TS'AO P'EI

born AD 187, Po-hsien [now in modern Anhwei province], China died 226, China Pinyin Cao Pei, posthumous name (shih) Wen-ti, courtesy name (tzu) Tzu-heng founder of the short-lived Wei dynasty (AD 220265/266) during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. The son of the great Han general and warlord Ts'ao Ts'ao, Ts'ao P'ei succeeded his father as king of Wei upon the latter's death in 220. At the same time, Ts'ao P'ei formally proclaimed the end of the Han dynasty (206 BCAD 220) and the inauguration of the Wei dynasty, of which he was the first emperor. He retired the last Han emperor with great honours and married the emperor's two daughters. He then undertook administrative reforms in his domains. Ts'ao P'ei's Wei dynasty never controlled more than the northern part of China and lasted less than 50 years.