Ding Yi

Historical Record

Ding Yi, courtesy name Jingli, was a native of Pei Commandery, and his elder brother was Ding Yi (Ding Yi the elder). From his youth Ding Yi displayed talent and good looks, and was broadly learned. In his early years he was recruited into the offices of state, and in the Jian'an era served as Gentleman of the Yellow Gate. ^c:22 Ding Yi and his elder brother Ding Yi were both on good terms with Cao Zhi and held his talent in the highest esteem. When Cao Cao was considering the choice of an heir, Ding Yi spoke to Cao Cao, praising the benevolence, filial piety, intelligence, and wisdom of the Marquis of Linzi, Cao Zhi, as well as his broad learning and incomparable literary writings. He pointed out that there was no worthy gentleman of the realm who did not wish to follow Cao Zhi, holding that this was Heaven's blessing upon Great Wei, presaging boundless good fortune for its reign. ^c:22

When Cao Cao heard Ding Yi's words, he asked him: "Zhi—I love him; how could it be as you say! I wish to install him as heir. What do you think?" Ding Yi, undeterred even by the threat of axe and execution, again stressed that the matter concerned the rise and fall of the state and the survival of the realm, and, by the principle that "none knows the minister like his lord, and none knows the son like his father," urged Cao Cao to install Cao Zhi as heir, holding it a decision that accorded above with Heaven's mandate and below with the hearts of men. ^c:22 Cao Cao took this deeply to heart. Ding Yi, together with Ding Yi (the elder), Yang Xiu, and others, became the wings supporting Cao Zhi's contest for the position of crown prince. ^c:21 However, although Cao Zhi was outstanding in talent, he "acted on impulse, did not discipline himself, and drank without restraint," and in the end was not installed as crown prince. After Cao Pi ascended to the kingly throne, he had the Ding brothers and the male members of their households put to death. ^c:22

In the Novel

In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, the figure of Ding Yi largely accords with the historical record: he is a steadfast supporter and confidant of Cao Zhi. The novel places particular emphasis on Cao Pi's purge of Cao Zhi and his partisans after his accession. Following Cao Cao's death, when Cao Pi succeeded, Hua Xin advised him that the Marquis of Linzi, Cao Zhi, and the Marquis of Xiaohuai, Cao Xiong, had failed to come to mourn and ought to be charged with a crime. ^c:23 When Cao Pi sent an envoy to the residence of the Marquis of Linzi to lay charges, the envoy reported that Cao Zhi "daily drinks heavily with the brothers Ding Yi and Ding Yi (the younger), and is insolent and without manners." ^c:23

The envoy described the Ding brothers' attitude in the face of Cao Pi's envoy. Ding Yi (the elder) first cursed the envoy roundly, accusing Cao Pi of forgetting the bonds of flesh and blood. Then Ding Yi too spoke insolently, holding that Cao Zhi was "the most brilliant in the world and rightly should have inherited the throne, yet now is not installed," and denouncing the ministers of the court: "How can they so fail to recognize talent?" ^c:23 Cao Zhi even angrily ordered his guards to drive the envoy out with cudgels. Although there is no direct record in the histories of Ding Yi speaking thus to the envoy, this episode vividly displays Ding Yi's loyalty to Cao Zhi and his strong discontent at Cao Pi's accession, as well as his stance of upholding Cao Zhi together with his elder brother. Through this scene, the novel reinforces Ding Yi's image as one of Cao Zhi's partisans, and lays the groundwork for Cao Pi's later execution of the Ding brothers, giving it greater dramatic conflict.

Key Relationships

* Cao Zhi (friend_of): Ding Yi was a steadfast supporter and confidant of Cao Zhi. When Cao Cao was choosing an heir, Ding Yi repeatedly spoke to Cao Cao, praising Cao Zhi's talent and virtue and urging him to install Cao Zhi as crown prince. ^c:22 In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Ding Yi and his elder brother Ding Yi (the elder) were inseparable from Cao Zhi, drinking heavily together, and when Cao Pi sent an envoy to lay charges, they spoke up for Cao Zhi and bitterly denounced Cao Pi and his partisans. ^c:23 This deep friendship and political alliance ultimately also brought about Ding Yi's tragic end.
* Cao Pi (enemy_of): There was a profound hostility between Ding Yi and Cao Pi. Ding Yi was a core supporter of Cao Zhi's contest for the position of crown prince, and a political rival of Cao Pi. ^c:21 After his accession, in order to consolidate his power, Cao Pi purged Cao Zhi's partisans; Ding Yi and his elder brother Ding Yi (the elder) bore the brunt and were ultimately put to death by Cao Pi, not even the male members of their households being spared. ^c:22 In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Ding Yi spoke insolently to Cao Pi's envoy and accused Cao Pi of failing to recognize talent, which directly embodies this hostility. ^c:23 (unique to the novel)

Signature Scenes

* Urging Cao Cao to install Zhi as heir: During the Jian'an era, while serving as Gentleman of the Yellow Gate, Ding Yi spoke to Cao Cao, praising Cao Zhi's benevolence, filial piety, intelligence, wisdom, and broad learning, and strongly urging Cao Cao to install Cao Zhi as crown prince. He stressed the importance of the succession in terms of the rise and fall of the state and the survival of the realm, and called Cao Zhi the one through whom "Heaven concentrates blessing upon Great Wei." ^c:22 Cao Cao took this deeply to heart.
* Serving with his brother as Cao Zhi's wings: Ding Yi, together with his elder brother Ding Yi (the elder), Yang Xiu, and others, became a core supporter of Cao Zhi's contest for the position of crown prince, devising schemes and waving the banner for him. ^c:21 Their presence caused Cao Cao to be "in doubt, several times on the point of making him crown prince" over the matter of the succession.
* Executed after Cao Pi's accession: After Cao Pi ascended to the kingly throne, in order to remove dissenters and consolidate his rule, he ordered the execution of the Ding brothers and the male members of their households. ^c:22 This was the end of Ding Yi's political career, and a cruel embodiment of Cao Pi's struggle for power.
* Cursing Cao Pi's envoy: In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, when Cao Pi sent an envoy to the residence of the Marquis of Linzi to lay charges, the Ding brothers, before Cao Zhi, spoke insolently to the envoy, accusing Cao Pi of failing to recognize talent and declaring that Cao Zhi was "the most brilliant in the world and rightly should have inherited the throne." ^c:23 (unique to the novel) This scene vividly displays Ding Yi's loyalty to Cao Zhi and his contempt for Cao Pi, and foreshadows their tragic end.