Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese Literature - Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Author: Luo Guanzhong
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-06-01
Features: Romance of the Three Kingdoms is the pioneering work of the long, serialized Chinese classical novels. The Three Kingdoms stories were highly popular in ancient Chinese folklore. They were adapted into stage plays as early as the Song and Yuan dynasties, with over 30 different Three Kingdoms-themed plays performed during the Jin and Yuan periods. During the Zhizhi era of the Yuan Dynasty, Complete Illustrated Three Kingdoms was published by the Xuan family of Xin'an. In the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty, Luo Guanzhong synthesized folk tales, operas, and storytelling, combining historical records from Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms and Pei Songzhi's annotations, along with his personal insights into society and life, to create Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The earliest surviving edition is from the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty, commonly known as the "Jiajing edition," and this book consists of 24 volumes. During the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty, Mao Run and Mao Zonggang father and son corrected historical inaccuracies, revised and edited the text, and transformed it into the 120-chapter edition of Romance of the Three Kingdoms that is widely used today.
Luo Guanzhong lived between 1330 and 1400, with the name Ben and the sobriquet Huahai Sanren. He was a popular fiction writer of the Ming Dynasty. His place of origin is uncertain, with some sources claiming Taiyuan (modern Shanxi) and others claiming Qiantang (modern Hangzhou, Zhejiang). According to legend, Luo Guanzhong served as a counselor to Zhang Shicheng, a leader of the late Yuan peasant uprising. In addition to Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he also wrote other popular novels like Chronicles of Sui and Tang and plays such as The Dragon and Tiger Meeting of Zhao Taizu.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms depicts nearly a century of historical turmoil from the late Eastern Han Dynasty to the early Western Jin Dynasty. The entire work reflects the political and military struggles of the Three Kingdoms era, the interplay and transformation of various social conflicts during that time, and the major historical changes of the period. It also portrays a group of heroic figures who left an indelible mark on history. In his handling of the Three Kingdoms history, the author shows a clear preference for the Liu Bei faction and a strong opposition to Cao Cao, centering the narrative on the Liu Bei group and praising its key figures while harshly condemning Cao Cao. Today, we should view the author's pro-Liu Bei, anti-Cao Cao bias dialectically. The preference for Liu Bei over Cao Cao was a dominant trend in folk legends, reflecting the people's hope for the revival of the Han ethnicity during Luo Guanzhong's time.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms portrays nearly 200 characters, with the most successful being Zhuge Liang, Cao Cao, Guan Yu, and Liu Bei. Zhuge Liang is the embodiment of the author's ideal "virtuous minister," embodying the high moral integrity of "dedicating oneself to the cause until death" and the ambition to restore peace and prosperity. The author also grants him supernatural abilities, such as summoning wind and rain and making brilliant calculations. Cao Cao is a cunning and ruthless figure, living by the principle of "let the world betray me, but never let me betray the world." He is both a visionary and a cruel, treacherous politician, a master of intrigue—distingushed from the historical Cao Cao. Guan Yu is "fierce, resolute, and righteous," with a loyalty that is based on personal grievances rather than national or ethnic principles. Liu Bei is portrayed as a benevolent and wise ruler who values his people, respects the talented, and knows how to use his subordinates effectively.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms depicts numerous battles, both large and small, with grand and diverse storytelling techniques, allowing readers to vividly witness the bloody scenes of war. Battles like the Battle of Guandu and the Battle of Red Cliffs are described with dramatic twists and turns, leaving readers breathless. The language of the book is neither overly profound nor overly vulgar, yet it is concise, lively, and full of vigor.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms sparked a wave of historical fiction writing in China, and the characters it created have become household names across the country. There are many editions of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, with the main ones being: the Ming Hongzhi edition of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which has rough text and simple content; and the Qing Mao Zonggang edition of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which was completed around the early Kangxi era and is the most widely circulated version. The People's Literature Publishing House has reprinted and published it multiple times.