In "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", these good aspects of Cao Cao's character and moral character were ignored, while his cruel and treacherous side was exaggerated. Therefore, Cao Cao in Luo Guanzhong's works is a typical villain who is cunning, cruel, willful, and suspicious.
Cao Cao’s character in history is very complicated. Chen Shou believed that Cao Cao had the best strategy in the history of the Three Kingdoms. Because of its utensils, it can be calculated as it pleases and does not care about old evils."
Cao Cao has been in charge of the army for more than thirty years, but he never lets go of the scrolls. He must write poems when he climbs high. He is good at poetry, cursive calligraphy, and Go. Live a frugal life and don’t wear fancy clothes. Discuss with others and laugh happily. "Any meritorious service should be rewarded, and no amount of gold should be spared; if there is no merit, no reward should be given." He is the first-class politician, military strategist and writer in Chinese history.
Extended information
Cao Cao’s personal works
Cao Cao has profound accomplishments in literature, calligraphy, music, etc. He is the author of books such as "A Brief Explanation of Sun Tzu", "The Essentials of the Military Book" and "The New Book of Meng De".
Cao Cao's literary achievements are mainly reflected in his poetry, and his prose is also very distinctive. There are more than 20 of Cao Cao's poems in existence today, all of which are in Yuefu style. Content can generally be divided into three categories. One type is related to current affairs, the other is mainly about expressing ideals, and the other is poems about immortals.
In addition, Cao Cao also has many other articles handed down from generation to generation, such as "Please increase the list of Guo Jia's towns", "Let the county self-explain the original chronicle", "Revise the book with the king", "Sacrifice the deceased Taiwei" "Qiao Xuanwen" and so on, the writing is simple, emotional, smooth and straightforward.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Cao Cao