Cao Song
| Cao Song | |
|---|---|
| Official of Han dynasty | |
| Born | (Unknown) |
| Died | 193 |
| Names | |
| Traditional Chinese | 曹嵩 |
| Simplified Chinese | 曹嵩 |
| Pinyin | Cáo Sōng |
| Wade–Giles | Ts'ao2 Sung1 |
| Courtesy name | Jugao (Chinese: 巨高; pinyin: Jùgāo; Wade–Giles: Chü4-kao1) |
| Posthumous name | Emperor Tai (Chinese: 太皇帝; pinyin: Tài Huángdì; Wade–Giles: Tai Huang-ti; literally: "Grand Emperor") |
Cao Song (died 193),courtesy name Jugao, was an official who lived in the Eastern Han dynasty. He was the foster son of the eunuch Cao Teng and the father of the warlord Cao Cao, who rose to prominence in the final years of Eastern Han and laid the foundation of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period. Cao Song was posthumously honoured as "Emperor Tai" (literally "Grand Emperor") by his grandson Cao Pi in 220 when the latter ended the Han dynasty and founded the Cao Wei regime.
Cao Song was known to be honest, sincere and of good moral conduct. He served as the Colonel-Director of Retainers (司隸校尉) in the Han imperial court. During the reign of Emperor Ling, he served consecutively as the Minister of Finance (大司農) and Minister Herald (大鴻臚) before replacing Cui Lie () as the Grand Commandant (太尉). However, it was alleged that Cao Song obtained the post of Grand Commandant by bribing eunuchs, who were deeply trusted by the emperor. Another account stated that Cao Song purchased those official posts because Emperor Ling introduced a practice of selling political offices for money.
Around 193, Cao Song retired and returned to his hometown in Qiao County (譙縣; present-day Bozhou, Anhui). Along the way, he was murdered while passing through Langya State (琅玡國; present-day Linyi, Shandong) in Xu Province. At the same time, Cao Song's eldest son, the warlord Cao Cao, had established a base in Yan Province (covering present-day southwestern Shandong and eastern Henan).
There are three different accounts of Cao Song's death:
All the accounts agree that Cao Cao held Tao Qian responsible for the murder of his father regardless of the degree of Tao Qian's involvement in the incident. This led to Cao Cao launching an invasion on Xu Province between 193 and 194 to punish Tao Qian for his role in Cao Song's death.
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