“Intention”: War for the Han Frontier sample (Act I) -- T. P. M. Thorne
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(they include Cao Cao and his clan, Yuan Shao and his 3 sons, Liu Bei, Kong Rong, Hua Tuo, Guo Jia, Liu Biao, Sima Yi and Jia Xu to name but a few, but there are only references made to the activities of the Sun clan of Jiangdong, who once again did too much in this time period to include them here and do proper justice).
Cao Cao is a truly complex central character (he cannot be called an ‘antagonist’, and ‘protagonist’ would be even more inappropriate), and this work shows many of his contradictions in full: he is often a saviour and murderer, liberator and captor, or protector and destroyer of knowledge at the same time, and his affliction - implied at times to be migraines in this work, but often supposed to be symptoms of a brain tumour - only adds to the mystery surrounding his constant veering between incompetence and brilliance, and between what some might call good and evil. And it must also be noted that Cao Cao’s approach to dealing with the Wuhuan provides an interesting contrast to Zhuge Liang’s campaign against the Nanman (as depicted in ‘Crouching Dragon’).
A final disclaimer: the work does portray the famous physician Hua Tuo’s efforts to cure Cao Cao’s headaches, and I have chosen, after much consideration, to follow the portrayals in historical records and portray acupuncture as working effectively. The entirety of what is described - the acupuncture and Hua Tuo’s other exploits - is taken from questionable accounts, not a medical dictionary, so please do not take any of it to be sanctioned advice and always consult a qualified doctor!
It is all part of my usual attempts to write as original and informative a work as possible, partly by looking at people and events that are typically ignored or given reduced roles, by giving focus to social and academic elements instead of keeping the narrative solely targeted on political and military matters, and by relying more on history than the folktales (although, as before, there are some instances of ‘artistic license’ for the sake of telling a story). And once again, all I can hope is that this book inspires or entertains someone out there as much as I have enjoyed writing it.
T. P. M. Thorne, the author