Illustrated Discussion on Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Lectures at the Literature Hall

Author: Fu Guangming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: As the saying goes, "A word from a wise man is better than ten years of reading." It's no exaggeration to say that listening to scholars debate at the Literary Museum is like holding a collection of essence, saving countless hours of effort. Taking "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" as an example, the great scholar Liu Shide opens with a thought-provoking introduction: the formal, accurate, and scientific title of this book should be "Romance of the Three Kingdoms." Why? This involves an understanding of the term "romance." In modern terms, "romance" means to elaborate, portray, introduce, and expand, while "yi" refers to the content, ideas, and plot of the book. "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" naturally refers to Chen Shou's "Records of the Three Kingdoms" in the Twenty-Four Histories. So, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is essentially the "elaboration of the meaning of the Records of the Three Kingdoms." Therefore, the character "zhi" cannot be missing. Next, the short biography, native place, birth and death years of Luo Guanzhong, and whether he left behind other works besides "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," are all presented in a smooth manner. When Liu Shide spoke of "Water Margin," he used an vivid metaphor that still seems fresh to me today: "Materials are like cloth for making clothes, while works are like beautiful clothes. Cloth is scattered and disorganized. Simply stacking it together cannot make a dress. It must be skillfully cut and sewn by a tailor to transform scattered cloth into a beautiful dress. Materials are like raw materials, works are like clothes, and the tailor is like the writer. Great works are inevitably written by great writers. Without great writers, great works cannot be created. No great work is the result of "accumulation." Any great work is created by a genius with a genius's mind and hands. Moreover, this creation must be a creative labor. Without the creative labor of a writer, excellent and great works cannot be created. Liu Shide repeatedly emphasized this when speaking of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms," only to illustrate a point: like "Water Margin," "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is also an excellent and great work. Luo Guanzhong is a great writer. "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is presented to readers through Luo Guanzhong's creative labor. It is absolutely not an "accumulative" work. Great works, excellent works, and great works are not achieved through "accumulation." Great works, excellent works, and great works are written by the writer's mind and hands. In his speech "From Historical Legends to Classic Romances—How Luo Guanzhong Created 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'," Hou Hui provides numerous vivid and interesting examples to support this view. "Discussing the Three Kingdoms" is divided into fifteen lectures, each with its own highlights. Whether it's Duan Qiming discussing the strategic wisdom of the Three Kingdoms' ministers who served wise rulers, or Zhang Jun analyzing the loyalty and bravery of the "Five Tiger Generals" and the "Eight Cao Generals," all highlight the spiritual essence of the Three Kingdoms as a book of wisdom. When Liu Shide speaks of the complex version issues of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms," he truly excels at it, bringing life to a dry topic and demonstrating extraordinary mastery through solid research. Zhou Siyuan, who has written novels, analyzes it skillfully from the perspective of creation. Since the purpose of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is "supporting Liu against Cao," why isn't Liu the main character? Zhou Sizhen argues that Zhou Yu's "injustice" was created by Luo Guanzhong for the sake of art. Zhou Xianjin concisely summarizes the characteristics and achievements of the war descriptions in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" as "rich, profound, and vivid." What kind of book is "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms," and what does it aim to express? Duan Qiming summarizes it in eight characters: "praising benevolent governance, human strategy," which is the theme of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms." In his view, "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is undoubtedly Confucian. However, it undoubtedly has Taoist elements, such as Zhuge Liang's external image—wearing Taoist robes, holding a feather fan, practicing the Bagua, controlling the winds and rains, and the mysterious atmosphere of Longzhong, giving the characters a Taoist flavor. These are merely artistic techniques to portray Zhuge Liang as ethereal and immortal, merely to highlight his wisdom and foresight. But all of this depends on the successful artistic portrayal of characters. Take Cao Cao as an example. As Guo Yingde said, while Luo Guanzhong depicts Cao Cao's cunning and cruelty, he does not shy away from it but vividly portrays his other side as an outstanding statesman and military strategist. In other words, in the author's portrayal, Cao Cao, though a villain, retains the essence of a hero. As a prominent example of his heroic nature, the author pays great attention to depicting Cao Cao's strategic brilliance and political foresight. When he discusses the "hero" with Liu Bei during the "Brewing Wine to Discuss Heroes" scene, he says: "A hero is one who harbors great ambitions, possesses sound strategies, and has the ability to encompass the universe and dominate the heavens." It is his kingly temperament, political wisdom, and ambitious nature that make him a "remarkable figure among the cunning heroes of all time." In terms of character portrayal alone, I believe Cao Cao is one of the most complex, rich, realistic, and believable artistic figures in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms." Listening to or reading high-quality academic lectures is, after all, a shortcut to learning and seeking knowledge, because lectures are scholars' colloquial expressions after accumulating extensive knowledge in their studies. Compared to intimidating, stern, and rigid academic books, lectures are more accessible, concise, and easier for the general public to understand. Of course, when lecture recordings are transcribed into printed characters, the immediate sense of the live setting is lost, but the knowledge that comes out of the study becomes vivid once again, as if the words themselves carry the speaker's expressions. Especially when the audience revisits the recordings, they are as if they are reliving the experience, recalling the speaker's gaze and gestures at that moment, which feels quite pleasant. That is how I feel. For this reason, over the past four years of hosting "Lectures at the Literary Museum," I have always felt fortunate to have used this platform to bridge the gap between scholars and the public, and to have met many respected academic predecessors.