Wei 魏 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 220–266 AD | |||||||||
 China in 262 AD, with territories of Cao Wei in yellow | |||||||||
| Capital | |||||||||
| Common languages | Eastern Han Chinese | ||||||||
| Religion | Taoism,Confucianism,Chinese folk religion | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Emperor | |||||||||
• Dec 220 – Jun 226 AD | Cao Pi | ||||||||
• Jun 226 – Jan 239 AD | Cao Rui | ||||||||
• Jan 239 – Oct 254 AD | Cao Fang | ||||||||
• Oct 254 – Jun 260 AD | Cao Mao | ||||||||
• Jun 260 – Feb 266 AD | Cao Huan | ||||||||
| Historical era | Three Kingdoms | ||||||||
• Abdication ofEmperor Xian of Han | 11 December 220 AD | ||||||||
• Eastern Wu declaring independence from Wei | 222 | ||||||||
| 263 | |||||||||
• Abdication ofCao Huan | 4 February 266 AD | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 260 | 4,432,881 (disputed)[1][a] | ||||||||
| Currency | Chinese coin,Chinese cash (Wu Zhu) | ||||||||
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| Today part of | |||||||||
| Cao Wei | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 曹魏 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 曹魏 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Cáo Wèi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Part ofa series on the |
| History of China |
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Wei (Chinese:魏[b]), also known asCao Wei (曹魏) orFormer Wei,[5][6] was one of the majordynastic states in China during theThree Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 AD byCao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his fatherCao Cao during theend of the Han dynasty. Its capital was initially located atXuchang, and was later moved toLuoyang.
The nameWei first became associated with Cao Cao when he was named the Duke of Wei by the Eastern Han government in 213 AD, and became the name of the state when Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor in 220 AD. Historians often add the prefix "Cao" to distinguish it from other Chinese states known asWei. The authority of the ruling Cao family dramatically weakened following the deposition and execution ofCao Shuang, a regent for the dynasty's third emperorCao Fang in 249 AD. Following Cao Shuang's death, another regent,Sima Yi, gradually consolidated state authority for himself and his relatives, with the last Wei emperors largely beingpuppets of the Sima family. In 266 AD, Sima Yi's grandsonSima Yan forcedEmperor Yuan to abdicate, proclaiming himself to be emperor of the newly establishedJin dynasty; he would be posthumously known as Emperor Wu (of Jin).
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Towards theend of the Eastern Han dynasty, northern China came under the control ofCao Cao, thechancellor to the last Han ruler,Emperor Xian. In 213, Emperor Xian granted Cao Cao the title of "Duke of Wei" (魏公) and gave him ten cities as his dukedom. The area was named "Wei". At that time, the southern part of China was divided into two areas controlled by two other warlords,Liu Bei andSun Quan. In 216, Emperor Xian promoted Cao Cao to the status of avassal king – "King of Wei (魏王)".
Cao Cao died on 15 March 220 and his vassal king title was inherited by his sonCao Pi. Later that year, on 11 December, Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian to abdicate in his favour and took over the throne, establishing the state of Wei. However, Liu Bei immediately contested Cao Pi's claim to the Han throne and declared himself "Emperor ofHan" a year later. Sun Quan was nominally a vassal king under Wei, but he declared independence in 222 and eventually proclaimed himself "Emperor ofWu" in 229.[citation needed]
To distinguish the state from other historical Chinese states of the same name, historians have added a relevant character to the state's original name, making the state that called itself "Wei" (魏) known as "Cao Wei" (曹魏).
