Cao Chong

Cao Chong (曹沖; 196 – 208), courtesy name Cangshu (倉舒), was a son of Cao Cao, a prominent warlord who rose to power in the late Eastern Han dynasty and laid the foundation for the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He is widely remembered for his intelligence and benevolence, despite his young age.

Cao Chong was known for his exceptional cleverness and quick wit from a very young age. He possessed a natural ability to solve problems that baffled others, and many anecdotes highlighting his intelligence circulated during his lifetime and were later recorded in historical texts like the Sanguozhi (Records of the Three Kingdoms).

The most famous story associated with Cao Chong is the "Cao Chong Weighs an Elephant" tale. According to the story, Cao Cao acquired a large elephant as a gift, but no one knew how to weigh it. Cao Chong proposed a solution: load the elephant onto a large boat, mark the waterline on the hull, then remove the elephant and load stones onto the boat until it sank to the same waterline. By weighing the stones, they could determine the weight of the elephant.

Cao Chong's intelligence and compassion were highly regarded by Cao Cao, who considered him a potential heir. However, Cao Chong died at the young age of 12 or 13 due to illness. His early death was a great loss to Cao Cao, who deeply mourned his son's passing. Some accounts suggest that Cao Cao later lamented the loss of Cao Chong, believing he could have been a capable ruler. The death of Cao Chong had a significant impact on Cao Cao's succession plans and may have influenced his ultimate decision to choose Cao Pi as his heir.