Cao Shi and his son are outstanding literary models in Jian 'an period, not only because of their high achievements in poetry, but also because they played a leading role in advocating Jian 'an literature, and it is easy to see general contemporary characteristics in their works, so they can be considered as the best representatives of this period.
Cao Shi and his son lived in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, during which politics was decadent and class contradictions were extremely acute. Within the imperial court, not only the consorts and eunuchs master the state affairs, but also there are often political struggles, such as the struggle between Dong Zhuo's authoritarian power and He Jin's ten regular attendants and eunuchs. Outside the imperial court, the peasant uprising was in full swing.
Cao Shi and his son experienced and witnessed the social unrest caused by separatist wars and political struggles. At the same time, they have the opportunity to display their ambitions in the ever-changing political situation, and these realities are reflected in their works, making their works rich and realistic.
Cao's three poems have immortal contents;
Since the year of birth is so short, even Cao Cao, a brave and fearless "peerless hero", can't help sighing in the face of the time limit of one year, so how to transcend the limited life to achieve "death and immortality" is the life topic in the hearts of ancient poets.
The third immortal view of "Li De made meritorious service" in Zuo Zhuan's Twenty-four Years of "xianggong" has a far-reaching influence on later generations. Cao Shi and his son's answer to the question of why they die but not die is somewhat inseparable from the theory of "three immortals". Cao Cao did not directly discuss the issue of immortality in his poems, but through chapters such as "though your life is long" and "short songs".
It can be concluded that Cao Cao's ambition to make contributions is very strong. His impermanence and short-lived lament about life is based on constant worries about meritorious service. Different from Cao Cao, Cao Pi and Cao Zhi specially wrote an article to discuss the problem of "death is immortal".