In the 13th year of Jian 'an, he worshipped the Prime Minister and marched south to Jingzhou. Defeated by Sun Quan and Liu Bei in Chibi, the tripartite confrontation between the three countries took shape. In eighteen years of Jian 'an, Gong Wei was appointed, and in twenty-one years, Wang Wei was appointed. In the first month of twenty-five years, he died in Luoyang. After Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor, he was honored as Wei Wudi.
Cao Cao, Cao Cao, Cao Zhi, Cao Pi and his son, known as the Three Caos in literature, were the representatives at that time.
Cao Cao has profound cultivation in literature, calligraphy and music. His literary achievements are mainly reflected in today's poems and essays.
There are more than twenty poems by Cao Cao, all of which are Yuefu poems. The content can be roughly divided into three categories. One is related to current affairs, the other is mainly to express ideals, and the other is poetry about immortals.
His works related to current affairs include Lu Luxing, Good Li Xing, Bitter Cold Travel, Walking Out of Xiamen, etc. Two songs, Autumn Journey and Good, were written in the early years of Jian 'an. The foregoing reflects that He Jinmou murdered eunuchs, and Dong Zhuo went to Luoyang for insurrection. The second article is about the states and counties in Kanto, each with its own ambitions, fighting with each other, and keeping pace with each other in content. Poetry describes this historical process in concise language, so it is regarded as a true record of the late Han Dynasty and an authentic work of poetry history (Zhong Xing's Ancient Poems Return). What is particularly commendable is that in the poem "A Journey to Luxury", he wrote the profound sufferings of the broad masses of the people in the war in a sympathetic style: lice were born in the first place, all surnames died, bones were exposed in the wild, a thousand miles were silent, a hundred people stayed, and thinking broke people's intestines. A Journey to Bitter Cold was written in the 11th year of Jian 'an. The poem describes the coldness, desolation and precipitousness of Taihang Mountain in winter, with vivid images, and also writes the poet's inner complex feelings. "Out of Xiamen" was written in the twelfth year of Jian 'an, and the five rings levied three counties. This poem includes a prelude and four explanations. Yan concentrated on the poet's complex mood when he went to war. Look at the sea and write the impression when marching through Jieshi; The second plan is different in winter and October, and the third plan is different. Fourth, although he lived a long life, he wrote about his ideological activities after winning this important battle. Among them, "Looking at the Sea" describes the sea scenery, the autumn wind is bleak, the waves are rough, and the journey of the sun and the moon is among them; The splendor of Xinghan, if out of its realm, is magnificent, which embodies the poet's broad mind of containing the universe and devouring the sun and the moon. Although Gui Shishou expressed the poet's views on life and career with a series of vivid metaphors: an old horse crouches, with a thousand miles of ambition, and a martyr is old and brave. This is the true confession of the poet's active and enterprising spirit all his life.
The poems that mainly express ideals are Du Guan Shan, Duijiu, and Short Song. The first two articles are about political ideals. His vision of peace and prosperity is the politics of virtuous monarch and good minister, which combines Confucianism and law with kindness and prestige. This is undoubtedly of progressive significance under the realistic background of social destruction in the late Han Dynasty. The theme of "Short Song" is to seek talents, and to express the feelings of seeking talents to achieve its great cause with poems such as the mountain is not too high, the sea is not too deep, the duke of Zhou vomits and feeds, and the world returns to the heart.
In artistic style, Cao Cao's poems are unpretentious and unpretentious. They won with deep affection and charm. Poetically, it is characterized by generosity and sadness. Generosity and sadness, originally the keynote of Jian 'an literature, are the most typical and prominent in Cao Cao's poems. In terms of poetic genre, Cao Cao's Yuefu poems did not copy the rules of Han Yuefu, but developed. For example, Lu Luxing and Good Li Xing are both elegies in the Han Yuefu, but he used old topics to express brand-new contents. Cao Cao initiated the tradition of writing current affairs with Yuefu, which had far-reaching influence. A large number of Yuefu poems created by Jian 'an writers and many poets from the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty can be said to be the inheritance and development of this tradition.
Cao Cao's achievements in literature are also reflected in his constructive role in Jian 'an literature (see Seven Children of Jian 'an). Jian 'an literature can flourish under the background of long-term war and social fragmentation, which is inseparable from his attention and promotion. When discussing the reasons for the prosperity of Jian 'an literature, Liu Xie pointed out that Wang loves poetry (the sequence of Wen Xin Diao Long). In fact, the main writers in Jian 'an period were closely related to him. Cao Pi and Cao Zhi are his sons, and the seven sons and Cai Yan are also sheltered by him. It can be said that Ye Group was formed on the basis of the material conditions he provided. And their creation is also under the influence of his advocacy.
In addition, Cao Cao has many other articles handed down from generation to generation, such as Please Increase Guo Jia's knighthood list, Let the county magistrate know his own story, Repair the Book and the King, Wenxuan Commemorating Qiu's Old Bridge, etc. Simple words, vivid feelings, fluency and frankness.
According to the textual research of Yao Zhenzong's Records of the Three Kingdoms of Qing Dynasty, Cao Cao's works include 30 volumes of Wei Wudi Collection, Sun Tzu's Art of War 1 Volume, 13 Volume and so on. There are more than ten kinds of works, but most of them have been lost, and the only one that exists is Sun Tzu's Note. 145 poems collected by Zhang Yan in Ming Dynasty were included in Wei Wudi Collection and in 103 Records of Han, Wei and Six Dynasties. Ding's Collection of Celebrities in the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties also includes Wei Wudi's Collection, which has slightly more works than Zhang Pu's Collection. 1959, according to Ding Ben, Zhonghua Book Company added Annotation to Sun Tzu, and attached the Ji of Emperor Wu and Chronology of Cao Cao. , and reprinted as "Cao Cao Ji".