Hsu, 1

Celina Hsu

Mr. Mannos

G9 World History

13, April

Was Cao Cao the Best Leader During the Three Kingdoms Period?

On a hot sunny day, a troop of army was on the way to their conquered land, but all of the

soldiers were too thirsty and exalted to move any bit further. Just then, a general pointed his fingers

toward the front and shouted: “There’s a forest of plum trees over there!” Picturing the

sour-flavored plums filling one’s mouth, everyone no longer felt thirsty and eventually made it to

their destination. This clever general is Cao Cao, one of the great three leaders during the three

kingdoms period. Cao Cao was given polarized appraisals throughout Chinese history. Some

regarded him as a cunning traitor to the Han dynasty; some saw him as an epoch-making historical

figure. In this essay, I argue that he is the best leader in the Three-Kingdom Period. I will make my

case using four criteria, namely, the art of war, own charisma, his resilience, and his popularity.

First of all, Cao Cao was extremely talented in the art of war. He had his own thoughts and also

listened to his courtiers’ advice. He valued the efficiency of each battle and took good risks in some

matches. According to The Romance of the Three Kingdoms [1], Cao Cao won the crusade

against the Huangintsay (黃巾賊), which was also his earliest fighting

and victories; the battle of Guandu（關渡）, with his opponent Yuan Shou

（袁紹）having an army 4 times larger than his, especially during the

food crisis, he persisted in not withdrawing and instead, lead a troop to

Wu chou (烏巢) and burnt his enemy’s forage; also, he cleverly took over

control of Zhang Lu’s (張魯) land called Han Zhong with very little loss
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of resources. In almost every battle, Cao Cao will bring about the expansion of territory or

resources. Thus, he can be considered ingenious in his art of war.

Secondly, Cao Cao had his own charisma that attracts more elites

under his rule. He was a romantic poet, a brilliant military leader, a

cunning politician, and a great thinker. He wrote many famous poems

such as 短歌行 (Dwan Ge Shin), with beautiful lines like: 月明星稀，烏鵲南

飛。繞樹三匝，何枝可依？山不厭高，海不厭深。周公吐哺，天下歸心。

“The moon shines bright; the stars are few. Magpies fly southward, bidding adieu.

They circle the trees thrice around. But which branch can their home be found?

The mountains never tire of their great height. The seas never tire of their unfathomable

depth.

When Master Zhou poured out his heart to recruit talents, people of the world are drawn to

him from every corner” (Cao, lines 7 and 8)

This poem was written just before his battle at Chibi. He used his poem

to encourage his subordinates to be loyal to him because he is the

greatest leader. Also, Cao Cao controlled the central government by

“hijacking the emperor to order the princes”(挾天子以令諸侯), making him

the most powerful person during that time. He treated his underlings,

even himself equally based on impartial rules he made instead of

treating people arbitrarily. An example was when Cao Cao's soldiers

passed by a wheat field, he ordered them not to step on the wheat.

Anyone who violated this order would be executed. Thus, the soldiers
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carefully walked through the wheat field, supporting the stalks with

their hands. The local people saw their actions and praised them. While

Cao Cao was riding his horse, a bird flew up from the field, scaring his

horse, which leaped into the field and trampled a large section of the

wheat. Cao Cao ordered the officials responsible for enforcing his

order to execute him, but they refused. He tried to commit suicide with

his sword but was stopped by others. Instead, he cut off his hair with

his sword and said, "Then I’ll cut off my hair to replace my head." This

action stunned many people during that time, because hair was equated with a person’s dignity and

social status. Cutting off his hair showed that Cao Cao valued equality before his laws seriously.

Although we know that his action was a purposeful performance in front of people, his

attentiveness to shaping a legitimate public image brought him huge popularity and admiration. He

was remarkably adept at winning people’s hearts. He accumulated power, dignity, and romance.

This was why he attracted so many elites to work for him.

Furthermore, in the face of setbacks, Cao Cao would not lose his heart nor be defeated. He often

rearranged his troops and bode again on the table of life and death. Based on Records of the Three

Kingdoms, Biography of Emperor Wu of Wei written by Chen Shou, following his

escape from the failure of assassinating Dong Zhuo, he arranged an army

composed of 18 military leaders and at last defeated Dong Zhuo. Also,

after he narrowly escaped death from the war at Chibi (赤壁), he quickly

went back to his base to regroup his army. So he regained strength and

began to conquer many regions. However, there were times when Cao Cao lost
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his rationality and conscience and carried out brutal crimes. An example was when he committed a

bloody massacre in Suzhou where his father was killed. Mostly, when Cao Cao faced setbacks, he

made smart decisions to win back his loss, but, when his personal feelings got involved, he

committed some awful things that wouldn’t need to be done. Overall, Cao Cao has a tough heart and

strong intellect that is very hard to neglect, but also, he perpetrated some vicious crimes that are

seen now as unreasonable choices.

Comments about Cao Cao are extremely polarized, both during the past and the present.

