Cao Cao was born into a family of officials. His father, Cao Song, was originally named Xiahou. He changed his surname to Cao because he later became the adopted son of Cao Teng, the Changqiu Emperor. Cao Cao was both talented in both civil and military affairs. The "Book of Wei" said that he was "extremely talented. He could shoot birds with his hands and hunt wild beasts with his bow. He tasted it in Nanpi and shot pheasants in one day and caught sixty-three pheasants." "Three Kingdoms" said that he was "unparalleled in talent and martial arts". In 175 AD, he was promoted to Xiaolian and appointed as Luoyang Ministry Lieutenant. In 177 AD, he was appointed Dunqiu Ling, married Bian in 179 AD, and was promoted to Yilang in 180 AD. In 184 AD, he started his career during the Eastern Han Dynasty's war to suppress the Yellow Turban uprising, and was appointed as the Cavalry Commander. Due to his meritorious service in suppressing the Yellow Turban Army, he was promoted to Prime Minister of Jinan. Later, he successively served as the governor of Dongjun, the captain, and the captain of the Dian army. After Dong Zhuo entered Beijing in 189 AD, he fled back to his hometown Chenliu and launched an army to attack Dong Zhuo. In 192 AD, he formally formed his own military group "Qingzhou Soldiers". In 196 AD, he led his army to Luoyang to welcome Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, "took the emperor to order the princes" and moved the capital to Xu. From 200 AD to 207 AD, through battles such as the Battle of Guandu, they defeated Yuan Shao and other separatist warlords and unified northern China. In December of the 13th year of Jian'an (208 years), they were defeated by the coalition forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei in the Battle of Chibi. This established the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu, and Wu in Chinese history. In 213 AD, Cao Cao was granted the title of "Wei Gong". In 215 AD, Zhang Lu's forces in Hanzhong were defeated. In 216 AD, he was promoted to "King of Wei" again. He wore the emperor's banner and crown, and was called Jingzhi when he came in and out. He was still a minister of the Han Dynasty in name, but his power was overwhelming and he was actually the emperor. Cao Cao died on March 15, 220 AD, at the age of sixty-six. In 220 AD, the eldest son Cao Pi established the Wei Dynasty as the successor to the Han Dynasty and honored Cao Cao as Emperor Wu of Wei. He is the founder of Wei State. He is the author of military works such as "Sun Tzu's Brief Interpretation" and "The Art of War", as well as poems such as "A Walk in the Hao", "Viewing the Sea", and "The Turtle Lives Longevity". Later generations also compiled the Collection of Cao Cao.
Historical commentaries on Cao Cao: "Minglue is the best", "An extraordinary person, a transcendent hero", "A capable minister in governing the world, a traitor in troubled times", "Writing poems horizontally is a hero who consolidates the whole world" "The famous "Rangxian Ziming Benzhi Ling" was written in the fifteenth year of Jian'an (210). It is upright and every word is sincere. Cao Cao said emotionally: "If there is no one left alone in the world, I don't know how many people will be called emperors and how many people will be called kings." This is indeed the case.
In the long historical novel "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", there is an obvious way of derogating Cao Cao. However, later scholars believed that this was a deliberate distortion of facts and did not correctly evaluate Cao Cao. Cao Cao was meritocratic and his military tactics and strategies were flexible and changeable. He made significant contributions to the unification of northern China, the restoration of economic production and the maintenance of social order in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. In terms of domestic affairs, Cao Cao established the farming system and ordered soldiers who did not need to fight to work in the fields, which alleviated the food problem during the war in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.
Cao Cao’s poetry was greatly influenced by Yuefu, and all the existing poems are Yuefu lyrics. Although these poems use old Yuefu titles, they do not follow the poetic style of the ancients. They are new and unfettered. However, they inherit the spirit of "feeling sorrow and joy, and writing out of events". For example, "Xing Dew Xing" and "Hao Li Xing" were originally elegy, but Cao Cao used them to commemorate the time and mourn the rebellion. "Stepping out of the East Gate" was originally a melody lamenting the impermanence of life and the need to enjoy life in time. However, Cao Cao used it to express his ambition to dominate the world and the magnificent scenery he saw after returning from the Northern Expedition. It can be seen that Cao Cao's innovative folk songs opened up a new trend of Jian'an literature and also influenced later Du Fu, Bai Juyi and others.
