Imperial Warlord: A Biography of Cao Cao, 155–220 AD

567 Pages·2010·7.11 MB·English

by  Rafe de Crespigny

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,
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The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910,
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Fees are subject to change.
For Nicholas and Alexander

CONTENTS
List of Maps and Tables .................................................................... xi
Introduction ......................................................................................... 1
A Summary Chronology of Cao Cao ......................................... 6
Chapter One Grandson of a Eunuch 155–189 ........................... 9
Chronology ...................................................................................... 9
The problems of Later Han .......................................................... 9
The eunuch connection ................................................................. 16
Young man about town ................................................................ 25
Yellow Turbans ............................................................................... 35
Ruin of Government ...................................................................... 41
Chapter Two To Guard the Emperor 190–196 .......................... 51
Chronology ...................................................................................... 51
To govern Yan province 190–192 ............................................... 52
Fight for survival 193–195 ............................................................ 68
Welcome to Xu city 196 ................................................................ 81
Captive Emperor ............................................................................ 92
Chapter Three To Battle at Guandu 197–200 ............................ 97
Chronology ...................................................................................... 97
Troublesome neighbours 196–198 .............................................. 98
Conduct at court ............................................................................ 111
Approaches to Guandu 199–200 ................................................. 121
Yuan Shao’s Call to Arms ............................................................. 128
Decisive victory 200 ....................................................................... 135
The Guandu campaign: a reappraisal ......................................... 147
Chapter Four The Conduct of Civil War .................................... 153
The heritage of Later Han ............................................................. 153
Rebels, bandits, gentry and self-defence groups:
the development of hereditary troops .................................... 160
Weapons and tactics ...................................................................... 167
Numbers, supply and control ...................................................... 181
Casualties, prisoners, hostages and the behaviour of
gentlemen .................................................................................... 193
viii contents
Chapter Five Conquest of the North 201–207 ........................... 203
Chronology ...................................................................................... 203
The fall of the Yuan clan 201–204 .............................................. 203
Settlement of the North 204–206 ................................................ 217
White Wolf Mountain 207 ........................................................... 230
Chapter Six Red Cliffs 208 ............................................................. 241
Chronology ...................................................................................... 241
Government of the empire ........................................................... 241
To defeat in Jing province ............................................................ 258
War on water: weapons, techniques and tactics ....................... 278
Chapter Seven Military Matters 209–217 .................................... 287
Military Chronology ...................................................................... 287
Northwest and southeast 209–214 .............................................. 288
Liu Bei and Sun Quan 209–214 ................................................... 306
Two surrenders: Zhang Lu and Sun Quan 215–217 ................ 311
Cao Cao and the Art of War ........................................................ 319
Chapter Eight Court and Capital .................................................. 333
The elegance of Ye and the Masters of Jian’an ......................... 333
Poems and an Apologia ................................................................. 349
Character and style of government ............................................. 364
Chapter Nine Tensions of Loyalty 210–217 ............................... 381
Chronology ...................................................................................... 381
The Trappings of power ................................................................ 382
Imperial consorts ............................................................................ 397
Women and children ..................................................................... 400
A question of succession ............................................................... 407
217: the year of the plague ............................................................ 420
Chapter Ten The Last Years 218–220 .......................................... 423
Chronology 218–220 ...................................................................... 423
Chronology from 220 .................................................................... 424
Liu Bei in Hanzhong 218–219 ..................................................... 424
Guan Yu and Lü Meng in Jing province 219 ............................ 430
Posthumous emperor 220 ............................................................. 438
The later history of Cao Wei ........................................................ 450
contents ix
Chapter Eleven Another Life: History, Anecdote
and Fiction ....................................................................................... 463
Pei Songzhi, Fan Ye and Shishuo xinyu ..................................... 463
Story-tellers, poets, playwrights and Pinghua ........................... 479
Revisionist history, Romance and the Peking opera ................ 490
Marxist debate and the modern actor ........................................ 499
Why Cao Cao? ................................................................................ 504
Bibliography ......................................................................................... 507
Early Sources: Standard Histories ............................................... 507
Early Sources: Works by Cao Cao .............................................. 508
Early Sources: Other Texts ........................................................... 508
Modern Works ............................................................................... 510
Index ..................................................................................................... 525