Pain Killers for Cao Cao, Hemorrhoid Cream for Zhang Juzheng: Gen Z's Playful Tomb Offerings Go Viral

A quirky new trend is sweeping China's historic tombs: Young people leaving highly specific, modern-day offerings tailored to the ailments, regrets, and personalities of ancient figures.

At the tomb of Cao Cao, the legendary warlord from the Three Kingdoms period, visitors have placed various brands of ibuprofen. Historical records show Cao had suffered from chronic, severe headaches. Some notes attached to the medicine read, "Three times a day, avoid alcohol." Others have opened a single pill from the package, writing, "I have tested it for the Prime Minister" – a playful nod to Cao's famously suspicious nature.

At the tomb of Zhuge Liang, the brilliant strategist who spent his life trying to restore the Han Dynasty, young visitors have left high-speed rail tickets from Chengdu to Xi'an. One note says, "Prime Minister, it now takes only three hours to reach Chang'an." Zhuge Liang, constrained by the perilous roads of Shu, never made it to the ancient capital.

Other examples abound. At the tomb of Huo Qubing, a young Han Dynasty general who died at 23, snacks and chocolates have appeared – a tribute to his youth. At Li Bai's tomb, bottles of liquor honor the "Immortal Poet of Wine." At Sun Quan's tomb, maps of Hefei mock his six failed campaigns against the city. And at the tomb of Zhang Juzheng, a reformist Ming Dynasty official, tubes of hemorrhoid ointment reference unofficial historical accounts of his cause of death.

The trend has sparked heated discussion online. Many applaud the empathy and humor behind the offerings, which humanize legendary figures often reduced to distant, textbook icons. Cao Cao had headaches. Zhang Juzheng had hemorrhoids. Huo Qubing was just a young man who liked snacks – a peer of today's Generation Z in China.

For many young Chinese, this is more than a fad. It represents a shift from rote learning to a more personal, emotional engagement with history. By researching the lives and struggles of these ancient figures, they are seeking a connection across centuries.