The account of Hua Tuo's death in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is also purely fictional, and the fact that Hua Tuo had to perform open-heart surgery on Cao Cao to treat his headache is only a "play" by Luo Guanzhong.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms says that Cao Cao had a head cold and asked the famous doctor Hua Tuo to treat him. Hua Tuo said to Cao Cao, the root cause of your head wind disease is called "wind saliva", which grows in the brain, and can only be taken out by first taking "Ma Bo San" and then cutting open the head with a sharp axe, thus completely curing your head wind disease and curing you of it. The only way to get rid of the salivation is to take "Ma Bo San" first and then split your head open with a sharp axe. Cao Cao had always been very suspicious, and when he heard about Hua Tuo's treatment plan, he became furious. He thought that Hua Tuo was trying to avenge the death of Guan Yu, who had been killed, and that he had designed this treatment plan to kill himself by cutting open his head. In a fit of rage, Cao Cao immediately threw Hua Tuo into prison and eventually killed him. This account has been widely circulated with the help of the classical masterpiece Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the commentaries, movies and televisions about the Three Kingdoms. Is the truth of Hua Tuo's murder as recorded in Romance of the Three Kingdoms? If the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is not a historical fact, what is the real reason why Hua Tuo was killed by Cao Cao?
There is an important opportunity that has been overlooked in the killing of Hua Tuo, which is that Cao Cao called Hua Tuo to treat himself. If Cao Cao did not call Hua Tuo to treat himself, and if Cao Cao and Hua Tuo, a chaotic kingpin and a herbalist, were not in touch with each other, it is impossible for Hua Tuo to have been killed by Cao Cao. So, the first thing to address in deciphering why Hua Tuo was killed by Cao Cao is why did Cao Cao call Hua Tuo to see his own patients?
Some people may say, "Isn't it simple? Hua Tuo was a famous doctor!
The "Three Kingdoms" and the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" did record a lot of miraculous facts about Hua Tuo's diagnosis and treatment before they wrote, "The Great Ancestor summoned Hua Tuo after hearing about him".
However, the last event recorded in both the Records of the Three Kingdoms and the Book of the Later Han Dynasty before "the Great Ancestor summoned Hua Tuo upon hearing" was the death of Chen Deng, the governor of Guangling. Chen Deng died under the condition that Hua Tuo expected him to develop the disease three years later (this disease will develop in the next three stages, and can be helped by a good doctor; he was saved according to the schedule, but Tuo was not there, and he died just as he said he would). Next is "Taizu heard and called Hua Tuo".
One is that Cao Cao summoned Hua Tuo after hearing about his many miraculous medical skills;
two is that Cao Cao summoned Hua Tuo after hearing that Hua Tuo's prediction of Chen Deng's death had been fulfilled;
three is that Cao Cao summoned Hua Tuo after hearing about both of the above;
three is that Cao Cao summoned Hua Tuo after hearing about both of these;
three is that Cao Cao summoned Hua Tuo after hearing of the above;
three is that Cao Cao summoned Hua Tuo after hearing that he was a good doctor. Hua Tuo;
The first scenario is entirely possible. Cao Cao and Hua Tuo were old hometown friends, and it would be anomalous for Hua Tuo's marvelous medical skills not to be heard of by Cao Cao.
The second scenario depends on Cao Cao's relationship with Chen Deng.
Chen Deng was the man Cao Cao trusted most. Chen's father and son did two things for Cao Cao that earned his trust. One was that Chen Gui, Chen Deng's father, once prevented a marriage between Lu Bu and Yuan Shu, for which Lu Bu personally chased back his daughter, who had already been given away. The fact that Lu Bu and Yuan Shu did not marry or join forces greatly reduced Cao Cao's resistance to unifying the north. Secondly, when Chen Deng went to see Cao Cao on Lu Bu's behalf, he secretly told Cao Cao that Lu Bu was a man with courage but no strategy, a mother with milk, and capricious, and that he should be removed as soon as possible (courage but no plan, light to go, it is better to figure out as soon as possible). Cao Cao was very happy to hear this. Because Cao Cao also considered Lu Bu to be a warlord who had to be removed, Cao Cao immediately made Chen Deng's father, Chen Gui, a high-ranking official of the middle two thousandths of a stone, and made Chen Deng the governor of Guangling. At the time of parting, Cao Cao even personally took Chen Deng's hand and said, "The affairs of the east will be entrusted to you." What the east is all entrusted to you, is nothing more than to let Chen Deng for Cao Cao to eliminate Lu Bu as an insider.
