Fu Cao Mengde, the tyrant of the world, Jie Ye. At the end of the Han Dynasty, if it wanted to take the throne of the Liu clan and replace it, it must first destroy the spiritual fortress of its fierce enemy, the traditional Confucianism of the Han Dynasty, and then succeed.
——Chen Yinke
In 2017, the popular TV series "The Army Division Alliance of Sima Yi of the Great Army Division" caused a lot of controversy as soon as it was broadcast. The bizarre and confusing time clues in the TV series have made a wave of Three Kingdoms iron fans dizzy. What is most absurd is that the time background of the first episode is set before the Battle of Guandu (Jian'an 4th year, 199), however, the screenwriters arranged for Cao Cao to move the "Order for Talent", which was originally written in Jian'an 22, to the public at this time. As everyone knows, when this "Order for Seeking Talent" was promulgated in history, Cao Cao had already been promoted from Duke of Wei to King of Wei, and the Battle of Chibi had been fought for nearly ten years, where could he claim to be "Cao Sikong"?
According to the vision of tv screenwriters, "The Talent Order" attracted all kinds of talents, and the protagonists and supporting characters were invited to appear, which could pave the way for the subsequent development of the plot. As everyone knows, this plot setting is completely inconsistent with historical facts, and inadvertently erases the true meaning of "Seeking Talent". So, when was Cao Cao's "Order for Talent" promulgated in history? Did Cao Cao really recruit a large number of talents after seeking talent three times? What was Cao Cao's true purpose in promulgating the Order for Talent?
Chen Ping's "hardcore fan": Rogues can also be prime ministers
According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao's three promulgations of the Order of Seeking Talent were in the fifteenth year of Jian'an (210), the nineteenth year of Jian'an, and the twenty-second year of Jian'an. The earliest quest for talent occurred two years after the Battle of Chibi (208). Looking at the three texts, all mention a famous historical figure, that is, Chen Ping, one of the founding heroes of the Western Han Dynasty. Chen Ping was one of the important advisers who assisted Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, in fighting the world and ruling the world, and was called Chen Cheng Xiang in the "Records of History".
In the first text of the "Three Orders for Talent", it is said: "Who is not caught in Weibin by brown jade today?" And do you have to receive money without robbing your sister-in-law and not meeting the ignorant? It mentions two famous historical figures: the first sentence refers to Jiang Ziya, who fishes on the Weishui River, and the so-called "thief who steals the gold from the sister-in-law" in the latter sentence is Chen Ping. Chen Ping's reputation was not good before Flying Huang Tengda. According to the "History of Chen Cheng Xiang's Family", Zhou Bo, Dou Bao, and others once reported Chen Ping's "previous crimes" to Liu Bang:
When the subject Wen Ping stayed at home, he stole his sister-in-law; Wei did not tolerate things, and returned to Chu; returned to Chu when chu was not in the middle, and died and returned to Han. Today, the great king honors the officials and orders the protectors. The subject Wenping receives the gold of the generals, and those who have more gold will be treated with good, and those who have less gold will be treated with evil. Ping, repeated chaos also.
According to this "small report," Chen Ping once misbehaved with his sister-in-law, and accepted bribes from generals to change the court three times on the political road, which can be described as a disloyal and unjust "repeated and chaotic minister."
In the second "Order for Seeking Talent", Cao Cao said: "Chen Ping is not committed to doing things, and Su Qin is not trustworthy and evil? And Chen Pingding Hanye, Su Qinji weak Yan. From this point of view, the soldiers are short, and the mediocre can be abolished! Here, Chen Ping and Su Qin are also held together, pointing out that Chen and Su are not people who are committed and trustworthy. The so-called "dedication" refers to pure and down-to-earth behavior. Cao Cao pointed out that Chen Ping's "dishonesty" was quite intriguing.
In the third "Order for Talent", Cao Cao once again took Chen Ping as an example, saying: "Han Xin and Chen Ping bear the name of insult, have the shame of seeing and laughing, and the pawn can achieve the king's cause, and the voice has been heard for a thousand years." Cao Cao admitted that Chen Ping's reputation and social evaluation were not very good. However, Chen Ping, who was not recognized by the mainstream values at that time, was praised by Cao Cao three times, and was even regarded as the standard for selecting talents throughout the world. Why? The reasons for this are worth investigating.
