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The Three Kingdoms (2 volumes) #2
Romance of the Three Kingdoms Vol II of II
"The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is Lo Kuan-chung's retelling of the events attending the fall of the Han Dynasty in 220 A.D., one of the most tumultuous and fascinating periods in Chinese history. It is an epic saga of brotherhood and rivalry, of loyalty and treachery, of victory and death. As important for Chinese culture as the Homeric epics have been for the West, this fourteenth-century masterpiece continues to be loved and read throughout China as well as in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
680 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1522
71 people are currently reading
2874 people want to read
About the author
Luo Guanzhong
714 books179 followersLuo Ben (c. 1330–1400), better known by his style name Luo Guanzhong (罗贯中) (Mandarin pronunciation: [lwɔ kwantʂʊŋ]), was a Chinese writer who lived during the Yuan Dynasty. He was also known by his pseudonym Huhai Sanren (Chinese: 湖海散人; pinyin: Húhǎi Sǎnrén; literally "Leisure Man of Lakes and Seas"). Luo was attributed with writing Romance of the Three Kingdoms and editing Water Margin, two of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
August 17, 2015
Liu Bei replied, I am near my fifth decade and have so far failed to rid the state of evil. I greatly regret my failure. Now I have been accepted by the Dowager as her son-in-law, and this is a critical moment in my life. So I implored of Heaven a portent that I might destroy Cao Cao as I would that boulder and restore the dynasty."
Zhuge Liang has made a crucial difference in this epic novel. (note: the typesetting has improved, compared to the first volume but is still subpar. We shan't waste any time on the deplorable maps either.) Much like one Sam Weller in Dickens, the sage advisor Zhuge makes this narrative modern. However, Zhuge similar to GoT's Arya Stark, the reader soon becomes a bit wary around Zhuge, despite his military and metaphysical acumen.
Zhuge Liang has made a crucial difference in this epic novel. (note: the typesetting has improved, compared to the first volume but is still subpar. We shan't waste any time on the deplorable maps either.) Much like one Sam Weller in Dickens, the sage advisor Zhuge makes this narrative modern. However, Zhuge similar to GoT's Arya Stark, the reader soon becomes a bit wary around Zhuge, despite his military and metaphysical acumen.
May 14, 2017
Starting reading this volume in early June last year (i.e. 2014), I had planned to read a chapter a day or more depending on my stamina and inspiration. I know reading such a huge book is tough, tedious and demanding but, again, I had no choice but kept going. While reading each chapter, I tried to think positively so that I can find something strategical from which it should support or guide me till I can make it as planned.
First, I noticed that each chapter having a wisely-designed format presents many shorter paragraphs to its readers with innumerable dialogs and poetic lines, in other words, we still find paragraphs longer than 10 lines but fewer; therefore, we wouldn’t help enjoying reading on and on since reading such paragraphs implies reasonable concentration, not tougher than reading pages after pages without any paragraphs. For instance:
Disarmed, they sulkily withdrew, and then Liu Pei called all the captains to the upper end of the banquet hall, gave them wine and said, "You need have no doubts; we two brothers, of the same bone and blood, have talked over the great design and we are one in purpose."
The officers bowed and retired. Liu Chang took his guest by the hand, saying, "Brother, I shall never forget your kindness."
They sat drinking till late, both feeling very happy. When at length Liu Pei reached his camp he blamed his strategist for having caused the confusion.
"Why did you endeavour to force me into committing a great wrong?" said Liu. "There must be no repetition of this."
P'ang T'ung retired, sighing. ... (pp. 1-2)
Interestingly, each chapter’s length is relatively not too short or too long so, manageably, its readers could learn to take heart in pursuing their own exploration. For example, the first three chapters in Volume 2 cover pages approximately as follows: 10.5, 11, and 10.5. [This also applies in Volume 1, i.e. 10, 11.5, 10.5 respectively.]
Second, each chapter has the same typical pattern, that is, its end would pose something or someone curious to us then its solution would appear in the first paragraph of the next chapter, for example:
From the end of Chapter LXII:
He went inside and looked. Immediately the visitor jumped up saying, "I hope you have been well since we parted last."
Because two old friends meet again,
A river's fatal flood is checked.
The next chapter will explain who the stranger was. (p. 22)
From the beginning of Chapter LXIII:
Fa Cheng and the new comer met with every sign of joy, clapping their hands and laughing with pleasure.
"This is P'eng Yang of Kuanghan, one of our heroes. His blunt speech, however, offended Prefect Liu, who put him to shame by shaving his head, loading him with fetters and forcing him into monastery. That is why his hair is short."
... (p. 23)
Finally, there are a few verses in every chapter for readers to, I think, relax from reading; at least one at the chapter ending. They may serve various purposes such as tips of thought like this one:
As all are born, so all must die;
Men are as gnats against the sky;
But loyalty or piety
May give them immortality. (p. 439)
I like this one by Po Chu-i as an obituary to Chuko Liang, the great adviser, strategist and scholar serving Lui Pei:
Within the forest dim the Master lived obscure,
Till, thrice returning, there the king his mentor met.
As when a fish the ocean gains, desire was filled
Wholly; the dragon freed could soar aloft at will.
As king's son's guardian none more zealous was;
As minister, most loyally he wrought at court.
His war memorials still to us are left
And, reading them, the tears unconscious fall. (p. 465)
First, I noticed that each chapter having a wisely-designed format presents many shorter paragraphs to its readers with innumerable dialogs and poetic lines, in other words, we still find paragraphs longer than 10 lines but fewer; therefore, we wouldn’t help enjoying reading on and on since reading such paragraphs implies reasonable concentration, not tougher than reading pages after pages without any paragraphs. For instance:
Disarmed, they sulkily withdrew, and then Liu Pei called all the captains to the upper end of the banquet hall, gave them wine and said, "You need have no doubts; we two brothers, of the same bone and blood, have talked over the great design and we are one in purpose."
The officers bowed and retired. Liu Chang took his guest by the hand, saying, "Brother, I shall never forget your kindness."
They sat drinking till late, both feeling very happy. When at length Liu Pei reached his camp he blamed his strategist for having caused the confusion.
"Why did you endeavour to force me into committing a great wrong?" said Liu. "There must be no repetition of this."
P'ang T'ung retired, sighing. ... (pp. 1-2)
Interestingly, each chapter’s length is relatively not too short or too long so, manageably, its readers could learn to take heart in pursuing their own exploration. For example, the first three chapters in Volume 2 cover pages approximately as follows: 10.5, 11, and 10.5. [This also applies in Volume 1, i.e. 10, 11.5, 10.5 respectively.]
Second, each chapter has the same typical pattern, that is, its end would pose something or someone curious to us then its solution would appear in the first paragraph of the next chapter, for example:
From the end of Chapter LXII:
He went inside and looked. Immediately the visitor jumped up saying, "I hope you have been well since we parted last."
Because two old friends meet again,
A river's fatal flood is checked.
The next chapter will explain who the stranger was. (p. 22)
From the beginning of Chapter LXIII:
Fa Cheng and the new comer met with every sign of joy, clapping their hands and laughing with pleasure.
"This is P'eng Yang of Kuanghan, one of our heroes. His blunt speech, however, offended Prefect Liu, who put him to shame by shaving his head, loading him with fetters and forcing him into monastery. That is why his hair is short."