Chen Deng did not fail Cao Cao. When Lu Bu saw that Chen Deng had returned from Cao Cao's work, Chen Gui and Chen Deng were all in high positions, he was very annoyed and wanted to turn his back on Chen Deng. However, Chen Deng was able to persuade Lu Bu with some words. Chen Deng said, "When I met Cao Cao, I told him that Lu Bu was a tiger, and that he would only be of use to you if you let him have his fill; Cao Cao said, "You are not right. Lu Bu is an eagle, and he will serve me only if I let him starve a little; if I let him get full, he will fly away (Deng met with Cao Cao, and said that treating the general was like raising a tiger when it is full of meat; if it is not full, it will devour the people. Gong said: not as good as the Secretary said also. (It is like raising an eagle, if it is hungry, it will be used; if it is full, it will fly away).
Lv Bu heard Chen Deng Cao Cao called himself an eagle, happy buttocks, as much as the former doubts.
So, in Cao Cao's heart, Chen Deng is a courageous and resourceful minister, but Chen Deng got sick, Hua Tuo for his diagnosis and treatment clearly told him: this disease will definitely recur after three years. If there was a good doctor at that time, he could be cured. Three years later, Chen Deng's disease really attacked, and Hua Tuo was not there at that time, so Chen Deng died of this disease (this disease will recur in the next three phases, and can be cured by a good doctor. He died as he said he would when Tuo was not present).
Chen Deng's death immediately spread throughout the world. Cao Cao valued Chen Deng so highly that his death on schedule shook Cao Cao to the core.
The second reason why Cao Cao summoned Hua Tuo after Chen Deng's death is the second possibility. This is because the Biography of Hua Tuo, which records the miraculous nature of Hua Tuo's cures, is all about what happened when he cured ordinary people and lower-level officials. These people and events could be considered irrelevant to Cao Cao. Chen Deng was different; he was someone Cao Cao trusted and valued, and two things about Chen Deng's death shocked Cao Cao: first, that Chen Deng became ill as expected, and second, that Chen Deng died due to Hua Tuo's absence. The first point is the diagnosis, the latter the treatment. Chen Deng's death proved that Hua Tuo was highly authoritative in both diagnosis and treatment.
Such a divine doctor was certainly needed by Cao Cao.
As for the third possibility, it is the most realistic. With all the rumors and the death of Chen Deng, the governor of Guangling, Hua Tuo's status as a divine doctor had already been established in Cao Cao's mind.
That's why Cao Cao moved to summon Hua Tuo to cure himself.
One more thing, of course, is that Cao Cao needs it. By Cao Cao's need, I mean that Cao Cao had to be sick. What would a disease-free Cao Cao want with a famous doctor like Hua Tuo? Cao Cao happens to have a head cold. Cao Cao happens to have a head cold, which is a persistent headache. When it strikes, Cao Cao suffers from panic attacks and dizziness. If Cao Cao were born today, he would have a nuclear magnetic **** vibration of the brain and would immediately know what's wrong with his head.
The subjective and objective conditions for Cao Cao to call on Hua Tuo to cure him are all in place.
Hua Tuo, who specializes in the treatment of difficult and miscellaneous diseases, immediately gave Cao Cao acupuncture as soon as he saw his headache flare up, and the needles pulled out the pain and stopped it, which was particularly effective.
But the relationship between Hua Tuo and Cao Cao at this time was one of "always around", and once Cao Cao had a headache, Hua Tuo would treat him.
The "always at his side" was not a daily attendant, so Cao Cao's dependence on Hua Tuo was not strong at this time. Later, when Cao Cao's personal handling of the country's affairs was particularly hectic, and his condition became increasingly serious, Cao Cao made Hua Tuo his personal physician (Tuo's specialization).
