The knife catcher, literally, is the one who holds the knife in his hand. The term originally referred to a servant, but was later used as a metaphor for a ghostwriter who wrote an article. Many people may not understand, what is the relationship between catching knives and ghostwriting? The oldest surviving script is the oracle bone, which is engraved on the bones of the tortoiseshell. In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, bamboo jane appeared, and the writing instrument slowly transitioned from a carving knife to a brush. From this point of view, catching a knife and writing are really related, otherwise there would not be a word called "knife and pen official".
A story of Cao Cao is recorded in the "New Language of the World", after which an allusion to the knife catcher was left behind. Once, Cao Cao wanted to receive a Xiongnu emissary. Cao Cao felt that his appearance was not majestic enough, and his body was not strong enough, so he thought of a way, and he actually asked his subordinate Cui Jijue to receive the Xiongnu emissaries for him.
Cui Jijue was a man of great looks, a table of talents, and looked strong and powerful. Cao Cao disguised himself as a literary attendant and stood by Cui Jijue's side. The whole process of receiving the meeting was very smooth, and Cao Cao was satisfied, feeling that he had not lost face in front of the Xiongnu emissaries.
After receiving the meeting, Cao Cao was not at ease and sent someone to secretly go to the Xiongnu emissaries to inquire about the news. Soon, the message came back. The Xiongnu emissary said something that made Cao Cao stunned. The messenger said, "The King of Wei (Cao Cao) is very good-looking, and he is not an ordinary person at first glance. However, the literary attendant beside King Wei looked even more powerful, and this person had a sense of heroism. "I couldn't imagine that the Xiongnu emissaries also had the art of recognizing people, and even recognized the real heroes."
Think about this is also the truth, Mencius wrote, "Moving qi, raising the body, living in the big house!" The meaning of this sentence is that factors such as status and environment can change a person's temperament, and inner cultivation can change a person's quality. Cao Cao held a high position for a long time, and he was extremely popular, even if he pretended to be a literary attendant, he had eight aspects of prestige. With the circulation of "The New Language of the World", more people know the allusion of the knife catcher.
After reading this story, there will be two questions, why does Cao Cao not have confidence in appearance? People who are familiar with history know that during the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty, emphasis was placed on "discussing appearances with talent." That is to say, if a person has outstanding talent, people will not overestimate his appearance. How ugly Cao Cao really was, he did not dare to see the Xiongnu emissaries.
In fact, this problem can be viewed from another angle, during the Three Kingdoms period, wars often broke out between Wei, Shu and Wu. Cao Cao was weak in skill, and if he could deter the Xiongnu emissaries, it would reduce a lot of trouble. Cao Cao did this not because of his anxious appearance, but because he did not want to easily break out into war with the Huns.
The second question is that Cao Cao is suspicious by nature, why did he let Cui Jijue impersonate him, and was he not afraid that Cui Jijue would breed ambitions and plot rebellion? Cui Jijue is the famous scholar Cui Yan, who is upright, does not care about personal gains and losses, and adheres to the ethics of the literati. In his later years, Cao Cao wanted to abolish Chang Liyou, and Cui Jijue opposed it. He cited historical stories from the Spring and Autumn Period and told Cao Cao that if he had to abolish Chang Liyou, he would step over his body and issue an order.
Since then, Cui Jijue has become Cao Cao's "eye nail". Cao Cao casually made an excuse, saying that the officials he recommended were exaggerated and hypocritical. It was because of this so-called handle that Cao Cao gave Cui Jijue death. Later generations commented on Cui Jijue, "Cui Zi is temperamental, and the practice of planting green pines is complete." If the words are straight together, they are left and right out of tolerance. It seems that Cao Cao had killed the machine a long time ago, and Cui Jijue had died unjustly.