Cao Cao - That's right

Founder of the Three Kingdoms Wei Dynasty in China. His posthumous name was Emperor Wu. His courtesy name was Mengde. He was from Pei State's Shao (Bo County, Anhui Province). His grandfather, Cao Teng, was a eunuch who served Emperor Huan of the Later Han Dynasty. His father, Grand Weiwei Cao Song, was his adopted son. Cao Cao was recommended as a filial and virtuous man at the age of 20, and after becoming a langzhong, he served in military positions and as a county magistrate and state minister. When Dong Zhuo, who had a powerful army, deposed the young emperor and supported Emperor Xian, he raised an army in Jiwu, Yanzhou in 189 and joined the army to subjugate Dong Zhuo, which was led by Yuan Shao. However, the war situation was unfavorable, and many soldiers deserted. After Dong Zhuo's death, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and other warlords divided their bases and fought each other in various places. In 192, when the Yellow Turban army of Qingzhou invaded Yanzhou, Cao Cao was welcomed and, calling himself the governor of Yanzhou, defeated them. He incorporated 300,000 elite Yellow Turbans under his wing and formed a warlord based in Yanzhou's Echeng. He also defeated Tao Qian and Lü Bu, exerting his influence in Xuzhou to the east, and took control of part of Yuzhou to the west, which had been under the control of Yuan Shu and the Yellow Turban army. He absorbed the Yellow Turban army of Qingzhou, as well as recruits and wanderers who had surrendered from various places, and organized them into his own direct army, separating soldiers from citizens in terms of status. In 195, he was appointed governor of Yanzhou by Emperor Xian, and the following year, 196, he welcomed Emperor Xian to his residence in Yuzhou. Using the advice of Zaozhi and others, he appointed field officials in prefectures and counties such as Xu, established military farms, and worked to secure military supplies.

As Cao Cao built up his economic and military strength, he could not avoid confrontation with Yuan Shao, who had formed warlords in the four provinces of Ji, Qing, Bing, and You. In 200, Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao in the Battle of Guandu and unified most of northern China. He took control of Jizhou and moved to Ye as his base. The tax system he implemented around this time, which levied land tax and silk and cotton, was the precursor to the tax system of the Western Jin Dynasty. In 208, Cao Cao became Prime Minister of the Later Han Dynasty and continued to appoint Xun Yu, Chen Gong, Zhong Yao, and others as subordinate officials. Many of his trusted retainers were from Yingchuan, where the tradition of legalist criminal studies was deeply rooted, and this influence can be seen in the rewards and punishments given to those who have done well and corporal punishment. After the death of Jingzhou governor Liu Biao and his son Liu Cong surrendered without a fight, Cao Cao annexed northern Jingzhou, including Xiangyang, and advanced further south to Jiangling. He then fought against the allied forces of Liu Bei and Sun Quan at Red Cliffs, but was defeated and forced to retreat, leaving the world divided into three parts. Cao Cao then moved westward, pacifying Guanzhong, where he was awarded the title of Duke of Wei and made his third daughter an aristocrat to Emperor Xian. He then had his maternal relative, Xiahou Yuan, pacify Liangzhou, expanding his territory, deposing Empress Fu and making Zhongnu the empress of Emperor Xian. Cao Cao also personally campaigned against Zhang Lu, the leader of the Five Pours of Rice Dao, which had power in Hanzhong, and in 216 he became the King of Wei, effectively becoming the emperor. Cao Cao was knowledgeable and skilled in many areas, including poetry, cursive writing, music, chess (Go), and martial arts, and was also well-versed in military books and tactics, making him skilled in both the arts and the military.

[Ueda Sanae]

"The Wisdom of the Three Kingdoms" by Naotsugu Kano (Kodansha Gendai Shinsho) " "The Heroes of China 3: Cao Cao" by Kozo Kawai (1986, Shueisha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、三国魏(ぎ)の創設者。諡(おくりな)は武帝。字(あざな)は孟徳(もうとく)。沛(はい)国譙(しょう)（安徽(あんき)省亳(はく)県）の人。祖父の曹騰(そうとう)は後漢(ごかん)の桓帝(かんてい)に仕えた宦官(かんがん)。父の太尉曹嵩(そうすう)はその養子である。曹操は20歳で孝廉(こうれん)に推挙され、郎中となってからは武職や県令国相を歴任した。強大な軍隊をもっていた董卓(とうたく)が少帝を廃立して献帝を擁立すると、189年、兗(えん)州己吾で起兵し、袁紹(えんしょう)を盟主と仰ぐ董卓討伐軍に参加した。しかし戦況は不利で、逃亡する士卒も多かった。董卓が死ぬと、袁紹、袁術ら群雄は各地に割拠し対立抗争した。192年、青州の黄巾(こうきん)軍が兗州に侵入すると、曹操は迎えられて兗州牧と称してこれを討ち、黄巾の精鋭30万を翼下に編入し兗州鄄城(けんじょう)を拠点として軍閥を形成した。また、陶謙(とうけん)や呂布(りょふ)を破って東方の徐州に勢力を及ぼし、袁術や黄巾軍の支配下にあった西隣の予州の一部を収めた。青州の黄巾軍をはじめ、各地で投降した黄巾軍や募兵、流寓(りゅうぐう)の徒などを吸収して直属の軍隊として編成し、兵と民との身分上の分離を行った。195年、献帝により兗州牧に任命され、翌196年、献帝を予州の許に迎え、棗祗(そうし)らの献策を用いて、許などの州郡に田官を置き、屯田をおこし軍糧の確保に努めた。

　こうして、曹操が経済力、軍事力を蓄えると、冀(き)、青、并(へい)、幽の四州に軍閥を形成していた袁紹との対立は避けられなくなった。200年、官渡の戦いによって袁紹を大破して、ほぼ華北を統一した曹操は、冀州牧を領し、鄴(ぎょう)に移って根拠地とした。このころに施行した田租と絹綿を徴収する税制は、西晋(せいしん)の税制の前駆をなすものである。208年、後漢(ごかん)の丞相(じょうしょう)となった曹操は、引き続き荀彧(じゅんいく)、陳羣(ちんぐん)、鍾繇(しょうよう)などを属官として任用した。彼の腹心の臣には法家刑名の学の伝統が根強く残る潁川(えいせん)出身の者が多く、信賞必罰や肉刑などにその影響が現れている。荊(けい)州牧劉表(りゅうひょう)が死に、その子劉琮(りゅうそう)が戦わずして降服すると、曹操は襄陽(じょうよう)など荊州北部を併合し、さらに南下して江陵に進撃した。ついで劉備・孫権の連合軍と赤壁に会戦したが、敗れて退却し、天下三分の形勢となった。曹操は西方に転戦して関中を平定し、魏公の爵位を授けられ、三女を献帝の貴人とした。ついで外戚(がいせき)の夏侯淵(かこうえん)に涼(りょう)州を平定させて領域の拡大を計り、皇后伏氏を廃して、中女を献帝の皇后にたてた。また、曹操は、漢中に勢力をもつ五斗米道(ごとべいどう)の首領である張魯(ちょうろ)を親征し、216年魏王の位につき、事実上の皇帝となった。曹操は博識多芸で詩賦、草書、音楽、囲棋（囲碁）、方術などをよくし、また兵書や兵法に精通するなど、文武両面に優れていた。

［上田早苗］

『狩野直禎著『三国志の知恵』（講談社現代新書）』▽『川合康三著『中国の英傑3　曹操』（1986・集英社）』

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