Cao Cao depicted in the movie “Red Cliff”

I find idioms in Chinese to be fascinating, because invariably the have a very interesting story behind them.  Such is the case with “说曹操，曹操到“, the Chinese version of “speak of the devil”.

If you know this idiom, you just might hear it on a Chinese TV program.   I remember hearing is once or twice on “Ode to Joy 2” “欢乐颂”。

In English, we say “speak of the devil” when we speak of anyone, and they instantly appear on the scene.   It usually happens to be a surprise.  And we’re not saying the person involved isn’t the epitome of evil, it is just that that person seemly appeared out of thin air.

“说曹操，曹操到” （shuō Cáo Cāo, Cáo Cāo dào） literally means “speak of Cao Cao, Cao Cao appears”.     Who exactly is曹操 Cáo Cāo?   He was a prominent Chinese warlord during the Three Kingdoms Period of Chinese history.  If you want to know more details about his life, I recommend you click on this link to read about him in this Encyclopedia Brittanica article.

The story behind “说曹操，曹操到”  comes  from the novel《三国演义)》The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

The Han dynasty emperor 汉献帝  Han Xiandi  was under attack by two generals 李傕  Li Jue and 郭汜Guo Si.

Someone in the emperor’s circle of advisors recommended that they should enlist the help of Cao Cao.  Emperor Han Xiandi agreed and dispatched a person to send a message to Cao Cao. But before Cao Cao even received the message,  he had foresight into the situation and  ordered his subordinate Xia Houdun to come to the aide of Emperor Han Xiandi.

Because of Cao Cao’s initiative,  Xia Houdun had the element of surprise against Li Jue and Guo Si and they were soundly defeated.

Due Cao Cao’s  initiative even before he received the message from the Emperor, the proverb “说曹操，曹操到 (shuō Cáo Cāo, Cáo Cāo dào)”  came into being.   Sounds like Cao Cao had a pretty serious network to get the jump on the Emperor’s enemies!