The Three Kingdoms, Volume 1: The Sacred Oath (The Three Kingdoms, #1 of 3)

Three Kingdoms (Three Volume Edition) #1

by Luo Guanzhong, Yu Sumei (Translator), Ronald C. Iverson (Editor)

This exciting new translation with footnotes will appeal to modern readers who find the twists and turns of Game of Thrones so compelling.

The Three Kingdoms is an epic Chinese novel written over six centuries ago. It recounts in vivid historical detail the turbulent years at the close of the Han Dynasty, when China broke into three competing kingdoms and over half the population were either killed or driven from their homes. Part myth, part fact, readers will experience the loyalty and treachery, the brotherhood and rivalry of China's legendary heroes and villains during the most tumultuous period in Chinese history.

Considered the greatest work in classic Chinese literature, The Three Kingdoms is read by millions throughout Asia today. Seen not just as a great work of art, many Chinese view it as a guide to success in life and business as well as a work that offers great moral clarity—while many foreigners read it to gain insights into Chinese society and culture. From the saga of The Three Kingdoms, readers will learn how great warriors motivate their troops and enhance their influence, while disguising their weaknesses and turning the strengths of others against them.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Classics, China, Fiction, Fantasy, Literature, Asia

418 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1360

About the author

Luo 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.

Reviews

[H is for Hydraulics]

I switched from the Yu and Iverson translation of Three Kingdoms (Tuttle Publishing) to the unabridged Moss Roberts translation after 17 chapters. This is not a comprehensive review, just some notes on the two translations and my reasons for switching to Roberts (which I reviewed separately here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...).

**About the Yu and Iverson Translation**
The Y&I translation is a fairly clean, straightforward read without the clunkiness of the 1925 Brewitt-Taylor translation (in the public domain; can be found for free at https://www.threekingdoms.com/ or as epub at eBooks@Adelaide). In comparing to the online BT translation in a few places, I noticed that Y&I sometimes left out tiny details that did not appear to impact the understanding of the work, like names of minor characters. This was fine and made things a bit easier to follow, since the huge cast is one of the major difficulties for an English speaker.

However, while searching for previous appearances of certain characters, and comparing to BT (and later Roberts) I noticed that Y&I left out some details in a way that made things confusing for the reader. It's possible that this translation was edited for clarity but without consideration of character continuity or how this would impact reader understanding.

For example, in Chapter 13, three White Wave rebels are introduced who help save the emperor, but only Li Yue is named in the Y&I translation. Han Xian is mentioned later as a "friend" of Li Yue, with the effect that I didn't know that Han Xian was one of the rebels who saved the emperor in Chapter 13, making his motives in Chapter 17 unclear. In another example, Chen Deng and his father are both advisors to Lu Bu. In the Y&I translation, he's just referred to as Chen Deng's father in his first few appearances. However, in Chapter 17, Lu Bu suddenly has a new advisor named Chen Gui giving him advice. This is confusing editing as Chen Gui appears out of nowhere, it's not immediately obvious that he's the same father we've been talking about for a whole chapter, and not knowing that he's the same person means we don't understand his motives towards Lu Bu. Many Chinese last names are shared in this book and do not necessarily convey relationships.

**Some Differences vs Moss Roberts Translation**
Roberts includes the famous opening poem which the Y&I translation for some reason has left out ("On and on the Great River rolls, racing east"). Y&I also leave out other poems that are in the Roberts translation (Chapter 13, describing the emperor's plight).

The Roberts translation includes more detailed footnotes explaining references and name meanings. For example, Chapter 1 footnote 3 mentions that Emperor Xian is a posthumous title meaning "rendering up", referring to his later abdication. Other differences include translation of job titles. i.e., General Dou Wu and Grand Tutor Chen Fan (Y&I) vs Regent Marshal Dou Wu and Imperial Guardian Chen Fan (Roberts), for which Roberts includes footnotes explaining the role and title of Imperial Guardian. Both Roberts and Y&I refer to the reign of Emperor Huan as "Jian Ning", but Roberts goes a step further to translate it as "Established Calm (Jian Ning)". We also have "Wende Hall" (Y&I) vs the "Great Hall of Benign Virtue" (Roberts). I think this comes down to personal preference.

