Why did Cao Zhi write a seven-step poem?

Cao Zhi, the youngest son of Cao Cao, was gifted since childhood and was deeply loved by his father. After Cao Cao's death, his younger brother Cao Pi became the emperor of Wei. Cao Pi is a jealous man. He was worried that his younger brother would threaten his throne and wanted to kill him. One day, Cao Pi called Cao Zhi to him and asked him to write a poem within seven steps to prove his talent in writing poetry. If he can't write it, it will be tantamount to deceiving the emperor and putting him to death.

Cao Zhi was sad and angry when he knew that his brother was going to kill him. He endured grief and thought hard ... Sure enough, he wrote a seven-step poem and read it out on the spot.

[Edit this paragraph] Appreciate

This poem was written in a purely metaphorical way. The language is simple and clear, and there is no need to explain it. Just a little dredging in individual words and phrases, its significance is self-evident. The "fermented glutinous rice" in the second sentence refers to the filtered cooked fermented soybean, which is used to make sauce. "Fen" refers to beanstalk, which is dried and used as firewood. The powder is cooked with beans from the same root. Metaphor brothers are too tight, give up on themselves and violate heaven, which is naturally unacceptable. The poet's clever metaphor and clever language blurted out in an instant, which was really amazing. For thousands of years, the word "born from the same root, why bother to fry each other" has become a common language to persuade brothers not to kill each other, which shows that this poem is widely circulated among the people.

Through the daily phenomenon of burning beans and boiling beans, Cao Zhi's inner grief and indignation were expressed.

This poem uses seeds and beans from the same root to compare half-brothers, and uses seeds and beans to compare brothers to kill their younger brothers, vividly and simply reflecting the cruel struggle within the feudal ruling group.

It reflects the poet's own difficult situation and depressed mood.