Cao Cao (155~22), a strategist, politician and writer at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, wrote military works such as Sun Tzu's Brief Explanation and The Book of War, as well as Hao Lixing, Watching the Sea, Qiu Lu, Short Songs, Sorrow in Cold, and Tuan. There are three kinds of contents in Cao Cao's poems: reflecting the reality of unrest in the late Han Dynasty, the ideal of unifying the world and tenacious enterprising spirit, and expressing unforgettable negative emotions.
Cao Pi (187~226), the eldest son of Cao Cao. In 221, Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty was forced to abdicate the throne for Wei Wendi. After Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor and built Wei, he revered his father, Cao Cao, as Emperor Wu, and was called Wei Wudi in history. His poems are euphemistic, with love and sadness as the theme. Two poems, Yan Ge Xing, are the earliest seven-character poems in existence. His Dian Lun. Thesis is an important work in the history of China's literary criticism.
Cao Zhi (192~232), the younger brother of Cao Pi and the third son of Cao Cao. Seven steps into a poem. There are more than 1 poems and essays handed down from generation to generation, such as Liang Fu Xing on Mount Tai, A Beautiful Woman and Luo Shen Fu, which describe people's painful life. The story of Seven Steps Poem written by Cao Zhi is even more well known.
Cao Cao and his son are highly literate. Thanks to their advocacy, once-declining literature has gained new vitality. In Yecheng, the capital city at that time (so the address is in Linzhang County, Hebei Province today), a large number of literati gathered. New breakthroughs have been made in poetry, prose and prose creation. Poetry, in particular, has absorbed the strengths of folk songs of the Han Yuefu, is full of love and words, and has a generous and sad artistic style, which truly reflects the social reality at the end of the Han Dynasty and the thoughts and sentiments of literati. Because it happened in the Jian 'an period of Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty, later generations called the literature of this period Jian 'an literature. The representative figures of Jian 'an literature are "Three Caos" and "Seven Scholars", with "Three Caos" as the core. Cao Cao is the leader and pioneer of Jian 'an literature.