Three Cao refers to the collective name of Cao Cao, his sons Cao Pi and Cao Zhi during the Han and Wei dynasties. Because their father, son and brothers' political status and literary achievements were very influential on the literary world at that time, and they were representatives of Jian'an literature, they were collectively called the "Three Cao" by later generations.
1. Cao Cao:
Cao Cao was an outstanding writer during the Jian'an period and the founder of a new situation in Jian'an literature. He created a new trend in Jian'an literature with a clear and elegant style.
2. Cao Pi
Cao Pi is good at poetry and poetry. His famous works include "Yan Ge Xing", "Books with Wu Zhi", etc. Among them, the entire poem of "Yan Ge Xing" uses seven The words and sentences rhyme, playing an important role in the development history of Chinese seven-character poetry.
3. Cao Zhi
Cao Zhi was the first writer to vigorously create five-character poetry. He pushed the development of literati's five-character poetry to an unprecedented peak, marking the complete maturity of literati's five-character poetry. His prose and poems also show high ideological and artistic quality. "Luo Shen Fu" is extremely beautiful, and "Books with Wu Jichong" and "Books with Yang Dezu" are two famous prose poems.
Extended information:
Sancao Literature: Jian'an Literature?
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, society was in turmoil. Cao Cao, a native of Qiao (now Bozhou) in the Han Dynasty, formed the Qingzhou Army, hijacked Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, unified the north, and created a relatively stable society. Both Cao Cao and his son had a high degree of literary accomplishment. Thanks to their advocacy, literature, which had been in decline, gained new vitality.
In Yecheng, where the capital was established at that time (the former site is in present-day Linzhang County, Hebei Province), a large number of literati gathered. There have been new breakthroughs in poetry, fu, and literary creation.
Poetry, in particular, absorbs the merits of Han Yuefu folk songs, has rich love words, and has a generous and sad artistic style. It more truly reflects the social reality of the late Han Dynasty and the thoughts and sentiments of the literati. Because it took place during the Jian'an period of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, later generations called the literature of this period Jian'an literature. The representative figures of Jian'an literature are "Three Cao" and "Seventh Son", with San Cao as the core.
Cao Cao was the leader and founder of Jian'an literature. There are more than 20 of his Yuefu poems extant today. His representative work "Hao Li Xing" describes the tragic scene during the warlord period, and "Dan Ge Xing" is a well-known poem.
Cao Pi is the second son of Cao Cao. His poems are euphemistic and pathos, mostly with themes of love and sadness. The two "Yan Ge Xing" are the earliest existing seven-character poems. His "Dian Lun. Essay" is an important work in the history of Chinese literary criticism.
Cao Zhi was the most famous writer of this period. There are more than 100 poems and articles handed down, such as "Liang Fu's Journey to Mount Tai" which describes the painful life of the people, and "Beauty" which describes love. "Chapter", "Luo Shen Fu", etc., the whole story of Cao Zhi's "Seven-step Poetry" has become a well-known story. Li Bai once said, "Penglai articles are the bones of Jian'an", which shows the profound influence of Jian'an literature on later generations.