The Romance of the Three Kingdoms strongly publicizes the loyalty of Liu, Guan and Zhang, showing a strong tendency of "supporting Liu and opposing Cao", and portrays Cao as a ruthless, manipulative, treacherous and cunning "treacherous man in troubled times". Author Luo Guanzhong made a general characterization of Cao Cao's life through the mouth of Xu Shao in Runan and He Qing in Nanyang. Nevertheless, they can't help but admit that Cao Cao is a "capable minister of governing the world" and that "whoever manages the world must be this person". In the words of Mr. Nie Gannu, "Cao Cao is a doer", "a great strategist", "an outstanding poet and writer" and "has made great contributions to the so-called Yan Liu"; "Cao Cao's position is high, his image is large, his aspects are wide, and his brain is complex, which can be understood by non-feudal historians, secular speakers and ordinary listeners."
In recent years, with the broadcast of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao and Yang Xiu, and Cao Cao and Cai Wenji, there has been a great "Three Kingdoms fever" in the society. These film and television works and the resulting film reviews and drama reviews are mostly influenced by the strong tendency of "supporting Liu and opposing Cao" in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms written by Luo Guanzhong, focusing on highlighting the negative side of "a traitor in troubled times" who deceives the monarch, conspires against the country, plays politics, is cruel and heartless, false and hypocritical, and is treacherous and cunning, while ignoring him as an outstanding politician and cunning.
Therefore, after reading the original Romance of the Three Kingdoms repeatedly, combining the Romance of the Three Kingdoms written by Chen Shou in the Jin Dynasty and some scholars' comments on Cao Cao in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the author thinks that Cao Cao, a "treacherous man in troubled times", has the most complicated personality; Before the male after the rape, before the wisdom after the fool, before the cute after the hateful, life work is greater than the past; He is still an outstanding politician and strategist.
Next, the author analyzes the image of Cao Cao in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms written by Luo Guanzhong from three aspects: the diversification of Cao Cao's personality, the comparison of Cao Cao's previous and subsequent periods, the merits and demerits of his life, and the politician and strategist Cao Cao, so as to attract more attention from famous scholars.
1. diversification of Cao Cao's character.
among the many characters in the romance of the three kingdoms, Cao Cao's character is the most complicated, and it is difficult to draw a conclusion for him in one sentence or two. "Treacherous" can be said to be a prominent character of Cao Cao, but just as "sentimental" can't explain Lin Daiyu, "treacherous" can't cover the rich implication of Cao Cao's image.
The appearance of Cao Cao's complex character is Luo Guanzhong's conscious artistic pursuit. Hugo, a French writer, said that an excellent writer should have "the supreme ability to observe everything from both positive and negative aspects". Luo Guanzhong is such a writer. While maintaining the "qualitative" image of Cao Cao, he wrote the richness of his emotions and the inherent complexity of his personality, showing a diversified trend, thus making the image authentic, aesthetic and permanent artistic charm.
1. Distinctive and unique personality with great contrast.
among the many characters in the romance of the three kingdoms, Cao Cao's character is the most typical, which is not only distinct and unique, but also has a huge contrast. At the beginning of the work, the author defined the "dominant emotion" of this character by borrowing Xu Shao's words from Runan: "the treacherous man in troubled times". What is valuable is that the author does not stay in the abstract description of the concept, but gives this concept a full and sensible flesh and blood with a lot of vivid concrete descriptions. When Cao Cao avenged his father's attack on Xuzhou, he ordered the three armed forces to "take the city and kill all the people in it" and "kill people and dig graves wherever the army went". Cao Cao, who lost his mind, was almost crazy and killed innocent people, which was particularly cruel, but when he witnessed the desolation of the countryside and the displacement of the people during the March, he moved his true feelings. Cao Cao's comments on Yuan Shu in Huainan, Yuan Shao in Hebei, Liu Biao in Jingzhou, Sun Ce in Jiangdong and Liu Zhang in Yizhou are incisive, showing keen eyes and extraordinary courage, but he was unaware of Liu Bei's plan of planting vegetables in the backyard and hearing thunder, and he was very foolish. On the one hand, Cao Cao tried his best to collect talents, and he was thirsty for talents. On the other hand, he was jealous of talents and killed Yang Xiu, a clever man. In the process of Cao Shi Group's growth, Cao Cao's repeated defeats, repeated battles and perseverance fully demonstrated his optimistic spirit, but "killing the servant in the dream" also revealed his inner suspicion and emptiness; Cao Cao sometimes speaks openly, listens to advice, and even rewards those who dissuade him beforehand when he wins the battle. Sometimes he is headstrong and arrogant, so he has the mess of Puyang and the defeat of Chibi. "Don't ask, don't burn books", "pardon Zhang Liao" and "release Guan Yu", Cao Cao's generosity is amazing, but Xun Yu and Xun You, who have made great contributions to him, are slightly offended, so they turn their faces and deny people, and their narrow tolerance is incredible ... That's how characters show their rich profiles in the changes of time and space. At first glance, these seemingly incompatible sides merged into one, forming Cao Cao's colorful character world.