... (p. 23)
Finally, there are a few verses in every chapter for readers to, I think, relax from reading; at least one at the chapter ending. They may serve various purposes such as tips of thought like this one:
As all are born, so all must die;
Men are as gnats against the sky;
But loyalty or piety
May give them immortality. (p. 439)
I like this one by Po Chu-i as an obituary to Chuko Liang, the great adviser, strategist and scholar serving Lui Pei:
Within the forest dim the Master lived obscure,
Till, thrice returning, there the king his mentor met.
As when a fish the ocean gains, desire was filled
Wholly; the dragon freed could soar aloft at will.
As king's son's guardian none more zealous was;
As minister, most loyally he wrought at court.
His war memorials still to us are left
And, reading them, the tears unconscious fall. (p. 465)
June 24, 2018
FEUDALISM WITHOUT SPIRITUALITY COULD HAVE KILLED THE CHINESE EMPIRE
This book is enormous. Two volumes with around 1,400 pages. It is a long saga, an epic some say, in a way a picaresque epic across the whole of China during the Han dynasty of the empire, when that empire was at risk because of internal strife and the incapability of the emperor to keep things under control, by his own fault (the own fault of several emperors one after another) and inability of building some kind of government that could be reliable, transparent and non-corrupted.
And that is where the book is amazingly revealing.
This empire is quite obviously a feudal empire. Power is in the hands of governors appointed by the emperor in each district. The governors are appointed for what these people did for the empire, particularly what they did militarily, and there the difference between serving the empire and serving themselves is not always clear. Ambitious people can climb to the top in no time and then impose their power.
The decomposition of this empire started when the various feudal lords or lordlings started considering the eunuchs, organized in a very close community and clan, who were provided by the emperor with the full control of the government because the emperor is lazy in many ways and looks for an easy way to control such a big empire, and because the emperor is incompetent technically (ignorance of a lot of things necessary for government) and psychologically (unfit to exercise such an enormous power). He then relied on the eunuchs of the empire, a clan of men – and their relatives – who had been castrated for any reason whatsoever, among others to become the top officers of the empire. The most famous eunuch along that line was Admiral Zheng He who had been castrated at an early age because he was a Muslim and he became the top man of the Chinese fleet before it was dismantled by the Confucian Mandarins when they took over around 1430.
These corrupted eunuchs encourage all kinds of outlaws to go around in the country and raid cities and farming areas to their own profit and to the shared profit with local supporters of the eunuchs. A rebellion came from the various local or regional lords who had the power and the means to raise armies. They united and finally succeeded in getting all the eunuchs eliminated and executed, but the main military force was in the hands of an ally of the local and regional lords, an ex-outlaw who shifted from raiding cities and farming communities to raiding the central government by taking control of it. The empire is then at stake because it explodes into rivaling cities and provinces and the central brigand controlling the empire spreads and increases his power by taking control of rebellious provinces.
This is typically feudal. Power is in the hands of the stronger person, of the stronger clan, and stronger means military force and nothing else. Then this power is only a way for those in power to loot the country by levying armed forces and taxes for their own profit. Then the emperor can even be chosen, within the Han line, but for how long? That’s the beginning of the saga but that explains the whole saga: feudalism was the real social and political architecture of the Chinese empire.
The main originality is that there was no spiritual or religious authority of any sort that could set some criteria and norms for everyone and keep the whole empire unified by some kind of spiritual allegiance, unity. That’s the main difference with European feudalism that was entirely controlled and governed by the Catholic church, hence by the Pope and his bishops and cardinals. Nothing like that in the Chinese Empire. So no Peace of God, becoming then Peace of the King in the various kingdoms, a movement that outlawed the use of military force within the limits of each kingdom and also within the limits of Christendom. That explained in part the crusades that started in the 11th century but it also explained the Teutonic crusade against the non-Christian Slavonic people in Poland, Ukraine and what they called Lithuania. War was directed to outside areas, officially non-Christian and to be Christianized. That started quite early after the fall of the Roman Empire and later on the fall of Charlemagne’s empire who only fought against the various Asian tribes or military forces trying to penetrate Europe from the East and against the mostly Muslim Saracens trying to do the same from Spain.
And the emergence of such a spiritual force took a lot of time. The book was written after the takeover of the empire by the Confucian Mandarins and we could wonder if it is not a reflection of this evolution in the 15th century that inspired the author to show how bad it could have been before when the empire’s unity was endangered by internal strife and its unity was rebuilt later on by the leaders of the three kingdoms. We have to think of the other great saga of Chinese literature, “Journey to the West” by Wu Cheng’en, a saga whose earliest extant copy is traced to 1592 and is the story of a Monkey that travels to the west to discover the famous Buddhist scriptures that found the Taoist approach of life that developed in China as the spiritual guideline of the empire and can be considered as the basis of the Confucian Mandarin takeover in the 15th century.
That is rather amazing to see this empire evolving from a purely feudal state with a marginal Taoist presence seen more like some witchcraft than anything else, though they carry the Chinese medical tradition and the ethical code of Taoism, the Chinese version of Buddhism in the making. Their final victory will destroy the Chinese fleet, the most impressive one in the whole world at the time, vastly centered on the China seas and the entire Indian Ocean and that would have been capable to defend the empire against the European invasion that was still to come when Admiral Zheng He died. The result was a total closing up of the empire onto itself, which enabled the Europeans to come and take control of the whole of the Indian Ocean and then of the China Seas. Closing up on itself made the Chinese Empire weak, particularly the tool of its power was destroyed: the various commercial routes known as the Silk Roads.
You will find all that in these books and it will make clear that the present commercial policy of China to reopen and redevelop the various Silk Roads is the only way for China to develop and recapture its past greatness. Will this policy re-establish some feudal state? Hardly conceivable. Will it establish some hierarchical centralized and unified system in the whole country and beyond? That’s also a dubious unrealistic view. China has to open itself to the world but that will not lead to the looting the English, the French and later on the Japanese tried to impose to China, but it may turn Chinas as the beating heart of the global economy, or at least one of the beating hearts of the global world using its commercial power rather than military force. That should bring you to wondering if the use of military force is not a feudal way of looking at the world and trying to dominate it. You may come to wondering if president Trump’s approach of the world is not a feudal way of looking at the problem in total opposition to and contradiction with the Chinese commercial approach of president Xi.
To conclude I will say that Chinese literature, old or more recent like Lao She’s books and plays, is always centered on this problematic of the whole world in development and the choice between three possibilities:
1- pure military force and a feudal system;
2- pure spiritual closing up onto themselves and their protected own resources: some Confucian hierarchical architecture;
3- a general commercial vision that brings economic development to the world: modern sharing resources via some global free but regulated marketplace.
Just get into this saga and enjoy the action and the treacherous ways of most of these feudal lords.
Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU
This book is enormous. Two volumes with around 1,400 pages. It is a long saga, an epic some say, in a way a picaresque epic across the whole of China during the Han dynasty of the empire, when that empire was at risk because of internal strife and the incapability of the emperor to keep things under control, by his own fault (the own fault of several emperors one after another) and inability of building some kind of government that could be reliable, transparent and non-corrupted.
And that is where the book is amazingly revealing.
