THE INCIDENT AT THE GATE: CAO ZHI, THE SUCCESSION, AND LITERARY FAME

BY

ROBERT JOE CUTTER

Cao Zhi (192-232) is one of the major poets in Chinese literary history. He has also traditionally been accorded a good deal of sympathy by Chinese scholars. Even today, thanks in part to the enduring, though erroneous belief that the "Poem in Seven Paces" ("Qi bu shi" known so well to Chinese students is from his hand, one frequently encounters a popular perception that Cao was an unfortunate figure. As it turns out, there is reasonable justification for that perception. There is evidence of what has been called "the notoriously harsh treatment of the princes of the blood in Wei times."' Indications of this treatment are seen in Cao's works and in his biography, where it is expressly mentioned near the end, and it was noted again by Chen Shou Mg (233-297), compiler of the Records of the Three Kingdoms (San guo zhi his chapter on the royal princes of Emperor Wu (Cao Cao 155-220) and Emperor Wen (Cao Pi 187-226).2 But Cao Zhi was not always in a precarious position. Had things worked out differently it might have been he rather than his brother Cao Pi who became the first em- peror of the (220-264). This study grew out of an attempt to understand why Cao Zhi, in many ways an appealing figure and one who had at first a special place in the heart of his father Cao Cao, was not designated Cao Cao's successor and finally found himself regarded with a certain amount of suspicion and distrust. It com- prises two parts. The first part deals with an event that I call the incident at the gate. This event either precipitated or exacerbated a falling out between Cao Zhi and Cao Cao. A consideration of the possible reasons behind the incident at the gate in turn leads us into the second part of the study, which concerns Cao Zhi's ambitions and his concept of fame as a path to immortality. 229

1. The Incident at the Gate3

One day, perhaps in the year 217, Cao Zhi did something that got him into serious trouble with his powerful father. Cao Zhi's biography says simply:

Cao Zhi once rode his carriage down the speedway (chi opened the major's gate (sima men and went out. Cao Cao was incensed, and the prefect of official carriages (gongju ling was sentenced to death. Thence- forth, he added to the restrictions on the lords, and his favoritism towards Cao Zhi declined daily.4

The gravity of this affair as far as Cao Cao was concerned is fur- ther reflected in three orders (ling fit) that he issued. The first says: "At first I referred to Cao Zhi as the one among all my sons most capable of settling great affairs." The second shows his change of mind: "From the time Cao Zhi, Marquis of Linzi went out without permission, opened the major's gate, and arrived at the Metal Gate ( Jin men it has made me look on this son with different eyes indeed." The third order states in part: "Ever since Cao Zhi opened the major's gate without permission, I have never 5 again trusted any of the lords."5 Precisely what was it in Cao Zhi's acts that so angered Cao Cao? a The answer is to be found in part in Han law. From certain Han dynasty cases we can see that both the use of the speedway and of the major's gates were regulated and that violations of these regulations were punishable offenses. For instance, sometime between 168 and 157 B.C. the Han heir apparent and the King of Liang entered the palace grounds without getting out of their carriage at the major's gate. Zhang Shizhi #$$Z pursued them and would not let them