Cao Shuang 曹爽
| Occupation | RNGeneral · General-in-Chief | Faction | Wei |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | Book of Wei |
| Born | R? Unverified | Native place | Pei Commandery Qiao County Unverified |
| Died | R249 Unverified | Place of death | |
| Cause of death | RExecuted NExecuted Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R104 |
Profile
Cao Shuang, courtesy name Zhaobo, was the son of the Grand Marshal Cao Zhen and succeeded him when Cao Zhen died. Emperor Ming had held him in great affection since his days in the Eastern Palace, and on his deathbed Emperor Ming made him General-in-Chief and had him receive the testamentary edict together with Sima Yi to assist the young sovereign. Records, Wei 9 §69 · 71
In the Zhengshi era he held the reins of government and made He Yan, Deng Yang and others his confidants; he attacked Shu but could not advance and turned back. In the 1st month of the 1st year of Jiaping (249), while he was away accompanying the emperor to the Gaoping Mausoleum, Sima Yi raised troops; Cao Shuang gave up his military command and returned to his residence, and soon afterward, on a charge of plotting rebellion, he was executed together with his younger brothers and his clan was exterminated to the third degree. Records, Wei 9 §74–76 · 80–88
In his assessment, Chen Shou wrote that his virtue was slight while his position was lofty, so that he sank into excess and overflowing. In the Romance he first appeared in Chapter 106 and featured in 3 of its 120 chapters, and, as in the title of Chapter 106, "Sima Yi Feigns Illness to Deceive Cao Shuang," the novel presents him in the midst of his struggle with Sima Yi. Records, Wei 9 §132Romance, Ch. 106 §29 · 44–47
In the Records
He was the son of Cao Zhen. From his youth he was respectful and prudent as a member of the imperial clan, and Emperor Ming held him in great affection while he was in the Eastern Palace. When Emperor Ming took the throne, Cao Shuang became Gentleman Cavalier Attendant (sanji shilang); he rose through Colonel of the City Gates and Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary (sanji changshi) to General of the Martial Guard (wuwei jiangjun), and the favor and treatment he received were exceptional. When Cao Zhen died in the 5th year of Taihe (231), Cao Shuang succeeded him, and the emperor, in recognition of Cao Zhen's merit, enfeoffed all of Cao Shuang's younger brothers, Cao Xi, Cao Xun, Cao Ze, Cao Yan and Cao Ai, as full marquises. Records, Wei 9 §71 · 69Records, Wei 3 §21
In the 12th month of the 2nd year of Jingchu (238), when Emperor Ming took to his sickbed, he intended to make Cao Yu, Prince of Yan, General-in-Chief and have him assist in the government together with Cao Shuang and others. When Cao Yu firmly declined, the emperor asked Liu Fang and Sun Zi, "Can Cao Shuang take Cao Yu's place?" and the two agreed. The emperor summoned Cao Shuang to his bedchamber, appointed him General-in-Chief, lent him the tally and axe, and made him Commander of All Forces Inside and Outside the Capital (dudu zhongwai zhujunshi) and Intendant of the Affairs of the Imperial Secretariat (lu shangshu shi), so that he received the testamentary edict together with the Grand Commandant Sima Yi to assist the young sovereign. Records, Wei 3 §63Records, Wei 14 §151–153Records, Wei 9 §71
When Emperor Ming died and Cao Fang took the throne, Cao Shuang was given the additional post of Palace Attendant (shizhong) and re-enfeoffed as Marquis of Wu'an with a fief of 12,000 households, and he was granted the privilege of ascending the hall wearing his sword and shoes. Following a scheme devised by Ding Mi, he had the Son of Heaven move Sima Yi to the post of Grand Tutor (taifu), honoring him outwardly while inwardly intending that the business of the Imperial Secretariat should pass through Cao Shuang first. His younger brother Cao Xi became Central Commander of the Army (zhong lingjun), Cao Xun General of the Martial Guard, and Cao Yan Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary, and his other brothers too came and went in the palace as full marquises. Records, Wei 9 §72–73Records, Wei 4 §5
At first, because Sima Yi was senior in both age and virtue, Cao Shuang served him like a father and did not dare to act on his own. But when he brought back into office He Yan, Deng Yang, Li Sheng, Ding Mi and Bi Gui, whom Emperor Ming had held down as superficial and showy, and made them his confidants, they urged him not to entrust power to others. He Yan, Deng Yang and Ding Mi became Masters of Writing (shangshu), with He Yan in charge of selecting officials; Bi Gui became Colonel-Director of Retainers and Li Sheng Intendant of Henan. As affairs seldom passed through Sima Yi any longer, Sima Yi pleaded illness and kept away from Cao Shuang. Records, Wei 9 §73 · 76
When Deng Yang and others urged him to attack Shu so as to establish his authority and renown throughout the realm, Sima Yi tried to stop him, but in the 5th year of Zhengshi (244) Cao Shuang went to Chang'an, levied 60,000 to 70,000 men, and entered by the Luo Valley. Transport by Guanzhong and the Di and Qiang peoples could not keep up the supply, many oxen and horses died, and commoners and non-Han peoples alike wailed along the roads. Wang Ping of Shu sent troops ahead to Xingshi to block him, and Zhong Yu wrote urging him to withdraw once he saw the difficulty. When the Army Adviser (canjun) Yang Wei said that unless he hurried back he would be defeated, Cao Shuang, though displeased, led his army back. Records, Wei 9 §74–75Records, Wei 4 §15Records, Shu 13 §39–40Records, Wei 13 §22–23
