Understanding Patriotism

 

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 106

 

“I feared lest I should not see you again,” said the Ruler of Wei [Emperor Cao Rui]. “But now I can die content.”

The general [Sima Yi] bowed and said, “On the road they told me the sacred person was not perfectly well. I grieved that I had not wings to hasten hither. But I am happy in that I now behold the dragon countenance.”

The heir, Cao Fang, was summoned to the Emperor’s bedside and also Cao Shuang, Liu Fang, Sun Zu, and certain others.

Taking Sima Yi by the hand, the dying Emperor [Cao Rui] said, “When Liu Bei [Emperor of Shu-Han] lay dying at Baidicheng [castle], he confided his son, so soon to be an orphan, to the care of [prime minister] Zhuge Liang, who labored in this task to the very end and whose devotion only ceased with [his own, that is, Zhuge Liang’s] death. If such conduct is possible in the mere remnant of a dying dynasty continued in a small state [Shu-Han], how much more may I hope for it in a great country [Cao-Wei]! My son [Cao Fang] is only eight years of age, and incapable of sustaining the burden of rulership. Happily for him he has ample merit and experience around him in the persons of yourself and his relatives. He will never lack friends for my sake.”

Turning to the young prince [Cao Fang], he continued, “My friend Sima Yi is as myself, and you are to treat him with the same respect and deference.”

Cao Rui bade Sima Yi lead the young prince forward. The boy threw his arms around Sima Yi’s neck and clung to him.

“Never forget the affection he has just shown,” said Cao Rui, weeping. And Sima Yi wept also.

Luo Guanzhong, Romance of the Three Kingdoms (translated Charles Henry Brewitt-Taylor, 1925) (first printed version circa 1522).

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Tillman’s commentary: Why is this scene affecting? Because at the end of his life, the ruler of Wei took a lesson in governance from Shu-Han. Shu-Han was Wei’s great enemy, but it was an enemy within a shared language, culture, and civilization.

Seth Barrett Tillman, ‘Understanding Patriotism,’ New Reform Club (Apr. 16, 2023, 5:01 PM), <https://reformclub.blogspot.com/2023/04/understanding-patriotism.html>;