Romance of the Three
Kingdoms ( ), written by Luo
Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a Chinese historical novel based upon events in the
turbulent years near the end of the Han
Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms
era of China
, starting in
169 and ending with the reunification of the land in
280.
It is acclaimed as one of the
Four Great Classical Novels
of
Chinese literature, with a
grand total of 800,000 words, nearly a thousand characters, most of
them historical, in 120 chapters.
Overview
Myths from the
Three Kingdoms era
existed as oral traditions before any written compilations.
With their
focus on the history of Han Chinese, the
stories grew in popularity during the reign of the foreign Mongol emperors of the Yuan Dynasty
. During the succeeding Ming Dynasty
, an interest in plays and novels resulted in
further expansions and retelling of the stories.
The earliest attempt to combine these stories into a written work
was
Sanguozhi Pinghua
(三國誌評話，三国志评话; Sānguózhì Pínghuà), literally "Story of
Sanguozhi", published sometime between 1321 and
1323. This version combined themes of legend, magic, and morality
to appeal to the peasant class. Elements of
reincarnation and
karma
were woven into this version of the story.
The
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is traditionally
attributed to Luo Guanzhong, who lived sometime between 1315 and
1400 (late Yuan to early Ming period). Some scholars argue for an
origin from around the second half of the fifteenth century
(mid-Ming) based on characteristics of the text. This theory is
extensively developed in Andrew Plaks'
Four Masterworks of the
Ming Novel. It was written in partly
vernacular and partly
Classical Chinese and was considered the
standard text for 300 years. The author made use of available
historical records, including the
Records of the Three
Kingdoms compiled by
Chen Shou,
which covered events from the
Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184 up to
the unification of the three kingdoms under the
Jin Dynasty in AD 280. The novel also
includes material from
Tang Dynasty
poetic works, Yuan Dynasty operas and his own personal
interpretation of elements such as virtue and legitimacy. The
author combined this historical knowledge with a gift for
storytelling to create a rich tapestry of personalities, and
initially published it in 24 volumes.
It was copied by hand
until first printed in 1522 as Sanguozhi tongsu yanyi In
the 1660s, during Kangxi's reign in the
Qing
Dynasty
, Mao Lun (毛綸; 毛纶) and his
son Mao Zonggang (毛宗崗; 毛宗岗)
significantly edited the text, fitting it into 120 chapters, and
abbreviating the title to Sanguozhi yanyi. The text
was reduced from 900,000 to 750,000 characters; significant editing
was done for narrative flow; use of third party poems was reduced
and shifted from conventional verse to finer pieces; and most
passages praising Cao Cao's advisers and commanders were removed.
Scholars have long debated whether Mao's viewpoint was anti-Qing
(identifying Southern Ming remnants with Shu-Han) or pro-Qing. The
previous version was almost completely supplanted by Mao's edition,
which is considered to be the superior literary work.
This novel reflects the
Confucian
values that were prominent at the time it was written.
According to Confucian moral standards, loyalty to one's family,
friends, and superiors are important measures for distinguishing
good and bad people. In the novel, characters who were not loyal to
the collapsing Han Dynasty are portrayed as bad people; on the
contrary, modern mainstream ideology in Communist China would say
that the deeply suffering masses were trying to overthrow the
ruling feudal lords.
Story
One of the greatest achievements of
Romance of the Three
Kingdoms is the extreme complexity of its stories and
characters. The novel contains numerous secondary stories. As such,
the following only serves as a summary of the central plot.
Three Heroes of Three Kingdoms,
silk painting by Sekkan Sakurai (1715–1790), depicting Liu Bei,
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.
This painting is usually hung in the offices of businessmen to
show that they are trustworthy, just as these brothers were to each
other.
