Rare and Exquisite Illustrated Edition: Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Complete Four Volumes)

Author: Luo Guanzhong (Ming)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-01-01
Features: The Yangtze River rolls eastward, its waves erode heroes. Success and failure turn to emptiness; green mountains remain, sunsets still glow red. Romance of the Three Kingdoms, also known as Romance of the Three Kingdoms or Popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms, is one of the most famous and outstanding long, serial historical novels in the history of Chinese fiction. The author of Romance of the Three Kingdoms was Luo Guanzhong, a figure from the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. Before its completion, the "Three Kingdoms stories" had already undergone centuries of development. In the Tang Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms stories were widely circulated, even familiar to children. With the development of urban literature, the "storytellers" of the Song Dynasty had specialists who told the Three Kingdoms stories, known as "telling the Three Kingdoms." The Three Kingdoms Zhihua that emerged in the Yuan Dynasty was essentially a manuscript used by storytellers. Although it was relatively brief and rough, it already had the scale of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Based on popular legends and the creations of folk artists, Luo Guanzhong also drew on 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), and through immense creative effort, wrote the grand masterpiece—Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Romance of the Three Kingdoms is an excellent historical novel created from the historical facts of the Three Kingdoms period and folk legends. Its content is rich and varied, offering readers profound and diverse insights. The story begins with Liu, Guan, and Zhang sworn brothers in a peach garden during the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, describing major historical events in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period over nearly a century, as well as numerous heroic figures who shook the world. Through vivid and moving stories, the author reveals the darkness and corruption within the feudal ruling class, condemning the cruelty and vileness of the rulers. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, warlords fought for power, with the so-called "Eighteen Kingdoms" alliance marching to attack Dong Zhuo under the banner of "supporting the imperial family and saving the people," but in reality, they engaged in intrigue and deceit, each harboring their own ambitions to become kings. Romance of the Three Kingdoms is an outstanding historical masterpiece in the history of Chinese fiction. If Chinese serial novels are divided into four major categories—"historical romances," "heroic legends," "myths and monsters," and "social realism"—then Romance of the Three Kingdoms is undoubtedly the representative of historical romances. After its publication, the "Three Kingdoms" stories were largely fixed and received unprecedented response and popularity. Villagers in the countryside, herdsmen and woodcutters, scholars and literati—all were captivated by it. The great Qing Dynasty poet Wang Shizhen read Romance of the Three Kingdoms and wrote a poem titled The Fallen Phoenix Ridge and the Hanging of Pang Shiyuan. Lu Xun said, "This 'Fallen Phoenix Ridge' only appears in Romance of the Three Kingdoms and has no historical basis. Wang Yuyang was so confused by it" (in The Historical Transformation of Chinese Fiction). This shows how deeply the novel had penetrated into people's hearts and the extent of its influence. Romance of the Three Kingdoms had a particularly significant impact on later literature, especially fiction and opera. Since its publication, numerous "romance" works have appeared in historical novels, from the creation of Pangu to the Qing Dynasty, with almost every dynasty producing such works, and even long novels that encompassed the entire Twenty-Four Histories. However, none of the later works have surpassed Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In the history of opera, plays based on the "Three Kingdoms" stories, not only in the Yuan Dynasty but also in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, were among the most numerous and performed continuously, remaining popular on stage to this day. As for folk arts, in the late Qing Dynasty, a Three Kingdoms Zhu Cu (a narrative song) over 120 volumes long, compiled by several bookstores, was even published. Singing it once took several months. In local folk arts, such works were countless. The hit television series Romance of the Three Kingdoms produced in mainland China in the 1990s further proves that people's interest in the novel has not diminished. Since its inception, Romance of the Three Kingdoms has had nearly seven hundred years of history. In the 20th century, academic research on Romance of the Three Kingdoms has yielded fruitful results. The novel has been translated into multiple languages, including English, French, Russian, and Japanese, and has spread overseas, gaining the love of international readers and exerting an increasingly widespread influence. This book is edited and annotated by Zhang Yanzhi, a contemporary scholar of classical literature, based on the Enhanced Illustrated Complete Romance of the Three Kingdoms with Mao Zonggang's preface and annotations, originally published by Shanghai Jin Zhang Bookstore in the Republic of China period, and referencing various widely circulated editions.