15 replies to this topic

[Cao Zhi]

Does anyone know it? Is it Bozhou just like his Father and older brother Cao Pi? Would really like to know!


Also if you have any more info that would be great. I would like to know as much as possible.


Thanks in advance.

[f0ma]

Apparently, he was born into a: 'stately house of rich food in ding vessels, served to the accompaniment of music.'

Cao Zhi and his poetry is actually one of my strong suits, feel free to ask me anything Welcome to the forum as well!

I uploaded an English translation of Cao Zhi's 'Spirit of the Luo River' a few months ago, which you might enjoy.

Edited by f0ma, 15 August 2012 - 03:00 PM.

[Cao Zhi]

Thank you so much for the reply. Really great to know and thanks for sharing your translation of Spirit of the Luo River, I hadn't read that one before ! Was a very enjoyable read. I really like 'Passage of sigh' which he wrote in his later life if i remember correctly.

Haha thanks, i'ts good to be here. I can't believe I hadn't discovered this forum earlier! It's a goldmine of information, can't wait to get some free time and get to reading

Yeh I really like Cao Zhi. To some he was just a poet and that's all there was to him, but the more i read about him and the more I look into his character I can see that he had the potential to be something bigger. I think saw Cao Cao saw this in him too but I guess he was never the most luckiest of guys was he? He wanted to prove himself but fate was just never on his side. But you can argue that his actions brought that upon himself due to his love of a drink or few.

While surfing online I came across this book called 'Cao Zhi: The Life of a Princely Chinese Poet' by Hugh Dunn. Looks pretty interesting, have you read it? Is it worth getting? Also I would like to know where did he spend the majority of his childhood growing up?

Edited by Cao Zhi, 14 August 2012 - 02:59 PM.

[f0ma]

That's great to hear

There was a very bitter rivalry between Cao Pi and Cao Zhi over who would be Cao Cao's heir, and it was always a close contest. In 217, Cao Pi was officially made heir. However, in 219, Cao Cao was having doubts. One of his city's was under siege and he created Cao Zhi a general, in order to relieve the city - if he succeeded, he might have replaced Cao Pi as heir. Unfortunately, upon hearing of his promotion, Cao Zhi celebrated a little too merrily. When one of Cao Cao's messengers went to deliver last minute orders to Cao Zhi, he was too drunk and Cao Cao relieved him of his command. After that, Cao Zhi lost out on his chance to become heir. However, there is still some debate as to whether Cao Pi sabotaged his brother and purposefully got him drunk in order to prevent him from garnering too much favour with their father.

I would highly recommend Dunn's book. I bought it many years ago and I've read it countless times. If I may quote my Amazon review:

Hugh Dunn does a fantastic job with this book. Whilst biographic details are lacking, especially towards Cao Zhi's later life (something Dunn wastes no time in apologizing for mind you), the rich and colourful translations more than make up for it. If you're interested in Cao Zhi's poetry, yet can't read Chinese, this book will provide you with a wealth of his prose, elegantly rendered into English by Dunn. The accompanying pseudo-biography does a good job of providing the context for each poem, but the narrative often jumps around and isn't always presented chronologically. Still, it's the most accessible book on Cao Zhi in English thus far and it's definitely worth buying. For someone interested in a more academic approach to Cao Zhi and his poetry, see Robert Joe Cutter's work.

Dunn's book is one of the best books in English solely dedicated to Cao Zhi. Robert Joe Cutter - probably the foremost expert on Cao Zhi - has some works published, though they're very hard to find nowadays. Most of my collection on Cao Zhi, however, is made up of articles and theses.

Oh, I was mistaken about saying Cao Zhi was born in Bozhou by the way - I was reading about Cao Pi, not Cao Zhi - my mistake (I've amended my last post). I'll have another hunt around and see if I can find out where he was born - sorry for the confusion. As for his early childhood, again I'm not sure - though he spent many of his teenage years in Ye.

[Cao Zhi]

Ah right no worries, I guess sometimes birthplaces can be a bit tricky. I was on a website today (Cultural China) and it had a small bio of Cao Zhi on it which mentioned 'Cao Zhi (192 - 232), born in Qiaoxian County of the Pei State (present Bozhou City of Anhui Province), was a poet of the Wei State during the Three Kingdoms Period. Both he and Cao Pi were the sons of Cao Cao.' But it could be that they know that's where Cao Cao is also from and so they may have also assumed his son would also be from there?

Wow really interesting ! I guess Cao Pi really considered his brother a fierce rival when he ascended to the throne.

Fantastic! Sounds like a must-read for me. Luckily enough Waterstones stock it for a bargain £17! As for Robert Joe Cutter- I searched up some of his writing and i managed to find 'Cao Zhi, the Succession and Literary Fame' online, will look into that.

Anyway, thanks for your help so far

[f0ma]

It might very well be the case he was born there. I'm in the process of asking around for a definitive answer, hopefully I'll get a reply soon

Yes, I think Cao Pi and Cao Zhi were the only two major competitors for becoming Cao Cao's heir. There are a fair few more examples of their rivalry in Dunn's book. For a long period of time there were two factions in the court, one supporting Cao Zhi and one supporting Cao Pi, with different courtiers throwing their lot in with one or the other. It's interesting to note that that's where Sima Yi - amongst many others - began his meteoritic rise to power; as a supporter of Cao Pi in his bid for succession. On the other hand, most of Cao Zhi's clique were later exiled or executed when his brother took power.

