The story of Hua Tuo and Cao Cao has always been a thought-provoking topic – why did the legendary warlord Cao Cao kill the highly skilled Hua Tuo?
In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Hua Tuo was a renowned physician known as one of the “Three Divine Physicians of Jian’an”. His superb medical skills were renowned throughout the world.
But it was such a skilled physician who ultimately couldn’t escape the slaughter of Cao Cao.
What are the hidden reasons behind this? What is the character of Hua Tuo? Why did Cao Cao have murderous intentions towards him?
Is this decision correct? Did Cao Cao regret his decision?
Execute Hua Tuo
When Hua Tuo was young, he traveled around to study and devoted himself to studying medical classics. His diligence and talent quickly made him stand out in the field of medicine.
It is interesting that at that time, a high-ranking official wanted to promote him, but Hua Tuo politely declined. This detail may reveal the stubbornness and unwillingness to follow the crowd in Hua Tuo’s personality.
With the passage of time, Hua Tuo’s medical skills became increasingly advanced and he finally became one of the “Three Divine Doctors of Jian’an”.
Not only was he highly skilled in medicine, but he also made innovations in health preservation. Hua Tuo also invented the “Five Animal Play”, which can be said to be one of the earliest health exercises in China.
He taught this set of martial arts to his disciple Wu Pu, claiming that it could cure diseases and strengthen the body. The fact seems to have proven this. It is said that after practicing the “Five Animal Play”, Wu Pu, even in his nineties, still has bright ears and eyes, and strong teeth like a young person.
Hua Tuo’s reputation grew increasingly famous, even reaching the ears of Cao Cao, who was in power at the time. At that time, Cao Cao was troubled by a difficult problem – due to long-term warfare, he fell into a thorny headache.
The military doctors were helpless in this regard, so Cao Cao had to search for famous doctors everywhere. Someone recommended Hua Tuo to him.
In 208 AD, Hua Tuo was invited to Cao Cao’s camp and met for the first time. Hua Tuo used a few needles to temporarily relieve Cao Cao’s headache.
However, Hua Tuo admitted that in order to cure this stubborn disease, craniotomy surgery was necessary, but he did not want this bold suggestion to make Cao Cao doubt. He began to doubt whether Hua Tuo was an assassin sent by the enemy.
Faced with Cao Cao’s doubts, Hua Tuo did not back down or change his mind. On the contrary, he bluntly told Cao Cao that if he did not undergo surgery, he could only barely survive.
Unexpectedly, these words angered Cao Cao, but out of trust in Hua Tuo’s medical skills, he temporarily suppressed his anger.
At this delicate moment, Hua Tuo suddenly requested a leave of absence. He fabricated a reason for his wife’s serious illness and asked Cao Cao to allow him to go home.
Although Cao Cao had doubts, he still gave Hua Tuo half a month’s vacation. However, after half a month had passed, Hua Tuo did not return as scheduled, and instead continued to take leave on the grounds that his wife’s illness had not fully recovered.
This action aroused Cao Cao’s vigilance. He sent someone to inspect Hua Tuo’s home, only to find that there was no seriously ill wife. Cao Cao felt deceived and was furious. He immediately ordered local officials to arrest Hua Tuo and escort him back to the main camp.
However, when Hua Tuo stood in front of Cao Cao again, the situation had undergone a dramatic change, and Cao Cao’s headaches began to flare up again. He sent someone to ask Hua Tuo if he was willing to reveal the treatment method.
Hua Tuo still insisted on his viewpoint that craniotomy was necessary, but this statement completely angered Cao Cao, who decided to execute Hua Tuo.
The news reached the ears of Cao Cao’s strategist Xun Yu, who hurriedly went to plead for Hua Tuo, hoping to save this highly skilled physician.
But this time, Cao Cao was determined and didn’t even give face to Xun Yu. In the end, Hua Tuo was sentenced to death on charges of “disobeying calls” and “great disrespect”.
It is worth noting that despite being sentenced to death, Hua Tuo’s treatment in prison was not too bad, and he did not receive any severe torture.
Before his death, Hua Tuo wanted to hand over his medical book to the jailer, but the jailer dared not accept it. Hua Tuo had to burn it to the ground with his own hands, which made people sigh that the lifelong efforts of a generation of medical experts had been reduced to ashes.
Did Cao Cao ever regret it?
So, why did Cao Cao insist on killing Hua Tuo?
From a political perspective, Hua Tuo’s status is not high, and killing him will not cause too much political turmoil.
Then there is Hua Tuo’s stubborn personality and unwillingness to compromise, which may be a potential threat in Cao Cao’s eyes.
Furthermore, Cao Cao himself had a hot tempered personality and did not like to be deceived or disobedient. Not to mention that at that time, Cao Cao was in a critical period of conquering the world, and he needed to establish his own authority. Killing Hua Tuo also met his need to establish his authority to some extent.
The death of Hua Tuo was not without consequences. According to records, shortly after Hua Tuo’s death, Cao Cao‘s 13-year-old son Cao Chong fell seriously ill. Cao Cao watched helplessly as his beloved son passed away, but was powerless.
At this moment, he couldn’t help but regret killing Hua Tuo, thinking that if Hua Tuo were still alive, perhaps he could save Cao Chong.
Years later, Cao Pi, the eldest son of Cao Cao, asked why his father insisted on killing Hua Tuo. Cao Pi believed that if Hua Tuo was left behind, perhaps his younger brother Cao Chong could be saved.
So, faced with his son’s questioning, did Cao Cao feel regretful?
History has not given a clear answer, but the death of Hua Tuo is not only a personal tragedy, but also a major loss in the development history of Chinese traditional medicine. It also reflects the drawbacks of the feudal social hierarchy and the complex relationship between power and knowledge.
Regarding Hua Tuo’s personality, historical records show that he was a unique and difficult person to get along with. When he was young, he missed the opportunity to become an official. Later, he may have wanted to lend Cao Cao the opportunity to see a doctor and enter the government. However, his frankness and stubbornness ultimately led to tragedy.
It is worth mentioning that some legends about Hua Tuo may not fully conform to historical facts, such as the “Ma Fei San” and craniotomy mentioned in “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, which may be artistic processing by later generations.
Similarly, the legendary story of Hua Tuo “scraping bones and treating poison” for Guan Yu may have been the work of his disciple, rather than Hua Tuo himself.
So was Cao Cao‘s decision to kill Hua Tuo correct?
In the short term, this decision seems to have brought some negative impacts to Cao Cao, such as losing a famous doctor who could have saved Cao Chong. However, in the long run, this decision may indeed have its rationality.
Hua Tuo had a stubborn personality and was unwilling to compromise, which could have become an unstable factor in the political environment at that time. Not to mention that Hua Tuo’s proposed craniotomy surgery was indeed too radical at the time, which could easily arouse suspicion and fear.
Furthermore, the act of Hua Tuo deceiving Cao Cao into taking leave and not returning was undoubtedly a serious disrespect in the political environment at that time. As a military commander who was vying for power, Cao Cao needed to establish absolute authority and could not tolerate anyone or anything that could threaten his authority.
From this perspective, 12 years later Cao Cao may realize that although killing Hua Tuo brought some short-term negative effects, in the long run, this decision may indeed help maintain his rule and prestige.