| NAME | |
|---|---|
| Chinese Name | 曹娥, 曹娥, Cáo É |
| Nickname | Filial Daughter of Shangyu |
| Other name | Tào Nga |
| INFORMATION | |
| Birth Place | Shangyu, Kuaiji Commandery (会稽郡上虞; Thượng Ngu, quận Cối Kê) |
| Death Reason | Drowned while searching the river for her father Cao Xu |
| FAMILY | |
| Father | |
| CAREER | |
| Allegiance | Han Dynasty |
Biography & Historical Record
Cao E (曹娥, Tào Nga) was a celebrated filial daughter of Shangyu in Kuaiji Commandery. When her father Cao Xu, a shaman, drowned, she searched the river for days and then drowned herself. Han steles and later local cult made her a model of filial piety. Romance of the Three Kingdoms mentions her as a cultural allusion rather than as a contemporary of Cao Cao.
Role in Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In Chapter 71 the novel invokes Cao E’s stele and the famous riddle-inscription associated with her shrine, using the Han filial legend as literary colour during the Hanzhong campaigns.
Cao E (曹娥) — Historical & Literary Timeline
Eastern Han
Filial drowning
Searches the river for her father Cao Xu and dies in the water.
Chapter 71
Stele allusion
Her shrine inscription is cited in the novel.
For detailed historical records, archives, and official chronicles, explore Cao E on Wikipedia.
Key Relationships
Family
- Father: Cao Xu (曹盱, Tào Hư) — Shangyu shaman who drowned; Cao E died seeking his body.
Friends
- No information
Enemies
- No information
Other
- No information
In Novel
Chapter 71
- Cao E (曹娥, Tào Nga): The filial daughter of Shangyu; her stele and riddle are cited as a literary allusion.
In History
Summary
- Cao E (曹娥, Tào Nga): A famous Eastern Han filial daughter of Shangyu, not a Three Kingdoms politician. Her cult and stele are historical; the novel uses her as an allusion.
Historical Record
- Han commemorative inscriptions and later local histories preserve the Cao E legend. She is not a Sanguozhi biography subject.
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