This empire is quite obviously a feudal empire. Power is in the hands of governors appointed by the emperor in each district. The governors are appointed for what these people did for the empire, particularly what they did militarily, and there the difference between serving the empire and serving themselves is not always clear. Ambitious people can climb to the top in no time and then impose their power.
The decomposition of this empire started when the various feudal lords or lordlings started considering the eunuchs, organized in a very close community and clan, who were provided by the emperor with the full control of the government because the emperor is lazy in many ways and looks for an easy way to control such a big empire, and because the emperor is incompetent technically (ignorance of a lot of things necessary for government) and psychologically (unfit to exercise such an enormous power). He then relied on the eunuchs of the empire, a clan of men – and their relatives – who had been castrated for any reason whatsoever, among others to become the top officers of the empire. The most famous eunuch along that line was Admiral Zheng He who had been castrated at an early age because he was a Muslim and he became the top man of the Chinese fleet before it was dismantled by the Confucian Mandarins when they took over around 1430.
These corrupted eunuchs encourage all kinds of outlaws to go around in the country and raid cities and farming areas to their own profit and to the shared profit with local supporters of the eunuchs. A rebellion came from the various local or regional lords who had the power and the means to raise armies. They united and finally succeeded in getting all the eunuchs eliminated and executed, but the main military force was in the hands of an ally of the local and regional lords, an ex-outlaw who shifted from raiding cities and farming communities to raiding the central government by taking control of it. The empire is then at stake because it explodes into rivaling cities and provinces and the central brigand controlling the empire spreads and increases his power by taking control of rebellious provinces.
This is typically feudal. Power is in the hands of the stronger person, of the stronger clan, and stronger means military force and nothing else. Then this power is only a way for those in power to loot the country by levying armed forces and taxes for their own profit. Then the emperor can even be chosen, within the Han line, but for how long? That’s the beginning of the saga but that explains the whole saga: feudalism was the real social and political architecture of the Chinese empire.
The main originality is that there was no spiritual or religious authority of any sort that could set some criteria and norms for everyone and keep the whole empire unified by some kind of spiritual allegiance, unity. That’s the main difference with European feudalism that was entirely controlled and governed by the Catholic church, hence by the Pope and his bishops and cardinals. Nothing like that in the Chinese Empire. So no Peace of God, becoming then Peace of the King in the various kingdoms, a movement that outlawed the use of military force within the limits of each kingdom and also within the limits of Christendom. That explained in part the crusades that started in the 11th century but it also explained the Teutonic crusade against the non-Christian Slavonic people in Poland, Ukraine and what they called Lithuania. War was directed to outside areas, officially non-Christian and to be Christianized. That started quite early after the fall of the Roman Empire and later on the fall of Charlemagne’s empire who only fought against the various Asian tribes or military forces trying to penetrate Europe from the East and against the mostly Muslim Saracens trying to do the same from Spain.
And the emergence of such a spiritual force took a lot of time. The book was written after the takeover of the empire by the Confucian Mandarins and we could wonder if it is not a reflection of this evolution in the 15th century that inspired the author to show how bad it could have been before when the empire’s unity was endangered by internal strife and its unity was rebuilt later on by the leaders of the three kingdoms. We have to think of the other great saga of Chinese literature, “Journey to the West” by Wu Cheng’en, a saga whose earliest extant copy is traced to 1592 and is the story of a Monkey that travels to the west to discover the famous Buddhist scriptures that found the Taoist approach of life that developed in China as the spiritual guideline of the empire and can be considered as the basis of the Confucian Mandarin takeover in the 15th century.
That is rather amazing to see this empire evolving from a purely feudal state with a marginal Taoist presence seen more like some witchcraft than anything else, though they carry the Chinese medical tradition and the ethical code of Taoism, the Chinese version of Buddhism in the making. Their final victory will destroy the Chinese fleet, the most impressive one in the whole world at the time, vastly centered on the China seas and the entire Indian Ocean and that would have been capable to defend the empire against the European invasion that was still to come when Admiral Zheng He died. The result was a total closing up of the empire onto itself, which enabled the Europeans to come and take control of the whole of the Indian Ocean and then of the China Seas. Closing up on itself made the Chinese Empire weak, particularly the tool of its power was destroyed: the various commercial routes known as the Silk Roads.
You will find all that in these books and it will make clear that the present commercial policy of China to reopen and redevelop the various Silk Roads is the only way for China to develop and recapture its past greatness. Will this policy re-establish some feudal state? Hardly conceivable. Will it establish some hierarchical centralized and unified system in the whole country and beyond? That’s also a dubious unrealistic view. China has to open itself to the world but that will not lead to the looting the English, the French and later on the Japanese tried to impose to China, but it may turn Chinas as the beating heart of the global economy, or at least one of the beating hearts of the global world using its commercial power rather than military force. That should bring you to wondering if the use of military force is not a feudal way of looking at the world and trying to dominate it. You may come to wondering if president Trump’s approach of the world is not a feudal way of looking at the problem in total opposition to and contradiction with the Chinese commercial approach of president Xi.
To conclude I will say that Chinese literature, old or more recent like Lao She’s books and plays, is always centered on this problematic of the whole world in development and the choice between three possibilities:
1- pure military force and a feudal system;
2- pure spiritual closing up onto themselves and their protected own resources: some Confucian hierarchical architecture;
3- a general commercial vision that brings economic development to the world: modern sharing resources via some global free but regulated marketplace.
Just get into this saga and enjoy the action and the treacherous ways of most of these feudal lords.
Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU
October 31, 2020
I just finished both volumes of this book and please keep in mind that this is a review of someone who has no direct relation to Chinese culture whatsoever, other than the fact that I lived among Chinese for quite some time now.
First of all, Romance of the Three Kingdoms is considered one of the 4 great Chinese classic novels that describes the historical period between 169-280AD at the time when there had been a great turmoil in China between many fractions that eventually lead to separation of 3 main states (WEI, SHU and WU). The book shares about all the events that happened during this period with great emphasis on strategy, diplomacy and warfare in the old China.
Now on a more personal note, I will say this right away: If you are not ready to take notes, forget about enjoying this book. This book has so many characters that it hurt my brain.
The biggest challenge for me as a Westerner reading this book is keeping track of all the characters whose names sound completely different from anything I've ever had to remember before.
The Second challenge I had with this book, which is closely related to the previous point, is the overal confusion over different Pinyin names relating to the same character/location. In a nutshell, one name has multiple ways of pronounciation in Pinyin. (One of the key characters is called TSAO TSAO while all the online sources address him as CAO CAO). This made me realize that the translator (Westerner from the end of 19. century) chose its own version of Pinyin which made it much harder for me to relate to online sources while doing my research.
The last point is the understanding of the geography of China at the time. Being very pedantic myself I was using maps and spent more time than I would like to admit simply trying to realize where each location is.
Another reason to keep notes would be that some of the characters have multiple names. the author or the translator of the book didn't really care to keep things consistent so he randomly uses different names of the same characters at different places. If you didn't pay attention or take notes, you're pretty much screwed.
There are very few female characters mentioned in this book as well so you can forget about any sort of fair gender representation. The book is disproportionately masculine and full of testosterone seeping from every page.
_____
Now even though I don't like the fact that I had to start with the negatives I have to say that if we disregard all of the challenges I mentioned earlier, the book itself is actually quite awesome!!
The narrative is fast and there is so much emphasis on strategy, confucianism, traditional philosophy, mannerism and filial piety, as well as on understanding of the politics and diplomacy of the time.