The author not only writes many distinctive and huge contrasts of Cao Cao's personality, but also provides the authentic internal basis for forming these contrasts. Cao Cao was born in troubled times, and his social relationship was more special than that of ordinary people. Cao Cao has a strong desire for enterprise and power, and is interested in "flattening the world", and his will to survive is stronger than ordinary people; Cao Cao's literary style and martial arts are not only hard for all sentient beings to look back on, but also the heroes at that time, even Liu Bei and Sun Quan, could not be compared, so they had to be inferior to him and let him score three points. All these decide that Cao Cao can not only make great virtues, but also create great evils. The conflicts within his personality are sharper and more diverse, and the dialectical contents among many personalities are richer and more prominent. Luo Guanzhong's expression of the elements of Cao Cao's character, which are opposite and complementary, conforms to the logic of life and character, and embodies the dialectics of art.
2. Complex and changeable personality.
among the many characters in the romance of the three kingdoms, Cao Cao's character is the most complicated and changeable. Taking the plot of "pardoning Zhang Liao" as an example, Cao Caochu's desire to cut Zhang Liao with his hand exposed his impulsiveness and narrow-mindedness. However, after listening to Liu Bei and Guan Yu's exhortation, he immediately changed his former state, threw a sword and laughed, and "released his bondage, undressed and sat on it", showing amazing reaction control ability and extraordinary measurement. It is sincere that he cherishes Zhang Liao's talents, but it is very hypocritical to say that "I also know Wen Yuan's loyalty and righteousness, so it is the ear of drama". On the one hand, this is to cover up his disgraceful behavior; on the other hand, it is to offset the influence of Liu Bei and Guan Yu in rescuing Zhang Liao. Cao Cao's transition from drawing a sword to throwing a sword, from becoming angry from embarrassment to smiling, and Zhang Liao's transition from a prisoner to a guest was completed in a blink of an eye, reflecting that even in a trivial matter, Cao Cao's personality elements were extremely active and rich.
in Cao Cao's character, there are opposites in the middle and opposites in the middle, which are both positive and negative. When Cao Cao attacked Xiapi, his first thought was to send people into the city to reassure the people and stabilize the people's hearts. After defeating Yuan Shao, he deeply felt the sufferings of the people in Hebei Province, and spared them the taxes of that year. These measures can't all be regarded as "hypocrisy". As a politician with great talents, he is different from Dong Zhuo, who is blindly fighting, and knows the truth of putting people first. However, when attacking Jizhou, the three armed forces were ordered not to harass the people. If anyone killed chickens and dogs, such as murder, "So the army and the people were shocked, and Cao Cao also exulted", then he saw his hypocrisy of loving the people. The "open-minded optimism" in Cao Cao's character is mostly manifested in his broad-mindedness, enterprising spirit and letting bygones be bygones. However, hundreds of thousands of troops in Battle of Red Cliffs suddenly "vanished in smoke" and had to lead defeated soldiers to flee. At this moment, he laughed three times instead. At this moment, optimism is a kind of self-mockery, which is ridiculous and pitiful.
