Tomb Of Ancient Chinese Ruler Cao Cao 'Found'

3:49pm UK, Monday December 28, 2009

Ruth Barnett

Sky News

 

Archaeologists in China claim to have found the tomb of Cao Cao, a legendary ruler who features as a cunning politician in folklore stories.

 

They have excavated a 8,000 square-foot (740-square metre) chamber in Xigaoxue, a village in Henan province, according to the China Daily newspaper.

Cao Cao's military talents in the third century AD led him to be the inspiration behind many popular stories.

Several unscrupulous villains in operas and historical novels are based on him.

The Chinese equivalent of the English phrase "speak of the devil" is "speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives".

In one fictional tale, he is quoted as saying: "Better for me to wrong the world than for the world to wrong me."

Officials excavating the tomb found the remains of a man aged around 60, and the bodies of two women.

The bones suggest Cao, who died in 220 AD, was burried alongside his empress and servant, the archaeologists said.

Tablets carrying the inscription "King Wu of Wei", Cao's posthumous title, were seized from people who had apparently stolen them from the tomb, the report said.

"The stone tablets bearing inscriptions of Cao's posthumous reference are the strongest evidence," archaeologist Liu Qingzhu, of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was quoted as saying.

"No one would or could have so many relics inscribed with Cao's posthumous reference in the tomb unless it was Cao's."

LINK TO VIDEO

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/video/Tomb-Of-General-Cao-Cao-Though-To-To-Have-Been-Found-In-China/Video/200912415509273?lpos=video_Article_Body_Copy_Region_0&lid=VIDEO_15509273_Tomb_Of_General_Cao_Cao_Though_To_To_Have_Been_Found_In_China