More than 20 of Cao Cao's poems are extant, all of which are in Yuefu style. Content can generally be divided into three categories. One type is related to current affairs, the other type is mainly about expressing ideals, and the other type is poems about immortals.
Works that are somewhat related to current affairs include "A Walk on the Dew", "A Walk on the Haoli", "A Walk on the Bitter Cold", "A Walk Out of the Summer Gate", etc.
Poems that mainly express ideals include "Duguan Mountain", "Duijiu", "Dan Ge Xing", etc.
Cao Cao (155-March 15, 220), whose courtesy name was Mengde, whose last name was Jili, and whose nickname was Amo, was from Qiao County, Peiguo (now Bozhou, Anhui), and was of Han nationality. He was an outstanding politician, militarist, writer, and calligrapher in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and the founder of the Cao Wei regime in the Three Kingdoms. In the name of the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, he conquered the four directions, eliminated the separatist forces such as Yuan, Lu Bu, Liu Biao, Ma Chao, and Han Sui internally, and surrendered the Southern Xiongnu, Wuhuan, Xianbei, etc. externally, unified northern China, and implemented a series of policies to restore economic production. and social order, laying the foundation for the founding of Cao Wei. When Cao Cao was alive, he served as the Prime Minister of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and later as the King of Wei. After his death, he was given the posthumous title of King Wu. After his son Cao Pi became emperor, he was honored as Emperor Wu, with the temple name Taizu.
Cao Cao was skilled in military tactics and good at poetry. He expressed his political ambitions and reflected the suffering life of the people in the late Han Dynasty. He was majestic, generous and desolate. His prose was also clear and neat, which opened up and prospered Jian'an literature and gave it to later generations. He left behind precious spiritual wealth, known in history as the character of Jian'an, and Lu Xun evaluated him as "the founder of reformed articles." At the same time, Cao Cao was also good at calligraphy, especially Zhangcao. Zhang Huaiguan of the Tang Dynasty rated it as a "wonderful product" in "Shu Duan".