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III. Searching for the Y chromosome of China's Prime Minister Cao Cao

 

Cao Cao (AD 155-220) was a famous historical figure in China. He was the prime minister during China‘s eastern Han dynasty. His son became the emperor of the next Wei dynasty. Some people say that Cao Cao was very cunning and other say that he was extremely wise. Indeed, he was a controversial historical figure in Chinese history.

 

1. An unavoidable issue at Fudan University in Shanghai

 

Towards the end of 2009, an announcement from Anyang City in Henan Province concerning the discovery of Cao Cao's tomb was made. Among the 3 unearthed skeleton there was a male whose age was determined to be around 60 years old. Archeologist from Henan Province claimed that this was the body of Cao Cao. Once this news was released, it aroused much heated debates and a great deal of interest in China. There were many skeptics among them. About 10 years prior to this announcement, molecular anthropologists at Fudan University had published many articles concerning the origin of the Chinese people as well as the Y chromosome haplogroups in China. Some of these publications were awarded the national technology awards. At the same time, their Y chromosome testing had help ordinary people confirm his/her paternal genealogy for a number of years. For this testing, the cost varies from being free of charge to $900 RMB . The result of the testing had benefited many interested individuals.

 

Once the authenticity of Cao Cao's skeleton was questioned, it was natural for people to suggest. It is time for Fudan University's molecular anthropologists to perform some testing.  For this reason, to confirm the authenticity of Cao Cao's skeleton became an unavoidable issue for Fudan University. Fudan University and CAS Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, Institute of Computational Biology undertook this task.

 

2. Where do we begin?

 

Just as the aforementioned case with Jefferson, once Cao Cao's descendants are found, then one can find Cao Cao's Y chromosome. There were approximately seven million people in China with the surname Cao. Who are the descendants of Cao Cao who lived 1800 years ago? Obviously, the only way is to first the books of Cao's Genealogy. The researchers found a total of 118 books of Cao's Genealogy in Shanghai Library which enabled the researchers to find Cao Cao's descendants through these documents.

 

3. The Research Results

 

The laboratory at Fudan University started the Y chromosome sequencing of all these blood samples. From six tribe who claimed to be Cao Cao's descendants, their Y chromosome had the M268 genetic marker belonging to the O2 haplogroup according to the international gene organization's paternal genealogy map. The divergent point of the ancestors of this chromosome occurred approximately 1800 to 2000 years ago. This time point coincided with the period when Cao Cao lived.

 

In these families were distributed in various part of the country and if all these family tree documents were fake, it would be such an incredible coincidence that they have the same haplogroup but came from different origins. The probability of these two events occurring simultaneously is the product of the probability of these two events occurring independently. Therefore, the probability is 5% if these two families have the same M268-O2 Y chromosome haplogroup. The probability of having the same Cao’s genetic haplogroup in six individuals living in different parts of the country is (0.05)5. The product is three in 10,000,000. This means that the possibility of fraud is 3/10,000,000. From the viewpoint of forensic science, one can say with certainty that they were true descendants of Cao Cao.

Meanwhile, the research group found that among the 8 families who denied being Cao Cao's descendants but instead the descendants of Cao Can, their Y chromosomes lacked M268 genetic markers but had the 002611 genetic marker belonging to the O3a4 haplogroup. Therefore, this century old mystery was easily answered. The secret codes contained within blood confirmed that Cao Cao had falsified his family origin pretending to come from a family with both power and wealth.

4. The teeth of Cao Ding authenticated the research result

 

Henan's archeological research institute insisted that the tomb excavated from Anyang Province had the skeleton of Cao Cao. Moreover, they said. There is nothing that cannot undergo DNA testing.  However, they refused the request to obtain a small sample from the skeleton. The research group then had to enlist the help from Anhui Province since a tooth from Cao Ding was found in Anhui Cao Ding clan's cemetery. This tooth was found amidst a pile of debris in an envelope in a warehouse from which the research team obtained a sample for DNA analysis.

 

Cao Ding was the brother of Cao Cao's  grandfather.  Based on Y chromosome analyses, it has the same Y chromosome genetic markers as the present day descendants of Cao Cao. That is to say, conclusions from analyzing the blood samples from present day descendants of Cao Cao are completely authentic. Finally, the Y chromosome of Cao Cao's DNA genetic markers was confirmed. Again, this method of tracing ones ancestor by DNA testing received further affirmation (Reference 6). In fact, obtain a small sample, about one millimeter diameter, from the bone will not damage the bone in any way. One therefore wonders if the Anyang tomb Is truly Cao Cao's skeleton, why did the officials resisted DNA confirmation?