The contents of Cao Cao's poems generally fall into three categories: reflecting the reality of the turmoil in the late Han Dynasty, the ideal of unifying the world and his tenacious enterprising spirit, and expressing unforgettable negative emotions.
At the end of the Han Dynasty, there was great chaos, and Cao Cao went south and north. He came into contact with a wide range of society, so many people have personal experience and understanding. For example, "Hao Li Xing" describes the tragedy of the war at the end of the Han Dynasty, and saw the misery of the people. Also see the poet's mixed emotions when he is hurt. Therefore, later generations call Cao Cao's Yuefu "a true record of the late Han Dynasty and a true history of poetry."
Cao Cao was born into an official and had ambitions for the world, so he had the ambition to unify. This is evidenced by the saying in "Dan Ge Xing" that "the Duke of Zhou spits out food and the world returns to its heart." His enterprising spirit can also be seen, for example, in "Gui Sui Shou", "The old man is still in trouble, but his ambition is thousands of miles." He said that even in his old age, he still did not give up his ambition.
A generation of heroes may be glorious for a lifetime, but sometimes their stars will fall and perish.
Cao Cao also felt helpless about this and could only write poems and lament, but he had no choice but to do so. For example, the sentimentality of "Like the morning dew, the passing days will be more bitter" in "Dan Ge Xing", the low mood in "Autumn Hu Xing", and his negative mood can be seen in Youxian's works such as "Mo Shang Mulang".
Cao Cao’s poetry form is very innovative. He is especially good at writing five-character and four-character styles. "Hao Li Xing" was originally composed of miscellaneous words, but Cao Cao rewrote it in five words, which was very successful. In terms of four-character poetry, it has declined since the "Book of Songs" and there are few excellent works. However, Cao Cao inherited the tradition of "Guofeng" and "Xiaoya" to reflect reality and express emotions. For example, "Dan Ge Xing" and "Stepping out of Xiamen Xing" are all excellent works of four-character poetry, which make four-character poetry reborn and shine again. Cao Cao's poems are simple in diction, directly expressing his feelings, generous and sad, yet melancholy and vigorous. Gorgeous words are not common, but the images are vivid. For example, in the poem "Viewing the Sea": "The autumn wind is bleak, the waves are rising, the journey of the sun and the moon, if you are out of it, The stars are brilliant, if they come out of it. "A few strokes can express the poet's mind with a vast sea scene without any embellishment.
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Cao Cao’s information [ZT]
Cao Cao has twenty-five sons:
Cao Ang, who was praised for his filial piety and integrity when he was young, Killed by Zhang Xiu.
Cao Pi, who forced Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty to abdicate the throne in 220 AD, became Emperor Wen of Wei.
Cao Zhang, nicknamed Huang Xuer, was a brave general who once defeated Karasuma in Daijun. In 225 AD, he was appointed king of the city.
Cao Zhi is good at literature and once wrote "Ode to the Goddess of Luo". Although he was favored by Cao Cao, he ultimately failed to compete with his brother Cao Pi for the throne, and he has done nothing politically since then. In 225 AD, he was established as King Chen.
Cao Xiong died young.
Cao Shuo died early.
Cao Chong, a famous child prodigy, once weighed an elephant based on the principle of buoyancy.
Cao Zheng was granted the title of King of Pengcheng in 232 AD.
Cao Yu was named King of Yan in 232 AD.
Cao Lin was named King of Pei in 232 AD.
Cao Gun was named King of Zhongshan in 232 AD. When he was seriously ill before his death, Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui took great care of him, and he was given a generous burial after his death.
Cao Xuan was granted the title of Marquis of Xixiang in 211 AD.
Cao Jun was named King Chenliu in 232 AD.
Cao Ju died young.
Cao Qian was named King of Zhao in 232 AD.
Cao Shang died early.
