Ezongtian - Commenting on the Three Kingdoms (Part 1)

Author: Yi Zhongtian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: We are always accustomed to attributing the rise and fall of dynasties, the success and failure of undertakings, historical changes, and the right or wrong of matters to personal reasons, attributing them to the virtues or vices of certain leaders and dominant figures. At the same time, historical figures are uniformly stereotyped according to a simplistic binary of good and evil, turning Chinese history into a grand theater. But we have never known why there are so many white-faced and white-nosed characters on stage, nor when the red-faced and black-faced ones will appear, because we do not know who the scriptwriter and director are. We can only hope for luck and wait, yet we refuse to acknowledge that every "good reward" often also signifies the coming of the next "bad fortune."
From the great chaos to the division of states by feudal lords; from the Three Kingdoms to the reunification; it was an era of heroes; it was a period of mystery and ambiguity; it was a fascinating story; it was a topic of endless discussion. Official records, folk legends, theatrical arrangements, and fictional narratives—different eras had different evaluations, and different works had different descriptions. Right or wrong, truth or fiction, opinions were divided; success or failure, gains or losses, were full of doubts.
Professor Yi Zhongtian of Xiamen University, from the perspective of the common people, uses a modern lens and a three-dimensional structure to narrate characters through stories, history through characters, culture through history, and life through culture. This is a personal interpretation of the Three Kingdoms.