Cao Zhi (pronunciationⓘ; Chinese: 曹植; 192 – 27 December 232),[a] courtesy name Zijian (Chinese: 子建), posthumously known as Prince Si of Chen (陈思王), was a prince of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China, and an accomplished poet in his time.

In his later life, Cao Zhi was not allowed to meddle in politics, despite his many petitions to seek office.

According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi), Cao Zhi could recite the Shi Jing, Analects and more than ten thousand verses worth of poems before he even turned 20.

He also sent Cao Zhi, along with the other brothers, away from the capital to a country estate exiling them into the countryside, and prohibited them from taking part in central political issues.

He wrote to the second Wei emperor Cao Rui many times, seeking a position to apply his talents.

Severely depressed by the setbacks and by the news that he was to leave the capital for the third time in eleven years,[6] Cao Zhi soon developed a fatal illness.

Aged 41 (by East Asian reckoning), he quickly died in December 232, leaving behind instructions for a simple burial.

The civil strife towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty gave the Jian'an poems their characteristic solemn yet heart-stirring tone, while lament over the ephemerality of life was also a central theme of works from this period.

In terms of the history of Chinese literature, the Jian'an poems were a transition from the early folk songs into scholarly poetry.

Although Jian'an refers to the era name between 196 and 220, Cao Zhi's poems could in fact be categorised into two periods, with the year 220 as the watershed.

On the other hand, his setbacks in political pursuits after the death of his father in 220 gave rise to the grievous tone of his later works.

Written in the early years of his life, the poem portrayed a young warrior who answered fearlessly to the need of his country and reflected Cao Zhi's own aspiration to contribute to his times.

When Empress Bian, their common birth mother, heard of this, she went to Cao Pi and pleaded for the life of her younger son.

If Cao Zhi failed the test, it would be excuse enough to put him to death, Hua Xin suggested.

Cao Pi told his brother to make a poem based on the painting after walking seven paces.

He then recited: Two butcher's victims lowing walked along, Each head bore curving bones, a sturdy pair.

He then bade Cao Zhi make another poem on the spot based on their fraternal relationship, without using the word "brother".

In 2002, Hong Kong's TVB produced the television drama, Where the Legend Begins, featuring Cao Zhi as the intelligent and compassionate protagonist.

Cao Zhi (Ts'ao Chih) may be the titular figure of Ezra Pound's poem Ts'ai Chi'h, included in Des Imagistes (1914).