The thing with Chinese history is that a lot of the historical and literature records were lost during the cultural revolution which was the reason for a huge step backwards for the Chinese culture.
Also due to the nature of storytelling in the past, the events that actually took place might sound somewhat exaggerated to the point where the story walks the fine line between historical facts and legendary fiction. This is something I personally didn't mind at all as it accounted for a good narrative. Some of the book characters are even worshipped as Chinese heroes/gods up until today.
If you truly wish to take this book on and you happen to come from a non-chinese culture, feel free to reach out to me and I can share with you my notes and maps for better navigation through the book.
Alternatively, you can always get the recent PC game 'total war - three kingdoms' which is completely based on this book. Obviously those two are still incomparable.
First of all, Romance of the Three Kingdoms is considered one of the 4 great Chinese classic novels that describes the historical period between 169-280AD at the time when there had been a great turmoil in China between many fractions that eventually lead to separation of 3 main states (WEI, SHU and WU). The book shares about all the events that happened during this period with great emphasis on strategy, diplomacy and warfare in the old China.
Now on a more personal note, I will say this right away: If you are not ready to take notes, forget about enjoying this book. This book has so many characters that it hurt my brain.
The biggest challenge for me as a Westerner reading this book is keeping track of all the characters whose names sound completely different from anything I've ever had to remember before.
The Second challenge I had with this book, which is closely related to the previous point, is the overal confusion over different Pinyin names relating to the same character/location. In a nutshell, one name has multiple ways of pronounciation in Pinyin. (One of the key characters is called TSAO TSAO while all the online sources address him as CAO CAO). This made me realize that the translator (Westerner from the end of 19. century) chose its own version of Pinyin which made it much harder for me to relate to online sources while doing my research.
The last point is the understanding of the geography of China at the time. Being very pedantic myself I was using maps and spent more time than I would like to admit simply trying to realize where each location is.
Another reason to keep notes would be that some of the characters have multiple names. the author or the translator of the book didn't really care to keep things consistent so he randomly uses different names of the same characters at different places. If you didn't pay attention or take notes, you're pretty much screwed.
There are very few female characters mentioned in this book as well so you can forget about any sort of fair gender representation. The book is disproportionately masculine and full of testosterone seeping from every page.
_____
Now even though I don't like the fact that I had to start with the negatives I have to say that if we disregard all of the challenges I mentioned earlier, the book itself is actually quite awesome!!
The narrative is fast and there is so much emphasis on strategy, confucianism, traditional philosophy, mannerism and filial piety, as well as on understanding of the politics and diplomacy of the time.
The thing with Chinese history is that a lot of the historical and literature records were lost during the cultural revolution which was the reason for a huge step backwards for the Chinese culture.
Also due to the nature of storytelling in the past, the events that actually took place might sound somewhat exaggerated to the point where the story walks the fine line between historical facts and legendary fiction. This is something I personally didn't mind at all as it accounted for a good narrative. Some of the book characters are even worshipped as Chinese heroes/gods up until today.
If you truly wish to take this book on and you happen to come from a non-chinese culture, feel free to reach out to me and I can share with you my notes and maps for better navigation through the book.
Alternatively, you can always get the recent PC game 'total war - three kingdoms' which is completely based on this book. Obviously those two are still incomparable.
May 4, 2018
If you couldn't get enough of the litanies of begatting in the Bible, or thought "Hey, I love all of that begatting ... but could I get that with a little more war, violence, duplicity, and political maneuvering?", then this is the book for you!
Seriously, while I absolutely respect this novel's place in history, that doesn't make it an especially compelling book for pleasure reading. It often felt to me like little more than a tedious recitation of battle after battle, with a little bit of political maneuvering, strategy, betrayal, and other assorted human drama sprinkled inbetween (but just a little bit).
Although there ARE characters here and a plot (kind of), there really isn't any character development or narrative structure as we've come to think about those concepts in modern literature. Thus, it ends up feeling very much like "there was a battle ... which begat another battle ... which begat this other battle ... hey, we'll interrupt for a little character-to-character interaction, aaaand we're back to the battles".
And sadly, even the battles weren't all that exciting or interesting - a whole lot of telling, very little showing.
Seriously, while I absolutely respect this novel's place in history, that doesn't make it an especially compelling book for pleasure reading. It often felt to me like little more than a tedious recitation of battle after battle, with a little bit of political maneuvering, strategy, betrayal, and other assorted human drama sprinkled inbetween (but just a little bit).
Although there ARE characters here and a plot (kind of), there really isn't any character development or narrative structure as we've come to think about those concepts in modern literature. Thus, it ends up feeling very much like "there was a battle ... which begat another battle ... which begat this other battle ... hey, we'll interrupt for a little character-to-character interaction, aaaand we're back to the battles".
And sadly, even the battles weren't all that exciting or interesting - a whole lot of telling, very little showing.
November 25, 2023
เล่ม 2 ก็พอสนุกอยู่ เเต่หลังๆมาไม่ค่อยหวือหวาหรือตื่นเต้นอะไร อ่านได้เรื่อยๆ บางครั้งก็ยิ่งอ่านยิ่งเหนื่อย กว่าจะจบได้ 5555555 (ในทางความรู้สึกอะนะ )
March 2, 2007
Book 2 is not as good as Book 1. Same translation problem, but as the principals of Book 1 die off, you start to wonder, "other than Chuko Liang, who kicks much ass, why do I care about these people?"
By the last chapter, you think, "everyone who I cared about is dead; do we really need to wrap up the whole war?"
However, there are 600-some pages of Book 2, so most of it provides the same besieging, beheading goodness as Book 1.
By the last chapter, you think, "everyone who I cared about is dead; do we really need to wrap up the whole war?"
However, there are 600-some pages of Book 2, so most of it provides the same besieging, beheading goodness as Book 1.
February 28, 2022
At the beginning of Vol. 2 I hit a lull because the squabble between the three kingdoms were kind of petty and uninteresting. Then the main characters from the first volume died so it felt like there was nothing else to tell, but the story picked up with Kung Ming making decisions and enacting schemes. Once he died, the story lost its shine to me again, but it is really cool to read some of the stand off and last struggles before the unification of China.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 26, 2014
As I said in the review of the first volume, a true Chinese epic.
February 9, 2022
Wasn't as big of a fan with how this concluded. I think ROTK is sort of limited by it's structural commitment to history.
August 10, 2022
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is one of the four great Chinese classical novels, an historical epic of the 3rd century CE, covering the fall of the Han dynasty and the ensuing conflicts up to the emergence of the Chin dynasty Based on historical chronicles compiled at the time, the novel was written some time in the late 15th century.
This historical basis sets some challenges for the reader unfamiliar with the context. This is the third of the Big Four that I've read: Journey to the West has both the spiritual quest and the extremely appealing flawed protagonist Sun Wukong, while Outlaws of the Marsh is a swashbuckling tragic tale of outlaws and political resistance that has an historical context but isn't historical narrative per se.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, however, is a direct recounting of the battles and the chicanery, the plotting and the political decay, all with a healthy dose of portents and spirit interventions. (The 20-feet high prophet and the walking dog were particularly good). The sheer scale of the political manoeuvring at work made it difficult for a reader without any background in Chinese history (like me) to stay completely on top of it all, although the narrative is certainly breathless and relentless enough to keep you going. While I didn't enjoy it as much as either Journey... or Outlaws... I was compelled by its sweep as much as its narrative. (I come to it from a classical background, so I was a little disappointed to find that 3rd century China actually wasn't the civilised alternative to Rome at that period that I'd hoped, but witnessed just as much court decay and intrigue).
