Cao Cao was a brilliant politician, strategist and poet in the landlord class during the Three Kingdoms period. The evaluation of Cao Cao has always been mixed. At the end of 1950s, historians launched a heated discussion on Cao Cao's evaluation. Most comrades agreed to rehabilitate Cao Cao. In recent years, some comrades have put forward new views on Cao Cao's evaluation. This paper intends to summarize the discussion on Cao Cao's evaluation in recent years.
First, about Cao Cao's suppression of the Yellow Scarf Uprising.
Liu Zhixian in Comments on Comrade Guo Moruo's Repetition of Cao Cao's Conviction (Journal of Chongqing Normal University,No. 1983,No. 1). ) put forward his own views, pointing out that Cao Cao did not "inherit the cause of the yellow turban insurrectionary" in suppressing the yellow turban insurrectionary uprising. The main purpose of the Yellow turban insurrectionary was to overthrow the Eastern Han regime. Cao Cao, on the other hand, represented the interests of the ruling class in the Eastern Han Dynasty and suppressed the Yellow Scarf with all his strength, which caused the Yellow Scarf Army to lose most of its main forces in the north and south of the Yellow River. He also used conspiracy to turn more than 300,000 surrendered yellow turbans into landlords' armed forces to defend the Eastern Han Dynasty. His hands are stained with the blood of the people, and he is the executioner to suppress the people. This is how he stepped onto the historical stage at that time. Zhou Huan's Re-discussion on Cao Cao (Journal of Hebei University,No. 198 1,No. 1) also thinks that Cao Cao not only suppressed the Yellow turban insurrectionary uprising, but also showed no mercy to its aftermath, which seriously hindered social development.
Gao Guangfu's Two Problems in Cao Cao's Evaluation (On the North, No.6, 1984) holds that as far as Cao Cao's life is concerned, his main activity is not to resist the Yellow Scarf Uprising, but to eliminate the heroes and unify the North. By the time he got up, the mainstream of the yellow turban insurrectionary had been put out. Although he accepted the surrender of Qingzhou Yellow Scarf Army, he did not destroy them, but adapted them to serve his own unified cause. In the future, the object of his crusade is not the peasant army, but those separatist forces.
Second, the farming system of Cao Cao and Cao Wei
Liu Zhiming thought that "Cao Cao's reclamation was retrogressive, because Cao Cao's reclamation was essentially the same as that of the feudal lords in the Western Zhou Dynasty". Cao Cao publicly praised the well-field system in the poem "Duguan Mountain", and Sima Lang once suggested to him to restore the well-field system. His practice of reclaiming land was to suppress the "property" seized in the yellow turban insurrectionary uprising and force the failed uprising soldiers to farm; At the same time, in the name of "recruitment", freemen are forced to become settlers. At that time, "guest" and "slave" were synonyms. Settlers are essentially serfs of the Cao Wei regime and have no personal freedom, so many people flee. As can be seen from the above. Cao Cao's reclamation is a retrogression in history and is not worthy of praise.
Gao Guangfu believes that the purpose of Cao Cao's reclamation is to obtain military food, merge the heroes and level the world. He reunited the failed peasant uprising with the land, solved the serious problem of refugees since the end of the Han Dynasty, and developed barren land, which was beneficial to the construction of water conservancy and of great significance to the economic recovery in the end of the Han Dynasty. He disagreed with Liu Zhixian's view on Cao Wei's system of reclaiming farmland. It is pointed out that "the farmland system focuses on the attachment of labor to the land, and Cao Cao's reclamation focuses on the state's control of labor", and the two cannot be confused. Moreover, there are a large number of yeoman economies outside the system of reclaiming farmland, which cannot determine the nature of a dynasty's mode of production. The research on the social and economic history of China (No.1982,No. 1) emphasizes that the historical conditions at that time cannot be ignored, and the reclamation system of Cao Wei cannot be completely denied. Cao Cao cultivated land. System, its purpose is to bind the labor force in agricultural production, in order to facilitate feudal rule and exploitation, but its role is huge (same as before).
Gao Min thinks that Cao Wei's farming system has some positive effects, but it can't be overestimated. He pointed out that under the system of reclaiming farmland, the peasant class not only pays high land rent, but also serves and even pays taxes. They didn't get any benefit from land reclamation. They are strictly bound to the land and have no personal freedom, so "the people are in trouble and flee more"; At the same time, the people who cultivated land also opposed Cao Cao's armed struggle and cultivated land system. Li Hu also pointed out in the article "On the Historical Role and Status of Cao Wei's Reclamation" (Journal of Sichuan Normal University,No. 1985) that the historical role and status of Cao Wei's reclamation should not be overestimated. He believes that stationing wasteland has played a great role in supporting the war, resettling refugees and ensuring the financial income of Cao Wei regime. But what is more important is to support Cao Cao to defeat the heroes and finally unify the North. To truly solve the problem of refugees returning to agriculture, it is necessary to rely on the county to compile households.
