Cao zhi's information

Self-motivated and willful personality

Cao Zhi (192—232), born in Peiguoqiao (now Bo County, Anhui Province), the son of Cao Cao, was called "Si".

Cao Zhisheng was born in the third year of Chu Ping of Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty. When the world was in chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, he moved to the army with his father Cao Cao. The so-called "born in troubled times and grew up in the army" just sums up the characteristics of his childhood life. In such a living environment, he not only experienced frequent wars, but also contacted the broad social reality. This life foundation has an important influence on his later thoughts and creations.

During the Jian 'an period, Cao Cao achieved great military and political success, and recruited talents in the Wei Palace at that time, which also had a great influence on Cao Zhi. Cao Zhi once said in "The Book with Yang Dezu": "In the past, I walked alone in Hannan, and the hole rose in the river. Wei Chang was famous for his green land, and Gong Lian took the name of the sea. With this, the German Union made a fortune in Wei and reached the top of the world. At this time, everyone claimed to hold the snake beads, and everyone claimed to hold the jade of Jingshan. My king built a skynet to cover it up. Now I know that I am gathered in our country. " Cao Cao's "setting up a skynet" has his political purpose, but it also provides conditions for the development of literature. In such a literary environment, Cao Zhi's talent has been cultivated and developed.

Cao Zhi used to be the son of Huashan gifted scholar, living a rich and luxurious life: fighting cocks and leading horses, feasting and enjoying himself. There is a sentence in his "Cockfighting": "You are smart in your eyes, and you are tired of palace businessmen. The host is silent, the guests enter the concert, sit in the theater for a long banquet, and have a cockfight to see the spare room. " There is a cloud in "Famous Capital": "Cockfighting in the eastern suburbs attracts thousands of miles." "I'm going to dinner, and I want to fight for 10 thousand drinks." There is such a sentence in Li Bai's "Into the Wine": "Mr. Chen is finishing a banquet in the temple, and a barrel of wine is 12 thousand, laughing and laughing." It also points out a side of Cao Zhi's life in this period.

But Cao Zhi, after all, is different from ordinary extravagant childe. Although he is surrounded by a group of literati and politicians, he is not completely addicted to such a life. Several of his works in this issue are quite generous, instead of indulging in the extravagant sound of music. For example, there is a cloud in the poem "Give Ding Yi": "The morning clouds don't return to the mountains, the rain becomes a river, and the territory of Soto, the farmers get it! Who can blog for grace? How can I miss the naked guest when the fox is barefoot in winter! " "Liang Fuxing" has a cloud: "Different in all directions, thousands of miles of wind and rain. The play is to teach the people to stay in the grass village. A wife, like an animal, is blocked by a forest. Chai Men is depressed, and the fox and rabbit are flying in my space. " This kind of work breaks through the life of a rich boy and has a wide range of social contents. He once said in the preface: "I have little but I am good at giving, and what I have is still beautiful, elegant and generous." Fu is so solid, so is poetry. Of course, "elegance and generosity" is a generation of writing style in Jian 'an period, not just Cao Zhi. "Wen Xin Diao Long Shi Ming" has a cloud: "At the beginning of Jian 'an, there were five words, and Wendi Chen Si took the festival; Wang Xu should be Liu, looking at the road and fighting. And pity the wind and moon, pay homage to the pool garden, describe elegance and elegance, and tell a hearty banquet, which is generous, upright and brilliant. To refer to things without refinement; Drive the words one by one, only with clear ability. This is the same. " In other words, "flying spirit" and "exerting talents" are the characteristics of all families in Jian 'an period, that is, the characteristics of the times.

However, Cao Zhi's talent is outstanding and his literary attainments are also very high. At this time, he was once quite loved by Cao Cao. Cao Zhiben, the reflection of Shu Wei, said: "When I was in my teens, I read hundreds of thousands of words of poetry and was good at writing. Taizu tasted the text and said,' Are you evil?' Zhi knelt down and said,' What you said is what you said, and what you wrote is what you wrote. What can you do when you are interviewed?' When Cecilia Yip Quetai was just established, Mao learned that all the philosophers were going to take the stage, so that they could do their best and make contributions, which was quite impressive. Hair is quite different. "Ben Chuan Yun: Planting People" is simple in nature, and it is not gorgeous in treating dignity and horse clothes. It's hard to ask every time I see it. I got it right and I like it very much. "Probably because of this, Cao Caocai had plans to seal him as a prince and had high hopes for him. In the 16th year of Jian 'an, it was named Hou Pingyuan, and in the 17th year, it was moved to Hou Linwei. Cao Cao found Sun Quan and ordered him to stay in Cao Zhen. He once warned him, "I used to be Ling, when I was twenty-three years old. Think about what you did at this time and have no regrets today. You are twenty-two years old now, don't be reluctant! " Cao Cao's remarks are unusual and seem to encourage him to inherit the throne in the future.

