Through the windows the scenic Longtan Lake is just withinsight. The balcony is big enough to accommodate more than a dozenpeople for a party. Cao Cao often invites friends to have barbecues andchats on it. They ramble over the world’s affairs， just like the historicalCao Cao and his arch rival Liu Bei， “over a cup of wine， discussingwho the hero was in their world of turmoil”。
He has decorated his study in a manner that follows oriental cultureblended with hints of the West. A single step inside the door， onecan see a human-sized Buddha statue， causing one to wonder how hemanaged to “invite” this heavy piece of stone up to the high rise. “Iwas only able to move it up here with the help of a half-dozen men， he said with pride. “One person alone can’t even move it an inch. This Buddha statue and the stone Lord Guan standing in the sittingroom’s corner have added a rich cultural aroma to the home. Bookcasesreaching to the ceiling are filled with foreign and Chinese books.
“I love history. On the first shelf are books of European history， on50 the second Chinese history… I am also interested in the art of war， pointing at the shelves standing against the other wall， Cao Cao said.
“Those are all books about war.” He has a limitless reading horizon.
His special fondness for war history is not limited to reading only. “Ioften play historical war recreations on the computer， and even on asand table， with friends of the same interest. Take Alexander the Great’
s conquests in 334 B.C. Imagine what the world would have been likeif the young king of Macedonia hadn’t died from malaria so soon； ifhe had not turned his sights to the Ganges after he had conquered thePersian Empire； and if he had， instead of marching down to the IndianSubcontinent， advanced east into Warring States Period China？ My comment on his “military maneuvers” was： there is no “if” inhistory. But it is great fun to “fight on paper or on the computer”。 Justimagine what the consequences would have been if the brilliant Greekand Chinese cultures collided and the kind of war scenario that wouldhave resulted if the troops of Alexander the Great fought against thearmies of the seven powerful warring states of China. Of course it is asort of game that challenges the mind.
“We are not ‘fighters on paper’ and not ‘fighters on the computer’
either，” he earnestly stated with a serious looking. “They are seriouswar simulations on a military sand table. All war models are strictlymade based on the historical references.” To him， it seems unbearableto lump together his “academic war study” with laymen’s computergames. I suddenly realized that， with such earnestness and persistence，he might have made himself another Officer Jonathan — and ofcourse there would have been one less movie star in China — if he hadbeen admitted to West Point Academy instead of New York University.
But there is no “if” in life either. Anyway it is still good enough tohave this as it is.
Jonathan has frequent gatherings with some young American“wanderers in Beijing” in the Bookworm， a café in Sanlitun Street.