Romance of The Three Kingdoms - Overview

Overview

Myths from the Three Kingdoms era existed as oral traditions before written compilations. With their focus on the history of Han Chinese, the stories grew in popularity during the reign of the Mongol emperors of the Yuan Dynasty. During the succeeding Ming Dynasty, an interest in plays and novels resulted in further expansions and retelling of the stories.

The earliest attempt to combine these stories into a written work was a Pinghua, Sanguozhi Pinghua (simplified Chinese: 三国志评话; traditional Chinese: 三國志平話; pinyin: Sānguózhì Pínghuà; literally "Story of Records of the Three Kingdoms"), published sometime between 1321 and 1323. This version combined themes of legend, magic, and morality to appeal to the peasant class. Elements of reincarnation and karma were woven into this version of the story.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms is traditionally attributed to Luo Guanzhong, who lived sometime between 1330 and 1400 (late Yuan to early Ming period). This theory is extensively developed in Andrew Plaks' Four Masterworks of the Ming Novel. It was written in partly vernacular and partly Classical Chinese and was considered the standard text for 300 years. The author made use of available historical records, including the Records of the Three Kingdoms compiled by Chen Shou, which covered events from the Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184 to the unification of the Three Kingdoms under the Jin Dynasty in 280. The novel also includes material from Tang Dynasty poetic works, Yuan Dynasty operas and his own personal interpretation of elements such as virtue and legitimacy. The author combined this historical knowledge with a gift for storytelling to create a rich tapestry of personalities, and initially published it in 24 volumes. It was copied by hand in manuscripts until first printed in 1522 as Sanguozhi Tongsu Yanyi.

In the 1660s, during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor in the Qing Dynasty, Mao Lun (simplified Chinese: 毛纶; traditional Chinese: 毛綸) and his son Mao Zonggang (simplified Chinese: 毛宗岗; traditional Chinese: 毛宗崗) significantly edited the text, fitting it into 120 chapters, and abbreviating the title to Sanguozhi Yanyi. The text was reduced from 900,000 to 750,000 characters; significant editing was done for narrative flow; use of third party poems was reduced and shifted from conventional verse to finer pieces; and most passages praising Cao Cao's advisers and generals were removed. Scholars have long debated whether the Maos' viewpoint was anti-Qing (identifying Southern Ming remnants with Shu-Han) or pro-Qing.

This novel reflects Confucian values that were prominent at the time it was written. According to Confucian moral standards, loyalty to one's family, friends, and superiors are important measures for distinguishing good and bad people.