Abstract：Cao Wei was a famous general of the Northern Song Dynasty, but it was very strange that Cao Wei actually had two copies of his Xingzhuang (行状) in the world. One was the well-known “Cao Wei Xingzhuang” written by Wang Anshi, and the other was the little-known “Cao Wei Xingzhuang” written by Song Xiang. Xingzhuang had five characteristics: time limit, originality, comprehensiveness, only good, and uniqueness. The “Xie Jiang Xingzhuang” included in The Collected Works of Wang Anshi completely violated the timeliness, originality, comprehensiveness, and uniqueness of the Xingzhuang that it could not be the real Xingzhuang. In the same way, the “Cao Wei Xingzhuang” by Wang Anshi also violated the timeliness, originality, comprehensiveness, and uniqueness of Xingzhuang and could neither be the real Xingzhuang. Mingchen Beizhuan Wanyan Ji could not be the real Xingzhuang. The Mingchen Beizhuan Wanyan Ji included Cao Wei and his father Cao Bin’s Xingzhuangs. However, “Cao Bin Xingzhuang” had been proved to be the “National History: Cao Bin Biography”. Following the habitual thinking of “using the son to be the father”, “Cao Wei Xingzhuang” by Wang Anshi could also be regarded as the “National History: Cao Wei Biography”. Compared with the “Cao Wei Xingzhuang” by Wang Anshi, “Cao Wei Xingzhuang” by Song Xiang completely match with all the characteristics of the Xingzhuang, and was the real “Cao Wei Xingzhuang”. Between “Cao Wei Xingzhuang” by Song Xiang and “Cao Wei Xingzhuang” by Wang Anshi, between the two Xingzhuangs and “Longping Ji: Cao Wei Biography”, “Eastern Capital History: Cao Wei Biography”, “Song History: Cao Wei Biography”, there was obvious historical relationships. This further proves that “Cao Wei Xingzhuang” by Wang Anshi should be a biography in the National History.The Collected Works of Wang Anshi was widely circulated in the early days, and most of them were block-printed editions in folk workshops. The official and authoritative edition of The Collected Works of Wang Anshi by Xue Ang was not published due to the war. As a result, although there were many versions of The Collected Works of Wang Anshi, the real and fake versions were mixed up. As far as the Xingzhuang were concerned, the early Longshu Version only included the “Xie Jiang Xingzhuang”, while the later Hangzhou Version included the “Cao Wei Xingzhuang” and the “Wang Deyong Xingzhuang”. “Xie Jiang Xingzhuang” was indeed written by Wang Anshi, while “Cao Wei Xingzhuang” and “Wang Deyong Xingzhuang” were not only not real Xingzhuang, but also should not have been written by Wang Anshi. They were “fakes” mixed in with The Collected Works of Wang Anshi in the early circulation. Comparatively speaking, although the Longshu Version was not as complete as the Hangzhou Version, it was purer than the Hangzhou Version.There are many innovations in this paper. (1) It summarizes for the first time that Xingzhuang has five characteristics: time-limited, primitive, comprehensive, only good, and unique. (2) It points out for the first time that “Cao Wei Xingzhuang” by Wang Anshi should be regarded as a biography of the national history, but it is just under the name of Wang Anshi, and “Cao Wei Xingzhuang” by Song Xiang is the real “Cao Wei Xingzhuang”. (3) For the first time, it clarifies the historical-source relationships among the various biographies of Cao Wei. (4) It clarifies for the first time that the “Cao Wei Xingzhuang” by Wang Anshi was a “fake” mixed in the early circulation of The Collected Works of Wang Anshi.The important value of this paper is (1) to revise The Collected Works of Wang Anshi and advance the research on the version of The Collected Works of Wang Anshi and the contemporary Wang Anshi research; (2) to clarify the historical relationships between various biographies of Cao Wei and promote the study of Cao Wei’s life.
2023, Vol. 53 