Third, the nature of Cao Cao's regime and its class foundation.
In the past, it was generally believed that Cao Cao was the political representative of civilians or small and medium landlords, and his political power was based on small and medium landlords.
Ke Yougen pointed out in the article "Clan landlords are the main class foundation of Cao Cao Group" (Journal of Xiamen University, No.2, 1983) that the main class foundation of Cao Cao Group is clan landlords, not small and medium-sized landlords. Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, the clan landlord power has developed greatly. Although it was hit by the Yellow Scarf Uprising, it was deeply rooted and formed a decisive force at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In order to win the battle and unify the north, Cao Cao adopted the policy and strategy of striving for and relying on aristocratic families. He recruited a number of aristocratic landlords, enriched the ruling institutions at all levels from the central to the local, and effectively stabilized the ruling order. Among his subordinates, celebrities and Confucian scholars are his strategic think tanks, and powerful landlords are the military backbone of his group. Therefore, Cao Cao Group is the political representative of the big landlords, including the powerful landlords among the civilians. Its regime is mainly to safeguard the interests of these big landlords. Yang Debing's "On the Nature of Cao Cao's Regime" (China Ancient History Series 1985 Second Series) also holds a similar view. He pointed out that although Cao Cao chose the cold man, the core of his regime was the noble gate valve, which represented the interests of the aristocratic family.
Qi Zebang's Refutation of Several Fallacies of the Gang of Four in Evaluating Cao Cao (Journal of Southwest Normal University, No.3, 1979) holds that Cao Cao's ruling group is not only small and medium-sized landlords, but also powerful landlords, but all landlords, representing the interests of the whole landlord class. Cao Cao advocates "appointing people on merit", which is aimed at the whole landlord class, and there is no distinction between small and medium landlords and big landlords. In Cao Cao's group, there are small and medium-sized landlords and big landlords who hold various official positions, and Cao Cao uses them all. He cracked down on the mighty and restrained the merger, but due to the resistance of farmers, he made some concessions to consolidate his rule and stabilize the feudal order.
Fourth, Cao Cao and "meritocracy"
Cheng Xinwen and Wang Huaizhong thought in On Cao Cao's Route of "Making Meritorious Contributions and Choosing Generals" (Jinyang Daily 198 1No. 1 issue) that Cao Cao had made a breakthrough in the "appointing people by their posts" in the process of unifying the north in order to expand his class base. Cao Cao finally unified the north by relying on these people.
Li Zegang, in his posthumous book "Conviction and Finalization of Cao Cao" (Jianghuai Forum, No.2, 198 1), thinks that Cao Cao didn't really appoint people according to their merits. Cao Cao's men are born if they follow it, and die if they go against it. Cao Cao killed many talents himself. In particular, Yu Xun, whom he called "my ovary", was forced to death because of her different opinions. Many people who claim to be smart have made contributions to him and were killed by him because of suspicious words. He also set up a "school affairs" spy organization to spy on the feelings of officials and people and let them frame and kill scholars.
5. Is Cao Cao an outstanding strategist?
In the article Cao Cao, a Military Strategist (literature and history knowledge 198 16), Wen Zhong thought that Cao Cao was a "first-class military strategist at the time of national subjugation". Cao Cao was a military man all his life, conquering the east and seeking the west, sweeping the world and achieving fruitful results. He not only unified the North politically, but also achieved great success militarily. Once wiped out the warlord separatist forces such as Lu Bu, Yuan Shu, Han Sui and Yuan Shao. He also interpreted the Art of War and developed or supplemented some operational command principles. He is good at guiding practice with theory and has won many battles. Battle of Red Cliffs's failure mainly lies in his complacency. His great achievements in military affairs should be affirmed.
Wu's Evaluation of Cao Cao's Military Talent (Journal of Xiangtan University,No. 1985,No. 1) holds that Cao Cao has certain military talent, but he is not an outstanding military genius and cannot be called a great strategist. In general war, Cao Cao not only has the intention of surrender and escape, but also has many adventures. Among the wars commanded by Cao Cao that really played a decisive role in unifying the overall situation, such as the battle of Guandu, the battle of Battle of Red Cliffs and Hanzhong, only the battle of Guandu won, and the other two battles ended in failure. In the battle of Guandu, Cao Cao showed certain military talents, but the main reason for his victory was not his military genius, but Yuan Shao's achilles heel. Although he contributed to the annotation of Sun Tzu's Art of War, he could not use theory to guide practice. Li Zegang also believes that Cao can only be called an ordinary strategist, not an outstanding strategist. Although he won many battles, he also suffered many failures. He was able to unify China, not only because his military victory gave him favorable important conditions, but also because he moved the capital to Liu Xie, built its capital in Xuchang, and held the emperor as a vassal.