Cao Cao attaches great importance to literary talent, but as a ruler and politician, he pays more attention to the character that meets political needs. Although he cherished Cao Zhi's talent, he finally found his shortcomings, that is, Cao Zhi's legend said that he was "willful, self-motivated, and drank excessively" and so on. If you are a poet, this is not a shortcoming; But as the heir to the throne, this is very incompatible with political needs. With such shortcomings, even without Cao Pi's "technical inclination", Cao Cao may not consider making him a prince again. What's more, it is said in history that Cao Pi can "attack it with skills and judge people by appearances", which leads to "talking to imperial secretary"? Cao Cao finally established Cao Pi, and Cao Zhi finally fell out of favor, which is imperative and reasonable.

Cao Zhi has political ambitions all his life, but he lacks political mind. Therefore, when Cao Pi has been made a prince and lost his favor, he is still unconscious and still "does not admire himself". For example, in the twenty-second year of Jian 'an, he privately "took a bus at the equator and drove out of Sima Gate". This violates the king's law. Cao Cao was so angry that he ordered the cloud: "The first person said Zijian, the most important thing can be decided in Zijian." "Since I planted private land in the middle of the night and opened Sima Gate to Jinmen, I have looked at this child with special respect." This not only thinks that Cao Zhi can't inherit the throne, but also completely changes his original view of him.

Cao Cao is a truly ruthless politician. For political needs, he ignored the feelings of his father and son. At this time, although he didn't derogate from Cao Zhi, he killed Yang Xiu, Cao Zhi's confidant. Cao Cao knew that Ben said, "Mao was afraid of change, so he took his talents as his policy and Yuan's nephew as his policy, so he was punished for his crime. This kind of benefit is not safe. " Killing Yang Xiu is equivalent to getting rid of one of Cao Zhi's brain trust. Cao Zhi was greatly shaken.

At this time, Cao Zhi can be said to have lost the trust of Cao Cao, but there is also a story in this biography that Cao Cao took Zhi as a southern corps commander and sent him to save Cao Ren in the twenty-fourth year of Jian 'an. It is also said that Cao Cao told Cao Zhi to "quit something", "plant drunkenness" and Cao Cao "repented" and so on.

If this is true, it can probably be used as a footnote for Cao Zhi's "improper drinking". However, Pei quoted Wei's "Spring and Autumn Annals" and said: "Planting will do, and if you want to drink, you will be forced to get drunk. Wang Zhi couldn't obey the king's orders, so Wang was very angry. " From this point of view, Cao Zhi's drunkenness is not because of his "drinking indiscretion", but because of Cao Pi's plan.

Of course, the contents contained in Wei's Spring and Autumn Annals are not completely reliable. But it can be inferred that Cao Zhi's so-called "binge drinking" is not necessarily true. Cao Zhi has an article "Ode to Wine", which, under the guise of Mr. Jiao Su's words, says that "indulgence was forbidden by the former king and rejected by the gentleman." According to this, Ding Yan declared: "Jiu Fu is a book of friendship and a profound warning. How can the purple sword indulge in wine! "

If Cao Pi did not indulge in debauchery, but was "forced to get drunk", it can even show that Cao Zhi really lacks vigilance in politics and his mind is too unclear. Such people are doomed to fail in the political struggle.

The experience of "black and white between flies, clever friends"

After Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, Cao Zhi suffered a greater political setback.

Cao Zhichuan said, "Emperor Wen is the throne, ruling Ding Yi and Ding Gang, and merging with the governors." After Cao Cao killed Yang Xiu, Xelloss further cut off Cao Zhi's cronies. This is a heavier blow to Cao Zhi. Faced with such a blow, Cao Zhishi felt unspeakable pain. He wrote a trip to Noda's oriole to express his grief.

