Emperor Wen of Han
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.