So why not 5 stars? Here's where I'm marking the edition, not the book. Robert Hegel's brief overview in an introduction to Volume 1 does helpfully set out the three main contending factions, but that only gets you so far. Hegel writes that there are so many players involved that 'initially it is difficult to understand the factions'. In truth, outside the main body of the narrative where the focus is on Liu Pei, his brothers and Chuko Liang, this continues to be complicated. When they are all out of the picture, the rapid decay of the courts leads to some intense factionalising that was difficult to stay on top of. I appreciate that a proper apparatus would have made the book (even more) unwieldy and certainly unaffordable, but some kind of assistance might have been handy. Actually, even a map.
This difficulty is compounded by the cheapness of the typesetting. I'm no expert in transliteration systems (although Brewitt-Taylor's Note offers some remarks, without explaining them for the unfamiliar reader), but it proves even harder to keep abreast of who's who when typos appear regularly in the proper names. Given that many of the characters have similar names, it matters if 'Ch'en' appears as 'Chen' two lines later: is this really the same person, as sense appears to suggest, or someone different, as the spelling indicates? The book reads as though typeset from unreliable OCR, which has an acute effect on names, particularly, but affects all aspects of the text. It becomes especially bad midway through Volume 2, where one or two complete sentences are scrambled.
The OCR mess, unfortunately, comes on top of Brewitt-Taylor's translation style. Some of this is affected Edwardian US English (I don't know if US English really uses 'weakly' as an adjective meaning 'weak', but for a British English reader it's just ugly and grammatically wrong), some of it is weirdly racy-sounding colloquial breeziness, some of it is his evident over-love of Burns (finding 'agley' once was jarring enough, finding it one of the translator's preferred words was just bizarre).
Brewitt-Taylor has also adopted a strange and inconsistent set of words for political and religious positions and concepts, with some of the prayers/invocations given what sounds a suspiciously Christian cast, and Kings, Emperors, Marquises jostling randomly for position. It doesn't help to get you closer to the content, but rather makes things less clear. What Brewitt-Taylor takes for granted his readership will understand proved - for this reader, at any rate - somewhat off the mark., and in the absence of much editorial comment it's sometimes difficult to work out exactly what the power relationships or religious intentions really are. (Where there are occasional notes - and they really are occasional, but stuck randomly into the text, because either Brewitt-Taylor or the Tuttle editorial team don't seem to have ever heard of the different uses of round and square brackets, much less footnotes - they seem to presuppose more than they explain).
So, did I find those things a little irritating and disorienting? Yes, I did. Did they prevent me reading? No, they did not. I may have to go and read a proper history of the Han/Chin era (with maps!) to make some of it make sense, but its grand sweep is and remains compelling.
This historical basis sets some challenges for the reader unfamiliar with the context. This is the third of the Big Four that I've read: Journey to the West has both the spiritual quest and the extremely appealing flawed protagonist Sun Wukong, while Outlaws of the Marsh is a swashbuckling tragic tale of outlaws and political resistance that has an historical context but isn't historical narrative per se.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, however, is a direct recounting of the battles and the chicanery, the plotting and the political decay, all with a healthy dose of portents and spirit interventions. (The 20-feet high prophet and the walking dog were particularly good). The sheer scale of the political manoeuvring at work made it difficult for a reader without any background in Chinese history (like me) to stay completely on top of it all, although the narrative is certainly breathless and relentless enough to keep you going. While I didn't enjoy it as much as either Journey... or Outlaws... I was compelled by its sweep as much as its narrative. (I come to it from a classical background, so I was a little disappointed to find that 3rd century China actually wasn't the civilised alternative to Rome at that period that I'd hoped, but witnessed just as much court decay and intrigue).
So why not 5 stars? Here's where I'm marking the edition, not the book. Robert Hegel's brief overview in an introduction to Volume 1 does helpfully set out the three main contending factions, but that only gets you so far. Hegel writes that there are so many players involved that 'initially it is difficult to understand the factions'. In truth, outside the main body of the narrative where the focus is on Liu Pei, his brothers and Chuko Liang, this continues to be complicated. When they are all out of the picture, the rapid decay of the courts leads to some intense factionalising that was difficult to stay on top of. I appreciate that a proper apparatus would have made the book (even more) unwieldy and certainly unaffordable, but some kind of assistance might have been handy. Actually, even a map.
This difficulty is compounded by the cheapness of the typesetting. I'm no expert in transliteration systems (although Brewitt-Taylor's Note offers some remarks, without explaining them for the unfamiliar reader), but it proves even harder to keep abreast of who's who when typos appear regularly in the proper names. Given that many of the characters have similar names, it matters if 'Ch'en' appears as 'Chen' two lines later: is this really the same person, as sense appears to suggest, or someone different, as the spelling indicates? The book reads as though typeset from unreliable OCR, which has an acute effect on names, particularly, but affects all aspects of the text. It becomes especially bad midway through Volume 2, where one or two complete sentences are scrambled.
The OCR mess, unfortunately, comes on top of Brewitt-Taylor's translation style. Some of this is affected Edwardian US English (I don't know if US English really uses 'weakly' as an adjective meaning 'weak', but for a British English reader it's just ugly and grammatically wrong), some of it is weirdly racy-sounding colloquial breeziness, some of it is his evident over-love of Burns (finding 'agley' once was jarring enough, finding it one of the translator's preferred words was just bizarre).
Brewitt-Taylor has also adopted a strange and inconsistent set of words for political and religious positions and concepts, with some of the prayers/invocations given what sounds a suspiciously Christian cast, and Kings, Emperors, Marquises jostling randomly for position. It doesn't help to get you closer to the content, but rather makes things less clear. What Brewitt-Taylor takes for granted his readership will understand proved - for this reader, at any rate - somewhat off the mark., and in the absence of much editorial comment it's sometimes difficult to work out exactly what the power relationships or religious intentions really are. (Where there are occasional notes - and they really are occasional, but stuck randomly into the text, because either Brewitt-Taylor or the Tuttle editorial team don't seem to have ever heard of the different uses of round and square brackets, much less footnotes - they seem to presuppose more than they explain).
So, did I find those things a little irritating and disorienting? Yes, I did. Did they prevent me reading? No, they did not. I may have to go and read a proper history of the Han/Chin era (with maps!) to make some of it make sense, but its grand sweep is and remains compelling.
August 7, 2018
In Chinese canon, there are four books known as the "Four Classic Novels". There are a lot of lists like this in China, and even within this book you will find plenty of references to The Seven Principles or The Six Grand Horses, etc. Maybe it's a Buddhist thing. I've now read three of the Four Classic Novels, so I think I can speak with a certain amount of authority when I say that they rule.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is based on a history written by Chen Shou, although, of course, it wouldn't be a good book if you didn't add in some magic. Characters summon storms, come back as ghosts, and generally get up to supernatural mischief fairly often. There are many dreams and other omens that portend fortuitous or disastrous events, which, of course, the bad guys tend to ignore, and the good guys tend to follow. It's pretty clear who you are supposed to like and who you aren't, although there are some blurry lines, many of which come from reading the book some 700 years later in a country across the world. Morality is an ever-shifting beast, my friends!
