The Prequel to the Three Kingdoms: The Dream of the Son of Heaven in the Late Han Dynasty

Author: Yu Tao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Defeating the Yellow Turban Rebellion, eliminating the eunuchs, Dong Zhuo enters the capital. The story begins here. Heroes rise from all sides in the chaos, every family yearns for turmoil, every person fears danger, and everyone plays conspiracies. Historical storytelling is a Chinese tradition, and before Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there were tales of Taigong. Politics favors power, literature favors the weak, and history's right or wrong lies between the two.
— Professor Li Ling, Peking University
The northern China's hegemon chosen by history will not be the martial Dong Zhuo, the cowardly Han Fu, or the pedantic Kong Rong. It can only be that "hero" with a bit of rogueishness, Cao Cao. This first-class military strategist and statesman is also a sensitive poet. His passionate and melancholic verses, like brilliant gems, are perfectly embedded in the historical context created by The Prequel to the Three Kingdoms, adding the finishing touch to the irreplaceable spirit of the Jian'an era: "Raise a cup to sing, how fleeting is life?"
— Professor Wang Xiaoyi, Tsinghua University
In my opinion, this book is an important achievement in the study of the Three Kingdoms history and is worthy of being listed alongside Records of the Three Kingdoms and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. If you want to understand how the Three Kingdoms era formed without being misled, reading this book is enough.
— Li Yaping, author of The Past of the Imperial Court
Who will be the emperor? The history of the late Han Dynasty begins here. The imperial relative He Jin lost his life, the scholar Yuan Shao seized the military, the warrior Dong Zhuo entered the court, the eastern scholars abandoned their allies, Cao Cao declared his allegiance to the emperor, the military households expanded, their ambitions changed, the Cao family played a game of whose, the ideal of peace became a hidden code for replacing the Han, and the division of the three realms became reality. From the Luoyang coup in 189 to Cao Pi's accession in 220, the life of the Han emperor was manipulated by his subordinates, but history still moved forward under the banner of the Han. What made the transition of power so prolonged? Behind Dong Zhuo's assassination, who was the mastermind—Grand Tutor Wang Yun or the beauty Diaochan? Yuan Shao, who claimed to be "saving the throne," why did he instead kill the emperor's envoy? The Cao Cao who did not declare himself emperor had a mysterious connection with the Yellow Turban Army. How did Sun Quan, Liu Bei, and Cao Cao achieve the tripartite dominance of the Three Kingdoms? Why could Cao Pi defeat Cao Zhi and replace the Han?
This book poses layer upon layer of questions, analyzes thoroughly, and is richly illustrated, presenting readers with the bloody and fiery historical reality of the Three Kingdoms era's prelude.