THE ghost of Cao Cao, a figure from the Three Kingdoms Period (220-265), reaches from his grave of 1,800 years to stir up the controversy that has surrounded him for centuries. The discovery of his tomb in Anyang City, Henan Provincecreated quite a national sensation when it was announced in Beijing on December 27, 2009 by the Henan Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau. Ancient officialdom split with the people at large on the issue of what kind of ruler Cao Cao was: recorded history in the following dynasties was mostly laudatory, while folk literature largely derogatory. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in particular, described him as a crafty, underhanded character and labeled him a “usurper of imperial power” who “kidnapped” the emperor so as to “lord it over vassals.” The influence of this ancient classic novel on popular opinion was fatal to Cao Cao’s reputation; he was always depicted as a bad guy– on the stage, in imagery, and in oral or printed accounts throughout the following centuries.