Cao Pi ruled for six years until his death on 29 June 226[7] and was succeeded by his son,Cao Rui, who ruled until his death on 22 January 239.[8] Throughout the reigns of Cao Pi and Cao Rui, Wei had been fighting numerous wars with its two rival states – Shu and Wu.[citation needed]
Between 228 and 234,Zhuge Liang, the Shu chancellor and regent, leda series of five military campaigns to attack Wei's western borders (within present-dayGansu andShaanxi), with the aim of conqueringChang'an, a strategic city which lay on the road to the Wei capital,Luoyang.[citation needed] The Shu invasions were repelled by the Wei armies led by the generalsCao Zhen,Sima Yi,Zhang He and others; Shu did not make any significant gains in the expeditions.[citation needed]
On its southern and eastern borders, Wei engaged Wu in a series of armed conflicts throughout the 220s and 230s, including the battles ofDongkou (222–223),Jiangling (223) andShiting (228).[citation needed] However, most of the battles resulted in stalemate and neither side managed to significantly expand its territory.[citation needed]
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AfterGuanqiu Jian failed to subjugate the Gongsun clan of theLiaodong Commandery,[9] it wasSima Yi who, in June 238, as the Grand Commandant (太尉), launched an invasion with 40,000 troops at the behest of EmperorCao Rui against Liaodong,[10] which at this point had been firmly rooted under Gongsun control for 4 decades. After a three-month long siege, involving some assistance from theGoguryeo Kingdom, Sima Yi managed to capture the capital city ofXiangping, resulting in the conquest of the commandery by late September of the same year.[11]
Around that time, as the Korean kingdomGoguryeo consolidated its power, it proceeded to conquer the territories on the Korean peninsula which were under Chinese rule.[12] Goguryeo initiated theGoguryeo–Wei Wars in 242, trying to cut off Chinese access to its territories in Korea by attempting to take a Chinese fort. However, Wei responded by invading and defeated Goguryeo.Hwando was destroyed in a reprisal raid by Wei forces in 244.[12] The invasions sent its king fleeing, and broke the tributary relationships between Goguryeo and the other tribes of Korea that formed much of Goguryeo's economy. Although the king evaded capture and eventually settled in a new capital, Goguryeo was reduced to such insignificance that for half a century there was no mention of the state in Chinese historical texts.[13]
In 249, during the reign of Cao Rui's successor,Cao Fang, the regent Sima Yi seized state power from his co-regent, Cao Shuang, in a coup. This event marked the collapse of imperial authority in Wei, as Cao Fang's role had been reduced to that of a puppet ruler while Sima Yi wielded state power firmly in his hands.Wang Ling, a Wei general, tried to rebel against Sima Yi,but was swiftly dealt with, and took his own life. Sima Yi died on 7 September 251,[14] passing on his authority to his eldest son,Sima Shi, who continued ruling as regent.[citation needed]
Sima Shi deposed Cao Fang in 254, on grounds of planning to stage a rebellion, and replaced him withCao Mao. In response,Guanqiu Jian andWen Qin staged a rebellion,but were crushed by Sima Shi in an event that nevertheless took a heavy toll on Sima Shi's health, having undergone eye surgery prior to the insurrection, causing him to die on 23 March 255,[15] but not before handing his power and regency over to his younger brother,Sima Zhao.[citation needed]
In 258, Sima Zhao quelled Zhuge Dan's rebellion, marking an end to what are known as theThree Rebellions in Shouchun. In 260, Cao Mao attempted to seize back state power from Sima Zhao in a coup, but was killed by Cheng Ji, a military officer who was serving underJia Chong, a subordinate to the Simas. After Cao Mao's death,Cao Huan was enthroned as the fifth ruler of Wei. However, Cao Huan was also a mere figurehead under Sima Zhao's control, much like his predecessor. In 263, Wei armies led byZhong Hui andDeng Aiconquered Shu. Afterwards, Zhong Hui and former Shu generalJiang Weigrouped and plotted together in order to oust Sima Zhao from power, however, various Wei officials turned against them when it was found out that Jiang Wei had urged Zhong Hui to get rid of these officials before the planned coup. Sima Zhao himself received and finally accepted the nine bestowals and the titleDuke of Jin in 263, and was further bestowed with the titleKing of Jin by Cao Huan in 264, but he died on 6 September 265,[16] leaving the final step of usurpation up to his eldest son,Sima Yan.[citation needed]
