Cao Chong, Cao Cao's youngest son, was born bright and known as a prodigy. His famous act of "weighing the elephant" made later generations praise him for his wisdom and wisdom. However, Sima Yi believes that this is the beginning of his life when he was mistaken by "smartness". Although Cao Chong has superior wisdom, he doesn't know how to leave a way for himself, so he blindly clings to power, and finally dies and the clan is wiped out, which is a pity that his talent is wasted!
First, the prodigy emerged: wisdom and courage.
Cao Chong was born intelligent, and he was already shrewd at the age of three. Cao Cao had no intention of cultivating him, but he was impressed by his extraordinary talent. In particular, the witty performance of "weighing the elephant" made Cao Cao see his potential as a prince. A small child can come up with such a clever plan to weigh an elephant, and his intelligence and courage are not weak.
2. Power parasitism: dependence on power.
However, Cao Chong's cleverness was mistaken by cleverness, he did not understand the vagaries of power, and only blindly attached himself to Cao Cao, the person in power. After Cao Cao's death, Cao Pi seized the throne, and Cao Chong completely relied on Cao Pi. He didn't care about building up his own power, nor did he understand the art of political survival, and this mistake eventually led to the destruction of him and his entire family.
3. The scourge of death: wisdom cannot protect itself.
Sima Yi commented: "Cao Chong's death was mistaken by cleverness. "His talent for strategizing did not leave a way out for himself, but instead fueled the envy of his enemies. After Emperor Wen of Wei Cao Pixu, Cao Rong ascended the throne and sealed the clan, but he was afraid of Cao Chong's talent and did not seal him. By all indications, he would die. A wise way to protect oneself, but neglected because of being clever. In the end, he died unmaturely, which is really a tragedy of his talent being wasted.
Cao Chong's life is bleak, which fully shows that if wisdom has no destination and no concept of the overall situation, it will eventually end up tragically. When later generations read his biography, they couldn't help but sigh, but also looked awake and reflective.