Cao Biao was named King of Chu in 232 AD. In 251 AD, he rebelled against Taiwei Wang Ling and was sentenced to death.
Cao Qin died young.
Cao Cheng died early.
Cao Zheng was granted the title of Marquis of Yi in 217 AD.
Cao Jing died young.
Cao Jun was granted the title of Marquis of Fan in 217 AD.
Cao Ji died young.
Cao Hui was named King of Dongping in 232 AD.
Cao Mao has always been at odds with Cao Cao and Cao Pi. In 232 AD, he was named King Dongping.
Reference materials: "The Collection of Cao Cao" written by Cao Cao, edited by Zhonghua Book Company, Zhonghua Book Company, 1959
History of Cao Cao:
Cao Cao
Cao Cao (155～220), namely Emperor Wu of Wei. A statesman, military strategist and poet during the Three Kingdoms period. The courtesy name is Mengde, the nickname is Ah Ma, and Qiao (a native of Bo County, Anhui Province today). At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the army gradually expanded its military strength while suppressing the Yellow Turban uprising. In the third year of Chuping (AD 192), they occupied Yanzhou, divided and lured part of the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army to surrender, and organized it into the "Qingzhou Army". In the first year of Jian'an (196), the imperial capital Xu (now east of Xuchang, Henan) was presented. He held the emperor hostage to order the princes, and successively defeated Lu Bu and other separatist forces. After defeating the warlord Yuan Shao in the Battle of Guandu, he gradually unified northern China. In the thirteenth year of Jian'an, he became prime minister and led his army southward, but was defeated by the coalition forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei in Chibi. Later he was granted the title of King of Wei. His son Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor and pursued the title of Emperor Wu.
He farmed in the north and built water conservancy projects, which solved the problem of shortage of military rations and played a certain role in the recovery of agricultural production. He employed people based on their talents, broke the concept of family status, recruited people from the middle and lower classes of the landlord class, and restrained the powerful. , strengthen centralization. The social and economic development of the areas under their control has been restored and developed.
He is proficient in the art of war and has written books such as "Sun Tzu's Brief Explanation" and "The Art of War". He is good at poetry, and his poems such as "A Walk in the Grass" and "Viewing the Sea" express his political ambitions and reflect the suffering life of the people in the late Han Dynasty. They are majestic, generous and desolate. The prose is also clear and neat. His works include "Collection of Emperor Wu of Wei", which has been lost and has a Ming Dynasty version. Now there is a compiled and typeset version of "Collection of Cao Cao".
Cao Cao (155-220) was a statesman, strategist, and writer in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. His surname is Xiahou, his courtesy name is Mengde, and his nickname is Ah Ma. He was born in Qiaojun, Peiguo (now Bo County, Anhui Province). He was the eldest son of a big bureaucratic landlord family. Because his father Cao Song was the adopted son of Cao Teng, a regular servant in the Central Military Commission, he changed his surname to Cao. Because of this relationship, Cao Cao had the opportunity to interact with the children of officials since he was a child. Yuan Shao, his future rival, was also Cao Cao's friend when he was young. Cao Cao was seven feet long, with slender eyes and a long beard. He has been unruly since childhood, but he is very talented, resourceful and good at adapting to changes. At that time, there was a famous scholar in Runan named Xu Shao who was good at commenting on characters. He commented on Cao Cao: "A capable minister in governing the world, but a traitor in troubled times."
After the death of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, the general took control of the government as a relative. But when he was killing the eunuchs, he was ambushed. At this time, Dong Zhuo, known as the Wolf of Xiliang, led an army to take over the capital. Soon after Zhuo entered the city, he appointed Liu Xie, the younger emperor's younger brother, as Emperor Xian. Most of the ministers fled Luoyang. Cao Cao also fled to Chenliu, where he gathered rebels and denounced Dong Zhuo.
In the first year of Chuping, all the generals elected Yuan Shao, who had a distinguished family, as the leader of the alliance to attack Dong Zhuo in the west. However, due to the evil intentions of the generals, the rebel army failed. In this battle, Cao Cao met his future mortal enemy Liu Bei for the first time.
