Speak of the Devil
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Issue Date
2009-02-18Author
Hacker, Randi
Publisher
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
Type
Recording, oral
Is part of series
Postcards from Asia;0148
Published Version
https://audioboom.com/posts/833474-0148-speak-of-the-devilMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Broadcast Transcript: In Chinese, when they want to say "speak of the devil" they say "shuo Cao Cao, Cao Cao jiu dao" "Speak of Cao Cao and he arrives." Cao Cao was a brilliant strategist in the late 2nd and early 3rd century. He established the Wei Dynasty and installed himself as king. He was also an accomplished poet and patron of writers. So why does Cao Cao appear in this idiom? Well, possibly because he was so cunning and had an omnipresent spy network, and it was thought that, even if you had a secret battle plan, CaoCao would find out about it, show up and quash it and you along with it. Almost as if he could be everywhere at once. A lot like the devil when you think about it. #ceas #china #hacker
Description
This is one of hundreds of 60-second radio spots created by the Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) for Kansas Public Radio (KPR). The purpose of this outreach program is to introduce the people of Kansas to the culture and current issues of East Asia.
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