  cao zhang (died 223), courtesy name ziwen, was a prince of the state of cao wei in the three kingdoms period. he was a son of cao cao, a warlord who rose to power towards the end of the han dynasty and laid the foundation of wei. cao zhang was said to have wrestled and killed wild animals with his bare hands. he was also a general under his father, having led his troops to significant victories against wuhuan tribe incursions on the northern frontier. ==background== the second of cao cao's four sons by empress dowager bian, cao zhang was said to excel and obsessed in archery and armed combat in his youth so much so that he would fight fierce beasts with his bare hands. though cao cao criticised his lack of academic learning, cao zhang had always aspired to pursue a career in the military. once, his father sent him to the imperial university to study, but cao zhang lamented to his aides, saying a real man should command the army to make a name for himself instead of being a doctorãä¸å¤«ä¸çºè¡ãéï¼å°åè¬é¨é¦³æ²æ¼ ï¼é©æçï¼ç«åå»ºèè³ï¼ä½è½ä½åå£«éªï¼ãcited is cao zhang's original line from the records of the three kingdoms. (a doctor was both an academic degree and a formal court title for many chinese dynasties). ==as a general== when the wuhuan tribe rebelled on the northern frontier in 218, cao zhang, holding the rank of northern general of the household, acting on the authority of general of the resolute cavalry (é©é¨å°è»), led a force of 1,000 infantry and several hundreds of cavalry from central government to suppress the revolt.(å¤åæï¼ä»£é¡ãä¸è°·çä¸¸ç¡è£æ°ç­åï¼é£é¢éµä¾¯å½°è¨ç ´ä¹ã) chen shou. records of the three kingdoms, volume 1, biography of cao cao. before his departure, cao cao summoned him and specially warned him: "we are father and son in home, but we are supervisor and subordinate when assigned a task: the law will be applied straightly if you ever made any mistake, keep this in mind." when cao zhang arrived the field, his force had not been joined by 
223_deaths Cao_Cao_and_immediate_family Cao_Wei_imperial_princes