Romance of the Three Kingdoms - (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: Luo Guanzhong (Ming Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: Romance of the Three Kingdoms is also known as Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It is one of the most famous and outstanding long, chaptered historical novels in the history of Chinese fiction. The author of Romance of the Three Kingdoms was Luo Guanzhong, a person from the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. Before its completion, the "Three Kingdoms stories" had already undergone hundreds of years of historical development. In the Tang Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms stories had become widely known, even children were familiar with them. With the development of urban literature, the "storytellers" () of the Song Dynasty had already specialized in telling the Three Kingdoms stories, which were then called "Speaking of the Three Kingdoms." The Romance of the Three Kingdoms that emerged in the Yuan Dynasty was essentially a manuscript used by storytellers. Although it was relatively brief and rough, it already had the initial scale of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Based on folk legends and the creations of artists, Luo Guanzhong also referred to the materials cited in the Records of the Three Kingdoms by Chen Shou and the annotations by Pei Songzhi (including materials from the New Tales of the World and its annotations). Through immense creative effort, he wrote the magnificent masterpiece—Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a highly accomplished historical novel in China, artistically recreating the historical turmoil and dynamics from the Yellow Turban Rebellion to the unification of Western Jin, nearly a century of history. Through the concentrated depiction of the political, military, and diplomatic struggles among the ruling groups in the Three Kingdoms era, the author reveals the turmoil and darkness of the late Eastern Han Dynasty, reflects the suffering of the people, and expresses the people's strong desire for a wise ruler and stability. The characters in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, such as Guan Yu with his righteousness that "reached the clouds," Zhao Yun with extraordinary courage, Zhang Fei with his bravery and straightforwardness, and Zhuge Liang with his wisdom and strategy, are vividly portrayed with distinct personalities, showcasing the author's high artistic talent. The storylines are intricate and captivating, making it widely beloved. Scenes like the "Three Heroes Battle Lu Bu," the "Chain Strategy," the "Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage," the "Borrowing Arrows with Straw Boats," and the "Battle of Red Cliffs" are vividly remembered.