The Poetry of Cao Zhi

This book provides a translation of the complete poems and fu of Cao Zhi (192-232), one of Chinäs most famous poets. Cao Zhi lived during a tumultuous age, a time of intrepid figures and of bold and violent acts that have captured the Chinese imagination across the centuries. His father Cao Cao (155-220) became the most powerful leader in a divided empire, and on his death, Cao Zhi-s elder brother Cao Pi (187-226) engineered the abdication of the last Han emperor, establishing himself as the founding emperor of the Wei Dynasty (220-265). Although Cao Zhi wanted to play an active role in government and military matters, he was not allowed to do so, and he is remembered as a writer. The Poetry of Cao Zhi contains in its body one hundred twenty-eight pieces of poetry and fu. The extant editions of Cao Zhi-s writings differ in the number of pieces they contain and present many textual variants. The translations in this volume are based on a valuable edition of Cao-s works by Ding Yan (1794-1875), and are supplemented by robust annotations, a brief biography of Cao Zhi, and an introduction to the poetry by the translator.