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寧我負人 毋人負我

I would rather betray others than let anyone betray me.

Cao Cao曹操

ko차라리 내가 남을 저버릴지언정, 남이 나를 저버리게 두지는 않겠다.

jaむしろ我が人に背こうとも、人に我へ背かせはしない。

The scene behind the words

Fleeing Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao lodged with his father’s friend Lü Boshe — and, mistaking the clatter of dishes for an ambush, slaughtered the household before uttering these words. The line comes not from the histories proper but from a miscellany quoted in the annotations; the novel inflated it to "let no one under heaven betray me," sealing his villain image. A textbook case of how much the source changes the meaning.

Source: Sun Sheng’s Miscellany (annotations to Cao Cao’s annals)

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