He Yan and the others monopolized the government, divided among themselves several hundred qing of mulberry fields belonging to the agricultural colony offices of Luoyang and Yewang, and made off with government property. Cao Shuang's food, carriages and clothing rivaled those of the Son of Heaven, and his house was filled with rare treasures from the Imperial Workshop (shangfang). He privately took seven or eight of the late emperor's Talented Ladies (cairen) and thirty-three daughters of good families to serve as his entertainers and musicians, and he forged an edict to send fifty-seven Talented Ladies to the Ye Terrace. He had an underground chamber built in which he drank with He Yan and the others; his younger brother Cao Xi remonstrated with him repeatedly and composed three essays to show him, but Cao Shuang was displeased. Records, Wei 9 §76–79
In the winter of the 9th year of Zhengshi (248), when Li Sheng, about to leave as Inspector of Jing Province, called on Sima Yi, Sima Yi claimed that his illness was grave and showed himself frail, and Li Sheng believed it. In the 1st month of the 10th year of Zhengshi (249), when the emperor went to pay respects at the Gaoping Mausoleum, Cao Shuang and all his brothers went with him. Sima Yi first seized the arsenal and stationed himself at the floating bridge over the Luo River, then memorialized that Cao Shuang had betrayed the late emperor's deathbed charge and thrown the statutes of the state into disorder, and that by order of the Empress Dowager he was relieving Cao Shuang and his brothers of their military command and sending them back to their residences as marquises. Records, Wei 9 §79–83
Cao Shuang did not pass the memorial on to the Son of Heaven and was at a loss what to do. The Grand Minister of Agriculture (da sinong) Huan Fan slipped out of the city and proposed moving the emperor's carriage to Xuchang and summoning troops from outside, saying, "Even a common man holding a single hostage hopes to survive, and now you are with the Son of Heaven." But Cao Shuang and his brothers hesitated, and when the Palace Attendant Xu Yun and the Master of Writing Chen Tai persuaded him to admit his guilt early, he sent the two to Sima Yi to beg for death, and only then passed on the memorial. Cao Shuang and his brothers were dismissed from office and returned to their residences as marquises. Records, Wei 9 §84–85
Afterward the eunuch of the Yellow Gate Zhang Dang was arrested for having given Cao Shuang Talented Ladies he had privately selected, and Zhang Dang testified that Cao Shuang had plotted rebellion with He Yan and the others and intended to rise within the 3rd month. The high ministers and court officials held that Cao Shuang, having grasped the late emperor's hand and received his testamentary edict, had betrayed that deathbed charge, and they condemned him for great treason and impiety. Cao Shuang, Cao Xi and Cao Xun, together with He Yan, Deng Yang, Ding Mi, Bi Gui, Li Sheng, Huan Fan, Zhang Dang and others, were all executed and their clans exterminated to the third degree. In the Jiaping era a clan grandson of Cao Zhen was enfeoffed as Marquis of Xinchang Precinct to carry on the sacrifices to Cao Zhen. Records, Wei 9 §87–88Records, Wei 4 §28
In his assessment, Chen Shou wrote that among the Xiahou and Cao clans, Cao Zhen and others, as close kin and old friends, had lent their aid to the great enterprise, and then that Cao Shuang, whose virtue was slight while his position was lofty, sank into excess and overflowing, which is what the Book of Changes makes plain and what the Daoists shun. Records, Wei 9 §132
In the Romance
He first appeared in Chapter 106. When Emperor Ming's illness grew grave and Cao Yu, Prince of Yan, declined the post of General-in-Chief, Liu Fang and Sun Zi, who had long enjoyed Cao Zhen's favor, recommended "Cao Shuang, son of Cao Zidan," and he became General-in-Chief with overall charge of the court. When Emperor Ming died, he and Sima Yi placed Cao Fang on the throne and assisted in the government, and at first he served Sima Yi with great care, always informing him first of any major matter. Romance, Ch. 106 §28–30 · 33
The Romance introduced him as having frequented the palace from childhood and won Emperor Ming's affection, and as keeping five hundred retainers at his gate, along with He Yan, Deng Yang, Li Sheng, Ding Mi and Bi Gui, and Huan Fan, who was called the "Bag of Wisdom." When He Yan egged him on, saying that his late father Cao Zhen had died of the vexation Sima Yi caused him, he petitioned Cao Fang to raise Sima Yi to Grand Tutor and took all military power for himself. When Sima Yi stayed away on the pretext of illness, he drank with He Yan and the others every day and formed a household troupe of musicians from the late emperor's concubines and daughters of good families whom the eunuch of the Yellow Gate Zhang Dang secretly sent him. Romance, Ch. 106 §34–37