Yellow Turban Rebellion
In the final years of the
Han Dynasty,
incompetent
eunuchs deceive
the
emperor and persecute good
officials. The government has become extremely corrupt on all
levels, leading to widespread deterioration of the empire. During
the reign of the penultimate Han emperor,
Emperor Ling, the
Yellow Turban Rebellion breaks out
under the leadership of
Zhang Jiao, who
allegedly practiced
Taoist wizardry. Zhang
pretends to be a traveling physician while secretly inciting the
common people to rise in revolt. In this time of turmoil, many of
the major characters in the story are introduced;
Liu Bei,
Guan Yu,
Zhang Fei,
Cao Cao,
Sun Jian, etc.
The rebellion is barely suppressed by troops under the command of
He Jin, the Commander-in-Chief of the
imperial armies. Fearing his growing power, the eunuchs led by
Zhang Rang lure He Jin into the palace
and murder him. He Jin's stunned guards, led by
Yuan Shao, respond by charging into the palace to
kill all eunuchs for revenge, which turned into an indiscriminate
slaughter. In the ensuing chaos, the child
Emperor Shao and the
Prince of Chenliu disappear from the
palace.
Dong Zhuo's tyrannical rule
The
missing emperor and prince are found later by soldiers of the
warlord Dong Zhuo from Western Liang, who proceeds to seize control
of the capital city Luoyang
under the
pretext of protecting the emperor. Dong deposes Emperor Shao
later and replaces him with the Prince of Chenliu, who becomes
Emperor Xian. Under Dong Zhuo's violent rule, the people suffer
greatly. There are assassination attempts on Dong by both the court
physician
Wu Fu and Cao Cao but they
fail.
Cao Cao manages to escape and issues an imperial edict in the
emperor's name to all governors, calling them to remove Dong Zhuo
from power.
Under Yuan Shao's leadership, eighteen
governors and nobles form a coalition force in a campaign against Dong Zhuo, but
undermined by poor leadership and conflict of interest, they only
manage to drive Dong from Luoyang to Chang'an
. Dong
Zhuo is betrayed and murdered by his own foster son
Lü Bu later, from a dispute over the beautiful
maiden
Diao Chan, in a scheme orchestrated
by minister
Wang Yun.
Conflict among the various warlords and nobles
In the meantime, however, the empire is already disintegrating into
civil war.
Sun Jian, governor of Changsha
, finds the
Imperial Seal at the bottom
of a well in the ruins of Luoyang but secretly keeps it for his own
purposes, further weakening royal authority. Without a
strong central government, warlords begin to rise and fight each
other for land, plunging China into a state of
anarchy. In the north, Yuan Shao and
Gongsun Zan are at war, and in the south, Sun
Jian and
Liu Biao. Many others, even those
without title or land, such as Cao Cao and Liu Bei, are also
starting to build up power.
Cao Cao
takes Emperor Xian from Dong Zhuo's former subordinates Li Jue and Guo Si and
establishes the new imperial court in Xuchang
.
Even more
powerful now with the emperor in his control, Cao Cao subdues his
rivals such as Lü Bu, Yuan Shu and Zhang Xiu, culminating in his greatest military
victory, over Yuan Shao in the famous Battle of Guandu
despite being outnumbered 10-to-1. Cao Cao
pursues the defeated Yuan clan and finally united northern China,
which later serves as the foundation for the state of
Cao Wei.
Sun Ce builds a dynasty in Jiangdong
Meanwhile, an ambush had violently concluded Sun Jian's life in a
war with Liu Biao, fulfilling his own rash oath to heaven. His
eldest son
Sun Ce delivers the Imperial Seal
as a tribute to the rising royal pretender, Yuan Shu of
Huainan, in exchange for reinforcements. Now, like
the proverbial tiger that has been given claws, Sun secures himself
a state in the rich riverlands of Jiangdong, on which the state of
Eastern Wu will eventually be founded.
Tragically, Sun Ce also dies at the pinnacle of his career from
illness under stress of his terrifying encounter with the ghost of
Yu Ji, a venerable magician whom he had
falsely accused and executed in jealousy. However, his successor
and younger brother
Sun Quan, assisted by
skilled advisors
Zhou Yu and
Zhang Zhao, proves to be a capable and
charismatic ruler, inspiring hidden talents from across the land
such as
Lu Su to join his service, while
raising a strong military which would truly receive a trial by fire
in Cao Cao's great southern campaign.