We don't know whether Cao Cao himself realized it or not, or whether this was the reason why Cao Cao admired Chen Ping, that is, there was indeed some degree of similarity between his own experience and Chen Ping. First, Through personal struggle, Chen Ping eventually became the Chancellor of the Han Dynasty, and Cao Cao also became the Chancellor of the Han Dynasty. Second, Chen Ping was once called a "repeated chaotic minister", and Cao Cao was called a "chaotic thief", in short, both of them were "restless" subjects. Third, Chen Ping was considered to have misbehaved by the people at that time, and Cao Cao's reputation in his early years was not good. According to the "History of The Family of Chen Cheng Xiang", Chen Ping was criticized by his sister-in-law for "not looking at family production" when he was young, and was also evaluated by posterity as talented and immoral. As for Cao Cao, the Chronicle of Emperor Wu of the Three Kingdoms says that when he was young, he was "debauched and did not rule the industry, so the world was not surprised." "Cao Concealment" Yun: "Taizu is a good flying eagle and a lackey, wandering uncontrollably", so he was repeatedly sued by his uncle. Fourth, both men and women have been ridiculed by the outside world for their relationships. Chen Ping has a "thief sister-in-law" scandal, and Cao Cao also has a notoriety of being a cool wife. According to the "New Language of the World", Cao Cao went out to play when he was young, sneaked into the master's garden after visiting a folk wedding, and escaped after "robbing the bride with a blade". In addition, many of Cao Cao's wives and concubines were remarried from her former husband's family. As we all know, he took Aunt Zhang Xiu into the side room and married Qin Yilu's ex-wife Lady Du. Cao Cao's style of marrying people's wives not only caused him a lot of trouble, such as Zhang Xiu's mutiny, which led to the death of his sons and nephews and love generals, but also affected cao Cao's posthumous comments.
In addition, Cao Cao also has the famous saying that "I would rather bear others than others bear me". Such words and deeds are not recognized by the Orthodox Confucian moral evaluation system. What's more, Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, was adopted by the eunuch Cao Teng, and the identity of the eunuch's adopted son was well known, so Cao Cao's family origin was not respected by the scholars. Cao Cao repeatedly advocated Chen Ping's "bad deeds" in the "Order for Talent", not only to seek fellow travelers, but more importantly, to take Chen Ping, who "stole his sister-in-law and received gold", as a typical example, to reverse his disgraceful image in his early years and show the world that as long as he has talent, rogues can also be ministers. Chen Ping, who is "in the name of insult and shame in seeing and laughing", can be the minister, why can't my old Cao? Since my old Cao has also become a minister, you melon-eating masses no longer have to chatter about my past.
Cao Cao's contradiction: what is said is not done, and what is done is not said
Cao Cao claimed that he was not moral in employing people, but in the actual selection process, what he said and did was not the same. First of all, Cao Cao's employment of people is not "not heavy morality", according to the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and the "Book of Later Han", Cao Cao heard that someone had a high name and was very virtuous, and often went to dispatch. The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and the Biography of Zheng Hun records that Zheng Hun's "grandfathers and fathers are all famous Confucians" and That Cao Cao "heard of his deeds and summoned him to be a confucian". For example, the "Book of later Han and the Biography of Wang Lie" records that Cao Cao recruited Wang Lie, who was "known for his righteous deeds". Sometimes, Cao Cao not only valued virtue and character, but even valued virtue over talent. In the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cui Yan's Biography" says that Cui Yan was a person who was "not good enough, but Qingzhen kept the way", and Cao Cao praised him for "having the wind of Boyi and the straightness of Shiyu", and still "politely". Obviously, Cao Cao did not abandon the gentleman with high moral character but insufficient talent.
Secondly, Cao Cao could not do "heavy talent" many times, and he was deeply defensive about the outstanding talents of the civil and military officials and the figures who also had major political influence, and he wanted to get rid of them. Killing Yang Xiu and forcing Xun Yu to die are all examples: there were many talents who were recommended by Xun Yu to embark on a career path, and they surrounded Xun Yu and gradually formed a network of power, which was regarded by Cao Cao as a problem for his confidants; and Yang Xiu, who was "talented as a prince with a name", was killed shortly after Cao Cao issued the Third Order for Talent, and talent became the cause of Yang Xiu's killing.
Now, let's see if the three promulgations of the "Order for Seeking Talent" really recruited a large number of talents for Cao Cao. The true conclusion may surprise people: No!
According to the analysis of Professor Wei Guanglai of Shanxi University according to the thirty volumes of the Book of Wei, since the "Biography of Cao Cao of the Marquis of Zhuxia", the ninety-one masters of Wei Chen who have been established have all been accepted and hired by Cao Cao before the Battle of Chibi. Professor Wei Guanglai pointed out: "Facts show that the Cao Cao clique was finally formed in Pingjing Prefecture in the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208), and the Characters of Cao Cao's 'pulling out subtle' life according to Wei Luo were all in place on the eve of the Battle of Chibi. That is to say, Cao Cao issued the "meritocracy" order with great fanfare, and in fact did not absorb any new important talents.