The Moss Roberts version also includes timelines as well as commentary on the themes of the book, the historical context, and some information on the recensions. Basically in the 1660's this guy Mao Zonggang and his dad edited Luo Guanzhong's text for narrative flow and added commentary (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance...). Both translations are based on the Mao Zonggang recension, which is the standard version of the book. Roberts also translates Mao's notes and includes them as footnotes to the text, and also makes notes where Mao removed information that was present in earlier recensions (such as text praising Cao Cao's advisors). Y&I have footnotes with some minimal historical detail only.

Although both Y&I and Moss Roberts include a character list with brief descriptions, this is not comprehensive and the real difficulty is not in WHO the people are, but WHAT they've been doing over the course of 120 chapters. Instead, I found it helpful to refer to this searchable database of characters and fictional vs historical biographies (Kongming's Archives, http://kongming.net/novel/bios/) which also lets you see which chapters each character makes appearances in.

**WHY I SWITCHED TO MOSS ROBERTS TRANSLATION AFTER 17 CHAPTERS**
For me, the footnotes alone in the Moss Roberts translation take the English language experience from good to great. I also preferred the Roberts translation in its writing style, though I didn't find this to be a big deal. I switched from Y&I to Roberts after 17 chapters and it was a very different reading experience. Not only does Roberts include historical and explanatory footnotes (plus alternate versions of text where they diverge in historical record and previous recensions), he also translates Mao Zonggang's footnotes in the 1600's version of Three Kingdoms. Mao's footnotes are super helpful, provide commentary (sometimes snarky and genuinely funny), explain the relevance of certain actions, or interpret things for the reader. Both Mao and Roberts include notes to say, hey this guy is mad at this other guy because of what happened in Chapter X; and Mao will note what the overall theme of the chapter is and how the narrative structure reflects that. This was extremely helpful and saved me a lot of time flipping back and forth to try to remember who people are and clarified motives.

Some example Mao footnotes: Cao Cao battles the warlord Zhang Xiu, who was upset because Cao Cao has been sleeping with his aunt. Later, in Chapter 21 when Cao Cao admires some plums, Mao's footnote is: "Was he also thinking of Zhang Ji's wife?" In Chapter 19, in the infamous cannibalism passage. "Xuande [Liu Bei] once compared his wife to clothes; Liu An now takes his wife for food," a callback to Liu Bei's "bros before hos" motto in Chapter 15, "Brothers are like arms and legs; wives and children are merely garments that can always be mended. But who can mend a broken limb?" (translation: who cares if you got my wife and kids kidnapped, I can have more later). If I could high-five Mao Zonggang across three and a half centuries I would.

In a typical example of Roberts and Mao together providing more info, in Y&I the omens show a "feminine" influence (Chapter 1), but Roberts explicitly translates this as the influence of eunuchs and empresses, and also includes Mao's footnote which explains why the omens are specifically calling out eunuchs. There is also a really long but fascinating footnote from Roberts citing other sources about Guan Yu and Zhang Fei offering to kill each others' families so that they can both be completely devoted to Liu Bei's cause (WTF).

Moss Roberts deserves a shoutout specifically for Chapter 44, in which Zhuge Liang recites a ridiculous poem to Zhou Yu about how Cao Cao is going to come in, take Zhou Yu's wife and her sister, and bang them day and night in his "pleasure palace". Roberts helpfully footnotes the poem to let us know that the poem is terrible and also written by Cao Cao's teenage son, in order for us to fully appreciate just how much of a troll Zhuge Liang is being. You are missing out on all of this subtext and commentary with Y&I.

I personally found the footnotes to be extremely helpful in following the book, even disregarding the extra historical detail. I also personally prefer the writing style in Roberts. This may be an unfair comparison based on only 17 chapters of Y&I because the first 17 chapters of 3 Kingdoms are super confusing and have a lot of back stabbing, side switching, and a free-for-all war between what seems like 20 people with 4 shared last names. However, my overall reading experience was much more immersive and enjoyable after switching to the Moss Roberts translation due to the footnotes and the writing.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
I am obsessively watching the 2010 Three Kingdoms TV show so I was incredibly excited to read the original (translated) story. Admittedly, I found this first novel to be a bit dry, focusing more on the actions rather than character dynamics. I wanted a deeper dive into their personalities and motivations, but I was still happy to experience this series. While not a five star read, I can still see myself rereading this again and hopefully falling deeper in love with the story.

