On This Day
226 – Cao Rui succeeds his father as emperor of the Kingdom of Wei.
Cao Rui (pronunciation (help·info)) (204 or 206 – 22 January 239), courtesy name Yuanzhong, was the second emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. His parentage is in dispute: his mother, Lady Zhen, was Yuan Xi’s wife, but she later remarried Cao Pi, the first ruler of Wei. Based on conflicting accounts of his age, Pei Songzhi calculated that, in order to be Cao Pi’s son, Cao Rui could not have been 33 (by East Asian age reckoning) when he died as recorded, so the recorded age was in error; Lu Bi and Mou Guangsheng argued instead that Cao Rui was Yuan Xi’s son.
Cao Rui’s reign was viewed in many different ways throughout Chinese history. He devoted many resources into building palaces and ancestral temples, and his reign saw the stalemate between his empire, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu become more entrenched. His building projects and his desire to have many concubines (who numbered in the thousands) greatly exhausted the imperial treasury.
On his deathbed, he has no biological son. He passed the throne to his adopted son Cao Fang and entrusted him to the regency of Cao Shuang and Sima Yi. This would prove to be a fatal mistake for his clan, as Cao Shuang monopolised power and governed incompetently, eventually drawing a violent reaction from Sima Yi, who overthrew him in a coup d’état (Incident at Gaoping Tombs). Sima Yi became in control of the Wei government from AD 249, eventually allowing his grandson Sima Yan to usurp the throne in AD 266. After his death, Cao Rui was posthumously honoured as “Emperor Ming” with the temple name “Liezu”.
Born On This Day
1136 – Petronilla of Aragon (d. 1173)
Petronilla (29 June[1]/11 August[2] 1136 – 15 October 1173), whose name is also spelled Petronila or Petronella (Aragonese: Peyronela or Payronella,[3] and Catalan: Peronella), was Queen of Aragon from the abdication of her father, Ramiro II, in 1137 until her own abdication in 1164. After her abdication she acted as regent during the minority of her son (1164–1173). She was the last ruling member of the Jiménez dynasty in Aragon, and by marriage brought the throne to the House of Barcelona.
FYI
NASA: Astronomy Picture of the Day
Rare Historical Photos: Vintage advertising posters of Soviet cars from the past, 1970s-1980s
Craig Medred: Everyday smarties
Recipes
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- Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel June 12, 2026Firstly, thank you for the Jaffle love. 🥰 Hit the Jaffle button above to see what he got up to today! Secondly – cake. Specifically, Coffee Cake! A classic crumb cake with a jammy cinnamon ribbon, loaded with lots and lots of nubbly, extra crunchy cinnamon streusel. Outrageously good. Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel This... […]Nagi
- Introducing Jaffle! June 10, 2026Meet Jaffle! Future Chief Taste Tester. Son of a Dozer friend. A little bundle of golden, fluffy joy! 48 hours of instant happiness I didn’t expect to get a new puppy so soon after saying goodbye to Dozer. To be honest, I wasn’t sure when I’d be ready. And I had it in my head... […]Nagi
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- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 14 June 14, 2026Picture of the day Wulfenite crystals with calcite, found in the Erupción Mine, Sierra de Los Lamentos, Ahumada Municipality, Chihuahua, Mexico.
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 13 June 13, 2026Picture of the day An image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on a stained-glass window located in a church in St. Peters, Missouri. Today is the feast day of the Immaculate Heart in the Roman Catholic Church.
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