The truth of the "Three Orders for Talent": Preparing public opinion for the Han Dynasty
The emperor of the Han Dynasty ruled the world with filial piety, since Emperor Hui, the emperor of the Han Dynasty has the word "filial piety" in his title, and Cao Cao claimed that "people who are not benevolent and filial to the country and have the art of governing the country and using soldiers" can be recommended as officials. The Eastern Han Dynasty was founded by Confucianism, and Cao Cao was "the queen of eunuchs", with a humble origin, which could not represent the interests of the Confucian scholars, and was even despised by the latter. If Cao Cao wanted to change the state ideology since the Eastern Han Dynasty, one of the key points he had to break through was the right of moral judgment in the hands of Confucians. The Eastern Han Dynasty was able to shake without falling because the dynasty's Confucianism was strong and it was able to rely on Confucian orthodoxy to maintain a superficial rule. Although all the tyrants were ambitious, except for the "vain" Yuan Shu who dared to claim the title of emperor, those who were slightly wiser did not dare to shake Gang Chang. Smart people like Cao Cao naturally choose to attack from the ideological field first, gradually disintegrating long-held social concepts.
In this regard, the historian Chen Yinke pointed out to the point: "Fu Cao Mengde, the tyrant of the world, Jie Ye." At the end of the Han Dynasty, if it wanted to take the throne of the Liu clan and replace it, it must first destroy the spiritual fortress of its fierce enemy, the traditional Confucianism of the Han Dynasty, and then succeed. Cao Cao's "Three Orders for Talent", with the main thrust of emphasizing talent and not emphasizing morality, clearly declared that "the golden rule that scholars and masters have always obeyed has been completely bankrupt", and cleared the obstacles to social ideology for his son Cao Pi to call the emperor Han Dynasty.
However, Cao Cao's art of rule was not in line with the development trend of the Confucian clan since the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the stability of his rule depended to a large extent on his personal extraordinary power. If people die, it is inevitable that the government will be revived. The Kingdom of Wei, which Cao Cao single-handedly founded at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, gave birth to the later Cao Wei Empire, and his son Cao Pi's Han Wei Zen Concession was to harvest the fruits of victory on the foundation established by Cao Cao. After Cao Cao's death, the deeds of his descendants could not be compared with those of his father and ancestors, and they were soon captured by the Sima family.
Cao Cao's three "Orders for Seeking Talents" actually wanted to break the spiritual fortress of the scholar class and break their monopoly on electing officials and appointing officials. Unfortunately, after the deaths of Cao Cao and Cao Pi, the power of the Cao Wei family was gradually taken over by the Sima family, which represented the interests of the Hao family. Cao Cao's real opponents may not be Liu Bei or Sun Quan, but the family clan that helped him govern the world.
Cao Cao's personal image is closely linked to the values and talent concepts praised in the "Order to Seek Talent". In an era when Confucian orthodoxy was enshrined as a guideline by scholars, Cao Cao could only exist as the opposite of "orthodoxy" behind him. Especially with the popularity of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the Shu Han represented by Liu Bei was regarded as orthodox, and Cao Cao's father and son were passed on to future generations as usurpers and traitors.
After the modern era, with the collapse of the Confucian Taoist system, historians' historical evaluation of Cao Cao gradually increased. On January 25, 1959, Guo Moruo published in Guangming Daily", "On Cai Wenji's Eighteen Beats of Hu Di", which pointed out: "Cao Cao's contribution to the nation should be highly evaluated, and he should be called a national hero." Guo Moruo believed that the treatment of Cao Cao as a bad person and a traitor was influenced by the so-called orthodoxy after the Song Dynasty, and Cao Cao "suffered injustice from injustice." Later, Guo Moruo wrote the article "Overturning the Case for Cao Cao" to justify his name. The contemporary historian Zhai Bozan also pointed out in the article "Should Restore Cao Cao's Reputation" that there is an important connection between Cao Cao's negative image and orthodoxy, "they look at Cao Cao with orthodox colored glasses, in which Cao Cao can only be a traitor."
Also giving Cao Cao a special evaluation was the historian Chen Yinke. Chen Yinke said in an article on the study of Wei and Jin thought ("After the Beginning of the Four Treatises on the Four Books") in the literary class of the Book of The New Languages of the World): "The reader of history is deceived by Cao Mengde's envoys, only to discuss his personal faults, and does not know that this actually has the effect of diverting the world situation for hundreds of years, not only for a moment. This passage also clearly distinguishes the distinction between private morality and deeds, arguing that Cao Cao's personal style played an important role in "transferring the situation of the world for hundreds of years", and the historical connection between them should not be underestimated.
(Source| "The Glory of History", published | Tiandi Publishing House)