The term "specializing" is very different from "being around". "Always around" was a general need, while "specialized vision" was a dedicated health care doctor.
When was the time of the "Great Ancestor"?
Cao Cao is the first year of Jian'an (196) in August to welcome the Emperor Xian to Xuchang, "by the Son of God to order the world", at this time Cao Cao has already dominated the dynasty. Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao at the Battle of Guandu in the fifth year of Jian'an; Yuan Shao died of illness in the seventh year of Jian'an; Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shang in the ninth year of Jian'an and settled in Yecheng; and Cao Cao killed Yuan Tan in the first month of the tenth year of Jian'an. Yuan Shao's group collapsed. It should be noted that the demise of Yuan Shao's group was the beginning of Cao Cao's "hands-on" administration. Cao Cao's busy schedule led to frequent attacks of headaches. It was at this point that Cao Cao decided to have Hua Tuo "specialize in vision" for himself. "
This is a very important point, as Hua Tuo lost his status as a traveling prescription doctor, and his freedom of movement was restricted.
However, Hua Tuo stayed with Cao Cao for a while but went home on leave.
With what excuse did he take leave?
There are two accounts: one is that he went home to fetch a prescription (Hou Han Shu), and the other is that he received a letter from home (San Guo Zhi). Regardless of the excuse, Cao Cao granted the leave anyway.
Why did Cao Cao grant leave?
One is to go home to get the prescription can not be disallowed, not allowed how to cure the disease?
The second is to buy people's hearts, received a letter from home is not allowed to leave will not lose the heart of the god doctor?
Excuses are one thing, but what about the real reason?
The Book of the Later Han Dynasty - Hua Tuo biography said four reasons: First, Hua Tuo character eccentric (for human nature is evil), the second is in Cao Cao's place to stay is not pleased (difficult to be pleased), the third is a shame for the medical (shame to medical profession), the fourth is to miss home (to go to the home to think of returning). The present version of the Three Kingdoms Chronicle gives only one reason: homesickness (longing for home).
When Hua Tuo arrived home, he cited his wife's illness as a reason for repeatedly renewing his vacation and not going to work. Cao Cao wrote many letters and sent magistrates to urge him on, but Hua Tuo just wouldn't move.
Why did Cao Cao urge Hua Tuo to stay away?
The Records of the Three Kingdoms (《三国志》) says that "Tuo Tuo was able to avoid eating". The Book of the Later Han Dynasty says, "I am tired of being a bully". Both books say the same thing: Hua Tuo was unwilling to serve Cao Cao as a doctor because of his outstanding medical skills.
Cao Cao was furious when he learned that Hua Tuo was dead set on not moving, and he sent someone to check on him, discovering that Hua Tuo's wife was faking her illness. So he arrested Hua Tuo and threw him into prison in Xudu (present-day Xuchang, Henan Province). After interrogation, Hua Tuo admitted that he had indeed committed the crime of "deception".
Xun Yu, Cao Cao's chief strategist, told Cao Cao that Hua Tuo's medical skills were too good, and that many lives were at stake, so it would be better to pardon him. But Cao Cao could not hear him, and replied to Xun Yu, "Don't worry, there is no doctor like him in the world.
As a result, the superstar perished and the divine doctor died in vain.
Mystery of the cause of death
Cao Cao has always loved, cherished, and valued talent, and Hua Tuo is a rare doctor; in that case, why would Cao Cao want to kill Hua Tuo?
From Cao Cao's side, Cao Cao wanted Hua Tuo to specialize in treating his own patients, and he was also reasonable about Hua Tuo's wife's illness: if Hua Tuo's wife was indeed ill, Cao Cao promised to give Hua Tuo forty ducats of beans (hù, household; ten ducats was one ducat before the Song Dynasty), allowing him to renew his leave. Cao Cao's approach was clearly a means of enlisting Hua Tuo's interest, but it was not a simple matter to get Cao Cao to use such a tactic; it at least showed that Cao Cao was in desperate need of Hua Tuo. However, Hua Tuo neither appreciated nor took Cao Cao's orders seriously, deceiving Cao Cao with his wife's illness and not going to Cao Cao's camp, and Cao Cao became furious. To Cao Cao, who was in charge of life and death, Hua Tuo was just a square-technique man (a rat).
