Cao Xing was a military general serving under the warlord Lü Bu

Lü Bu

Lü Bu was a military general and later a minor warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. According to the Records of Three Kingdoms, Lü Bu was highly-skilled in horse-riding and archery, and was thus nicknamed "Flying General"...

 during the late Han Dynasty

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

 period of Chinese history

History of China

Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...

. Little was documented about Cao Xing in historical records except for an incident described in Wang Can

Wang Can

Wang Can was a politician, scholar and poet during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He contributed greatly to the establishment of laws and standards during the founding days of the Principality of Wei – predecessor to the later Cao Wei kingdom – under Cao Cao...

's Records of Heroes (英雄記).

Biography

Cao was a subordinate of Hao Meng

Hao Meng

Hao Meng was a military general serving under the warlord Lü Bu during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He rebelled against his lord and was killed by Gao Shun.-In fiction:...

, a general serving under Lü Bu. In 196, Hao rebelled against his lord but was defeated by Gao Shun

Gao Shun

Gao Shun was a military general serving under the warlord Lü Bu during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. Although he only had 700 men under his command, he was nicknamed as the "camp crusher " for his destructive charges, and came to be known as Lü's most able commander...

. Cao led his men to pursue the retreating Hao and cut off Hao's arm in the skirmish, but he was also injured. Gao came to Cao's rescue and he slew Hao. After the rebellion was crushed, Cao told Lü Bu that Hao was instigated by Yuan Shu

Yuan Shu

Yuan Shu was a warlord during the late Han Dynasty era of Chinese history. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the imperial court in 189. He was said to be a younger cousin of the warlord Yuan Shao, but was actually Yuan Shao's younger half-brother...

 to rebel, and that Chen Gong

Chen Gong

Gong Chen was an advisor to the warlord Lü Bu during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. However, he started his career under Cao Cao before defecting to Lü Bu and was executed when the latter was defeated by Cao....

 was an accomplice. Cao added that he had tried to stop Hao, but Hao refused to listen to him. Lü Bu did not probe further into the case because Chen Gong was an important strategist to him. Lü Bu praised Cao and put him in command of Hao Meng's men.

In fiction

In Luo Guanzhong

Luo Guanzhong

Luo Ben , better known by his style name Luo Guanzhong , was a Chinese writer of the early Ming Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was also known as Huhai Sanren...

's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a Chinese historical novel based on the events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, starting in 169 and ending with the reunification of the land in...

, Cao Xing played a greater role at the Battle of Xiapi

Battle of Xiapi

The Battle of Xiapi was a battle fought by the forces of Lü Bu against the allied armies of Cao Cao and Liu Bei in 198 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history...

. In 198, Cao and Gao Shun were sent by Lü Bu to defend Xiaopei

Xiaopei

Xiaopei is an ancient Chinese town located in present-day Pei County, Jiangsu. During the late Han Dynasty period, it was under the jurisdiction of Xu Province, governed by Tao Qian. Before Tao died, he handed his governorship over to Liu Bei. Liu Bei took refuge in Xiaopei when Lü Bu seized Xu...

 from Cao Cao

Cao Cao

Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...

's general Xiahou Dun

Xiahou Dun

Xiahou Dun was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. Cao Cao's original family name was Xiahou, but his father Cao Song was the adopted son of the eunuch Cao Teng, so Xiahou Dun and Cao Cao share blood relations...

. When the two armies met outside the city, Xiahou dueled with Gao for about 40 or 50 rounds before Gao retreated. Xiahou pursued Gao and encountered Cao Xing, who was lying in ambush.

Cao fired an arrow at Xiahou, which hit him right in the left eye. With a cry, Xiahou pulled out the arrow along with his eyeball. He exclaimed, "Essence of my father, blood of my mother, I cannot throw this away.", and then swallowed his eyeball. Xiahou then charged towards Cao and impaled him right in the face with his spear, killing Cao.