6. Cao Cao and Jian 'an Literature
Liu Zhixian in "Comment on Comrade Guo Moruo"
Views that Hu et al. disagreed with in Cao Cao and Jian 'an Literature —— Discussion with comrades (Journal of Chongqing Normal University 1984No. 1 issue). They think that Cao Cao is an outstanding poet and writer, who occupies an important position in the history of China literature and promotes the positive development of Jian 'an literature. Cao Cao paid attention to real talent and practical learning, despised Confucian morality of benevolence and filial piety, and advocated active thinking, which made the development of literature inseparable from Confucian classics. He attached great importance to literature, recruited and gathered a large number of literati, United around him and encouraged them to create. His own poetic style and writing style have a positive role in promoting the formation of "Jian 'an Style". In addition, he also contributed to the transformation of Yuefu poetry.
Seven, Cao Cao's thoughts
Qi Zebang thinks that Cao Cao's thought is a combination of cowardice and law. He adopted the legalist thought, first of all, in order to eliminate the separatist regime and unify the whole country; The second is to strengthen the suppression of the peasant class in order to consolidate the dictatorship of the landlord class. He greatly admired Confucianism. After the reunification of the north, he ordered the establishment of schools to spread Confucianism. His thought of combining Confucianism with law is a traditional means adopted by feudal rulers since the Han Dynasty.
Liu Xuan's Viewing Cao Cao's Political Thought from Poetry (Journal of Chongqing Normal University,No. 1984,No. 1) holds that Cao Cao's thought is mainly Confucianism. He avenged his father and slaughtered Xuzhou people, which was a sign of his filial piety. He is not a legalist, because he can't abolish the patriarchal clan system like a legalist and oppose the Confucian concept of "kissing". No matter in educational thought or talent problem, he takes Confucianism as the standard.
Wu Qichang thinks that Cao Cao's thoughts include Confucianism, Legalism, Taoism, military and fame, and he is the representative of hundred schools of thought. When Cao used these thoughts, he divided them into two aspects according to the changes of the situation. There is a profound contradiction between materialism and idealism in his thought. This should be explained from the limitations of his class and history.
Responder: Storm and Snow-Trainee Magician Level 3 1-5 15:49
A treacherous man in troubled times, a good minister in governing the country!
Cao Cao was a brilliant politician, strategist and poet in the landlord class during the Three Kingdoms period. The evaluation of Cao Cao has always been mixed. At the end of 1950s, historians launched a heated discussion on Cao Cao's evaluation. Most comrades agreed to rehabilitate Cao Cao. In recent years, some comrades have put forward new views on Cao Cao's evaluation. This paper intends to summarize the discussion on Cao Cao's evaluation in recent years.
First, about Cao Cao's suppression of the Yellow Scarf Uprising.
Liu Zhixian in Comments on Comrade Guo Moruo's Repetition of Cao Cao's Conviction (Journal of Chongqing Normal University,No. 1983,No. 1). ) put forward his own views, pointing out that Cao Cao did not "inherit the cause of the yellow turban insurrectionary" in suppressing the yellow turban insurrectionary uprising. The main purpose of the Yellow turban insurrectionary was to overthrow the Eastern Han regime. Cao Cao, on the other hand, represented the interests of the ruling class in the Eastern Han Dynasty and suppressed the Yellow Scarf with all his strength, which caused the Yellow Scarf Army to lose most of its main forces in the north and south of the Yellow River. He also used conspiracy to turn more than 300,000 surrendered yellow turbans into landlords' armed forces to defend the Eastern Han Dynasty. His hands are stained with the blood of the people, and he is the executioner to suppress the people. This is how he stepped onto the historical stage at that time. Zhou Huan's Re-discussion on Cao Cao (Journal of Hebei University,No. 198 1,No. 1) also thinks that Cao Cao not only suppressed the Yellow turban insurrectionary uprising, but also showed no mercy to its aftermath, which seriously hindered social development.
Gao Guangfu's Two Problems in Cao Cao's Evaluation (On the North, No.6, 1984) holds that as far as Cao Cao's life is concerned, his main activity is not to resist the Yellow Scarf Uprising, but to eliminate the heroes and unify the North. By the time he got up, the mainstream of the yellow turban insurrectionary had been put out. Although he accepted the surrender of Qingzhou Yellow Scarf Army, he did not destroy them, but adapted them to serve his own unified cause. In the future, the object of his crusade is not the peasant army, but those separatist forces.
