World of Three Kingdoms

Author: Li Guowen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: Romance of the Three Kingdoms is also known as Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It is a renowned and outstanding long, chaptered historical novel in the history of Chinese fiction. The author of Romance of the Three Kingdoms is 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 were widely circulated, even children were familiar with them. With the development of urban literature, the storytellers in Song Dynasty had specialized in telling the Three Kingdoms stories, which were then called "telling 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 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 Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms and Pei Songzhi's annotations (including materials from Records of the Splendid Tales and its annotations), and after tremendous creative effort, he wrote the grand masterpiece—Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a remarkable book. It is a historical novel that can be considered the most widely spread and deeply influential in Chinese classical literature. Countless scholars and writers have commented on it throughout history. The renowned writer Li Guowen offers critiques from a contemporary perspective, with introductory quotes before each chapter and summaries after each chapter, providing an outline of the chapter's essence. He also provides on-the-spot comments and analyzes the wording and literary techniques. Therefore, this book not only offers a literary and artistic perspective but also includes historical research, as well as evaluations on thought, society, life, and reality. Reading it allows one to revisit the artistic brilliance of classical masterpieces while also gaining historical lessons and insights from the rise and fall.
From the Yellow Turban Rebellion of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty in 184 AD to the surrender of Sun Hao of Eastern Wu to the Jin Dynasty in 280 AD, the 96-year period is known as the Three Kingdoms period. Historians recorded the 65-volume chronicle Records of the Three Kingdoms in a biographical style by Chen Shou, a Jin Dynasty official, while literati recorded the 120-chapter, chaptered historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong of the Ming Dynasty. Whether judging history or creating fiction, both unfold the grand scroll of heroes vying for dominance, a blend of reality and fantasy. Emperors, generals, heroes, and beauties, great loyalty and great evil, literary governance and martial strategy—kings see the path of virtue, while tyrants see the path of domination. Politicians read the art of power, military strategists study the art of war, scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants all delight in the legendary tales, moral philosophers discuss righteousness and morality, those seeking advancement find their way, and those who have succeeded find cautionary lessons. The weak are often inspired to rise, while the strong recognize their strengths and weaknesses. Each person sees what they will in the Three Kingdoms—a thousand years of appreciation.
The renowned writer Li Guowen discusses the Three Kingdoms in 157 topics, based on historical facts, telling stories, discussing strategies, exploring the ways of the world's division and unity, analyzing the mysteries of competition and decline, sorting out the paths of success and failure. His analysis is profound yet accessible, his content rich and substantial, his themes deep and broad, and his language concise and refined—truly an enlightening and exhilarating work.