Man from the margin: Cao Cao and the Three Kingdoms

by Rafe de Crespigny

42 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Richard Rafe Champion de Crespigny, also known by his Chinese name Zhang Leifu (Chinese: 張磊夫), is an Australian sinologist and historian. He is an adjunct professor in the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University. He specialises in the history, geography and literature of the Han dynasty, particularly the translation and historiography of material concerning the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period.

Reviews

[Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the Online Anthology for Charles Henry Brewitt-Taylor's translation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Man From the Margin serves as a preface or (by the author's own admission) an afterthought to the novel. Cao Cao is portrayed as a villain in the renowned classic, but Dr. De Crespigny is willing to ask whether this ought to be the case. In this essay he helps clarify aspects of Cao Cao's life, and brings a few counterpoints to the table for those who romanticize the struggles of the state of Shu Han.

Those who enjoyed Romance of the Three Kingdoms should consider giving this essay a look.

[Eadweard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A study of Cao Cao the man, not the villain from the novel, his origins, the situation in the imperial government during the late 100's, his rise to power, his agricultural and military reforms that made 'Wei' the powerful state that it was during his lifetime.