Legends
One legend about Sima Yi is that he could turn his head 180° around on his neck to look backwards without turning his body. This characteristic was called "the turning-back of the wolf" (狼顧) supposedly based on the fact that wolves are cautious and aware of everything going on around them as though they had eyes in the back of their heads. It is said that Cao Cao heard this rumor and wanted to test it for himself. According to the legend, he came up behind Sima Yi and called out his name, and indeed his head did turn completely around. According to the Book of Jin, when Cao Cao saw this he grew cautious of Sima Yi, saying "This man is hiding great ambition". Cao Pi would later say of Sima Yi "This man probably has no intention of ending his life as a mere servant".
Read more about this topic: Sima Yi
Famous quotes containing the word legends:
“Therefore our legends always come around to seeming legendary,
A path decorated with our comings and goings. Or so I’ve been told.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
“a child’s
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Through the parables
Of sunlight
And the legends of the green chapels
And the twice-told fields of infancy”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
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Animals by legends of their own:”
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