[Robert Sheppard · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE CHINESE THREE MUSKETEERS----FROM THE WORLD LITERATURE FORUM RECOMMENDED CLASSICS AND MASTERPIECES SERIES VIA GOODREADS—-ROBERT SHEPPARD, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

"The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" by Luo Guanzhong is one of the timeless Classics of World Literature and may be approached initially by thinking of it as a Chinese equivilant of the "Three Musketeers" saga of Alexandre Dumas. When we think of Dumas' classic we immediately call to mind from the book or film the immortal oath of brotherhood of D'Artagnan, Porthos, Athos and Aramis: "All for One, and One for All!" This becomes an archetype and ideal of Universal Brotherhood in Dumas' work and this universal archetype is echoed in Luo's famous "Oath of the Peach Garden," sworn to by the three great protagonists of the Romance, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei:

"When saying the names Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, although the surnames are different, yet we have come together as brothers. From this day forward, we shall join forces for a common purpose: to save the troubled and to aid the endangered. We shall avenge the nation above, and pacify the citizenry below. We seek not to be born on the same day, in the same month and in the same year. We merely hope to die on the same day, in the same month and in the same year. May the Gods of Heaven and Earth attest to what is in our hearts. If we should ever do anything to betray our friendship, may heaven and the people of the earth both strike us dead."

This oath of fraternity and fidelity remains at the core of both sagas, alongside exciting adventure and thrilling action, as they respecitvely unfold across the panoramas of their disparate historical settings. The setting of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is the disintegration of the classic Han Dynasty in China (206 BC – 220 AD), a close equivilant of the unified West under the Roman Empire of the same time, following the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the corruption and intrigues of the Eunuch faction, leading to the warring period of the Three Kingdoms, Wei, Shu and Wu which spelled the breakup of a unified China. Just as Dumas' heroes remain faithful to the French King and seek to strengthen the King and nation against internal and external threats, so Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei strive not only to be true to one another as brothers, but also to restore the unity and authority of a united nation and Emperor, retrieving one golden age with another, while in passing succoring the oppressed and endangered in noble fashion.

The events of The Romance, as do those of the extended saga of the Three Musketeers including its sequels "Twenty Years After," "The Vicomte d'Bragelone," "Louise de la Valliere," and "The Man in the Iron Mask" stretch across the lifetime of an entire generation and encompass several eras of history. In both cases the story is closely based on true history, with the embellishment and fictionalizing of a number of the main characters to add depth and melodrama.

The Romance commences with the corruption of the fabric of the Imperial Court and society accompanying the fall of the Han Dynasty, unfolding with the suppression of the Yellow Turban Rebellion by General He Jin, Jin's murder by the Eunuch Faction jealous of his accumulating power, the reprisal of his troops by their invasion of the Imperial Palace and the slaughter of the Eunuchs, and the abduction of the child Emperor Xian with its ensuing chaos and anarchy, accompanied by the rise of various Warlords.

Thereafter we see the rise of the arch-villan of the melodrama, Cao Cao, who plays a role parallel to that of Cardinal Richelieu, Mazarin and Colbert in the Musketeers saga, always the consummate Machiavellian political manipulator at odds with the sworn brother heroes loyal to king and country. As in the case of Dumas' tale, Cao Cao uses the child emperor as a captive pawn to consolidate his own dictatorial power behind the throne as did Richelieu and Mazarin, who made the child-King Louis XIV his pawn on the heels of the Fronde Rebellion in France which almost toppled the French monarchy around the same time as the Puritan Revolution and Cromwell in England resulted in the toppling of Charles I.