Liu Bei's unrealized ambition
Liu Bei, along with his sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had
sworn allegiance to the Han Dynasty (in the famous
Oath of the Peach Garden) and
pledged to do their best to serve the emperor and the common
people. However, their goals and ambitions have not been realized
until the later part of the novel. Liu Bei, ever since he had
successfully quelled the Yellow Turban Rebellion, is not recognized
for his efforts and he is only appointed the magistrate of a small
county. Later, Liu joins Gongsun Zan and participates in the war
against Dong Zhuo.
Cao Cao invades Xuzhou
as a revenge
against Tao Qian, the governor of Xuzhou
who unknowingly allowed his subordinate to kill Cao's
father. Liu Bei leads his troops from
Pingyuan to help Tao Qian and Tao passes on his
post as Governor of Xuzhou to Liu before his death. At that same
time, Lü Bu is at war with Cao Cao as he also wishes to dominate
China ever since he killed Dong Zhuo. Lü Bu is defeated by Cao Cao
and he seeks refuge under Liu Bei. Later, Lü repays Liu's kindness
with evil and seizes control of Xuzhou. Liu Bei is forced to join
forces with Cao Cao and they defeat Lü Bu. Lü is executed and Liu
becomes officially recognized by Emperor Xian as the Imperial
Uncle. Liu Bei plots with some officials to kill Cao Cao as Cao
wields far too much power and has the intention of usurping the
throne. Liu fails to kill Cao as the plot is exposed. He seizes
control of Xuzhou but loses to Cao Cao when Cao leads his troops to
conquer Xuzhou. Liu Bei takes control of
Runan
with help from some former Yellow Turban rebels but he is defeated
once again by Cao Cao in battle. Liu has no choice but to move to
Jingzhou to seek Liu Biao's protection. Liu Biao treats Liu Bei
with respect and places him in charge of
Xinye. At Xinye, Liu Bei recruits the talented
strategist
Zhuge Liang personally and
slowly builds his forces.
Battle of the Red Cliffs
Cao Cao, who declared himself the
Chancellor, leads his troops to attack
southern China after uniting the north. At Xinye, he is defeated
twice by Liu Bei's forces but Liu loses Xinye and moves to southern
Jingzhou. Unfortunately, Liu Biao had died by then and left
Jingzhou split between his two sons
Liu Qi
and
Liu Cong. Liu Bei
leads the civilians of Xinye to
Xiangyang,
where Liu Cong rules but they are denied entry. Liu Cong surrenders
to Cao Cao later, and Liu Bei has no choice but to move to
Jiangxia where Liu Qi rules. On the way, Liu Bei
and the civilians are pursued by Cao Cao's troops and several
innocent civilians are killed. Liu Bei and his men manage to reach
Jiangxia where he establish a strong foothold against Cao Cao's
invasion.
To resist Cao Cao, Liu Bei sends Zhuge Liang to persuade Sun Quan
in Jiangdong to form an alliance. Zhuge Liang succeeds in his
diplomatic mission and stays in Jiangdong as a temporary advisor to
Sun. Sun places Zhou Yu in command of the forces of Jiangdong
(
Eastern Wu) to resist Cao Cao's
invasion. Zhou feels that Zhuge Liang will become a future threat
to Eastern Wu and tries several times to kill Zhuge, but fails. In
the end, he has no choice but to co-operate with Zhuge for the time
being as Cao Cao's armies are at the border.
Cao Cao is defeated
at the Battle of
Red Cliffs
by the allied forces of Liu Bei and Sun Quan and
forced to flee back to Jingzhou.
