Cao Chong

Historical Record

Cao Chong, courtesy name Cangshu, was a son of Cao Cao and was enfeoffed as Prince Ai of Deng ^c:2119. From childhood he was exceptionally intelligent; by the age of five or six, his intellect and discernment were already like those of an adult ^c:2119. According to the histories, Sun Quan once presented Cao Cao with a giant elephant, and Cao Cao wished to know its weight. He asked his ministers all around, but none could propose a workable method. At this, the young Cao Chong offered a plan: "Place the elephant on a boat, and when the boat sinks to a certain mark in the water, carve a marker at that point. Then load other objects one by one and weigh them, until the boat sinks to the same mark; in this way the weight of the elephant can be known." Cao Cao greatly admired this and put the method into practice accordingly ^c:2119.

Cao Chong was not only exceptionally intelligent but also renowned for his benevolence and discernment. During Cao Cao's administration, military and state affairs were many and punishments severe. On one occasion, Cao Cao's saddle was gnawed by rats, and the official in charge of the storehouse, gripped by fear, believed he would surely die and even intended to bind himself and beg for punishment, yet still feared he could not escape death. When Cao Chong learned of this, he said to the storehouse clerk, "Wait three days, then turn yourself in." Cao Chong then used a knife to poke holes in his own single garment, like the marks of rat bites, and feigned dejection with a sorrowful expression. When Cao Cao saw this and inquired, Cao Chong replied, "Common folk believe that when rats gnaw one's clothing, the owner will meet with misfortune. Now that my garment has been gnawed, I am therefore anxious." Cao Cao comforted him, saying, "This is nothing but idle talk; there is nothing to worry about." Soon after, the storehouse clerk reported the rat-gnawed saddle, and Cao Cao laughed and said, "Even my son's clothing, right at his side, was gnawed by rats—how much more a saddle hung on a pillar?" And so Cao Cao did not hold the storehouse clerk to account ^c:2119.

Cao Chong's benevolence and discernment were displayed repeatedly in handling such matters. Among those who by right should have been condemned to death, those whom Cao Chong secretly clarified the truth of and thereby had pardoned and spared, numbered several dozen in all. According to the *Book of Wei*, whenever Cao Chong saw someone about to be punished, he would always investigate where the injustice lay and secretly plead on their behalf. For diligent officials who had transgressed the law through error, he too often pleaded with Cao Cao and asked for leniency. His discernment and benevolence were innate, and his appearance and bearing were handsome beyond the ordinary; thus he was especially beloved and valued by Cao Cao ^c:2119. Cao Cao many times praised Cao Chong before his ministers, revealing his wish that Cao Chong might succeed to the great inheritance. But heaven did not grant his desire: in the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208 CE), Cao Chong, only thirteen years old, fell ill. Cao Cao personally prayed to heaven on his behalf, but in the end Cao Chong still died of his illness. Cao Cao was grief-stricken beyond bearing, and even when Cao Pi tried to console him, Cao Cao said sorrowfully, "This is my misfortune, but the good fortune of you brothers." As he said this, Cao Cao could not help but shed tears. To make up for Cao Chong's regret, Cao Cao arranged a posthumous marriage for him with a deceased daughter of the Zhen family and buried them together, conferred on him the seal and ribbon of Cavalry Commandant, and ordered that Cao Cong, son of Cao Ju, Marquis of Wan, be made heir to Cao Chong. In the twenty-second year of Jian'an (217 CE), Cao Cong was enfeoffed as Marquis of Deng ^c:2119.

In the Novel

*Romance of the Three Kingdoms* does not give Cao Chong any independent literary shaping; his image and deeds essentially remain consistent with the historical record, with no marked deviation or added episodes. The novel's mentions of Cao Chong center mainly on the anecdotes of "weighing the elephant" and his "benevolence," episodes drawn directly from official histories such as the *Records of the Three Kingdoms* ^c:2119. Thus in *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Cao Chong exists as a representative of the precocious and benevolent type among Cao Cao's many sons, without any novel-only episode or characterization. For instance, regarding his exoneration of the storehouse clerk and Cao Cao's grief at his early death, the novel offers no detailed depiction, but rather emphasizes his side of exceptional intelligence. Cao Chong may be said to be a relatively flat character in the novel, his main function being to display Cao Cao's love for a worthy and capable son and the regret brought by his early death.

Key Relationships

* Cao Cao (kin_of): Cao Chong was one of Cao Cao's most beloved sons. Cao Cao greatly admired both his intellect and his character, praising him many times before his ministers and revealing his wish that he might succeed to the great inheritance ^c:2119. Cao Chong's early death dealt Cao Cao a tremendous blow; Cao Cao once said, "This is my misfortune, but the good fortune of you brothers," words full of grief ^c:2119.
* Lady Huan (kin_of): Lady Huan was Cao Chong's birth mother, but the histories offer little depiction of her specific interactions with Cao Chong.
* Lady Zhen (spouse_of): After Cao Chong's death, Cao Cao arranged a posthumous marriage for him with a deceased daughter of the Zhen family and buried them together—a marriage acknowledged after the fact, to make up for the regret that Cao Chong had not married in life ^c:2119.

Iconic Scenes

* Cao Chong Weighs the Elephant: This is Cao Chong's most famous iconic event. Sun Quan presented a giant elephant, and Cao Cao wished to know its weight, but his ministers were at a loss. The five- or six-year-old Cao Chong proposed the ingenious method of "placing the elephant on a great boat, marking the water line, then loading objects to match it," solving the problem and displaying his extraordinary wisdom ^c:2119. This scene fully embodies Cao Chong's traits of being "young, perceptive, and brilliant, with the intellect of a grown man."
* Exonerating the Storehouse Clerk: When Cao Cao's saddle was gnawed by rats and the storehouse clerk feared punishment, Cao Chong cleverly used the gnawing of his own clothing as a pretext to lead Cao Cao to lighten the clerk's punishment, ultimately sparing the clerk from blame ^c:2119. This event displays not only Cao Chong's intelligence but also his "benevolent and discerning" character, his benevolent heart that "often argued the case for those condemned to death, by which they were saved and pardoned."
* Cao Cao Prays for Him and Mourns: At only thirteen, Cao Chong was stricken with illness, and Cao Cao personally prayed to heaven on his behalf, begging for his recovery. After Cao Chong's death, Cao Cao was grief-stricken in the extreme, even revealing in his conversation with Cao Pi his boundless sorrow over Cao Chong's early death and his complex feelings toward his other sons ^c:2119. This scene profoundly reveals Cao Cao's deep paternal love for and hopes in Cao Chong.