On 4 February 266, Sima Zhao's son, Sima Yan, forced Cao Huan to abdicate in his favor, replacing Wei with theJin dynasty on 8 February 266.[c] Cao Huan himself was spared, though, and continued to live until 302, before dying.[18]
The system of government in Wei inherited many aspects fromthat of the Eastern Han dynasty. During his reign, Cao Pi established two separate government bodies – the Central Inspectorate (中書監) and the Imperial Secretariat plenipotentiary (行尚書臺) – to reduce the authority of the Imperial Secretariat (尚書臺) and consolidate the power of the central government.[citation needed]
During this time, the ministerChen Qun developed thenine-rank system for civil service nomination, which was adopted by later dynasties until it was superseded by theimperial examination system in theSui dynasty.[citation needed]
Cao Pi felt that the Han dynasty collapsed because the Governors (州牧) of the various provinces wielded too much power and fell outside the control of the central government. He reduced the role of a Governor to that of an Inspector (刺史), and permitted the Inspectors to administer only civil affairs in their respective provinces, while military affairs were handled by military personnel based in regional offices or in the capital.[citation needed]
Cao Wei society was feudalized and vassalized. When China was divided in the Period of Disunion, south and north were economically and socially dominated by an aristocratic hereditary class enshrined in law, who were exempt from conscript labor, special kinds of taxes, had legal immunities and other privileges. This situation was created by Cao Wei with rigid social stratification backed by law between shu (庶) (commoner) households and shi (士) (noble) households in the Nine ranks system which was created by Cao Wei and enabled hereditary officeholding by the aristocratic magnate families. Magnates took in farming families and war refugees into their fortress villages as ke (客) (private clients) and as buqu (military retainers) who made up their private militias. These magnates were rich landowners and local warlords and their economic and social power only grew at this time. The military retainers stayed on as private agricultural laborers bonded to the magnate families even after war ended. They did not contribute any labor service or taxes to the central government while their magnate lord received 50% or more of their grain harvest. They effectively were bondservants to their lords.[19]
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Thekaishu style ofChinese calligraphy was developed at some time between the late Eastern Han dynasty and the Cao Wei dynasty, as well as theJian'an poetry style. The first known master of the former wasZhong Yao, an official of Wei,[20] of the latter; Cao Cao's son,Cao Zhi.[citation needed]
Since the beginning of the Cao Wei dynasty, finding their roots inCao Cao's administrative influences, intellectual constraints were relaxed, leading to the formation of new groups of intellectuals, such as theSeven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. These intellectual freedoms were overturned by the time of theJin dynasty (it wasSima Yi himself who associated with the orthodox Confucianists, who despised these new intellectual groups, and therefore were more willing to offer their support to the Sima clan).[citation needed]
According to theBook of Wei byWang Chen, the Cao family descended from theYellow Emperor through his grandsonZhuanxu. They were of the same lineage asEmperor Shun. Another account says that the Cao family descended from Emperor Shun. This account was attacked byJiang Ji, who claimed that those with the family name "Tian" descended from Shun, but not those surnamed "Cao".[21] He also claimed that "Gui" (媯) was Emperor Shun's family name.[22]
