏}})
** [[Cao Lin (Prince of Donghai)|Cao Lin]], Prince Ding of Donghai ({{lang|zh|東海定王 曹霖}}; d. 251)
* Lady, of the Xu clan ({{lang|zh|徐氏}})
** [[Cao Li]], Prince Liang ({{lang|zh|梁王 曹禮}}; 208–229)
* Lady, of the Su clan ({{lang|zh|蘇氏}})
** [[Cao Yong (Three Kingdoms)|Cao Yong]], Prince Luyang ({{lang|zh|魯陽王 曹邕}}; died 229)
* Lady, of the Zhang clan ({{lang|zh|張氏}})
** [[Cao Gong]], Prince Dao of Qinghe ({{lang|zh|清河悼王 曹貢}}; d. 223)
* Lady, of the Song clan ({{lang|zh|宋氏}})
** [[Cao Yan]], Prince Ai of Guangping ({{lang|zh|廣平哀王 曹儼}}; d. 223)
*Lady, of the Xue clan ({{lang|zh|薛氏}}), personal name Lingyuan ({{lang|zh|灵芸}})
*Lady, of the Chen clan ({{lang|zh|陈氏}}), personal name Shangyi ({{lang|zh|尚衣}})
*Lady, of the Li clan ({{lang|zh|李氏}})<ref name="ReferenceA">daughter of [[Emperor Xian of Han]]</ref>
*Lady, of the Duan clan ({{lang|zh|段氏}}), personal name Qiaoxiao ({{lang|zh|巧笑}})
*Lady, of the Li clan ({{lang|zh|李氏}})<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
* Unknown
** ''Cao Jie'' ({{lang|zh|曹喈}}), 2nd son

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel | align = center
| boxstyle_1 = background-color: #fcc;
| boxstyle_2 = background-color: #fb9;
| boxstyle_3 = background-color: #ffc;
| boxstyle_4 = background-color: #bfc;
| boxstyle_5 = background-color: #9fe;
| 1 = Cao Pi (187–226)
| 2 = [[Cao Cao]] (155–220)
| 3 = [[Empress Dowager Bian|Empress Wuxuan]] (161–230)
| 4 = [[Cao Song]] (d. 193)
| 5 = Lady Ding
| 6 = Bian Yuan
| 12 = Bian Guang
| 13 = Lady Zhou
}}
Sources:<ref>''Sanguozhi vol''.2.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=de Crespigny |first=Rafe |author-link=Rafe de Crespigny |title=Imperial Warlord: A biography of Cao Cao 155-220 AD |date=18 August 2010 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004188303 |location=Leiden |page=25 |language=en}}</ref><ref>''Sanguozhi'' vol.5.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Cutter |first=Robert Joe |url= |title=Empresses and Consorts: Selections from Chen Shou's Records of the Three States With Pei Songzhi's Commentary |last2=Crowell |first2=William Gordon |date=1999-01-01 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=978-0-8248-1945-3 |page=94 |language=en}}</ref> 


==In popular culture==
<!-- PLEASE DO NOT INTRODUCE ANY FURTHER DETAILS ON THIS PERSON'S ROLE IN THE GAMES ALREADY MENTIONED IN THIS SECTION. -->
How Cao Pi became an emperor is portrayed in "[[Secret of the Three Kingdoms]]".

Cao Pi appears as a playable character in [[Koei]]'s ''[[Dynasty Warriors]]'' and ''[[Warriors Orochi]]'' video game series. He also appears in Koei's ''[[Romance of the Three Kingdoms (video game series)|Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]'' series.

Yu Bin portrayed Cao Pi in the 2010 Chinese television series ''[[Three Kingdoms (TV series)|Three Kingdoms]]''.

==See also==
* [[Cao Wei family trees]]
* [[Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links==
{{Commons category|Cao Pi}}
* [[Chen Shou|Chen, Shou]] (3rd century). ''[[Records of the Three Kingdoms]]'' (''Sanguozhi'').
* {{cite book|last=de Crespigny|first=Rafe|author-link=Rafe de Crespigny|title=A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms 23–220 AD|date=2007|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden|isbn=9789004156050}}
* [[Pei Songzhi|Pei, Songzhi]] (5th century). ''[[Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms]]'' (''Sanguozhi zhu'').
* [[Sima Guang|Sima, Guang]] (1084). ''[[Zizhi Tongjian]]''.

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Cao Wei|House of Cao]]||187||29 June 226|name=Emperor Wen of Cao Wei}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=Himself|as=King of [[Cao Wei|Wei]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Cao Wei|Emperor of Cao Wei]]|years=220–226}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Cao Rui]]}}
{{s-roy|cn}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Cao Cao]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Cao Wei|King of Wei]]|years=220}}
{{s-non|reason=Himself ''as Emperor of [[Cao Wei|Wei]]''}}
{{s-pre}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Emperor Xian of Han]]}}
{{s-tul|title = [[Emperor of China]]
| years  = 220–226
| reason = [[Three Kingdoms]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Cao Rui]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Three Kingdoms emperors}}
 
{{People of Cao Wei}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cao, Pi}}
[[Category:180s births]]
[[Category:226 deaths]]
[[Category:Family of Cao Cao]]
[[Category:3rd-century Chinese monarchs]]
[[Category:Cao Wei emperors]]
[[Category:Cao Wei poets]]
[[Category:Han dynasty poets]]
[[Category:3rd-century Chinese poets]]
[[Category:People from Bozhou]]
[[Category:Poets from Anhui]]
[[Category:Usurpers]]
[[Category:Founders of Imperial Chinese dynasties]]