Traditional site of the Red
Cliff
Tension between Liu Bei and Sun Quan
After the great battle at the Red Cliffs, Sun Quan and Liu Bei vie
for control of Jingzhou. Zhou Yu leads the troops of Eastern Wu to
attack Jingzhou and gains a victory, but eventually Jingzhou ends
up in Liu Bei's hands, as Zhuge Liang had advised Liu to seize
Jingzhou while Zhou Yu and Cao Cao's forces are at war. Zhou is
extremely unhappy and reports the matter to Sun Quan. Sun
dispatches Lu Su to Jingzhou to negotiate with Liu Bei for
Jingzhou. Again and again, Liu refuses to hand over Jingzhou to
Sun. Sun has no choice but to use new strategies suggested by Zhou
Yu to take Jingzhou. One of these is the Beauty Scheme, in which
Sun Quan lures Liu Bei to Jiangdong (where he intends to hold Liu
Bei hostage in exchange for Jingzhou) by pretending to betroth his
younger sister,
Lady Sun to Liu.
However, Zhuge Liang outwits Zhou Yu and Liu returns to Jingzhou
safely with his new wife. Zhou Yu tries and fails repeatedly to
take Jingzhou. After being infuriated by Zhuge Liang thrice, Zhou
Yu eventually coughs blood and dies.
Rise of Ma Chao
In the northwest,
Ma Chao starts a campaign
against Cao Cao to avenge his father,
Ma
Teng, who was killed by Cao Cao. Ma's forces are formidable as
he has the support of
Han Sui and troops
from the
Qiang minority. However, Cao
Cao manages to defeat Ma Chao's forces by using cunning strategies
to turn Ma and Han against each other. Han Sui surrenders to Cao
Cao and Ma Chao is left stranded.
Ma seeks refuge under Zhang Lu of Hanzhong
later and eventually joins Liu Bei.
Liu Bei's conquest of Xichuan
After Zhou Yu's death, relations between Liu Bei and Sun Quan
deteriorated, but not to the point of open war.
Following Zhuge
Liang's advice, Liu invades and conquers Xichuan
, where the incompetent noble Liu Zhang rules. He also takes
Hanzhong, which was part of Cao Cao's territory after he
captured it from Zhang Lu. Liu Bei proclaims himself King of
Hanzhong, while Cao Cao is promoted from Chancellor to King of Wei;
Sun Quan is known as the Duke of Wu.
At this time, Liu Bei
rules a vast area of land from Jingzhou to Sichuan
in the west. This would later serve as a
strong foundation for the founding of the state of
Shu Han. Meanwhile, Cao Cao and Sun Quan are also at
war, with defeats and victories for both sides at the
Battle of Ruxukou and
Battle of Hefei.
The situation among the three major powers almost reaches a
stalemate after this, until Cao Cao dies due to a brain tumor. The
following year, Cao's son
Cao Pi forces
Emperor Xian to abdicate, ending the Han Dynasty which lasted for
centuries. Cao Pi proclaims himself emperor and renames his dynasty
Cao Wei.
In response to this, Liu Bei declares
himself Emperor of Shu Han, to signify that he still carries on the
bloodline of the Han royal family, but he is based in the lands of
Shu.
Death of Guan Yu
Meanwhile, Sun Quan plots to take Jingzhou after being tired of Liu
Bei's repeated refusals to hand the land over. He makes peace with
Cao Cao and becomes a vassal of Cao Wei with the title of King of
Wu. Liu Bei leaves his sworn brother Guan Yu in charge of Jingzhou,
and Guan leads the troops to attack Cao Cao. Sun Quan takes
advantage of the situation and sends
Lü
Meng to seize Jingzhou. Lü disguises his troops as merchants
and finessed a quiet entry. As Guan Yu is besieging
Cao Ren at
Fancheng, Lü
Meng's forces attacks Guan from the rear and routs his army with
ease. Guan Yu's deputy
Liao Hua volunteers
to ride his horse through the incoming horde of Wu soldiers to
Liu Feng's castle to request for
reinforcements. Liu Feng, fearing that he will be in danger with a
smaller force of soldiers, refuses, and this ultimately leads to
the fall of Guan Yu. In desperate retreat, Guan's army
disintegrates and he is captured. Sun Quan has him beheaded after
he refuses to renounce his loyalty to Liu Bei. Liu Bei is deeply
grieved by the death of Guan Yu and loss of Jingzhou. He is
planning to avenge Guan Yu when he hears that his other sworn
brother, Zhang Fei, had been murdered in his sleep by subordinates
who had defected to Eastern Wu. Liu is determined to avenge both of
his brothers. Disregarding advice from Zhuge Liang,
Zhao Yun and others, Liu Bei leads a formidable
army of 750,000 to attack Eastern Wu.
