A Tragic Wind in Golden Robes: The Biography of Cao Zhi

Cao Zhi (192–232), courtesy name Zijian, was from Qiao County in Pei Commandery (now Bozhou, Anhui). A renowned literary figure of the Cao Wei state during the Three Kingdoms period, he was a leading master of Jian'an literature. The third son of Cao Cao and younger brother of Cao Pi, he was deeply favored in his early years and renowned for his talent. Xie Lingyun praised him as a man of “eight pecks of talent.” His early works, such as “The White Horse,” brim with the ambition to distinguish oneself through great deeds. Later, after becoming embroiled in the struggle over the succession, he fell under Cao Pi's suspicion, and his writing turned somber and sorrowful. It was during this period that he composed celebrated works such as “Rhapsody on the Luo River Goddess” and “The Seven-Step Poem,” using symbolism to express political frustration and anguish over life. His poetry and rhapsodies blended folk ballads with literary composition, opening new horizons for five-character verse. He was especially accomplished in parallel prose rhapsodies, and his representative work, “Rhapsody on the Luo River Goddess,” brought the art of combining lyricism and narrative to its peak. Though his political ambitions went unfulfilled, his literary influence endured. Zhong Rong's “Shipin” hailed him as “the finest of the Jian'an era,” and his creative work marked the maturity of an age in which Chinese literature became self-aware.