The main Cool Guys are a triumvirate of solid buddies, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. Liu Bei is the ideal Confucian leader and hero; Guan Yu has a wicked cool sword and an incredible beard; and Zhang Fei is the drunk, angry idiot who always gets everyone into trouble, despite his heart of gold. They love each other a lot, and work together to form one of the Three Kingdoms.
Speaking of Three Kingdoms, you may be confused at first about where they are and who is part of what. For the first few hundred pages, a lot of names are thrown at you - some of them people; some of them places - and it can be difficult to determine what is important and what isn't. If you push through, you will eventually understand who is doing what and where, and while the book continues to introduces multiple characters each chapter, you get a feel for who is going to stick around and who is going to be assassinated at a banquet within the next three pages. However, be warned that the eponymous Three Kingdoms do not form until a decent way into the book! I was confused too! Don't worry!
Like Water Margin and Journey to the West, two of the other Classic Novels, there is a lot of repetition in this book, and many events start to blend together. A lot of camps are raided, fires started, and cities seized. Plenty of desertions, both real and fake; omens, obeyed or ignored; and of course, assassinations at banquets. However, especially compared with Water Margin, where any time someone stays at an inn we get to hear in detail exactly how much beef and rice they ate, Three Kingdoms manages to keep the story moving at a certain clip, considering its length.
Overall, each encounter feels different, and midway through the book, when you've been hanging out with the main characters for long enough, watching the way their battles play out against each other is quite entertaining. Zhuge Liang is a riot, always tricking and playing with his opponents. He fells multiple opponents by simply insulting them so hard that they keel over dead. Also, at one point, he invents robot horses?? I don't think that's how it happened in real life.
The story spans multiple generations, and tells the stories of soldiers and generals, so as you might expect, plenty of characters will die. Yes, that includes all of your favourites. The final third of the book definitely pales in comparison to the rest, because a lot less effort was put into making the second generation interesting compared to their predecessors, so everything just falls apart. Suddenly, it feels like the nature of each Kingdom has changed to such an extent that you forget why you even care which one wins. I guess that's history! It's certainly something interesting to think about. However, in terms of the story, it's a bit anticlimactic.
You have to be ready to persevere to get through old Chinese novels. You have to be the kind of person who gets up one morning, sips a cup of green tea, and says, "I'm going to read all of the Chinese 'Four Classical Novels'". You just gotta learn to love it. They don't feel like anything else you'll read. Eventually, you start to see the connections and understand the style, and if it's right for you, it'll click in a really satisfying way. You might have to force your way through parts of your first one. I think it's worth it! Although, I'm me! So of course I'd say that.
Anyway, looking forward to Dream of the Red Chamber next year! Then I will write my memoir titled, Yeah, I Read All Those Old Chinese Novels You've Been Hearin' About, and Here's How I Turned Out.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is based on a history written by Chen Shou, although, of course, it wouldn't be a good book if you didn't add in some magic. Characters summon storms, come back as ghosts, and generally get up to supernatural mischief fairly often. There are many dreams and other omens that portend fortuitous or disastrous events, which, of course, the bad guys tend to ignore, and the good guys tend to follow. It's pretty clear who you are supposed to like and who you aren't, although there are some blurry lines, many of which come from reading the book some 700 years later in a country across the world. Morality is an ever-shifting beast, my friends!
The main Cool Guys are a triumvirate of solid buddies, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. Liu Bei is the ideal Confucian leader and hero; Guan Yu has a wicked cool sword and an incredible beard; and Zhang Fei is the drunk, angry idiot who always gets everyone into trouble, despite his heart of gold. They love each other a lot, and work together to form one of the Three Kingdoms.
Speaking of Three Kingdoms, you may be confused at first about where they are and who is part of what. For the first few hundred pages, a lot of names are thrown at you - some of them people; some of them places - and it can be difficult to determine what is important and what isn't. If you push through, you will eventually understand who is doing what and where, and while the book continues to introduces multiple characters each chapter, you get a feel for who is going to stick around and who is going to be assassinated at a banquet within the next three pages. However, be warned that the eponymous Three Kingdoms do not form until a decent way into the book! I was confused too! Don't worry!
Like Water Margin and Journey to the West, two of the other Classic Novels, there is a lot of repetition in this book, and many events start to blend together. A lot of camps are raided, fires started, and cities seized. Plenty of desertions, both real and fake; omens, obeyed or ignored; and of course, assassinations at banquets. However, especially compared with Water Margin, where any time someone stays at an inn we get to hear in detail exactly how much beef and rice they ate, Three Kingdoms manages to keep the story moving at a certain clip, considering its length.
Overall, each encounter feels different, and midway through the book, when you've been hanging out with the main characters for long enough, watching the way their battles play out against each other is quite entertaining. Zhuge Liang is a riot, always tricking and playing with his opponents. He fells multiple opponents by simply insulting them so hard that they keel over dead. Also, at one point, he invents robot horses?? I don't think that's how it happened in real life.
The story spans multiple generations, and tells the stories of soldiers and generals, so as you might expect, plenty of characters will die. Yes, that includes all of your favourites. The final third of the book definitely pales in comparison to the rest, because a lot less effort was put into making the second generation interesting compared to their predecessors, so everything just falls apart. Suddenly, it feels like the nature of each Kingdom has changed to such an extent that you forget why you even care which one wins. I guess that's history! It's certainly something interesting to think about. However, in terms of the story, it's a bit anticlimactic.
You have to be ready to persevere to get through old Chinese novels. You have to be the kind of person who gets up one morning, sips a cup of green tea, and says, "I'm going to read all of the Chinese 'Four Classical Novels'". You just gotta learn to love it. They don't feel like anything else you'll read. Eventually, you start to see the connections and understand the style, and if it's right for you, it'll click in a really satisfying way. You might have to force your way through parts of your first one. I think it's worth it! Although, I'm me! So of course I'd say that.
Anyway, looking forward to Dream of the Red Chamber next year! Then I will write my memoir titled, Yeah, I Read All Those Old Chinese Novels You've Been Hearin' About, and Here's How I Turned Out.
August 7, 2022
**Spoilers ahead - do not read unless finished with book.
I AM DONE. Reading this book felt as long as the war. Do not get me wrong - the subject matter was fascinating. But over 1000 pages of the same nonsense started feeling like torture toward the end. And any book that makes it necessary to keep track of character names is not a book I particularly enjoy. (If anyone was wondering, I had a three-column table to keep up with everyone. I kept switching characters' columns when they changed sides, removing them when they died. It was exhausting.)
What kept me reading for over 1000 pages can be answered in two words: Chuko. Liang. Man does this guy kick ass. Trick after trick, he is unbeatable. Example:
“Friend Ssuma, although you are a General and lead the troops of the capital, you seem but little disposed to display the firmness and valour that would render a contest decisive. Instead, you have prepared a comfortable lair where you are safe from the keen edge of the sword. Are you not very like a woman? – Chuko Liang, upon sending the general of the Wei army a woman’s outfit to insult him. Brilliant. Brilliant. BRILLIANT.
