"Xuande¹ asks, 'Yuan Shao of Hebei came from a very powerful family, many of his relatives were high government officials; today he controls Jizhou², has many talents under his wing, can he be considered a "hero"³?'
Cao⁴ laughs, 'Yuan Shao seems fierce and formidable, but is in fact a coward; he carries out grand ambitious plans but fears for his own safety, yet forgets himself when chasing after negligible gains: he is no "hero".'"
-- Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 21
Notes:
Xuande/玄德 is the courtesy name of Liu Bei. Courtesy names are usually used to show respect.
Jizhou/冀州 is a part of the modern Hebei province. The name "冀" has remained and is now a shorthand for Hebei province (ex: can be seen on vehicle license plates today).
Hero/英雄 here has a somewhat different definition in regard to the Three Kingdoms than the average modern definition in English. As Cao Cao defines it later, a hero is one who has great ambitions, excellent strategic capabilities, and who can accept everyone under his wing; or in other words, a hero here is a great leader. (“夫英雄者,胸怀大志,腹有良谋,有包藏宇宙之机,吞吐天地之志者也。”) He then says that Liu Bei and himself are the only true leaders ("there are only two true heroes under the heavens right now, and that's you and me"/“今天下英雄,唯使君与操耳”) This is what one might call a "power move", but more importantly it is an acknowledgement of the power and/or capabilities of the adversary.
Cao/操 is the name of Cao Cao/曹操 (曹 is his surname). Usually referring to someone by their name directly can be seen as disrespectful or even offensive/contemptuous (this is true even today). This is in stark contrast with the how the novel refers to Liu Bei.
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