Even when his younger brother Cao Xi and Huan Fan admonished him to go hunting less, he would not listen, saying, "Military power is in my hands; what is there to fear?" He sent Li Sheng, who was leaving to become Inspector of Jing Province, to spy on Sima Yi, and Sima Yi pretended to mishear Jing Province as Bing Province and let his soup dribble, feigning that death was near. On hearing Li Sheng's report, Cao Shuang rejoiced, saying, "If this old man dies, I shall have nothing to worry about," and despite Huan Fan's objections he set out with his three brothers to escort the emperor to the Gaoping Mausoleum. Romance, Ch. 106 §43–48
In Chapter 107, when Sima Yi seized the arsenal and submitted a memorial, Cao Shuang was so startled that he nearly fell from his horse. Huan Fan arrived bearing the seal of the Grand Marshal and proposed going to Xudu to summon troops from outside, but Cao Shuang trusted the words of Xu Yun, Chen Tai and Yin Damu; he wavered all night, weeping with sword in hand, and finally threw down his sword, saying, "It is enough to give up office and live as a rich old man." Huan Fan wailed that Cao Zidan had prided himself on his wisdom and resourcefulness, yet these three brothers were nothing but piglets and calves, and the Registrar Yang Zong, too, clutched the seal cord and wept as he tried to stop him. Romance, Ch. 107 §3 · 10 · 14–19
Confined to his house, Cao Shuang followed Cao Xi's advice and wrote to Sima Yi asking to borrow grain, and when 100 hu of grain arrived he was reassured that Sima Yi meant him no harm. But Sima Yi extracted, through Zhang Dang's deposition, confessions that He Yan and the others had intended to rebel in the 3rd month, beheaded the three Cao brothers and those implicated in the marketplace, and exterminated their clans to the third degree. In Chapter 110, Wen Qin, once a retainer at Cao Shuang's gate, put forward his son, who longed to kill Sima Shi and his brother to avenge Cao Shuang, and raised troops together with Guanqiu Jian. Romance, Ch. 107 §20–23Romance, Ch. 110 §2–3
Where the Romance differs
Becoming General-in-Chief: In Chapter 106 of the Romance, Liu Fang and Sun Zi, who had enjoyed Cao Zhen's favor, recommended Cao Shuang. In the Biography of Liu Fang in the Records, it was the emperor who first asked whether Cao Shuang could replace Cao Yu, and the two agreed. Romance, Ch. 106 §28–29Records, Wei 14 §151–152
Sima Yi as Grand Tutor: In Chapter 106 of the Romance, He Yan egged Cao Shuang on, saying that his late father Cao Zhen had died of the vexation Sima Yi caused him. In the Records it was Ding Mi's scheme, and they state only that Cao Zhen fell ill, returned to Luoyang and died. Romance, Ch. 106 §35Records, Wei 9 §72 · 69
The campaign against Shu: Chapters 106 and 107 of the Romance, in which Cao Shuang appears, do not include his expedition through the Luo Valley. In the Records, in the 5th year of Zhengshi he entered the Luo Valley with 60,000 to 70,000 men but could not advance and turned back. Romance, Ch. 106 §33–48Romance, Ch. 107 §1–24Records, Wei 9 §74–75
The late emperor's Talented Ladies: In Chapter 106 of the Romance, the eunuch of the Yellow Gate Zhang Dang secretly selected the late emperor's concubines and sent them to him. In the Records, Cao Shuang privately took seven or eight of the late emperor's Talented Ladies and forged an edict to send fifty-seven Talented Ladies to the Ye Terrace, while Zhang Dang's gift of Talented Ladies later became the reason for Zhang Dang's own arrest. Romance, Ch. 106 §37Records, Wei 9 §77–78 · 87
When Li Sheng called: In Chapter 106 of the Romance, Li Sheng called on Sima Yi after the era name had been changed to Jiaping, and Sima Yi misheard Bing Province for Jing Province and let his soup dribble. In the Records this happened in the winter of the 9th year of Zhengshi, and they state only that Sima Yi claimed his illness was grave and showed himself frail. Romance, Ch. 106 §43–46Records, Wei 9 §79
Huan Fan's words: The phrase "piglets and calves" in Chapter 107 of the Romance does not appear in the main text of the Biography of Cao Shuang in the Records. In the Records, Huan Fan urged going to Xuchang, saying that even a common man holding a single hostage hopes to survive. Romance, Ch. 107 §18Records, Wei 9 §70–88 · 84–85
Borrowing grain: The story in Chapter 107 of the Romance in which Cao Shuang asked Sima Yi to lend him grain does not appear in the main text of the Biography of Cao Shuang in the Records. Romance, Ch. 107 §21–22Records, Wei 9 §70–88
The decision to execute: In Chapter 107 of the Romance, Sima Yi interrogated Zhang Dang, He Yan and the others, obtained their confessions, and then had them executed. In the Records, the high ministers and court officials deliberated at court and judged it great treason and impiety before the executions were carried out. Romance, Ch. 107 §22–23Records, Wei 9 §87–88
Wen Qin: In Chapter 110 of the Romance, he was a retainer at Cao Shuang's gate who sought to avenge Cao Shuang. The Records say that he came from the same district as Cao Shuang, and that his resentment deepened because he inflated his achievements in hopes of reward and was not granted it. Romance, Ch. 110 §2–3Records, Wei 28 §20
Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.
