Cao Zhi - Soshoku

A Chinese poet from the Three Kingdoms Wei period. His pen name was Zi Jian. He was from Peiguo Shu (Anhui Province). His father was the hero Cao Cao (Emperor Wu of Wei) at the end of the Eastern Han dynasty. Cao Cao, who unified northern China with his outstanding military talent in a time of chaos and warlords, was not only a revolutionary figure in his time, but also a poet who loved literature. The group of literati represented by the "Seven Sons of Jian'an (the era name of the end of the Eastern Han dynasty)" including Wang Can was formed with the establishment of Cao Cao's government, and brought about a revolutionary change in the history of literature. They elevated the simple five-line poetry form, which had been used for folk songs, to a literary form for intellectuals that could express complex thoughts and emotions, and paved the way for the mainstream of literature to shift from fu to poetry. Cao Zhi was the youngest of the Jian'an literati, and his literary activities spanned from the Later Han to the Wei dynasty. He was the one who compiled Jian'an literature and made the greatest contribution to the completion of five-character poetry.

Although Cao Cao loved the talented Cao Zhi, he was disappointed by his genius-like lack of restraint, and in 217 (Jian'an 22), he appointed his brother Cao Pi (Emperor Wen of Wei) as his successor. Cao Pi was also an excellent writer and poet, but he did not have the same flamboyance as Cao Zhi. Before the succession was decided, the close associates of both brothers were secretly engaged in political activities, and the feud between the brothers ended up lasting for a long time. The "Seven Steps Poem" is a legendary episode known for Cao Zhi's response to Cao Pi's difficult challenge to write a poem in seven steps. When Cao Cao died in 220 and Cao Pi ascended to the throne as Emperor of Wei following the abdication of the Later Han Dynasty, the imperial power was strengthened, and the Wei family was oppressed. Cao Zhi was imprisoned in name only, and sent to his fief under guard. He was frequently transferred to other provinces, and continued to live in misfortune even during the reign of Emperor Ming (Cao Pi's eldest son), until he died at the age of 41. His posthumous name was Si. His final fief was Chen (Huaiyang County, Henan Province), so he is also known as King Si of Chen. Reflecting the tragedy of the latter half of his life, his works are filled with strong emotions and sorrow, and his ability to allude to and visualize his own circumstances makes him the most outstanding of any poet of the Tang dynasty before Li Bai and Du Fu. He wrote the 10-volume "Cao Zi Jian Ji."

[Tetsuo Naruse]

"Selections of Chinese Poets 3: Cao Zhi" (1958, Iwanami Shoten) by Masafumi Ito ; "Records of the Three Kingdoms" by Kojiro Yoshikawa (1962, Chikuma Shobo)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、三国魏(ぎ)の詩人。字(あざな)は子建。沛国譙(はいこくしょう)（安徽(あんき)省）の人。父は後漢(ごかん)末の英雄曹操(そうそう)（魏の武帝）である。群雄割拠の乱世に、卓抜な軍事的才能を発揮し、華北を統一した曹操は、一世の風雲児であったのみならず、一方において文学を愛好した詩人でもあった。王粲(おうさん)ら「建安（後漢末の年号）七子」に代表される文人集団は、曹操政権の確立とともに形成され、文学の歴史に画期的な変革をもたらした。それまで民間の歌謡であった素朴な五言の詩形を、複雑な思想と感情をも表現しうる知識人の文学形式にまで高め、賦(ふ)から詩へと文学の主流が転回する道を切り開いたのである。曹植は建安の文人の最年少者であり、その文学活動は後漢から魏にまたがっているが、建安の文学を集大成し、五言詩の完成にもっとも大きく寄与した。

　曹操は、才気あふれる曹植を愛していたものの、天才肌にありがちな節度のなさに失望し、217年（建安22）に兄の曹丕(そうひ)（魏の文帝）を後継者と定めた。曹丕も優れた文章家であり詩人であるが、曹植のようなきらびやかさはない。後継者決定に至るまで、双方の側近グループが政治的に暗躍したこともあって、兄弟の間に生じた確執は長く尾を引く結果となった。「七歩の詩」は、七歩あるく間に詩をつくれという曹丕の難題に曹植がこたえたものとして知られる伝説的エピソードである。220年に曹操が死に、後漢の禅譲(ぜんじょう)を受けて曹丕が魏皇帝に即位すると、皇帝権力の強化が図られ、魏室の一族はかえって圧迫された。曹植も王とは名ばかりの幽閉同然の身となり、監視つきで封地に赴いた。頻繁に国替され、明帝（曹丕の長子）の代も不遇のまま、41歳で死んだ。諡(おくりな)は思。最後の封地が陳（河南省淮陽(わいよう)県）であったので陳思王ともよばれる。後半生の悲劇を反映して、その作品には激情と悲哀が色濃く表現されており、自己の境涯を暗示し形象化する力量は、唐代の李白(りはく)や杜甫(とほ)以前の詩人のなかでもっとも傑出している。『曹子建集』10巻がある。

［成瀬哲生］

『伊藤正文訳注『中国詩人選集3　曹植』（1958・岩波書店）』▽『吉川幸次郎著『三国志実録』（1962・筑摩書房）』

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