A brief introduction to Cao Cao
Cao Cao (155～220), the Emperor Wu of Wei. A statesman, military strategist and poet during the Three Kingdoms period. The courtesy name is Mengde, the nickname is Ah Ma, and Qiao (a native of Bo County, Anhui Province today). At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the army gradually expanded its military strength while suppressing the Yellow Turban uprising. In the third year of Chuping (AD 192), they occupied Yanzhou, divided and lured part of the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army to surrender, and organized it into the "Qingzhou Army". In the first year of Jian'an (196), he welcomed the Han Dynasty and presented Emperor Xu as his capital (today's east of Xuchang, Henan). He held the emperor hostage to order the princes, and successively defeated Lu Bu and other separatist forces. After defeating the warlord Yuan Shao in the Battle of Guandu, he gradually unified northern China. In the thirteenth year of Jian'an, he became prime minister and led his army southward, but was defeated by the coalition forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei in Chibi. Later he was named King of Wei. His son Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor and was honored as Emperor Wu of Wei.
Cao Cao can be called a literary giant of his era. He writes with ink as precious as gold, is frank and sophisticated, and speaks his mind directly. Lu Xun praised his writing style, calling it "clear", "clear" and "concise and clear". For example, in the "Order to Suppress Annexation", he said: "Those who have a country and a family will not worry about scarcity but inequality; they will not worry about poverty but insecurity." These two sentences have become famous sayings in China through the ages. In this article, he also commented: "The Yuan family's rule made the strong and powerful, merged with relatives, and made the people poor and weak." He pointedly pointed out the source of the unrest in the world. In the "Order to Make the County Self-Ming", in addition to counterattacking his political opponents' attacks on his "unconquerable ambitions", he also admitted that as the prime minister, he could never retire: "If there is no one in the country, I don't know how many people will call him "Emperor, how many people are kings", the chaos will definitely continue. Therefore, Lu Xun said that Cao Cao "wrote whatever he wanted to write" and "was the founder of reforming articles." Cao Cao spent most of his life fighting incessantly. "When he climbed high, he would compose poems and compose new poems, which would be orchestrated and turned into music." He, his sons Cao Pi and Cao Zhi all devoted themselves to composing poems. At the same time, he united a group of talented people and created the "Jian'an style" in Chinese poetry, which was highly praised by later generations. Cao Cao's poems inherited the tradition of Yuefu folk songs of the Han Dynasty and made bold innovations that were unprecedented. Its distinctive features are three: ——Active and enterprising. Poems are like people. Cao Cao lived a life full of setbacks and struggles, so his poems were also proactive. Just take "The Turtle Sueshou" as an example. It uses the long-lived turtle and the flying snake as a foreshadowing to highlight the positive and enterprising outlook on life of self-improvement, getting stronger with age, and maintaining good health and longevity. The four sentences "The old man is in trouble, his ambition is thousands of miles; the martyr's ambition is endless in his old age", which has been recited for thousands of years and has a great inspirational effect.
The weather is magnificent. As a hero of his generation, Cao Cao had the ambition to pacify the world. He wrote poems, breathed in the stars, and controlled thunder and lightning. "Viewing the Sea" is guided by "Looking at the Sea", describing the island scenery and sea waves, integrating the author's imagination and artistic exaggeration, and the momentum is extremely magnificent. ——Generous and tragic. Cao Cao was a generational hegemon and literary giant. He wrote superbly and was good at integrating scene description, narrative, reasoning and lyricism, forming a generous and tragic poetic style. His "Hao Li Xing" reflects the cruel reality of the struggle between heroes and the suffering of the people. The last four lines of the poem describe how the fields are filled with bones and there are not even a single living person left alive. It makes people cry when reading them. It has always been called an excellent epic and "a record of the late Han Dynasty". His writing is like his person, and his poetry is like his bones. Cao's political achievement was to suppress unrest and maintain stability in the late Eastern Han Dynasty; Cao's literary achievement was to create and lead a generation of Jian'an literature. A specific description of his personality can be found in the comparative analysis and evaluation of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao by Cao Cao's counselors Xun Yu and Guo Jia in "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", saying that Cao Cao had ten victories and Yuan had ten defeats. From this, we can see that in general . These ten items are "Tao, righteousness, governance, degree, strategy, virtue, benevolence, Ming, literature and martial arts". The "Tao" in it means method. Yan Cao handles things without regard for ostentation or extravagance. He follows the natural method and seeks practicality. "Yi" means norms. Here we talk about the rules between king and minister. "Government" refers to law and discipline, strict orders and strict laws, and the ability to lead with one's own body. It is said that he once cut off his hair to replace his head as a self-discipline because his horse was riding on the green seedlings. "Du" means measuring, selecting people only based on their talents and abilities, regardless of origin, not seeking fame, and not jealous of talents. "Mou" means strategy, and Cao Cao was famous for his great strategism, flexibility, and good decision-making. He was a resourceful person during the Three Kingdoms period. "Virtue" means integrity. Cao Cao treated people with integrity and honesty, and many smart people at that time left Yuan Shao and came to Cao Cao. "Benevolence" means love. Caring about and caring for the people you use are mostly in big places and hidden places. We usually don't pay much attention to trivial things and small feelings. This kind of care often surprises people.