Some said that he was a ruthless traitor and villain, some said that he was a treacherous and cunning

hero in chaotic times, and some deeply admired his ruling philosophy and praised his romance and

toughness. But no one can deny that he was a powerful and extraordinary leader who led

successfully during his reign. Based on the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Biography of Emperor

Wu of Wei, at the end of the Han dynasty, chaos reigned throughout the country and many powerful

and ambitious individuals emerged. Cao Cao, through careful planning and strategy, was able to

unify the country, using tactics from the famous strategists Shen and Shang [2], as well as the

ingenious plans of Han and Bai [3]. “Officials were appointed based on their abilities, and everyone

was given the opportunity to showcase their talents, regardless of past grievances. In the end, he

was able to govern the empire with great success due to his exceptional wisdom and strategic

abilities. It can be said that he was an extraordinary person and a brilliant leader who surpassed his

contemporaries” (Chen). Chen Shou, a historian from Shu Han to Western Jin Dynasty, gave

immensely high comments on Cao Cao’s ruling ability. Also, in 2nd Letter Before Sending Troops

[4], Zhuge Liang, military adviser of Shu Han, wrote that Cao Cao is “exceptionally brilliant in his

strategic planning, and his military tactics were as if he had learned from Sun and Wu, two

renowned strategists of the time”. Even Cao Cao’s greatest enemy, has admitted that he was great at

military tactics. Another example to prove Cao Cao’s popularity even nowadays is
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based on a modern Taiwanese survey: “Three Kingdoms Enterprise

Satisfaction Survey! Who is the good boss in the eyes of netizens? ｜【

Historical Ranking】EP2”, the survey ended up with 428 out of 900 votes

towards Cao Cao, in which Cao Cao got the most votes among all the

other leaders. Throughout time, you can say that Cao Cao has become

more and more favored by the public. Many critics, especially followers

of Confucianism, condemned him because of his unloyalty to the emperor and his

expendable conscience when he wanted to achieve a greater goal. But when people started focusing

more on individuality and the true techniques of leadership, Cao Cao can be seen as the most unique

and charismatic leader.

In the infamous book about leadership and politics The Prince [5], Niccolò Machiavelli

states that “It is much safer to be feared than loved because ...love is preserved by the link of

obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage;

but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails”. Cao Cao, even hundreds of

years before Machiavelli, accurately and successfully managed this leadership philosophy in his

military and his reign. To reiterate, Cao Cao was brilliant in his strategic planning and military

skills, a strong leader that many admire. He was the best at selecting and utilizing personnel based

on their talents and abilities, making right and precise decisions by himself, and has his unique

charisma. Although we can’t say that Cao Cao is the best person, in fact, he has done many things

that violate human morals, but we can admit that he is the best leader during the chaotic period from

the perspective of leadership and role morality.

Notes:

[1] The Romance of the Three Kingdoms was a historical novel by Luo Guanzhong during the Ming

Dynasty. The novel was considered the Four Great Novels in Chinese history, which includes The
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Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dreams of Red Mansions, Outlaws of the Marsh, and Journey to

the West.

[2] Sheng (申不害), and Shang (商殃) both were a few of the most renowned legalists

during the warring states period. Chen Shou was comparing Cao Cao to these best legalists and

thinkers.

[3] Han (韓信), a skillful general that helped Liu Bang make his way to

victory towards Shangu. Bai (白起), was one of the “Four Greatest Generals” of the

warring states period. Chen Shou compares Cao Cao’s skills and his art of war to these greatest of

all times.

[4] The 2nd Letter Before Sending Troops was written by Zhuge Liang during the three kingdoms

period when he was going to lead Shu Han’s military for the 4th time to attempt to conquer Cao Wei.

[5] The Prince is a 16th-century political treatise by the Italian diplomat and political theorist

Niccolo Machiavelli that was published in 1532, five years after Machiavelli's death. The book is

considered by many to be one of the first works of modern philosophy, especially modern political

philosophy, in which the effective truth is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal.

Works Cited

Cao Cao. “短歌行” (“Dwan Gu Shin”). Half- translated by chat-GPT.

Chen, Shou. “三國志·武帝紀” (“Records of the Three Kingdoms, Biography of Emperor Wu of Wei”)

"De Principatibus (Il Principe) Quotes." Goodreads, Goodreads,

www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1335445-de-principatibus-il-principe. Accessed on 14, April,

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2023.

Guanzhong, Luo. “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. Taipei, United Publishing Co., Ltd., 1996

Machiavelli, Niccolo. "The Prince." archive.org, 1513,

https://ia804706.us.archive.org/11/items/MachiavelliNiccoloThePrinceEN1513239P./Machiavelli%

2C%20Niccolo%20-%20The%20Prince%20%28EN%2C%201513%2C%20239%20p.%29.pdf.

Zhuge, Kongming. “後出師表”(“2nd Letter Before Sending Troops”).

https://fanti.dugushici.com/ancient_proses/71657. Accessed on 12, April, 2023.

"三國企業滿意度大調查！究竟誰才是網友心目中的好老闆？｜【歷史大排名】EP2." (Three

Kingdoms Enterprise Satisfaction Survey! Who is the good boss in the

eyes of netizens? ｜【Historical Ranking】EP2). YouTube, uploaded by 三

國說書, 3 Sept. 2021, 2022, 17 Mar.

https://youtu.be/fYoQ8B_LC8?list=TLPQMTYwMzIwMjOsSyybqhrLuw. Accessed on 12, April,

2023.