Chao Cuo

Chao Cuo (simplified Chinese: 晁错; traditional Chinese: 晁錯, ca. 200–154 BC) was a Chinese political advisor and official of the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), renowned for his intellectual capabilities and foresight in martial and political matters. Although not against the philosophy of Confucius (551–479 BC), he was described by later Eastern Han scholars as a Legalist. He was an early advocate of revoking the heqin treaty with the Xiongnu nomads of the north. He compared the relative strengths and weaknesses of both Han Chinese and Xiongnu military tactics. In a written work of 169 BC, he advocated a systematic policy to populate and defend frontier zones. He proposed that civilian migrants supported by the government could simultaneously train as militia units while developing and cultivating remote regions which were under frequent attack by nomadic forces. He fell victim to execution when political rivalries at the imperial court convinced Emperor Jing that Chao's death would curtail or at least mitigate the Rebellion of the Seven States.

Chao Cuo was born in Yuzhou, Henan and served the imperial courts of Emperor Wen of Han (r. 180–157 BC) and Emperor Jing of Han (157–141 BC). While he served as a subordinate official in the Ministry of Ceremonies, he was once called upon by Emperor Wen to serve as a high dignitary in studying with the elderly Master Fu, or Fu Sheng, an academician (boshi 博士) who served the previous Qin Dynasty (r. 211–206 BC) and had hidden and partially recovered a copy of the Classic of History during the Qin regime's purge of opposition literature. However, since Fu was too old to give lectures, he had his educated daughter teach Chao instead.

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