TS'AO CHIH

born 192, China died 232, China Pinyin Cao Zhi, also called (WadeGiles romanization) Ch'en Ssu Wang, or Prince Ssu Of Ch'en one of China's greatest lyric poets and the son of the famous general Ts'ao Ts'ao. Ts'ao Chih was born at the time his father was assuming command over the northern third of China, later to be named the Wei kingdom by his successor, Ts'ao P'ei, Ts'ao Chih's older brother and bitter rival. In a family of poetsthe verses of Ts'ao Ts'ao and Ts'ao P'ei were also widely knownTs'ao Chih's talents quickly surpassed those of his father and elder brother. Indeed, Ts'ao Ts'ao was so impressed with the poetic skill that Ts'ao Chih displayed from his earliest years that he once considered making him crown prince over the head of Ts'ao P'ei. Added to Ts'ao P'ei's resentment of Ts'ao Chih was the fact that as a young adolescent Ts'ao Chih had fallen in love with the Lady Chen, the woman who later became the consort of his elder brother. Thus, when Ts'ao P'ei ascended the throne as Emperor Wen of Wei in 220, he took pains to make his younger brother's life as difficult as possible. Ts'ao Chih's resulting frustration and misery can be seen as a theme of much of his poetry. Writing in the then-standard five-word line, Ts'ao Chih extended and strengthened its use to make it a flexible and yet precise vehicle for the expression of his wide-ranging emotions.