Who would've thought that a hermit living in the mountains would turn out to be the most valuable man in the entire war to have on your side? Even after the guy died he maintained his bad-ass reputation by haunting everyone who came near his tomb. And if the enemy soldiers caught a glimpse of an image that looked like him, they'd run screaming. And new goal in life is..... just kidding.
I finally settled on the two star rating because of how this novel tricked me. The whole time Luo Guanzhong has you rooting for the Hans to take back the throne, but in the end they surrendered. Sadly I should have known that would happen because once the Han dynasty fell, they didn't regain power. I learned that in World History. But do you think I'd remember? Of course not. So I'm cheering on Chuko Liang and Liu Pei and whoever else for 1000 pages and they lose. This novel also gets two stars because every character I cared about died before the last like 100 pages. By the end I was reading about the grandsons of the original characters I had invested in. In other words, could not care less.
Do not pick this up as a pleasure read. You'll either last two pages or last the whole 1000 and want to throw the book against the wall. Thank you, Luo Guanzhong. I now know more Chinese name combinations than I ever imagined I would. But I do the appreciate the addition to my knowledge of Chinese history. (which despite the cynicism I do value)
I AM DONE. Reading this book felt as long as the war. Do not get me wrong - the subject matter was fascinating. But over 1000 pages of the same nonsense started feeling like torture toward the end. And any book that makes it necessary to keep track of character names is not a book I particularly enjoy. (If anyone was wondering, I had a three-column table to keep up with everyone. I kept switching characters' columns when they changed sides, removing them when they died. It was exhausting.)
What kept me reading for over 1000 pages can be answered in two words: Chuko. Liang. Man does this guy kick ass. Trick after trick, he is unbeatable. Example:
“Friend Ssuma, although you are a General and lead the troops of the capital, you seem but little disposed to display the firmness and valour that would render a contest decisive. Instead, you have prepared a comfortable lair where you are safe from the keen edge of the sword. Are you not very like a woman? – Chuko Liang, upon sending the general of the Wei army a woman’s outfit to insult him. Brilliant. Brilliant. BRILLIANT.
Who would've thought that a hermit living in the mountains would turn out to be the most valuable man in the entire war to have on your side? Even after the guy died he maintained his bad-ass reputation by haunting everyone who came near his tomb. And if the enemy soldiers caught a glimpse of an image that looked like him, they'd run screaming. And new goal in life is..... just kidding.
I finally settled on the two star rating because of how this novel tricked me. The whole time Luo Guanzhong has you rooting for the Hans to take back the throne, but in the end they surrendered. Sadly I should have known that would happen because once the Han dynasty fell, they didn't regain power. I learned that in World History. But do you think I'd remember? Of course not. So I'm cheering on Chuko Liang and Liu Pei and whoever else for 1000 pages and they lose. This novel also gets two stars because every character I cared about died before the last like 100 pages. By the end I was reading about the grandsons of the original characters I had invested in. In other words, could not care less.
Do not pick this up as a pleasure read. You'll either last two pages or last the whole 1000 and want to throw the book against the wall. Thank you, Luo Guanzhong. I now know more Chinese name combinations than I ever imagined I would. But I do the appreciate the addition to my knowledge of Chinese history. (which despite the cynicism I do value)
June 4, 2019
One of the things that really struck me about the Romance of Three Kingdoms was that although the book is all about war and tactics, Guanzhong Luo's writing style is in a is a really elegant way. To use the beautiful words to describe the heroism of men, probably is the one feature that struck me the most about this book.
I have to say, there are way too many characters appear in this book. But, each character has its importance in some ways, and they all have their own special traits that make them stand out. For example, Geliang Zhu, the most brilliant strategist in “Romance of Three Kingdoms”, also the most skilled person in all kinds of schemes and tactics; until now, there are still people called Geliang Zhu is the most brilliant man. His characteristics are shown not only during the, but also can be demonstrated when he is dealing with relationships between countries, soldiers, even enemies. Bu Lv is another character that I considered is one of the most successful characters that Luo has built up. Bu Lv is the representative of the strongest military commander. In the book, Luo described him as the one who can fight against three men. Without using much of language, but through the actions by Bu Lv, readers may see the power of Bu Lv clearly.
I am admired by Luo s writing skill at building up characters. At the same time, the whole book shows Luo’s understanding of historical wars. I would say “Romance of Three Kingdoms” includes all aspects of the war, in other words, this is a war encyclopedia. By comparing to the previous book I read, “Dream of the Red Chamber”, I would say this type of book is more like my genre, to learn more about history instead of dealing complicated relationships between lovers and family members. I do not mean “Dream of the Red Chamber” is a book not worth to read, in the opposite, both of these books are considered as two of the most famous book in China and two literary works that affect China, therefore each has its own value towards the world; and from my personal view, both books are extremely well and worth to read.
I have to say, there are way too many characters appear in this book. But, each character has its importance in some ways, and they all have their own special traits that make them stand out. For example, Geliang Zhu, the most brilliant strategist in “Romance of Three Kingdoms”, also the most skilled person in all kinds of schemes and tactics; until now, there are still people called Geliang Zhu is the most brilliant man. His characteristics are shown not only during the, but also can be demonstrated when he is dealing with relationships between countries, soldiers, even enemies. Bu Lv is another character that I considered is one of the most successful characters that Luo has built up. Bu Lv is the representative of the strongest military commander. In the book, Luo described him as the one who can fight against three men. Without using much of language, but through the actions by Bu Lv, readers may see the power of Bu Lv clearly.
I am admired by Luo s writing skill at building up characters. At the same time, the whole book shows Luo’s understanding of historical wars. I would say “Romance of Three Kingdoms” includes all aspects of the war, in other words, this is a war encyclopedia. By comparing to the previous book I read, “Dream of the Red Chamber”, I would say this type of book is more like my genre, to learn more about history instead of dealing complicated relationships between lovers and family members. I do not mean “Dream of the Red Chamber” is a book not worth to read, in the opposite, both of these books are considered as two of the most famous book in China and two literary works that affect China, therefore each has its own value towards the world; and from my personal view, both books are extremely well and worth to read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 14, 2023
I gave up on this edition of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms after a few pages as there were missing sections and the uncorrected typos were becoming too annoying. I switched to another version published by Tuttle in 2014 under the name The Three Kingdoms, Volume 2: The Sleeping Dragon. This is a newer translation and it’s a thousand times better than the mistake-riddled 2002 version. The different transliteration system gave me a few headaches until I got used to the new character names, but that was a small price to pay for the improved readability of the text.
As for the story, as with many multi-generational sagas, the first heroes shine much brighter than their heirs and I found myself gradually losing interest in the repetitive military exploits as the characters I had grown fond of died off. But Luo Guanzhong had to follow the story of the Three Kingdoms to its bitter end. That being said, there are many memorable characters that make an appearance in this second part of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, chief among them Zhuge Liang and his rival Sima Yi.
I was surprised again of how many echoes of the history of the crusader kingdoms I found in the story of the three kingdoms, including in their inevitable downfall. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is also such a cornerstone of Chinese culture that, now that I have read it, I have started to recognize references to it here and there. It feels a bit like having your eyes suddenly opened.