Another example is Cao Cao's "treachery", which is not the kind of cleverness and tricks, but contains high wisdom, so sometimes it doesn't feel disgusting and contemptible, but it is witty and ingenious, which makes people convinced, though not pleasing. Even Lu Xun said that Luo Guanzhong "wanted to write about Cao Cao's rape, but the result seemed to be generous and wise". Take "looking at plum to quench thirst" as an example, and say that he is treacherous and fools soldiers, because Merlin is an imaginary phantom after all; It can also be said that he is witty and loves his soldiers, because he skillfully uses the principle of conditioned reflex to achieve the purpose of "not thirsty" for soldiers when they are short of water and thirsty during the March. There is wit in treachery and love in fooling. The same is true of other examples, such as "pretending to be an uncle", "stabbing Zhuo to offer a knife", "borrowing the head to stabilize the army", "cutting the hair on behalf of the head" and "stepping on the foot to welcome Xu You". There are both treacherous, cunning, false and hypocritical sides, as well as witty and brave, leading by example, and eager for talents.
second, the comparison between the two periods of Cao Cao and the merits and demerits of his life.
out of the need of orthodoxy, in Luo Guanzhong's pen, in the writings of many scholars in later generations, in literature and art, and in stage art, Cao Cao always gets no "benefits", and people always belittle him more than praise him, and he is shaped into a "big traitor" with a colorful face. Only a few scholars, such as Guo Moruo, a great contemporary writer, dare to stand up and "cry foul" and "rehabilitate" him.
Cao Cao's activities in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms can be roughly divided into two periods with Battle of Red Cliffs as the boundary. Compared with Cao Cao in the later period, Cao Cao in the early period was a hero before a traitor, a wise man before a fool, a lovely man before a hateful man. Cao Cao's life is extraordinary. Generally speaking, his merits are greater than his faults.
1. Being a hero before being a traitor, being wise before being stupid, being cute before being hateful.
although Cao Cao in the early period had begun to "hold the emperor", his purpose was to "make the princes". At this time, what he faced was mainly the contradiction with the warlords in the Central Plains, and what he devoted himself to was to strengthen his strength, level the pack and unify the north. The author focuses on Cao Cao's heroism, wisdom and cuteness in the process of showing Cao Shi Group's entrepreneurship from small to large and from weak to strong. In the later period, Cao Cao mainly dealt with the contradictions with Shu and Wu, especially with Liu Bei Group, which called for the restoration of the Han Dynasty. Its ultimate goal was to "clear the world", unify the world and replace Liu Han. At this time, the author focuses on Cao Cao's "treachery", "stupidity" and "hatred". Cao Cao's image is fluid and changeable. Generally speaking, the former hero is the later traitor, the former wise is the later fool, and the former cute is the later hateful.
Luo Guanzhong, the author, is not completely distinct and purely parallel in expressing Cao Cao's treachery and heroism, wisdom and stupidity, loveliness and hatred, but is mixed and inclusive. Rape is the rape of the male, and the male is the male of the traitor; Fool is the fool of the wise, and wisdom is the wisdom of fools; Hate is the hate of the lover, and love is the love of the hater. For example, when Cao Cao gave a big banquet at the Bronze Quetai, his ministers had the intention of persuading him to advance. He immediately declared, "As a prime minister, people and ministers are extremely expensive, so what can I hope for?" If there is no one in the country alone, I don't know how many people claim to be the king and how many people claim to be the king. Or see the weight of loneliness, think about it in vain, and suspect that loneliness has infidelity, which is also a big fallacy. I often think that Confucius called the king of letters the supreme virtue, and this statement is in my heart. " These words, of course, are self-excusing and self-whitewashing, but it is an indisputable fact that he has not proclaimed himself after all. Song Xian commented on Cao Cao's poem: "Although we are determined to bully the young master, there is still a Zhou Wen with courtesy and righteousness", and the evaluation of Cao Cao is more appropriate. This is also the place where Cao Cao "hides traitors".
2. Cao Cao's achievements.
(1) level the pack and unify the north.
