"Covering an article is a great cause of governing the country and an immortal event" means that an article is a great cause of governing the country and an immortal thing passed down from generation to generation.

Cao Pi raised the writing style of the article to the extreme, saying that the function of the article is to look at the state of the country and it is an immortal event, warning people to write carefully.

Extended data:

Writing background

This article was written by Cao Pi when he was still in Wang Wei. At that time, the popular literati in the world looked down on each other. Cao Pi wrote this article to warn the world. Cao Pi believes that scholars despise each other since ancient times, which is caused by their inability to see themselves.

Cao Pi quoted Fu Yi and Ban Gu as equally talented in humanities, but Ban Gu despised Yi Fu. In a letter to his younger brother Ban Chao, he said, "Fu Wuzhong became an official in the history of Lantai because he can write articles, but he wrote thousands of words, which is endless.

Ordinary people are always good at seeing their own advantages. However, there is not only one genre of articles, and few people are good at all genres. So everyone always uses what they are good at to despise what others are not good at. There is a saying in the village, "If you have a broken broom at home, you will know that it is worth thousands of dollars."

In his article, Cao Pi called on writers to follow the example of ancient sages and sages, and strive to change the mental state of mutual contempt and cultivate the mentality of breaking away from fame.

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