Cai Wenji, who was born in Shuxiangmendi, can be described as a microcosm of the tragic women of the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He served three husbands all his life, almost all of whom ended in tragedy. Mention Cai Wenji, people will naturally think of Cao Cao, who has the title of "human wife control". Because Wen Ji returned to Han, Cao Cao made a lot of efforts, but why did the lustful Cao Cao spend a lot of money to redeem Wen Ji and did not marry Cai Wen Ji home? Here's why.
Mentioning Cai Wenji, we are going to mention Cai Wenji's father Cai Yong here, Cai Yong was a very famous writer and calligrapher at that time, and Cao Cao can be regarded as a family friend, and the two are still good friends, Cao Cao liked cai Wenji when he first met her, but for some reasons at that time he could not express the love in his heart. It was not until he unified a large area of the northern territory and became a tyrant that he remembered the daughter of a former close friend, but at that time, Cai Wenji was abducted by the Xiongnu, and Cai Wenji was favored by the Xiongnu Zuoxian King because of his superb piano skills, and married down as a wife. Cao Cao found Wen Ji after many inquiries, and spent a lot of money to redeem Wen Ji, and at this time Wen Ji was over thirty years old, probably her appearance was not as good as it was at the beginning, which was no longer attractive to the lustful Cao Cao, so Cao Cao gave Wen Ji xu to Dong Qi, the governor of Tuntian.
During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao was not only skilled in military warfare, but also highly accomplished in literature. Its works can be described as unique songs throughout the ages. Cao Cao, a generation of tyrants. Wen Ji, a generation of talented women. The two can be described as a match made in heaven, but why are they not together in the end? It may be that the hero cherishes the hero, and Cao Cao is more of a heartfelt appreciation and heartfelt admiration for the talented talented woman Wen Ji. At that time, he also had a wife, and if he took the daughter of his former friend as a concubine, it was difficult to say the past in terms of ethics, and he would also feel ashamed in his heart, and at the same time, it was also a kind of harm to his former friend.
Most of the evaluations given to Cai Wenji by later generations are talented women, and they do not say that she is a beautiful woman. Because Wen Ji's father Cai Yong was not outstanding, and then speculated that Wen Ji should also look mediocre, and she was 35 years old when she returned from the Xiongnu and had two children, her appearance may be even worse. And the historical Cao Cao, the pity is well known, so Cao Cao used Wen Ji to envelop Dong Qi to sincerely himself, in order to highlight his grace of adult beauty, and at the same time, not marrying Wen Ji is also for fame, so that he can also restrain his inner desires, so as to leave a good reputation for future generations, so that future generations feel that they are a person who can control the improper emperor of power and can also control selfish desires and not marry Wen Ji.
In the era of fighting and killing in the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao and Cai Wenji each had their own helplessness, and Cao Cao was more sorry for Wen Ji than lustful. If Cao Cao really married Wen Ji, he would violate the Three Principles and Five Constants of Confucianism, and in that era, it was impossible to stand on his feet, so Cao Cao would not risk the world's great disobedience to marry Wen Ji, not to mention that this was contrary to the ethical concepts advocated by Confucianism at that time, so it was normal for Cao Cao not to marry Cai Wenji.