Shortly after Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, in October of the first year of Yankang (220), he was forced to abdicate and become Emperor Wen. As emperor, he further persecuted Cao Zhi. Cao Zhichuan said, "In the second year of Huang, all the people who were in charge of the country were anxious to point out, playing drunk but slowly, and robbing the emissary. Some officials asked for punishment, and the emperor demoted Jue 'an to his hometown because of the Queen Mother. "There is a cloud in the imperial edict:" Wisdom, my mother and my brother, I can tolerate things in the world, but what can I do? "If the relatives of the same flesh and blood give up without punishment, they will be sealed and planted." This year, Cao Zhi was renamed Juancheng Hou.

At this time, Cao Zhi had a poem "Xie Feng 'an Township Hou Biao", in which there was a saying: "I am afraid of sin, but I don't know when the punishment is limited." Your majesty mourned for the minister's body, refused to listen to the Ministry, and was too generous. On this day, Hou Yin's Hometown of Yanjin was printed. On the day of the imperial edict, I was afraid and sad. "From this point of view,' s situation and mood at this time is very different from the past. Irrigation is all about the wind, and it is in vain to add to the crime. He made no excuses, but he was afraid and grateful. Therefore, Cao Zhi, a "willful" person, has been quite vigilant by this time.

In the year of Huang San (222), Zhi was reinstated as Juancheng King, and moved to be king in four years. Its year is the capital. At this time, Cao Zhi still had "Feng Juan Wang Xie Biao" and continued to plead guilty, saying that he was "madly exposed, began to work for the Constitution, and sacrificed his life for righteousness". "If you don't understand God's grace, you won't expect it. Dead wood grows leaves and bones are more fleshy. If you are not a minister, you should be punished. " "On the day of the imperial edict, I am sad and happy." Cao Zhi is innocent, but he pleaded guilty. At that time, the seriousness of the crime and Cao Zhi's sinister situation can be imagined.

In the fourth year of Huang Chu, Cao Zhi and the princes were summoned to the capital of the same dynasty to celebrate the solar terms. At this time, he wrote a poem "The Bow of Responsibility" and continued to review his sins. There is a cloud on the table: "I hold troubles for princes, carve muscles to remember sins, eat day and sleep at night." As the saying goes, "Skynet cannot be restored, and grace can no longer be relied on." Cao Pi is called "virtuous as heaven and earth, grateful to parents." Therefore, "can't love the Lord", worship the table and offer poems. The sadness of the speech is beyond words. The history book says, "Emperor Jia's words are reasonable, so he answers them with kindness and encourages them."

Probably because of this humility, xelloss finally died in the year of his reign.

But during this period, although Cao Zhi was going to die, his heart was very painful. Especially when the vassal dynasty was the capital and then returned to San Francisco, Cao Zhang died suddenly; However, Cao Zhi and Cao Biao returned to the east by the same road, and he was intervened by the company. He was angry and afraid. The poem "Prince Charming Wang Biao" expresses an irresistible emotion. This poem says in an orderly way: In May of four years, the White Horse King, Ren and Yu all went to Beijing to celebrate the solar terms and went to Luoyang to be the king of the city; In July, I returned to China with the White Horse King. Later, when both kings returned their princes, the road had to stop in different places, and I hated it every time. Gai Yi changed a lot in a few days, but he dissected himself. He talked to the king and got angry. "This poem expresses great resentment against the death of Ren Chengwang and the birth and departure of the White Horse King. There is a cloud in the poem: "The owl is singing steadily, the wolf is on the road, and the flies are white and black, dense and sparse." Here, there are angry accusations against the company, but it seems that there are still reservations about Cao Pi, the supreme ruler. He said quite implicitly that "he is smart to make friends."