In the minds of ancient Chinese readers, "the top doctor treats the country, and the second one treats the people". As a scholar, being a government official and ruling the country was valued by people, and being a prescription-walker was not valued by people.
Since Cao Cao is "in charge of state affairs", he has the power of life and death, and can use the national code of law to kill people in a dignified manner; the one who annoyed him was a doctor of medicine, with a low status, and it's okay to kill him; therefore, Cao Cao was so angry that he was emotionally involved, and these are the two main reasons for Cao Cao to kill Hua Tuo.
The first is that it's okay to kill; the second is that it's okay to kill. However, this is just the surface; what really led to Hua Tuo's death was that Cao Cao never treated him as a "human being". All the systems in place at the time were designed to protect Cao Cao's authority, not to protect Hua Tuo's right to live!
From Hua Tuo's point of view, he provided Cao Cao with an excuse to kill and wield the butcher's knife.
First, he did not want to be a doctor. Hua Tuo was willing to be a walking prescription doctor to cure the people of the world. Not willing to serve only one person. Therefore, it was not Hua Tuo's wish to be an attendant doctor in Cao Cao's hands. Therefore, Hua Tuo did not want to be a doctor. This was one of the reasons why Hua Tuo did not go to Xudu on the grounds that his wife was sick. However, since Hua Tuo was a "human being", he had the right to choose whether to go or not!
The second reason was that he was homesick. The biographies of Hua Tuo in the Book of the Later Han and the Records of the Three Kingdoms all mention that Hua Tuo had been treating Cao Cao for a long time, and that he was far from home, and was homesick for his family. Therefore, he was reluctant to serve Cao Cao due to homesickness. It is Hua Tuo's right to choose who he serves, so what is wrong with that?
Third, he did not understand Cao Cao. Hua Tuo was too unaware of Cao Cao's chaotic and treacherous behavior, and of the power of life and death given to Cao Cao by the authoritarian system. Hua Tuo's excuse for not going was that his wife was sick, but this was a very easily recognized excuse. What if Cao Cao recognized him? Hua Tuo did not seem to think y enough to have a plan to deal with it. To Cao Cao, a famous doctor like Hua Tuo was nothing more than a "rat". Not only Cao Cao, but all officials at the time did not consider anyone other than officials as human beings, much less as talents. We say that Cao Cao loved talent, but they never loved talented people. All autocratic rulers distinguish between "people" and "talent" and love only "talent" but not "people". This is the same view of talent under the authoritarian system ****.
The people who really regarded Hua Tuo as a famous doctor and a person worthy of respect were the common people, the patients among the people, and the descendants. Therefore, Hua Tuo's idea of relying on his wife's illness not to be Cao Cao's attendant physician is too simple and naive. However, Cao Cao had the legal right to kill Hua Tuo, Hua Tuo had thought poorly and childishly, but can a famous doctor who was killed in vain be held responsible for his own murder?
Neither the Three Kingdoms Chronicle nor the Hou Han Shu's Hua Tuo biography mentions that Hua Tuo wanted to open his skull to treat Cao Cao's head wind disease. The account of Hua Tuo's death in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is pure fiction. However, the fictionalization of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is not entirely unreliable, and has its own basis: first, Hua Tuo was able to perform laparoscopic surgery with "Ma Bo San", and second, Hua Tuo was killed by Cao Cao. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, however, extends this to the opening of Cao Cao's skull, which is logical. However, Hua Tuo's craniotomy for Cao Cao's head wind disease is a fiction of the fiction writers.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is one of the four great classical Chinese novels, and Hua Tuo is a famous doctor in the Chinese world. That's why the story that Hua Tuo had to split Cao Cao's head with a sharp axe to remove his headache for him is extremely popular, but it is not at all the historical truth of Hua Tuo's death. (Ming Dynasty) Hu Yan: "Hua Tuo's Tomb" (The Tomb of Hua Tuo) is a story of a man who hid a golden needle from the old man, and a thousand years later, the deserted mound is cold in the north wind. I've never been in vain of Chen Lin's diatribe, and in the end, I can't dry my tears at the Xiling.
