In the long river of Chinese ancient history, many love stories have been praised for thousands of years. Among them, the story of Zhen Mi and Cao Zhi has attracted much attention and is considered as a tragic love story between uncle and sister-in-law. However, did this relationship really exist? This article will explore who Zhen Mi was before she became Cao Zhi's wife and the relationship between them based on historical data.

I. Zhen Mi's Background

Zhen Mi, styled Wen Zhao, was one of the famous beauties in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. She was born into an official family and was intelligent and outstanding in appearance since childhood. In the frequently war-torn late Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhen Mi's fate also underwent tremendous changes.

II. Zhen Mi's Marriage with Cao Pi

After Cao Cao united the north, in order to consolidate his power, he decided to marry his son-in-law Yuan Shao's daughter-in-law Zhen Mi to his son Cao Pi. Thus, Zhen Mi became Cao Pi's wife. Although Cao Pi highly praised Zhen Mi's beauty and talent, their relationship was not deep.

III. The Relationship between Zhen Mi and Cao Zhi

1. Uncle-sister-in-law Relationship: Cao Zhi was Cao Pi's younger brother, so there was an uncle-sister-in-law relationship between Zhen Mi and Cao Zhi. In the social environment of that time, this relationship should have been a purely kinship relationship.

2. Literary Glorification: However, in some literary works, the uncle-sister-in-law relationship between Zhen Mi and Cao Zhi was depicted as a love affair filled with affection. These works often emphasized their common interests in literature, music, and the emotions they developed on this basis.

3. Historical Truth: In fact, these love stories about Zhen Mi and Cao Zhi are likely to be inventions of later scholars. From historical data, there is no conclusive evidence that they ever had a romantic relationship beyond the uncle-sister-in-law relationship.

IV. Conclusion

The story of Zhen Mi and Cao Zhi is a controversial topic in Chinese ancient history. Although the depictions in literary works are sigh-worthy, we should view this relationship rationally. From the available historical data, Zhen Mi was Cao Pi's wife before she became Cao Zhi's, and her relationship with Cao Zhi was merely an uncle-sister-in-law relationship. This supposed love story is likely to be artistic processing by later scholars, and we should approach this history with a more objective attitude.

　　Disclaimer: The above content is sourced from the internet and the copyright belongs to the original author. If there is any infringement of your original copyright, please inform us and we will delete the relevant content as soon as possible.