| Province | Commanderies and Kingdoms/Principalities |
|---|---|
| You | Fanyang (范陽),Dai (代),Yuyang (漁陽),Youbeiping (右北平),Liaoxi (遼西),Lelang (樂浪),Shanggu (上谷),Yan (principality) (燕國), Changli (昌黎),Xuantu (玄菟),Liaodong (遼東),Daifang (帶方) |
| Ji | Wei (魏), Yangping (陽平), Guangping (廣平),Qinghe (清河),Julu (鉅鹿),Zhao (principality) (趙國),Changshan (常山),Anping (安平),Pingyuan (平原), Leling (principality) (樂陵),Hejian (河間),Bohai (渤海),Zhongshan (principality) (中山國) |
| Qing | Chengyang (城陽),Donglai (東萊),Beihai (principality) (北海國),Qi (principality) (齊國),Le'an (樂安),Jinan (principality) (濟南國) |
| Bing | Shangdang (上黨), Xihe (西河),Taiyuan (太原), Leping (樂平), Xinxing (新興),Yanmen (雁門) |
| Si | Henan (河南尹),Hongnong (弘農),Henei (河內),Hedong (河東), Pingyang (平陽) |
| Yan | Taishan (泰山),Jibei (principality) (濟北國), Dongping (principality) (東平國),Dong (東), Rencheng (任城), Shanyang (山陽), Jiyin (濟陰), Chenliu (principality) (陳留國) |
| Xu | Dongguan (東莞), Langye (principality) (琅琊國), Donghai (principality) (東海國), Guangling (廣陵), Xiapi (下邳), Pengcheng (principality) (彭城國) |
| Yong | Jingzhao (京兆),Pingyi (馮翊),Fufeng (扶風), Beidi (北地), Xinping (新平), Anding (安定), Guangwei (廣魏), Tianshui (天水), Nan'an (南安),Longxi (隴西) |
| Yu | Chen (陳),Yingchuan (潁川),Runan (汝南),Liang (principality) (梁國),Pei (principality) (沛國), Qiao (譙),Lu (魯), Yiyang (弋陽), Anfeng (安豐) |
| Liang | Wuwei (武威), Jincheng (金城), Xiping (西平), Zhangye (張掖), Jiuquan (酒泉), Xihai (西海), Dunhuang (敦煌) |
| Yan | Huainan (淮南), Lujiang (廬江) |
| Jing | Jiangxia (江夏), Xiangyang (襄陽), Xincheng (新城), Nanyang (南陽), Nanxiang (南鄉), Shangyong (上庸), Weixing (魏興), Zhangling (Yiyang) (章陵 / 義陽) |
| Temple name | Posthumous name | Family name (in bold) andpersonal name | Reign | Era names and their year ranges | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (N/A) | Emperor Gao 高皇帝 | Cao Teng 曹騰 | (N/A) | (N/A) | Cao Teng's posthumous name was granted posthumously byCao Rui. |
| (N/A) | Emperor Tai 太皇帝 | Cao Song 曹嵩 | (N/A) | (N/A) | Cao Song's posthumous name was granted posthumously byCao Pi. |
| Taizu 太祖 | Emperor Wu 武皇帝 | Cao Cao 曹操 | 216–220 | (N/A) | Cao Cao's temple and posthumous names were granted posthumously byCao Pi. |
| Shizu 世祖 | Emperor Wen 文皇帝 | Cao Pi 曹丕 | 220–226 |
| |
| Liezu 烈祖 | Emperor Ming 明皇帝 | Cao Rui 曹叡 | 227–239 |
| Cao Rui took the unprecedented step of deciding his own temple name. |
| (N/A) | (N/A) | Cao Fang 曹芳 | 240–249 |
| Cao Fang became "Prince of Qi" (齊王) after his dethronement. He was posthumously granted the title "Duke Li of Shaoling" (邵陵厲公) in the Western Jin dynasty. |
| (N/A) | (N/A) | Cao Mao 曹髦 | 254–260 |
| Cao Mao was granted the posthumous name of "Duke of Gaogui" (高貴鄉公). |
| (N/A) | Emperor Yuan 元皇帝 | Cao Huan 曹奐 | 260–266 |
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When it was established, Wu had only one-sixth of the population of the Eastern Han Empire (Cao Wei held over two-thirds of the Han population).
The Emperor sent a sealed edict to summon Gongsun Yuan. In the end, Gongsun Yuan arose in an armed rebellion, meeting Guanqiu Jian at Liaosui. It so happened that it rained for more than ten days and the water of Liaosui rose greatly. Guanqiu Jian fought him, but was unsuccessful and withdrew his troops to Youbeiping.
The Emperor summoned Sima Yi from Chang'an and had him lead an army of forty thousand men in a campaign against Liaodong.
On the day ren-wu (September 29), Xiangping fell. Gongsun Yuan and his son Gongsun Xiu, leading several hundred mounted men, got through the encirclement and fled towards the southeast. The large Wei forces instantly struck at them and killed Gongsun Yuan and his son on the Liangshui.
capital on the middle reaches of the Yalu near the modern Chinese town of Ji'an, calling it 'Hwando'. By developing both their iron weapons and their political organization, they had reached a stage where in the turmoil that accompanied the break-up of the Han empire they were able to threaten the Chinese colonies
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