Chinese archaeologists 'discover' tomb of notorious pantomime villain Cao Cao

by Jonathan Watts

Chinese archaeologists claimed today to have found the tomb of one of the country's oldest and most notorious pantomime villains.

The bones of Cao Cao, who is a byword for treachery in Peking opera, may been located near the ancient capital of Anyang, in Henan province, the state-run broadcaster announced.


Picture is (C) copyright to Chinaview News

An epitaph and inscription were also found in the tomb that appear to identify the warlord, who helped to unify northern China.

If confirmed, the discovery would solve one of China's greatest historical puzzles.

Cao Cao, also known as the Emperor Wu of Wei, was a politician, general and poet whose brilliance as a military strategist and wordsmith was tarnished forever by the novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.



In that classic, he is portrayed as a scheming, merciless tyrant who is so suspicious of everyone he meets that he mistakes a plan to slaughter a pig in his honour as an assassination plot – and responds by killing everyone involved, including women and children.

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