In the third year of Chuping, Dong Zhuo was killed by Wang Yun and Lu Bu. The two of them were captured by Zhuo's subordinates Li Jue and Guo Si. Emperor Xian and a group of ministers took advantage of the chaos to escape from Chang'an, but were hunted down by Li and Guo. Cao Cao accepted Xun Yu and Cheng Yu's proposal and welcomed Emperor Xian to Xuchang. From then on, Cao Cao began to coerce the emperor to order the princes.
Afterwards, Cao Cao conquered the east and west in the name of Xiandi. Successively pacified the Guandong and Guanzhong areas. Liu Bei also became his subordinate. Next, Cao Cao has to face his old friend-Yuan Shao.
At that time, Yuan Shao controlled the four states of You, Ji, Bing, and Qing. He had strong military strength and many brave generals. Although Cao Cao has become the overlord of the Central Plains, he is still far away from Shao in terms of military strength.
In the fifth year of Jian'an, Yuan Shao's army went south and met Cao Bing in Guandu. Finally, Cao Cao used the strategy of surrendering general Xu You and led 5,000 cavalry to attack Yuan Jun's granary. When Yuan's soldiers saw that their supplies had been burned, they were in chaos, and Cao's army took advantage of the situation to attack. Yuan Shao was defeated and fled. The Battle of Guandu established Cao Cao's dominance in the north.
After winning the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao spent several years stabilizing the north and pursuing the remaining members of the Yuan family (Shao died of illness shortly after his defeat). In the thirteenth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao personally led an army to conquer Liu Biao southward. In the same year, Liu Biao died and was succeeded by his second son Liu Cong. Facing Cao Cao's wolf-like army, Liu Cong decided to surrender. Cao Cao easily took over Jingzhou. Perhaps because it was easy to obtain Jingzhou, Cao Cao decided to attack Sun Quan eastward. But Quan is not comparable to Liu Cong and others.
The Sun family has occupied Jiangdong since the time of Sun Ce, and has been surrendered to the present. Coupled with the natural dangers of the Yangtze River, the Sun regime has a stable foundation. When Sun Quan received the news that Cao Cao was coming from the east, he held several military meetings. During the meeting, the main war faction and the main surrender faction launched a fierce debate. Finally, after analysis by Zhou Yu and Lu Su, Sun Quan decided to go to war.
In December of the thirteenth year of Jian'an, Sun Quan's army faced Cao's army in Chibi. Zhou Yu used a trick to burn Cao Cao's warships, and Cao Cao's army was defeated. From then on, Cao Cao was unable to launch a large-scale southern expedition. If the Battle of Guandu determined Cao Cao's dominance in the north, then the defeat at Chibi was the only battle in which Cao Cao could dominate the north.
Since then, although Cao Cao has provoked wars on the border of Soochow many times, both sides have won and lost. At the same time, Liu Bei settled in Yizhou in the west and proclaimed himself King of Hanzhong. The momentum of the Three Kingdoms' tripartite confrontation has been established. Even the unparalleled hero Cao Cao could no longer change this fact.
In the 21st year of Jian'an, Cao Cao ascended the throne and became King of Wei.
In the twenty-fifth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao died of illness at the age of sixty-six.
The following year, Cao Pi usurped the Han Dynasty and founded the country under the name Wei. Respecting Cao Cao as Emperor Taizu Wu
(1) Family History
Cao Cao's grandfather, Cao Teng, was the fourth son in the family, named Jixing. There were four emperors including Emperor Han An, Emperor Han Shun, Emperor Han Huan and Emperor Han Ling.