Ah Cao Zhi, the Succession and Literary Fame is actually one of the few I'm missing (I hate not being able to access JSTOR). You'll have to let me know how it is

I'll compile a quick list of works pertaining to Cao Zhi in English :

Cook, ​Johannah (2010) Works of Gold and Jade –Cao Zhi (192-232 CE): The Man and His Poetry
Cutter, Robert Joe (1984) Cao Zhi's (192-232) Symposium Poems
Cutter, Robert Joe (1986) The Incident at the Gate: Cao Zhi, the Succession, and Literary Fame
Cutter, Robert Joe (1992) The Death of Empress Zhen: Fiction and Historiography in Early Medieval China
Frankel, Hans (1964) Fifteen Poems by Ts'ao Chih: An Attempt at a New Approach
Holzman, Donald (1988) Ts'ao Chih and the Immortals
Kent, George W. (1969) Worlds of Dust and Jade: 47 Poems and Ballads of the Third Century Chinese Poet Ts'ao Chih
Kroll, Paul (2000) Seven Rhapsodies of Ts'ao Chih
Kroll, Paul & David R. Knechtges (ed.) (2003) Studies in Early Medieval Chinese Literature and Cultural History
Roy, David (1959) The Themes of the Neglected Wife in the Poetry of Ts'ao Chih
Russel, Terence C (1973) The Poetry of Ts'ao Chih: A Critical Introduction
Turner, J.A. (1989) A Golden Treasury of Chinese Poetry
Vance, Eugue & David R. Knechtges (ed.) (2004) Rhetoric and the Discourses of Power in Court Culture: China, Europe, and Japan
Watson, Burton (1964) Chinese Rhyme Prose
Whitaker K.P.K (1954) Tsaur Jyr's "Luohshern Fuh"
Xiao Tong & David R. Knechtges (trans.) (1992-1996) Wen-xuan or Selections of Refined Literature, vol. 1-3

[Cao Zhi]

Oh my god, I have to get them ALL haha. I guess one step at a time. First I should finish reading Dunn's book eh

Yeah JSTOR is exactly where I found Cao Zhi, the Succession and Literary Fame. How come you're not able to access it?

Do you know if Cao Zhi fought in any battles? Or was he not trained to be a fighter?

[f0ma]

I've yet to go to university, so I don't have the means of accessing JSTOR. Only a year to go though

He accompanied Cao Cao on several campaigns: east in 209, west in 211, south in 212, north in 213, and west again in 215. He was also placed in charge of defending the capital of Ye in 214. I doubt Cao Zhi ever fought personally - though his poetry suggests that he always wanted to. He was more of an observer than a soldier.

[Cao Zhi]

I would've never imagined that you hadn't been to uni thus far because you seem to know your stuff

I asked one of my Chinese friends to do some digging around about Cao Zhi's birthplace and it seems as though there's two opinions of where it is. One is Anhui province and the other according to a 50 something blogger is in the Zhao town of the Shen county in Shandong province. I know his tomb is in somewhere in Shandong province so that's a good bet.

[f0ma]

Thank you, though I wouldn't say I know that much.

Ah, it might very well be Shen county. After Cao Cao fled Dong Zhou in 189, he eventually established his headquarters at Dongwuyang (near present day Shen, Shandong). He was still operating from here in 192. I'm not 100% certain that Lady Bian (Cao Zhi's mother) was there also, but it makes sense logically. It'd be good to see a comprehensive biography of Lady Bian - if we knew where she was in 192, we could pinpoint Cao Zhi's birthplace. I'll have a hunt around for one.

[Cao Zhi]

Shandong province it is then. Have a read through here.

Is it possible if anyone can translate this text for me. Specially the last two paragraphs. Google translate doesn't do me any favours

http://blog.sina.com...2f0100rkrt.html

Finally ! I know where it is lol.

[f0ma]

I couldn't give you a full translation I'm afraid, but he basically narrows it down to Dongwuyang also. That's the gist I got from it. Though, again, he only provides evidence that Cao Cao was there at the time. He just assumes Lady Bian was with him. Whilst he is probably correct, I wouldn't say it was definitive.

[Cao Zhi]

Ah right I see. Ye City which is present-day Handan according to Wiki is quite close to Shen County which convinces me even more that he's born there.

Edited by Cao Zhi, 21 August 2012 - 04:22 PM.

[f0ma]

Well Ye was the stronghold of Yuan Shao and his clan up until 204 when Cao Cao captured it. Though I am inclined to agree Cao Zhi's birthplace was Shen county, yes.

[longbaby]

I read all your posts closely. Very interesting. And I read the blog too. According to the blog, Cao Zhi's birthplace was in Shen, Shandong.
I think Cao Cao's choosing Cao Pi as his heir was a correct decision. In that chaotic era, people needed a tough and inspring leader. Cao Zhi was too gentle and not appropriate as a leader.