On the death of Hua Tuo, there is a theory that has become very popular in recent years: Hua Tuo was killed by Cao Cao because he relied on his medical skills to blackmail Cao Cao and demanded an official position from him.
What is the basis for this claim?
One is psychological imbalance; Hua Tuo was originally a scholar, but ended up as a doctor, and his heart was very unbalanced; especially after his medical skills became more and more famous, he came into more contact with many dignitaries, and when he saw that these scholars one by one became government officials, he became even more unbalanced in his own heart. Therefore, The Book of the Later Han Dynasty (后汉书-华佗传传) said that Hua Tuo was "a person of human nature and evil, hard to be pleased." Because he could not become an official, Hua Tuo's character became more and more strange, and it was difficult to get along with people.
The second was to raise his own weight; Cao Cao openly told people after killing Hua Tuo that Hua Tuo could have cured his own head cold, but intentionally did not, using this as a way to raise his own price. If I don't kill him, he won't be able to cure me completely (After Tuo's death, Taizu's head wind was not yet cured. Taizu said: Tuo can heal this, the small man good my disease want to self-importance, but I do not kill this son, but also when not to break the root of this original ear).
Three is exaggerated; Cao Cao is just a "head wind" disease, but Hua Tuo said that this disease can not be cured, long-term persistent treatment can only live a few more years.
In my opinion, these three reasons are not valid. Because it appears to be justified, but in fact it is not.
First, the first "psychological imbalance".
Is Hua Tuo a fan of government? When Chen Gui, the minister of Pei, elected him to be an official, he refused to take the job. When Huang Wan, the lieutenant of Pei, conscripted Hua Tuo, he again resigned. Filial Piety Lian and levy (bì, must) were the two avenues to become an official in the Eastern Han Dynasty, but Hua Tuo was unwilling to take them both. However, Hua Tuo did not want to take either of them, because he was born in a chaotic world and did not want to be an official. How could a man who did not want to be an official blackmail Cao Cao into giving him an official position?
Hua Tuo's psychological imbalance may be true, but to say that Hua Tuo blackmailed Cao Cao into giving him an official position because of his psychological imbalance is only speculation. It is true that Hua Tuo was a scholar, and that he wanted to be an official but was ashamed of being a doctor, but being ashamed of being a doctor does not mean that he would blackmail Cao Cao into giving him an official position. There is only a contingent but not a necessary relationship between the two.
According to this new theory, if Hua Tuo wanted to be an official, he should have bowed down to Cao Cao instead of confronting him.
A straightforward man like Hua Tuo detested Cao Cao's behavior, but Hua Tuo still treated Cao Cao when he was summoned, and was "always at his side". Hua Tuo neither asked Cao Cao for an official position nor delayed in treating him. Later, he refused to go to Cao Cao on the grounds that his wife was sick, because he did not want to be treated favorably by Cao Cao, and he did not want to be imprisoned in the cage of Chancellor Cao. The "recuperating" and "breaking off the roots" arguments are purely strong words. If Cao Cao had offended him by "nursing his illness," why would Hua Tuo not have pleased Cao Cao by "cutting off his roots"? It is clear that Hua Tuo was summoned to see Cao Cao purely for the purpose of curing his illness, not to seek an official position. He left Cao Cao because he was unable to cure the disease, not because he was unwilling to do so.
So, there is a question that must be addressed in the discussion of Hua Tuo's death: was Hua Tuo happy to be a doctor or was he ashamed to be a doctor?
Hua Tuo's unwillingness to serve as an official in a chaotic world is consistent; in the first place, he should not have been recommended, and in the second place, he was not attached to Cao Cao. The reason is that Hua Tuo's orthodoxy is very strong, and Cao Cao's orthodoxy is not compatible with Hua Tuo's orthodoxy; Hua Tuo, as a good doctor, has the wish to help the world. Even when he was in prison, he was willing to pass on his medical books to the world in the hope that his medical skills could help people live. He passed on the Five Animal Play for fitness and taught acupuncture and moxibustion to cure diseases. It can be seen that Hua Tuo was happy to be a healer rather than ashamed to be a healer.