Battle of Xiaoting
Sun Quan offers Liu Bei the return of the Jing province and of his
sister (Liu's ex-wife Lady Sun). Liu's advisers, including Zhuge
Liang, urge him to accept those terms, but Liu persists in
vengeance. After initial victories, a series of strategic mistakes
due to the impetuosity of Liu leads to the cataclysmic defeat of
Han troops in the
Battle of
Xiaoting. However,
Lu
Xun, the commander of Wu who spearheads the war against Shu
Han, refrains from pursuing Liu Bei's defeated troops. Famous
generals from both Shu Han and Eastern Wu forces perish in the
battle. Lu Xun's caution is vindicated when Cao Pi launches an
invasion against Wu, thinking that Wu forces will still be abroad.
The invasion is crushed by strong Wu resistance, coupled with a
plague outbreak.
Meanwhile, in Baidicheng
, 62-year-old Liu Bei, ailing after three years of
neglecting his health, dies, leaving his young son Liu Shan in the care of Zhuge Liang. In a
moving final conversation between Liu and Zhuge, Liu asks Zhuge to
take the throne himself in place of Liu Shan, should his son prove
to be inept. Zhuge refuses to do so and swears that he will remain
faithful to the trust that Liu Bei had for him. This promise is to
be a
raison d'être for
the rest of Zhuge Liang's life.
Zhuge Liang calmly fends off five armies
Cao Pi, following
Sima Yi's advice, induces
several forces, including Sun Quan, turncoat Shu general
Meng Da,
Meng Huo of the
Nanman, and the
Qiang tribe, to attack Shu Han, in coordination
with a Cao Wei army. Zhuge Liang successfully deploys the Shu Han
troops and causes the five armies to retreat without any bloodshed.
An envoy from Shu Han named
Deng Zhi
subsequently persuades Sun Quan to renew its former alliance with
Shu Han.
In one of his final strokes of brilliance, Zhuge Liang personally
leads the Shu troops to subdue the southern barbarian king Meng Huo
of the Nanman. The barbarian troops are no match for the Shu troops
and Zhuge captures Meng seven times by using cunning strategies.
The first six times, Meng complains that he had been captured by
trickery, and has no chance to fight a real battle with the Shu
troops. Zhuge agrees to release every time, allowing him to come
back again for another battle. The seventh time, Zhuge wants to
release Meng once again but this time Meng declines. Meng is
ashamed of rebelling against Shu Han and is so deeply touched by
Zhuge Liang's benevolence that he swears allegiance to Shu Han
forever.
Battle of wits between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi
At this time, Cao Pi also dies of illness and is succeeded by his
son
Cao Rui. Ma Chao dies of illness as well
at the age of 46. In Jiangdong, Sun Quan declares himself Emperor
of Eastern Wu. Zhuge Liang plans to attack Cao Wei to restore the
Han Dynasty as he had promised Liu Bei at the latter's deathbed.
However, his days are numbered and Shu is far too weak to overcome
the material superiority of Wei. His last significant victory
against Wei is probably the defection of
Jiang
Wei, a young general whose brilliance parallels his own.
Zhuge Liang has all along been suffering from chronic
tuberculosis, which is compounded when he
refuses to rest even into the early hours of the morning, so that
he will be able to complete his analysis of the battlegrounds or to
formulate his next plan. He dies of sickness at the
Battle of Wuzhang Plains
eventually, while leading a stalemate battle against the Wei
commander,
Sima Yi, who leads a far superior
force. As a final ploy, Zhuge orders his trusted generals to fake a
statue of himself to scare off Sima Yi in order to buy time for the
Shu army to retreat to Hanzhong.