Second, the farming system of Cao Cao and Cao Wei
Liu Zhiming thought that "Cao Cao's reclamation was retrogressive, because Cao Cao's reclamation was essentially the same as that of the feudal lords in the Western Zhou Dynasty". Cao Cao publicly praised the well-field system in the poem "Duguan Mountain", and Sima Lang once suggested to him to restore the well-field system. His practice of reclaiming land was to suppress the "property" seized in the yellow turban insurrectionary uprising and force the failed uprising soldiers to farm; At the same time, in the name of "recruitment", freemen are forced to become settlers. At that time, "guest" and "slave" were synonyms. Settlers are essentially serfs of the Cao Wei regime and have no personal freedom, so many people flee. As can be seen from the above. Cao Cao's reclamation is a retrogression in history and is not worthy of praise.
Gao Guangfu believes that the purpose of Cao Cao's reclamation is to obtain military food, merge the heroes and level the world. He reunited the failed peasant uprising with the land, solved the serious problem of refugees since the end of the Han Dynasty, and developed barren land, which was beneficial to the construction of water conservancy and of great significance to the economic recovery in the end of the Han Dynasty. He disagreed with Liu Zhixian's view on Cao Wei's system of reclaiming farmland. It is pointed out that "the farmland system focuses on the attachment of labor to the land, and Cao Cao's reclamation focuses on the state's control of labor", and the two cannot be confused. Moreover, there are a large number of yeoman economies outside the system of reclaiming farmland, which cannot determine the nature of a dynasty's mode of production. The research on the social and economic history of China (No.1982,No. 1) emphasizes that the historical conditions at that time cannot be ignored, and the reclamation system of Cao Wei cannot be completely denied. Cao Cao cultivated land. System, its purpose is to bind the labor force in agricultural production, in order to facilitate feudal rule and exploitation, but its role is huge (same as before).
Gao Min thinks that Cao Wei's farming system has some positive effects, but it can't be overestimated. He pointed out that under the system of reclaiming farmland, the peasant class not only pays high land rent, but also serves and even pays taxes. They didn't get any benefit from land reclamation. They are strictly bound to the land and have no personal freedom, so "the people are in trouble and flee more"; At the same time, the people who cultivated land also opposed Cao Cao's armed struggle and cultivated land system. Li Hu also pointed out in the article "On the Historical Role and Status of Cao Wei's Reclamation" (Journal of Sichuan Normal University,No. 1985) that the historical role and status of Cao Wei's reclamation should not be overestimated. He believes that stationing wasteland has played a great role in supporting the war, resettling refugees and ensuring the financial income of Cao Wei regime. But what is more important is to support Cao Cao to defeat the heroes and finally unify the North. To truly solve the problem of refugees returning to agriculture, it is necessary to rely on the county to compile households.
Third, the nature of Cao Cao's regime and its class foundation.
In the past, it was generally believed that Cao Cao was the political representative of civilians or small and medium landlords, and his political power was based on small and medium landlords.
Ke Yougen pointed out in the article "Clan landlords are the main class foundation of Cao Cao Group" (Journal of Xiamen University, No.2, 1983) that the main class foundation of Cao Cao Group is clan landlords, not small and medium-sized landlords. Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, the clan landlord power has developed greatly. Although it was hit by the Yellow Scarf Uprising, it was deeply rooted and formed a decisive force at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In order to win the battle and unify the north, Cao Cao adopted the policy and strategy of striving for and relying on aristocratic families. He recruited a number of aristocratic landlords, enriched the ruling institutions at all levels from the central to the local, and effectively stabilized the ruling order. Among his subordinates, celebrities and Confucian scholars are his strategic think tanks, and powerful landlords are the military backbone of his group. Therefore, Cao Cao Group is the political representative of the big landlords, including the powerful landlords among the civilians. Its regime is mainly to safeguard the interests of these big landlords. Yang Debing's "On the Nature of Cao Cao's Regime" (China Ancient History Series 1985 Second Series) also holds a similar view. He pointed out that although Cao Cao chose the cold man, the core of his regime was the noble gate valve, which represented the interests of the aristocratic family.
Qi Zebang's Refutation of Several Fallacies of the Gang of Four in Evaluating Cao Cao (Journal of Southwest Normal University, No.3, 1979) holds that Cao Cao's ruling group is not only a small and medium-sized landlord, but also a powerful landlord, but all landlords, representing the interests of the whole landlord class. Cao Cao advocates "appointing people on merit", which is aimed at the whole landlord class, and there is no distinction between small and medium landlords and big landlords. In Cao Cao's group, there are small and medium-sized landlords and big landlords who hold various official positions, and Cao Cao uses them all. He cracked down on the mighty and restrained the merger, but due to the resistance of farmers, he made some concessions to consolidate his rule and stabilize the feudal order.
Fourth, Cao Cao and "meritocracy"