Introduction

[John]

"The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been." With this characterization of the inevitable cycle of Chinese history, the monumental tale Three Kingdoms begins. As important for Chinese culture as the Homeric epics have been for the West, this Ming Dynasty masterpiece continues to be read and loved throughout China as well as in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. The novel offers a startling and unsparing view of how power is wielded, how diplomacy is conducted, and how wars are planned and fought; it has influenced the ways that Chinese think about power, diplomacy, and war even to this day.

Three Kingdoms portrays a fateful moment at the end of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220) when the future of the Chinese empire lay in the balance. Writing more than a millennium later, Luo Guanzhong drew on often told tales of this turbulent period to fashion a sophisticated compelling narrative, whose characters display vivid individuality and epic grandeur.

The story begins when the emperor, fearing uprisings by peasant rebels known as the Yellow Scarves, sends an urgent appeal to the provinces for popular support. In response, three young men - the aristocratic Liu Xuande, the fugitive Lord Guan, and the pig-butcher Zhang Fei - meet to pledge eternal brotherhood and fealty to their beleaguered government. From these events comes a chain of cause and consequence that leads ultimately to the collapse of the Han.

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All of this year's discussion threads for the annual read will be in a single folder. Questions will be posted each quarter coinciding with the four volume set and will be labeled "Q1 - Question 1, 2," etc.

To get the discussion point for a set of discussion questions you should participate in the discussion of one or more of the posted questions and post a question of your own relating to the relevant spread of chapters. You should label your question with the relevant quarter and your name, i.e., "Q1 - John's Question." We did this last year and I thought some of the questions we came up with were excellent.

[Patrick]

For those, like me, who will use the 3-volume set, could you please indicate the chapters contained in each of the 4 volumes, so that we can keep track more easily.

[Dan]

Another 3 Volume (would-be) reader

[John]

Patrick wrote: "For those, like me, who will use the 3-volume set, could you please indicate the chapters contained in each of the 4 volumes, so that we can keep track more easily."

Yes - that is my plan. Unfortunately, I am stuck in Minnesota right now and my set of Three Kingdoms is in Florida. (It is unfortunate for several reasons, this is just one.) I should be able to get down there in a few weeks and hopefully no one will be looking for the questions before then. But I will see what I can figure out.

[Dan]

No problem, we've got all year:-). APpreciate getting this organized.

[John]

Finally - total points available for reading The Romance of the Three Kingdoms will be 24, broken down as follows:

For those reading a four volume version:
4 points per volume
4 bonus points for finishing the entire book
1 point for participating in each of the four sets of discussion questions

For those reading a three volume version:
5 points per volume
5 bonus points for finishing the entire book
1 point for participating in each of the four sets of discussion questions

If someone is reading a version with a different number of volumes, let me know.

The discussion questions will follow the chapter breakdown in the four volume Moss Roberts translation, specifically:

Q1 - Chapters 1 - 32
Q2 - Chapters 33 - 63
Q3 - Chapters 64 - 94
Q4 - Chapters 95 - 120

[MaryAnn (EmilyD1037)]

I am reading the online version. Not sure which one that counts as. Please advice.

[John]

MaryAnn (EmilyD1037) wrote: "I am reading the online version. Not sure which one that counts as. Please advice."

Since the online version is not arranged in volumes, why don't you claim points based on your progress in the chapters. That is, when you finish Chapter 32, claim 4 points for Q1. When you finish chapter 63, claim the 4 for Q2, et cetera. Thus you would be following the four volume scheme.

[MaryAnn (EmilyD1037)]

Thank you, John. I thought so but wanted to verify.

[Chinook]

I've just gotten a copy of this as an ebook from my library and I can't figure out what translation it is. It's apparently 34 hours of reading, which certainly seems long. Are there abridged versions out there?

[John]

Chinook wrote: "I've just gotten a copy of this as an ebook from my library and I can't figure out what translation it is. It's apparently 34 hours of reading, which certainly seems long. Are there abridged versio..."

Yes, there are abridged versions around. How many chapters does yours have?

[Chinook]

It has 120 chapters.

[John]

Chinook wrote: "It has 120 chapters."

After I posted this I realized I should have asked who the translator was as an abridged version could still have 120 chapters. 34 hours doesn't seem all that long for a book that should be weighing in at over 2000 pages.

Finally, I guess since I'm not a moderator any more, Jen, BW or Kristel should weigh in on whether or not your e-book will count for points.

[Chinook]

Actually, if it’s 2000 pages, that sounds about right to me. I’ve noticed that my kindle’s estimated times don’t necessarily correspond exactly to the actual time I will take but if I look at what it usually tells me I’ll take for 500 pages, that’s about four times what it would tell me.

For the life of me I can’t find the translator info: not on the library site or Amazon or in the ebook itself. Amazon has it down at 700 odd pages - which has to be incorrect because I certainly don’t read 700 pages in 34 hours, but I’ve also noticed that their ebook page counts are often totally off.

I’m not so much concerned about points (if I’m honest, I don’t entirely understand how the points system works yet), so much as reading the full thing.

[[deleted user]]

John which translation are you reading? I have found the amazon translation is by C. H. Brewitt-Taylor which I assume is the one Chinook has.

I am 21% into the book now and it is still telling me I have 20 hours of reading to go...

[John]

I read the Moss Roberts translation. At 21%, that's just around page 470 or so, out of 2300. 20 hours would only seem right if you are reading close to a hundred pages an hour.

[[deleted user]]

This is the Kindle we are talking about I have now read for at least another 3 hours and I am only down to 19.5 hours rofl at one point the more I read the more the time went up go figure :)

[[deleted user]]

Just had to share this question I found.

How is Romance of the Three Kingdoms similar to Star Wars?

[[deleted user]]

Chinook wrote: "Actually, if it’s 2000 pages, that sounds about right to me. I’ve noticed that my kindle’s estimated times don’t necessarily correspond exactly to the actual time I will take but if I look at what ..."

Hi Chinook,

I have found that the unabridged translations are the following:

A complete and faithful translation of the novel was published in two volumes in 1925 by Charles Henry Brewitt-Taylor (this is the version I am reading)

Moss Roberts published after 1991 his earlier version was an abridged version. (John has read this one)

Hope this helps :)

[Chinook]

Thanks Book!