Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Mao Commented Version) (Volumes 1 and 2)

Author: Luo Guanzhong (Ming Dynasty), annotated by Pei Xiaowei
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-05-01
Features: Romance of the Three Kingdoms is also known as Romance of the Three Kingdoms or 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 figure from the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. Before its completion, the "Three Kingdoms stories" had already undergone centuries of development. During 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 specialized in telling Three Kingdoms stories, which were then called "Speaking of 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 folk legends and the creative works of artists, Luo Guanzhong also drew upon the materials cited in Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms and Pei Songzhi's annotations (including materials from Records of the Sayings of the Time and its annotations), and through immense creative effort, wrote the grand masterpiece—Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a historically significant novel with great achievement in China, artistically depicting nearly a century of historical turmoil and drama from the Yellow Turban Rebellion to the unification of Western Jin. Through its concentrated portrayal of the political, military, and diplomatic struggles among the ruling factions of the Three Kingdoms era, the novel reveals the turmoil and darkness of late Han Dynasty society, reflects the suffering of the people, and expresses their strong desire for a wise ruler and peace. The characters in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, such as Guan Yu with his unyielding loyalty, Zhao Yun with extraordinary courage, Zhang Fei with his bravery and straightforwardness, and Zhuge Liang with his wisdom and strategic brilliance, are vividly portrayed with distinct personalities, showcasing the author's high artistic talent. The storylines are intricate and captivating, making scenes like the Battle of Three Heroes against Lu Bu, the Chain Strategy, the Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage, the Borrowing Arrows with Straw Boats, and the Battle of Red Cliffs, all vividly come to life. This edition is a popular version, with annotations primarily intended to assist readers in understanding the plot. It also aims to keep costs low so that more readers can afford it. This is a historical novel, with many characters being emperors, generals, scholars, and literati. They are accustomed to citing classical texts and displaying their erudition, which involves many historical figures and allusions. The language used in this book is classical Chinese, which is simpler than vernacular fiction but still more difficult to understand. Therefore, classical Chinese terms are also included in the scope of annotations. For these annotations, the goal is to be accurate and concise.