Sima family controls Wei
The long years of battle between Shu and Wei sees many changes in
the ruling Cao family in Wei. The Cao family gradually grows weak
after the death of Cao Rui and Sima Yi plots to usurp the throne.
Sima removes
Cao Shuang, a powerful noble
of Wei from power with a cunning strategy and since then the power
of Wei has been in the hands the Sima clan. After Sima's death, his
sons
Sima Shi and
Sima
Zhao continue wielding the power of Wei in their hands. Sima
Zhao removes
Cao Fang from the throne and
replaced him with
Cao Mao. Later, Cao Mao
tries to assassinate Sima Zhao, who has the intention of usurping
the throne, but is killed by Sima's subordinate. Sima pretends to
grieve and mourn Cao Mao's death and even later had his
subordinate, whom he ordered to kill Cao Mao, executed for
committing
regicide.
End of the Three Kingdoms
Jiang Wei inherits Zhuge Liang's legacy of the campaign against Wei
for a bitter three decades. However, Liu Bei's son Liu Shan does
not heed Jiang's advice and listens to the treacherous eunuch
Huang Hao instead. In order to escape from
the rival officials in court, Jiang decides to resign from his
military title temporarily and settles in the fertile land of
Tazhong. The Wei general
Deng Ai, who is at war with Jiang Wei, takes the
chance to attack Shu Han.
Deng and his troops arrive in front of
Chengdu
, the capital city of Shu Han, by taking a
shortcut. Liu Shan surrenders without a battle and ends the
state of Shu-Han. Jiang Wei plans to rebuild Shu Han by uniting
forces with a Wei general,
Zhong Hui, who
is at odds with Deng Ai. However, he is unable to see it to the end
when his heartache grows intolerable in the midst of the final
battle. Seeing that the rebellion has failed, Jiang commits suicide
with a sword, marking the last stand of Shu.
In Eastern Wu, there is internal conflict among the nobles ever
since the death of Sun Quan.
Zhuge Ke tries
to usurp the throne of Eastern Wu but is assassinated by
Sun Chen. Later, Sun Chen also lusts for power and
deposes the emperor of Eastern Wu
Sun
Liang and replaces him with
Sun Xiu. Sun
Xiu seeks help from the old veteran general
Ding Feng and has Sun Chen assassinated, and the
power of Eastern Wu goes back into the hands of the emperor. This
does not last for long.
In Wei,
Sima Yan, son of Sima Zhao, finally
forces the last Wei emperor
Cao Huan to
abdicate in the same manner as Cao Pi had forced Emperor Xian to
abdicate. Sima Yan establishes the
Jin Dynasty in AD 265, declaring
himself the first emperor of the new dynasty. The state of Cao Wei
comes to an end.
Sima Yan orders the Jin troops to attack Eastern Wu from the former
land of Shu-Han and succeeds in conquering Eastern Wu after a long
period of struggle when the last tyrannical emperor of Eastern Wu,
Sun Hao surrenders. The Three Kingdoms
period concludes after almost a century of civil strife following
that.
Historical accuracy
The novel draws from historical sources, including
Chen Shou's
Records of Three Kingdoms. Other
major influences include Liu Yiqing's
Shishuo xinyu or
A New Account of Tales of the World, published 430, and
the
Sanguozhi pinghua, a chronological collection of
eighty fictional sketches starting with the peach garden oath and
ending with Zhuge Liang's death. Some fifty or sixty Yuan and early
Ming plays about the Three Kingdoms are known to have existed, and
their material is almost entirely fictional, based on thin threads
of actual history. The novel is thus a return to greater emphasis
on history, compared to these dramas. The novel also shifted
towards better acknowledgement of the Southland's historical
importance, while still betraying some prejudice against them.
