Cao Cao in history was an outstanding politician, strategist and writer in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He rose in the Yellow turban insurrectionary and the war against Dong Zhuo, quickly defeated many local separatist warlords in a short time, and completed the reunification of the north. After that, Cao Cao actively promoted the economic production in the north, and made great contributions to the relative stability and prosperity of northern China in Wei and Jin Dynasties. In literature, Cao Cao and his two sons (Cao Pi and Cao Zhi) were called "Three Caos" and were great poets and writers at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In terms of poetry, Cao Cao represented the highest realm of poetry in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, while in terms of composition, Cao Cao advocated understanding and getting rid of the disadvantages of flashy articles since the Han Dynasty. From these two aspects, Cao Cao is also a great writer.
Cao Cao in the literature Romance of the Three Kingdoms wrote two words, treacherous. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms regards Cao Cao and Liu Bei as two diametrically opposite extremes. Cao Cao has outstanding political and military talents, which has maintained the stability and prosperity of northern China, and was praised by Ken in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. On the other hand, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms also portrayed him as a sly, suspicious, cruel and ambitious villain to criticize irony.
Cao Cao in Chinese drama is a negative Cao Cao. In China's traditional operas, Cao Cao's talent and contribution were completely denied, and he was portrayed as such a greedy, cruel, ambitious, terrible and often embarrassing villain.