During this period, Cao Zhi also wrote a "Luo Shen Fu". This is a more subtle and profound work. This is an orderly cloud: "In the third year of the Emperor, the capital of Yu returned to Luochuan. The ancients said: The name of God of waterinfo is Fu Fei. I feel that Song Yu told the king of Chu about the goddess and wrote a poem. " On this basis, Ding Yan declared: "In the preface, Mingyun intends to entrust the goddess Song Yu to the king and Fu Fei as a gift. Luo Shen is still bent on the ambition of Song Dynasty. The popular saying is a kind of hypocrisy, isn't it ridiculous! " Now, it seems that Cao Zhi returned from Romania in the early years of Huang, and his mood was extremely bad. He does have the sorrow of Qu Yuan's exile, and his fu to Luo Shen also has the meaning of Fu Fei's losing his daughter in Li Sao. Induction in the world is a blessing, not necessarily true. Ding Yan's statement seems reasonable. Not only Luo Shen, but also Cao Zhi's other essays. For example, the poem "Ode to Nine Sorrow" says: "When I hate Wang's false words, when I am wronged, I will pay tribute to him, but suddenly I will undoubtedly release my minister." "The customs are uneven, the reputation can be the same, the fame and fortune are sought, and the public is harmed." "Nine Songs" says: "People's livelihood is bound to die, why bother to suffer for life? Clear water comes out of mud without being stained, and the muddy road is dusty. " Ode to the cicada said: "I am really lonely but I don't want to be happy, but I am happy. I sang for a long time." The voice is awkward and awkward, like a gentleman's heart. " "Parrot Fu" says: "How can I pity the rest of my life and pity the chicks not to fly?" "Farewell to the Wild Goose" says: "Poor lonely goose, unusual, but it hurts inside." Wait, it's all the poet's legacy. It's just a poem "Luo Shen", which is written in seclusion and difficult to solve; It's graceful, just like the preface in the previous record said, "Algae are like spring flowers." So the poet can't help swearing in words and sitting down to feel the truth. In fact, it is not difficult to understand the sentence at the end of the fine sentence, "Although I am in the shadow of the moon, my heart is in the monarch".

The fantasy of "building an eternal career, a flowing stone"

In the seventh year of Huang Chu, Emperor Wen Xelloss died and Cao Rui succeeded him. In the first year of Gaiyuan Taihe, Cao Zhi moved to seal the instrument; Two years later, it was returned to Qiu Yong.

Although Cao Rui still pursues xelloss's established policy of treating vassals, it has somewhat eased. He also has some generous gestures towards Cao Zhi. There is one thing that can explain the problem, that is, when Ming Di Jipei quoted Wei slightly as saying that Cao Rui had made a personal expedition, the capital mistakenly said that a cloud emperor had collapsed and rushed his officials to Qiu Yong to meet Wang Yunyun, but Cao Rui did not ask about it. If xelloss, for this matter, it is necessary to trace. If we pursue it, Cao Zhi will be the culprit, which is inevitable.

Under such circumstances, Cao Zhi's situation is quite dangerous. Although Cao Rui will not ask questions for the time being, it is inevitable to regard him as the source of danger. For Cao Zhiji, this time should be more restrained and try to save himself in a low profile. However, Cao Zhi really lacks political mind. At this time, he wrote an article "Seeking the Self-Test Table". The table says that "those who were honored in ancient times" and "all contributed to the country's meritorious service and helped the world to benefit the people", but "there is no virtue to speak of, and there is no discipline for reactive power". Therefore, I hope to get a military post in order to be loyal to the battlefield and make contributions to the country. He said:

I don't measure myself. My purpose is to give orders and contribute to my hair in return for my kindness. If you want your majesty to be immortal, you can use a cone knife to make Xi a general and become a team of one school; If you belong to Fu in the east and take charge of the division, you will be willing to take risks and bear the brunt. ..... will be achieved overnight, to ruin the shame of life. Go down in history and make a name for yourself. Although I'm in Shudu, it's my first time here, and I'm only in my thirties now. For example, if you have a little talent and try, you will know nothing about the world. If you respect your body and enrich it, it is useless for you to live. If you die, you will have the burden of your superiors, but if you care about your wealth, you will see the birds and eventually grow old. This is solid nutrition, not what I want.

Such words are quite intense, and such feelings are quite sincere. Cao Zhi's heart of making contributions here may have been doubted by Cao Rui, but perhaps it was because he was sincere and didn't pretend, so after this table, Cao Rui still treated him leniently. In the third year of Taihe, we will move eastward to Afghanistan.