As for the story, as with many multi-generational sagas, the first heroes shine much brighter than their heirs and I found myself gradually losing interest in the repetitive military exploits as the characters I had grown fond of died off. But Luo Guanzhong had to follow the story of the Three Kingdoms to its bitter end. That being said, there are many memorable characters that make an appearance in this second part of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, chief among them Zhuge Liang and his rival Sima Yi.
I was surprised again of how many echoes of the history of the crusader kingdoms I found in the story of the three kingdoms, including in their inevitable downfall. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is also such a cornerstone of Chinese culture that, now that I have read it, I have started to recognize references to it here and there. It feels a bit like having your eyes suddenly opened.
June 27, 2022
Spanning over a hundred years of Chinese history (184–280), this epic saga of the last days of the Han dynasty is a compilation of history and legend based on ancient storytelling traditions. Luo combined the many extant sources and stories into a continuous captivating epic.
The story begins with the outbreak of the rebellion against Emperor Ling led by a Daoist wizard, Zhang Jiao, and ends with the fall of the Han (220) and the founding of the Jin dynasty. Much of the action takes place within the rival kingdoms of Wei, Shu, and Wu, which are inhabited by magicians, monsters, powerful warlords, and legendary immortal heroes fighting for control over China. With its gripping plot, its classic heroes and villains, intricate intrigues, and spectacular battle scenes, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a literary masterpiece and can be considered the Chinese equivalent of the Iliad.
It remains one of the most popular books in East Asia, cherished for its traditional wisdom, fantastic fairy tales, historical detail, and insights into war strategy.
It earned a spot in my top ten favorite books.
The story begins with the outbreak of the rebellion against Emperor Ling led by a Daoist wizard, Zhang Jiao, and ends with the fall of the Han (220) and the founding of the Jin dynasty. Much of the action takes place within the rival kingdoms of Wei, Shu, and Wu, which are inhabited by magicians, monsters, powerful warlords, and legendary immortal heroes fighting for control over China. With its gripping plot, its classic heroes and villains, intricate intrigues, and spectacular battle scenes, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a literary masterpiece and can be considered the Chinese equivalent of the Iliad.
It remains one of the most popular books in East Asia, cherished for its traditional wisdom, fantastic fairy tales, historical detail, and insights into war strategy.
It earned a spot in my top ten favorite books.
October 8, 2018
The second volume of the translation picks up where the Three Kingdoms of the title have finally come together out of the chaos of smaller breakaway states: Wu in the southeast, Shu in the southwest, and Wei in the north. The three sworn brothers are ruling Shu, and their capital is in Chengdu - coincidentally, the only major city in China I've visited other than Beijing, so this adds an eerie resonance to my memories of it. The novel continues all the way to the end of the Three Kingdoms period, by which time the major characters are all dead and we're in their grandchildren's generation. Although the reduction to three kingdoms keeps the complexity of alliances and betrayals from being quite as extreme, there's still plenty to go on with, as well as some spooky supernatural interventions, some robot cattle, and an imperialistic expedition to conquer the Man people in the south. This copy of the second volume does have a map inside the cover, but without enough detail to help much with following the story.
April 10, 2024
Definitely not for everyone, but certainly the book for me!
If you don’t know a lot about Romance of the Three Kingdoms, go into it expecting it to read like a historical record. Not really like a novel per say. Also, there’s literally hundreds of characters. So be warned!
That said, if you’re into reading about court plots, grand political ambitions, and at times (one particular time) ABSURDLY intricate spy intrigue…..this book definetly meets that need!
In many ways, Romance of the Three Kingdoms reads like a big long multi character debate about authority, who has it, who deserves it, and how best to seize it. (The various debates and tensions playing out in the character’s words and actions.) It’s truly intriguing! But if you’re looking for a book that will tug at your heart strings and keep you up at night wondering about the answer to plot mysteries…..probably no.
If you don’t know a lot about Romance of the Three Kingdoms, go into it expecting it to read like a historical record. Not really like a novel per say. Also, there’s literally hundreds of characters. So be warned!
That said, if you’re into reading about court plots, grand political ambitions, and at times (one particular time) ABSURDLY intricate spy intrigue…..this book definetly meets that need!
In many ways, Romance of the Three Kingdoms reads like a big long multi character debate about authority, who has it, who deserves it, and how best to seize it. (The various debates and tensions playing out in the character’s words and actions.) It’s truly intriguing! But if you’re looking for a book that will tug at your heart strings and keep you up at night wondering about the answer to plot mysteries…..probably no.
July 14, 2019
This is the second half of C. H. Brewitt-Taylor's translation of the 14th-century Chinese classic. I read his translation in parallel with Moss Roberts's translation, and considerably preferred the Roberts translation over this one. I found Roberts's prose more readable, and Roberts's extensive footnotes very helpful. Without those footnotes, I would have struggled to appreciate the narrative, which contains a formidably vast cast of characters. I also note that this edition has many minor errors (perhaps it is a digital scan of an older edition?) While the book's influence as a Chinese classic is clear, I do not recommend this translation. That said, the one respect in which I did prefer the Brewitt-Taylor translation was that I mostly preferred its rendering of the book's many poems.
August 20, 2021
The second half of this historical saga is slightly better than the first. Although it still wallows in tedious descriptions of endless battles and betrayals, it also shifts focus to overarching narratives and character development. Cao Cao, Liu Bei and their descendants are given more prominence. The scope starts to encompass medicine, spirituality, military strategies and the role of bystanders other than just the generals. We get a better idea of how the empire is run (very poorly) and everyone's role in the continuous disintegration and integration of the territories. By the end, I got a better general idea of this pivotal moment in Chinese history, even if the details elude me.
April 20, 2024
Definitely epic. A couple of women even got to speak in this volume! More enjoyable than I expected and it's good to read a book that is historically meaningful to such a huge portion of the world. Curious if anyone reading this would be able to recommend books that have had anything like this historical and cultural significance.
Gotta say, though, I was disappointed with the frequency of errors in this edition. I read a different edition of the first volume and it wasn't this constantly inconstant.
Gotta say, though, I was disappointed with the frequency of errors in this edition. I read a different edition of the first volume and it wasn't this constantly inconstant.
December 23, 2017
Recommended by a friend - it was an interesting read - (I listened to the podcast reading - much easier for a westerner and with cultural explanations all the way through) - great book. www.3kingdomspodcast.com/
August 6, 2020
I really should have noted down names and the kingdoms they belonged to... I got so confused about who was fighting who, at a certain point.
Also, this book (both volumes) should be made into a film, that would be interesting!
Also, this book (both volumes) should be made into a film, that would be interesting!
September 10, 2024
I was 10 when I first read Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Throughout the years I must have read this book more than 20 times. Every time I read this book I get something different out of it. It's as if the book ages with you.
May 7, 2025
I understand why it might be a classic in its native language, but this translation left a lot to be desired and made the book drag on for far too long. The plot and historical information was certainly interesting, but I'd recommend a more modern translation.
March 2, 2019
Another long read, covering the second part of the 3 Kingdoms saga.
March 19, 2020
to follow.........
June 22, 2020
The second half of the story is a bit more enjoyable than the first volume since Liu Pei wasn't defeated in every battle he fights anymore.
March 12, 2021
one of the greatest stories ever told, but if you ever feel up to taking on this enormous text, use a different, more modern, better edited translation than the brewitt-taylor.
June 14, 2021
Part two picks up after the Battle of Red Cliffs through to the reunification of China under the Jin Dynasty.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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