Cao Cao is good at writing poems, expressing his political ambitions with great boldness of vision, generosity and sadness, and reflecting the miserable life of the people in the late Han Dynasty. Prose is also neat, which opens and prospers Jian 'an literature and leaves precious spiritual wealth to future generations, which is called Jian 'an style in history. At the same time, Cao Cao is good at calligraphy, especially at carving grass. In the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Huaiguan named it a "wonderful flower" at the end of Shu. Cao Cao's poems written by Cao Cao were greatly influenced by Yuefu, and all the existing poems are Yuefu songs. Although these poems use the old themes of Yuefu, they do not follow the ancient poems and are not bound by their own new ways. But they inherited the spirit of "feeling sad and happy, but being useless". For example, Autumn Dew Trip and Excitement were originally songs, but Cao Cao used them to mourn the chaos. "Out of the East Gate" was originally a song that felt the impermanence of life and needed to eat, drink and be merry in time, but Cao Cao used it to express his ambition to dominate the world and the magnificent scenery he saw when he returned from the Northern Expedition. It can be seen that Cao Cao's innovative folk songs opened up a new style of Jian 'an literature and influenced Du Fu, Bai Juyi and others later.
There are three contents in Cao Cao's poems: reflecting the reality of unrest in the late Han Dynasty, unifying the ideal of the world and the indomitable spirit, and expressing unforgettable negative emotions.
In the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao had a wide range of social contacts. Therefore, he has a lot of personal experience and understanding, such as "Hao Xing", which called the tragic scene of the war at the end of the Han Dynasty. When he saw the sufferings of the people, he also saw the sympathy of the poet when he was hurt. Therefore, later generations called Cao Cao Yuefu "a true record of the late Han Dynasty, an authentic poem".
Cao Cao was born in an official family and had ambitions for the world, so he had unified ambitions. There is a saying in the short Song Dynasty that "the Duke of Zhou vomits food, and the world belongs to his heart". His enterprising spirit is also evident. For example, in "Although the tortoise lives a long life", he said that he would never give up his ambition in his later years.
A generation of fierce, even with scenery, died when the stars fell. Cao Cao also felt helpless, only poetic and helpless. For example, the sentimental feeling of "it is more difficult to go to Japan when the morning dew comes" in short songs, Hu Xing's low mood in autumn, and his negative mood can be seen in Shang Mosang's works.
Cao Cao's poetic form is very innovative. He is particularly good at writing five-character and four-character styles. Hao was originally a miscellaneous word, but Cao Cao rewritten it into five words, which was very successful. Four-character poems have declined since The Book of Songs, and there are not many excellent works, but Cao Cao inherited the national style and the tradition of Xiaoya, reflecting reality and expressing emotions. For example, "Short Song" and "Out of the Summer Gate" are masterpieces of four-character poems, which make them reborn and glow again. Cao Cao's poems are concise, straightforward, bold, sad, gloomy and bold. Colorful words are not common, but vivid as the poem "Watching the Sea": "The autumn wind is bleak, the waves are rough, and the trip to the sun and the moon, if it is outside, the stars are brilliant, if it is outside. A few strokes, without retouching, can express the poet's heart with the vast sea scene.