During this period, Cao Zhi's situation improved and his mood improved. Although I am no longer "willful", I speak more casually. In the fifth year of Taihe, Cao Zhi continued to volunteer to make contributions to the country. The words are more intense. He even said:

I'm afraid I can only save myself, so a sharp knife is useless! And your majesty's teaching view, taking the minister as a different surname, steals your own material and is inferior to the courtier.

It's true. A talent like him can be reused if he has a different surname. But because it is not a "different surname", it is impossible to "pull". Cao Zhi doesn't seem to really understand this truth. Preventing the usurpation of power by the same surname is a decision made by the Cao Wei regime unilaterally accepting the experience and lessons of the previous dynasty. Among the rulers of past dynasties, such one-sidedness is inevitable. Cao Zhitu saw it, but I don't know why, so much.

"Chen Shenju Table" is also an important article written by Cao Zhi at this time, including the following words:

I was born in troubled times, grew up in the army and taught Emperor Wu several times. I saw the need to fight, so I didn't have to take Sun Wu. Combine with it and spy on it. I often hope to get a pilgrimage, a Golden Gate, a jade achievement and a list of ministers with positions. I will give them a moment, the envoys will have a good time, and they will not hate it.

This passage is more casual. As a vassal, it is best to eat all day long and do nothing to reassure superiors. However, Cao Zhi actually said that he was familiar with the art of war and that "it is very important to use soldiers as teachers". Close. You are not keeping a low profile, but showing your talents. This is the "Taoist taboo" he said before, and he knowingly committed it at this moment.

But Cao Zhi was so outspoken at this time that he was not killed. This can't help but say that Cao Rui is really gentler than Cao Pi, and his policy towards C is really gentle.

In this "Chen Shenju Table", there is still a paragraph worth noting:

People who can attract the world's attention are in power. Therefore, if you appeal to the Lord, you will be intimidated by power, and it is you who are in power, not your relatives. Where the strength lies, though it is rare, it will be heavy; Where did the tide go, though the kiss would be light. Take Qi Zhetian instead of Lu Zong; Zhao Wei, who was assigned to Jin, was not surnamed Ji. Only your majesty will abide by it. Gou Jian is loyal to his position, fierce from his patients, and a minister with a different surname; Those who want the security of the country, pray for the value of the family, save their glory, and those who don't share weal and woe are also public servants. Today, I am opposed to the public and the rare, and the surname is different.

From the standpoint of "public race", Cao Zhi's words are to the point. Judging from the situation faced by the Cao Wei regime at that time, this statement was also timely. Although Cao Zhi lacked political mind in the court political struggle; However, he has different political views on "ruling the right" and "ruling". In a few years, Cao Wei regime changed a different surname, which can be said to be unfortunate.

But unfortunately, Cao Rui didn't seem to care too much about these words at that time, just "replied with excellent words".

At the same time, Cao Zhi also asked "don't talk alone, talk about current politics and try it out", but "it won't work". So he was "desperate" and worried to death.

The Fate of "Taking Calligraphy as Merit and Cifu as Gentleman"

Cao Zhi's lifelong ambition was originally "to make contributions through the ages, to flow stones and make meritorious deeds", rather than "to take calligraphy as a career and Ci Fu as a gentleman". But now it seems that his achievements are still in calligraphy and ci. During the Han and Wei Dynasties, he was a brilliant writer, and his poems reached the highest achievement in the contemporary era, which had a far-reaching impact on later generations.

As a noble child, it is not easy to achieve such high literary attainments. This is not only because of his extraordinary talent, but also because of his life experience of "being born in troubled times and growing up in the army", and more importantly, because he is a prisoner named Prince. It is only because of the experience of chasing ministers that I wrote this chapter of Sao Style. Ding Yan is known as "the highest poet in ancient and modern times, and the spirit is only the last one". Although it is inevitable, from the perspective of the poet's creative tradition, the situation of Cao Zhi and Qu Yuan is indeed similar, and Cao Zhi's poems do have some characteristics of Qu Yuan's works. Sima Qian said: "Qu Yuan's exile is a tribute to Li Sao", and Cao Zhi was denounced before he wrote his work.

After Cao Zhi's death, Jing wrote that he "grew up with books". Ordered that "more than 100 pieces of fu, fu, poems, inscriptions and essays made before and after planting should be preserved inside and outside." Cao Zijian was compiled in the Song Dynasty, and today there is a biography.