Zhang Xuecheng wrote that the novel consists of 70% history and 30%
non-history. The "non-history" parts have different sources,
besides unofficial historical records, folk stories and
Sanguozhi pinghua, some were created by the author on his
own. Nonetheless, the description of the social conditions and the
logic that the characters use is accurate to the Three Kingdoms
period, creating "believable" situations and characters, even if
they are not historically accurate..
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, like the dramas and folk
stories of its day, features Liu Bei and his kingdom as the
protagonist; hence the depiction of the people in Shu-Han was
glorified. The antagonists, Cao Cao, Sun Quan and their kingdoms,
on the other hand, were often denigrated. This suited the political
climate in the Ming Dynasty, unlike in the Jin Dynasty, when Cao
Wei was considered the legitimate successor to the Han
Dynasty.
Some non-historical scenes in the novel have become well-known and
entered traditional Chinese culture.
Literary analysis
Dominant themes of the novel include: the rise and fall of the
ideal liege (Liu Bei) finding the ideal minister (Zhuge Liang); the
conflict between the ideal liege (Liu Bei) and the consummate
villain (Cao Cao); and the cruelties and injustice of feudal or
dynastic government.
Luo Guanzhong's re-telling of this story also gives a window into
the politics of his time. The later Míng Emperor
Wanlì had officially elevated Guan Yu to the
position of a god,
Lord Guan, to promote
Guan Yu's characteristics of bravery and extreme fidelity
(characteristics the emperor no doubt wanted to promote in his
subjects). Recent research finds in Luo Guanzhong's Guan Yu a
fascinating reflection of Chinese culture under Míng rule, the
author complying with the program of imperial propaganda while also
subtly subverting it.
Besides the famous oath, many
Chinese proverbs in use today are
derived from the novel:
| Translation |
Chinese |
Interpretation |
| The relationship between a husband and a wife is like a piece
of garment; if the garment is torn, it can be mended. The
relationship between two brothers is like a limb; if a limb is
broken, it cannot be repaired. |
夫妻如衣服, 兄弟如手足 |
It is much easier for a husband and his wife to reconcile after
a quarrel but that is much harder in the case of two siblings. |
| Liu Bei "borrows" Jingzhou – borrowing
without returning. |
劉備借荊州——有借無還 |
There are some people who borrow things from you and do not
return them. |
| Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao
arrives. |
說曹操，曹操到
說曹操曹操就到
|
Equivalent to speak of the
devil, when someone who is being spoken about appears. |
| Three reeking tanners (are enough to) overcome one Zhuge Liang. |
三個臭皮匠, 勝過一個諸葛亮
三個臭皮匠, 賽過一個諸葛亮
|
Three inferior people can overpower a superior person when they
combine their strength. |
| Losing your wife and your army. |
賠了夫人又折兵 |
Making double losses in a deal or losing on both sides of
it. |
| Eastern Wu arranges for a marriage which turns from fake into
real. |
東吳招親——弄假成真 |
Putting on a show (to deceive someone) but the events in the
"show" become reality unexpectedly. |
|
Buddhist aspects
Romance of the Three Kingdoms recorded stories of a
Buddhist monk called Pujing (普淨), who was a friend of
Guan Yu. Pujing made his first appearance during
Guan's arduous journey of crossing five passes and slaying six
generals, in which he warned Guan of an assassination plot.
As the
novel was written in the Ming Dynasty, more than 1000 years after the era, these stories
showed that Buddhism had long been a significant ingredient of the
mainstream culture and may not be historically accurate.
Luo Guanzhong preserved these
descriptions from earlier versions of the novel to support his
portrait of Guan Yu as a faithful man of virtue. Guan Yu was since
then respectfully addressed as "Lord Guan" or
Guan
Gong.
Popular saying
Regarding this novel and another Chinese classic
Water Margin, there is a popular saying in
China that goes: "少不讀水滸, 老不讀三國", translated as "The young shouldn't
read
Water Margin while the old shouldn't read
Three
Kingdoms." The former depicts the lives of outlaws and their
defiance with the established social system. Depicting frequent
violence, brawls, passionate brotherhood and an emphasis on
machismo, it could easily have a negative influence on young boys.