Abilities
The Records score (Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms, main text) is the baseline. Each ability compares how the Romance redrew the same person, and the evidence from both sources explains the difference.
- LEA2525±0
- STR3530−5
- INT2215−7
- POL1520+5
- CHA3532−3
- VIR1018+8
- ADP105−5
- SCH3530−5
- DIP3230−2
- DIS1515±0
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
No ability differs by 10 or more — the Romance portrays this person much as the Records do.
10 similar abilities — show evidence
RLevied 60,000 to 70,000 men for the Luo Valley expedition, but could not advance and returned when supplies ran outWei 9 §74Wei 9 §75
NWas lamented as lacking wisdom and resource; when he handed over his seal, his troops all scatteredCh. 107 §18Ch. 107 §19
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a civil official of the imperial clanWei 9 §71
NNo direct record — estimated from a career spent only enjoying the huntCh. 107 §10
RAttacked Shu despite Sima Yi's objections; failed to use Huan Fan's planWei 9 §74Wei 9 §84
NDeceived by Sima Yi's feigned illness, and believed he meant no harmCh. 106 §47Ch. 107 §22
RHis confidants monopolized the government and privately divided the colony mulberry fields and government propertyWei 9 §76Wei 9 §77
NGave military command and key posts to his brothers and confidants and held drinking parties every dayCh. 106 §36Ch. 106 §37
RHeld dear by Emperor Ming and surrounded by men of renown, but they were a superficial, showy crowdWei 9 §71Wei 9 §73
NKept five hundred retainers, yet when he fell not one of them followed himCh. 106 §34Ch. 107 §20
RLuxury rivaling the Son of Heaven; privately took the late emperor's Talented Ladies. Assessment: slight in virtueWei 9 §77Wei 9 §78Wei 9 §132
NTook the best of the tribute first and took the late emperor's concubines; pushed Sima Yi asideCh. 106 §37Ch. 106 §35
RHesitated in the coup and admitted his guilt. Assessment: sank into excess and overflowingWei 9 §84Wei 9 §85Wei 9 §132
NUnable to decide all night, threw down his sword and said he would live as a rich old manCh. 107 §18Ch. 107 §17
RNo direct record — estimated from the record of his respectful prudenceWei 9 §71
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a noble of the imperial clanCh. 106 §34
RNo direct record — estimated from his sending envoys to plead guiltyWei 9 §85
NNo direct record — estimated from his helplessness at the memorialCh. 107 §13
RMade He Yan, Deng Yang and others, whom Emperor Ming had cast aside, his confidants and gave them key postsWei 9 §73Wei 9 §76
NTrusted five showy men and rejected the remonstrances of Cao Xi and Huan FanCh. 106 §34Ch. 106 §43
Records Romance Unverified No direct record; scored from their actions (evidence grade C)
3KDEX scoring — the Records use the main text of Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms; the Romance uses the 120-chapter Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Click a source tag to open that passage in the reader.
Romance chapters (3)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →
Allegiance history
- Wei · Records · 「明帝崩，齊王即位，加爽侍中，改封武安侯」
Family
| Parents | Cao Zhen Novel & History |
|---|---|
| Siblings | Cao Xi Novel & History, Cao Xun Romance, Cao Yan(曹彥) Romance |
Based on Wikidata items for the historical and Romance figures. Relations without the Unverified badge were also confirmed in the Records.
Related events (2)
- Battle of Xingshi 244 · Command
- Incident at Gaoping Tombs 249 · Command
Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).