He first gained the emperor's favor because he studied with Emperor Shun of Han, who was still the crown prince at the time. From Huangmen, he moved from being an official to Xiaohuangmen, and then moved to be a regular servant. He has served in the province (that is, in the palace) for more than thirty years, and he has always been cautious and cautious. His family has never acted arrogantly in his hometown. Moreover, Cao Teng often recommended some celebrities to the emperor, such as Chen Liu, Yu Fang, Bian Shao, Nanyang Yangu, Zhang Wen, Hongnong, Zhang Huan, Yingchuan Tangxidian, etc. At that time, a prefect of Shu County asked the Shangji Li (an official who went to the central government every year to report on local work) to send some gifts to Cao Teng. However, the governor of Yizhou, Zhong Hao, found out. Zhong Hao submitted a petition to remove the prefect, impeach Cao Teng, and ask Tingwei to be convicted. But the emperor said: "The book came from outside, and it was not Cao Teng's fault." So he left the memorial unpublished (that is, not dealt with). As a result, Cao Teng didn't mind this matter at all and often praised Zhong Hao as a talented official in front of the emperor. Later, when Zhong Hao became a Situ, he said with emotion: "I can become a Situ only because of Cao Changshi's help!" Cao Teng restrained his family from doing evil and got close to the scholar-bureaucrats, which aroused widespread praise for Cao Teng from all walks of life at that time. After his death, his adopted son Cao Song still worked as a chief agricultural officer in the imperial court, and even used money to buy a position as a Taiwei.
But don’t think that Cao Teng is a good person. After the death of Emperor Shun of the Han Dynasty, his youngest son Emperor Chong of the Han Dynasty, who had just turned two years old, died a year after he succeeded to the throne. At that time, the ministers all believed that an older and virtuous member of the clan should be appointed as emperor, and they all preferred Liu Lian, the king of Qinghe. In order to continue to be in power, Liang Ji, a relative of the general, appointed Liu Zan, the eight-year-old son of King Xiao of Bohai, as emperor. That is Emperor Zhi of Han Dynasty. But the little emperor was also very smart. During the court meeting, he pointed at Liang Ji and said to the officials: "This is a domineering general." The frightened Liang Ji poisoned the little emperor who had only been on the throne for more than a year. At this time, the ministers strongly demanded that Liu Lian, the king of Qinghe, be established. Liang Ji originally planned to establish his brother-in-law, Liwuhou Liu Zhi, but seeing the excitement among the people, he had no idea and didn't know how to refuse.
Liu Suan, the king of Qinghe, "was a serious man, and he was measured in his actions and actions. The courtiers, Taiwei Li Gu and others were all interested in him." However, Cao Teng once paid a visit to Liu Suan, but Liu Suan did not treat him politely, which caused a stir. Cao Teng’s hatred. Cao Teng rushed to Liang Ji's home overnight to persuade him, and said to him: "The general has been close to Jiao Fang for many generations, and he has been in charge of all things. Guests come and go, and there are many mistakes. The king of Qinghe is strict. If he is established, the general will suffer disaster soon." That's it. It's better to establish Liwuhou, so that wealth and honor can be preserved forever." Liang Ji adopted his suggestion and forcibly established Liwuhou Liu Zhi as emperor, becoming Emperor Huan of Han Dynasty. With this merit, Cao Teng moved to Dachangqiu, reached the highest eunuch position, and was named Feitinghou.
(2) Life experience
The great eunuchs at that time were often granted the title of marquis, but who would inherit their titles? There are three ways:
First, adopt an adopted son from the same clan.
Second, adopt an adopted son from a marriage with a different surname.
Third, buy an orphan as an adopted son.
"Wu Shu" said that Cao Cao was adopted from the Xiahou family. But I don't agree with this statement. There are two reasons:
First, if the Xiahou family is Cao Cao's own clan, then if the children of Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun marry each other, wouldn't it violate the principle of "same-sex non-marriage"?
Secondly, Yuan Shao scolded Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, as a "beggar who raised him" in "A Call to Sikong and Cao Cao". Based on the frequent interactions between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao when they were young, Yuan Shao should have a relatively clear understanding of Cao Cao's life story.
Third, it stands to reason that when Cao Cao founded his own country, he should use his own surname to build the country. However, he did not restore the original surname of the Xiahou family just because he did not know the origin of his original surname or he was simply descended from the Cao family. Adoptive in the clan.
Therefore, to sum up, there are only two sources for Cao Cao's father, Cao Song. The most likely is an adopted orphan, and the second is an adopted one from a distant relative of Cao Teng's clan.