Discrepancies of "Dream Killing" in History and Literature
The matter of "killing in a dream" did not originally come from the official history "Records of the Three Kingdoms," but rather from a fictional plot in the Ming Dynasty novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" written by Luo Guanzhong. In the novel, Cao Cao travels to Zhongmu and stays at the home of Lü Boshe. In the middle of the night, he mistakenly hears the sound of a knife being sharpened and suspects that the host has malicious intentions, becoming vigilant. That night, he wakes up from a dream, draws his sword, and kills the entire family. It is only afterward that he learns the sound was merely from sharpening a knife to prepare a pig for the guest.
Although this passage does not appear in "Records of the Three Kingdoms," it leaves a deep impression on readers due to its dramatic tension and psychological complexity. On one hand, it portrays Cao Cao as a suspicious and ruthless warlord; on the other hand, it creates a nearly neurotic dream logic—where the subconscious guides real actions, seamlessly connecting dreams and actions.
From a literary perspective, this event clearly has symbolic significance that transcends the plot itself. Killing in a dream is both a projection of fear and an externalization of inner struggle. It not only reveals Cao Cao's inner unease but also provides a psychological suggestion for his behavior of "preferring to betray the world."
From a historical perspective, although the dream killing event lacks a factual basis, it is not without meaning. The fact that it is not recorded in "Records of the Three Kingdoms" but is widely circulated in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" highlights the cultural imagination and collective projection of later generations regarding Cao Cao's character and psychological state.
Dreams as Projections of Power Anxiety
In ancient China, dreams were not merely psychological phenomena; they were often seen as a channel for the interaction between heaven and humanity, and the manifestation of the soul. Classics such as "Zhou Gong's Dream Interpretation" and "Huangdi Neijing" emphasize the close relationship between dreams and real emotions, as well as social identity. For a political figure in a chaotic world, where danger lurks at every turn, dreams carry not only the fluctuations of individual psychology but also a psychological manifestation of power anxiety.
Cao Cao, as the Emperor of Wei, was born in the late Eastern Han Dynasty during a time of social collapse. He emerged in an environment of fragmented power and indistinguishable loyalty and treachery. He was both a political reformer and a military strongman, constantly on alert. The assassination and revenge in his dreams may not be coincidental but rather a reflection of his long-term political survival state: a warlord who doubts everything and fears betrayal, revealing his true unease in dreams after suppressing rationality in the daylight.
Psychologist Carl Jung pointed out that dreams are a symbolic response of the individual subconscious to real conflicts. When violence and death appear in dreams, they often project the individual's perception of threat. Cao Cao's dream of killing is precisely a psychological fissure produced under the pressure of power: the more cautious he is, the more suspicious he becomes; the more decisive he is in killing, the harder it is to digest his inner fear.
Therefore, dream killing is not only the starting point of action but also a symbol—symbolizing that Cao Cao, who prides himself on being a wise man, warlord, and politician, cannot completely escape the shared moral anxiety and crisis of security inherent in humanity.
The Conflict Between Decisive Killing and Moral Bottom Line
In terms of actual behavior, Cao Cao did not hesitate after waking from the dream; he immediately killed to silence witnesses. This "better to mistakenly kill" reaction appears to be a rational self-preservation tactic, but it actually reflects a deep-seated moral anxiety: when power meets fear, the bottom line of morality is quickly overturned.
Although this behavior is packaged as "self-preservation," its fundamental motivation is not due to external attacks but rather a preemptive assumption of potential betrayal. In other words, he was not truly a victim but actively initiated "preemptive" violence due to dreams and speculation. This decision-making process reflects his extreme distrust of the real world and indicates that his moral self cannot bear the role of "victim," forcing him to become an "aggressor" to maintain psychological stability.
This conflict is not an isolated case in Cao Cao's life. For example, he killed the famous scholar Kong Rong simply because the latter questioned the legitimacy of his power; similarly, he executed Yang Xiu, who was suspected of treason, also because it was "not suitable to stay long." Behind these decisions are both political calculations and psychological fears.
When "survival" becomes the highest principle, morality becomes a cost that can be sacrificed. This power-centered decision-making approach causes Cao Cao to continuously slide toward the logical bottom line of "preferring to betray the world." The act of killing in a dream is the extreme manifestation of this logic in the subconscious.
Traces of Moral Consciousness and Psychological Compensation Mechanisms
Although Cao Cao is often depicted as a ruthless strategist who "will stop at nothing," he is not devoid of moral awareness. On the contrary, it is this complex moral consciousness that leads him to exhibit a certain degree of "reflection" and "compensation" after the dream killing.
In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," although Cao Cao does not explicitly express regret after the dream killing, his subsequent explanations to his subordinates and the lamentations he displays indirectly indicate some inner turmoil. Although this reflection does not change the outcome of his actions, it reveals that he is not "innately cold-blooded," but rather "cold-blooded out of necessity for safety."
This psychological compensation mechanism is also reflected in his generous treatment of talent. Cao Cao is aware that he established authority through violent means, so he emphasizes "recruiting based solely on talent" in his talent policy to offset his image of tyranny. Figures like Zhang Liao, Xu Chu, Cheng Yu, Jia Xu, and Xun Yu, despite their different backgrounds, were all valued by him, showcasing his broad-mindedness of "not asking about origins, only valuing talent."
Cao Cao's poetry also reveals his inner depression and struggle. For instance, in "Short Song Line," lines like "Raise a glass and sing, how short is life" and "The moon is bright and the stars are few, the crows fly south" express his philosophical thoughts on the impermanence of the times and the brevity of life, showing that he is not solely a figure of decisive killing but also deeply skeptical about the meaning of life.
This indicates that Cao Cao is not without morality; rather, he compresses morality within the boundaries of power. Once he crosses the line, he maintains psychological balance through compensation. The dream killing event is precisely the "real loss of control" when his psychological compensation mechanism has not yet operated.
Dream Killing as a Personality Metaphor in Cultural Memory
Although the dream killing event does not appear in official history, it is widely circulated in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," because it is not just a plot but also a "personality metaphor."
Cao Cao is referred to as a "treacherous hero" by later generations precisely because he embodies loyalty and righteousness, suspicion, benevolence, and violence, as well as rationality and emotion. In cultural narratives, he becomes the most tension-filled "gray hero" among traditional Chinese political figures, and the dream killing event encapsulates this contradiction.
In this event, dreams and reality intertwine, good and evil confront each other, making "killing" not just an act of violence but a symbolic expression of inner conflict. This mode of expression not only enriches the character's depth but also provides readers with a path to glimpse the hero's inner world.
Just as the ghost in "Hamlet" is not supernatural evidence but a symbol of the protagonist's inner conflict between guilt and duty, Cao Cao's dream killing can also be seen as a profile of his rational fortress being breached by the subconscious. In that moment, he is not a lofty warlord but a lonely, fragile, and confused "human."
Therefore, the reason this dream killing event endures in cultural memory is that it not only explains a behavior but also reveals a facet of human nature. This approach that integrates politics, psychology, and culture makes Cao Cao not only a historical figure but also a mirror of the spirit of the times.