Cao Cao's success began with the suppression of the yellow turban insurrectionary uprising. In the process of suppressing the Yellow turban insurrectionary uprising, many talents were recruited and military strength was expanded by recruiting soldiers, luring rebels, recruiting enemy generals and soldiers. First, holding high the banner of "loyalty and righteousness", Jiao Zhao gathered 18-route governors to crusade against Dong Zhuo, and then welcomed Xian Di to move its capital to Xuchang, "relying on the emperor to make the princes", gradually flattening the separatist forces such as Yuan Shu, Lu Bu, Zhang Xiu, Yuan Shao and Liu Biao, unifying the north and ending the chaotic situation of the northern warlords' separatist regime.
(2) It laid the foundation for the three countries to stand firm and return to Jin.
after Cao Cao unified the north, in order to solve the problem of shortage of military grain, he divided his troops in the north to reclaim land and build water conservancy projects, which played a certain role in the recovery of agricultural production in the north. He hired people on merit, attached importance to talents, and dared to break the concept of family status, which attracted many middle and lower class figures of the landlord class. He also suppressed the local strongmen who dominated one side so as not to make them too big to fail, and took strong measures to strengthen centralization and weaken the power of local and warlords. These measures not only consolidated the crumbling central government at the end of the Han Dynasty, but also made the social economy in the north recover and develop rapidly. In a relatively long period of time, the north was in a peaceful environment, the people were recuperated and their national strength was continuously strengthened, which laid the foundation for the formation of the tripartite confrontation situation after Cao Cao's death and the final unification of the three countries.
(3) It has made great contributions to the development of Jian 'an literature.
Cao Cao was an outstanding poet and writer in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, who made great contributions to the formation of Jian 'an style and the development of Jian 'an literature. Around Cao Cao, there are not only a group of literati such as Wang Lang, Zhong You, Wang Can and Chen Lin, but also two sons with unique literary talent, Cao Pi and Cao Zhi. With his active advocacy and strong support, the literary atmosphere of the court in the late Han Dynasty was very strong, and the famous "Three Caos and Seven Scholars" emerged in the history of China literature. His poems are magnificent, generous and sad; His prose is neat and neat. In the forty-eighth time, in the "Banquet on the Yangtze River and Cao Cao's Poems", he touched the scene and sang "When drinking wine, life is geometric; For example, the morning dew, going to Japan is more bitter ","the moon star is rare, and the black magpie flies south; Three turns around the tree, no branches to follow ","the mountain is never too high, and the water is never too deep. The duke of Zhou vomited and fed, and the world returned to the heart. The fact that Cao Cao can write poetry and prose is also difficult to compare with the other three countries.
3. Cao Cao's fault.
(1) suppress the uprising and act as a butcher.
Many famous founding emperors and heroes in history have suppressed peasant uprisings, and their hands are covered with people's blood. Whether it is Cao Cao in history or Cao Cao in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it is no exception. In the "Battle of Yingchuan", Cao Cao indiscriminately killed the rebel army, "killing for a while and beheading more than 1, levels", acting as a court executioner. Since then, he has followed Huang Fusong to beg Zhang Liang, "chop Zhang Liang in Quyang", "send the coffin of opening angle, and slaughter the corpse", which is cruel to even the dead. After the death of Dong Zhuo and Wang Yun, Qingzhou Yellow Scarf Army revolted again. Cao Cao and Jibei Xiang Bao Xin were responsible for suppressing the rebel army, and Bao Xin died. However, Cao Cao "enlisted more than 3, soldiers and more than one million men and women" and "chose its elite, named" Qingzhou soldier ". Cao Cao not only dyed his top hat red with the blood of the rebel army, but first he was appointed as the "Jinan Xiang" and the "Dianjun Captain", and then he was appointed as the "Town East General". Moreover, he gradually expanded his military strength and had the capital to compete for the Central Plains.
(2) cheat the monarch and confuse the superior, steal the country and seek rebellion.
after welcoming Xian Di to move its capital to Xuchang, Cao Cao's personal ambition and desire for power continued to expand, and finally he completely controlled the court and the central government at the end of the Han Dynasty. In all court affairs, from military conquests to personnel appointments and dismissals, from internal affairs to diplomatic relations, Cao Cao didn't listen to the opinions of Xian Di and courtiers at all, and everyone had the final say.