Why did Hua Tuo, who was happy to be a doctor, still have the thought of "I was a scholar, but I always regretted my medical career"? This is a contradiction in terms of Hua Tuo's willingness to practice medicine, isn't it?
Hua Tuo, as a scholar who was "well versed in several sutras", of course, wanted to become an official, but at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when Hua Tuo was living in, the politics were extremely chaotic, and Hua Tuo didn't have any backing or background, so studying to become an official could only be a kind of extravagance for Hua Tuo.
Since he couldn't become an official, he had to survive, so he practiced medicine. In any case, it was no problem for Hua Tuo to make a living by practicing medicine. Therefore, Hua Tuo embarked on the road to become a doctor; moreover, the longer he traveled on this road, the higher his medical skills became, and the deeper he was touched by the fact that the people in the midst of the chaos needed such a famous doctor as Hua Tuo! It was the combination of this social demand and Hua Tuo's superb medical skills that created Hua Tuo, the divine doctor who was willing to practice medicine.
While Hua Tuo was not satisfied with his career as a doctor, he showed great enthusiasm in his long years of practicing medicine.
Walking on the road, Hua Tuo saw a patient with a throat infarction who wanted to eat very much but could not eat anything. The family was pulling him in a cart to try to get medical help. Hua Tuo heard his agonizing voice and stopped the cart to see for himself. After seeing him, Hua Tuo said to the patient's family, "There is a bakery on the side of the road where I came just now, which sells garlic paste and vinegar. Go there and buy three liters of these two things, drink them, and you will be cured naturally. The patient's family rushed to do as they were told, and the patient who drank the vinegar and garlic immediately vomited, spitting out a worm, and was immediately cured. At this time, Hua Tuo had already left, so the patient hung the worm on the side of his car and went to Hua Tuo's home to thank him personally. Hua Tuo had not yet returned, his child was playing in front of the door, and when he saw the visitor, he immediately said to himself, "I may have met my father, and the roundworm by the side of the car is the proof. This patient went into Hua Tuo's house and saw dozens of these roundworms hanging on the north wall of Hua Tuo's house.
This example is typical. As soon as the patient moaned, Hua Tuo heard the sound, took the initiative to diagnose the patient, said the treatment and left. When the patient rushed home to thank him, Hua Tuo's children saw the roundworms hanging on the side of the patient's car and knew that their father had cured them; the patient saw the same worms hanging in Hua Tuo's home and realized that Hua Tuo was an expert in treating this kind of roundworm disease.
And then there is the second rule, which says, "Nurture the sick and take care of yourself.
This is what Cao Cao said after he killed Hua Tuo, so I can't rule out the possibility that Cao Cao's words had an element of justification for himself, and it was a very heavy element. Hua Tuo was a famous doctor, and Xun Yu, Cao Cao's key strategist, had strongly discouraged Cao Cao from killing Hua Tuo before he did so, so Cao Cao would be criticized for killing Hua Tuo, and Cao Cao's statement that he was "raising my illness to be important to himself" is not credible. As a matter of fact, it is true that head colds are difficult to cure.
But there is another side to the story: Cao Cao, as a patient, was desperate for a cure, and Hua Tuo, as a doctor, had no way of treating him. It is very difficult for the two to understand each other. Hua Tuo believed that head colds were difficult to cure, and Cao Cao believed that he was "nursing his own illness".
Finally, there is the third article, "Exaggerating the illness".
The so-called "exaggerating" of the disease, in my opinion, is called honesty;
Headache is a stubborn disease. This disease is a headache, but, it is very difficult to cure, and it flares up from time to time. Moreover, head wind disease usually has complications. Cao Cao's complicating symptoms were heartburn and vertigo. In my opinion, Hua Tuo's statement to Cao Cao that this disease was not curable was factual and straightforward about the condition. It was honesty, not blackmail. So the only real reason for Hua Tuo's death was that he had offended and angered Cao Cao. And Cao Cao did not treat Hua Tuo as a "human being", let alone respect his life choices.
Liu Yuxi, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, famously said in his "Treatise on Hua Tuo", "The rage of the one who holds the power of authority is really something to be feared?" Like Cao Cao, he was a "ruler" who held the power of life and death, and his anger was indeed very scary.