Cao Pi

Cao Wei Emperror (187-226)

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Momentum5.1
China rank#202
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Lived 187–226, aged 39China

China WritersWriter / Author

Wikipedia
44 languages
Cross-language footprint
Rank in China
#202
Writers
Era
187–226
Aged 39

Summary

Updated 2026-06-08

The warlord's son who ended four centuries of Han rule and crowned himself first emperor of Wei — then spent his reign not conquering rivals but building bureaucracy and writing poetry in a form no one had tried before.

Biography

About

Born around late 187, Cao Pi was the second son of the warlord Cao Cao but the eldest by Lady Bian, and he learned early to court officials for support while handling defence. After his father crushed Yuan Shao at Guandu, he took Yuan Xi's widow, Lady Zhen, as concubine; she died in 221, replaced by Empress Guo. On 25 November 220 he forced the last Han emperor to abdicate, proclaiming himself ruler of Cao Wei weeks later and ending a dynasty that had stood since 202 BC. Unlike Cao Cao, he turned inward: formalised Chen Qun's nine-rank system to draw talent into government, stripped princes of…

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