The latter presents all kinds of sophisticated stratagems,
deceptions, frauds, trickeries, traps and snares employed by the
three kingdoms and their individual characters to compete with each
other, which might tempt the experienced old readers (the elderly
are traditionally well respected, trusted and considered wise and
kindhearted in Chinese society) to use them to harm other people.
Also, old people are supposed to "know the will of the heavens"
(says
Confucius). They shouldn't exhaust
or strain themselves with always having to consider how to deceive
others.
Cultural references
The story of the
Romance of the Three Kingdoms has been
told in numerous forms including
television series,
manga and
video games.
Chinese manhua
- The Ravages of Time
(火鳳燎原) - retells the events of Romance of the Three
Kingdoms with Sima Yi as the central
character. The drawing style is dark and grim, and while it keeps
the main plot intact, the finer details are dramatized.
- Sanguozhi (三國志) by
Lee Chi Ching. Lee has also drawn a
spinoff manhua series entitled Battle of Red Cliffs
(赤壁之戰). He also illustrated the manhua Story of Heroes in Three
Kingdoms with more 30 volumes and the 13-volume manhua
Zhuge Kongming.
- Wuba Sanguo authored by Yongren (永仁) and Cai Jingdong
(蔡景東)
- Sanguo Yanyi (三國演義) by Sun Jiayu (孫家裕)
- Jiaqingqu by Lü Xiangru (呂相儒).
- Sanguo Shenbing (三國神兵) by Ip Ming Fat (葉明發).
- Sanguo Wushuang (三國無雙) and Sanguo Wushuang
Zhuan (三國無雙傳) - illustrated by Heui Ging-Sam (许景琛). Adapted
from the video game series Dynasty
Warriors by Koei.
- Sanguo Wushuang Mengjiang Zhuan (三國猛將傳) by Liu
Gwong-Jou (廖光祖).
- Shuyun Canglong Ji by Lam Ming-Fung (林明鋒).
Japanese manga
The
Romance of the Three Kingdoms has been adapted into
several comic versions in Japan, varying in levels of historical
accuracy and loyalty to the original novel and popular tradition.
Some of the most widely read in Japan are:
Film and television
Films
- Red Cliff - an
acclaimed Chinese epic film by John Woo. It is based on the Battle of
Red Cliffs. The first part was released in Asia in July
2008 while the second part was released in December. Notable
stories from the novel were skillfully reenacted, along with epic
battle scenes featuring innovative military formations and a
star-studded cast. The film remained in the first position in
the box office of Singapore
for a few weeks after its release.
TV series
- Sangokushi - a three part Japanese anime series. The
theme song Fuushi Hanaden (風姿花伝) was performed by Shinji Tanimura.
- Koutetsu Sangokushi
- a Shounen-Ai type of anime released in 2007 in Japan. It
featured homosexual relationships between
some of the male characters.
Video games
- Sango Fighter series -
portrayed the generals as characters in a two-dimensional fighting
game.
Others
- Sangokushi Taisen a
hybrid card/board/strategy game released by Sega. Players manipulate cards on a tabletop to move
military units in order to take destroy enemy castles.
See also
Notes
- Roberts 1991, pg. 940
- Roberts 1991, pg. 964
- Roberts 1991, pg. 938
- Roberts 1991, pg. 980
- Roberts 1991, pg. 965
- Roberts 1991, pp. 967-71
- Roberts 1991, pg. 979
- Roberts 1991, pg. 981
- Roberts 1991, pg. 954
- Roberts 1991, pp. 958-9
- Roberts 1991, pp. 959, 983
- Roberts 1991, pg. 980
- Guanzhong 2006, pg. 14
- 三国搜集
- ゲソの三国志ブログ
- Emperor
Jimmu was the first Emperor of Japan.
References
- Roberts, Moss, tr. Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel
(1991) University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-22503-1
External links
teen idols, including
members of the bands Wu Hu Jiang and
Fahrenheit.
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