From thence a long struggle for power ensues, with Cao Cao declaring himself Chancellor, seizing power over the north of China, then attempting to finish the job with an invasion of the south. Liu Bei, one of the "Chinese Three Musketeers," however, with the help of his sworn brothers and the recruitment of the archetypal military genius General Zhuge Liang, stops his plan by defeating him at the famous Battle of Red Cliff, featuring such episodes as "Borrowing the Arrows." From there an endless struggle follows, pitting Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, aided by Zhuge Liang against the ever wily Cao Cao, and leading to dramatic episodes such as the Stone Sentinel Maze and the Empty Fortress in which Zhuge Liang's military cunning and genius is consummately demonstrated. In the course of the struggle Liu Bei emerges as the type of the ideal Lord and Zhuge Liang as the ideal general and military genius, just as Cao Cao proves himself the consummate evil political genius. Eventually, China is reunited, ending the Three Kingdoms under the new Jin Dynasty, but, Moses-like, the three sworn brothers do not live to join the triumph, nor do they succeed in the aim of their oath to die together on the same day fighting for one another, just as Dumas' heroes meet their separate deaths and their "eternal brotherhood" corrodes in disparate directions while still enduring in spirit.

In both cases, the author and the narrative imaginatively reconstructs and fictionally embellishes the true history of a long-bygone era from a remote historical vantage point. Dumas' wrote in the 1840's after the time of the French Revolution and the rise and fall of Napoleon about the period of the consolidation of the French autocratic state from the time of Louis XIII, the Fronde Rebellion and the rise of Louis XIV in the 1600's, before and afterthe rise and fall of the Puritan Revolution and Cromwell in England. Luo Guanzhong wrote from an even remoter vantage point, composing The Romance of the Three Kingdoms around 1400 or so, making him a contemporary of Chaucer in England, and during the time of transition from the Yuan Mongol Dynasty back to the resurgent Han Chinese Ming Dynasty. At that time a resurgence of native Han Chinese national feeling revived the classic tales of Chinese history after suppression under the Mongol dynasty, just as French nationalism and interest in French national history revived following the decline of the foreign-imposed Bourbon restoration and the rise of the Second Empire. Luo Guanzhong stated that The Romance was 70% fact amd 30% fictional enhancement. Dumas' tale of the Three Musketeers, inspired by Sir Walter Scott's historical novels, was based also on the factual hisorical record derived from Gatien de Courtilz's history of the Musketeers, though the fictional embellishment and dramatization might be found in similar proportions.

Both the Three Musketeers saga and the saga of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms are well worth reading for their literary and enjoyment value, beyond their historical educational function. Both have acheived the status of "Classics" in the sense not only of being masterpieces, but also having become part of the canon and, indeed, become works themselves constituative of the culture of their nations and cultures.

A mature canon and institution of World Literature must be much more than a simple buffet of recent international titles or airport-lobby bestsellers from around the world. As T.S. Eliot observed, each new work of literature takes its place and meaning within a Tradition, and such tradition evolves organically and historically and must be understood as such. It is the task of World Literature not only to call attention to good books from around the world, but to forge a canon of "world tradition" that includes the major "Classics," led by the world-recognized Western Classics no doubt, but expanded in Goethe's ideal of "Weltliteratur" to include the "Classics" of other non-Western traditions, such as The Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Journey to the West from China, the Ramayana of India and the Arabian Nights, Attar and Rumi, amoung many others from the Islamic heritage and beyond. Every educated person in the world should have some familiarity with the Chinese classics, Indian classics, Islamic classics as well as the great Western Classics, amoung others to even begin to understand the world they live in and its peoples and living cultures. In this spirit we recommend to every member of the "Global Republic of Letters" to look into the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, as well as other Chinese classics such as the Water Margin, the Journey to the West and the Dream of the Red Chamber (Hong Lou Meng).

For a fuller discussion of the concept of World Literature you are invited to look into the extended discussion in Spiritus Mundi:

For Discussions on World Literature and Literary Criticism in Spiritus Mundi: http://worldliteratureandliterarycrit...

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17...




Robert Sheppard

Editor-in-Chief
World Literature Forum
http://robertalexandersheppard.wordpr...
Author, Spiritus Mundi Novel
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17...

Copyright Robert Sheppard 2013 All Rights Reserved

[Larou]

[Note: While I am posting this under the first volume, this review really is about the whole of the novel]

First, I should point out that I am writing this review six months after finishing the novel; and while I took some notes when reading it, details are starting to get a bit hazy and I apologise if what follows is even more vague than usual. As with the previous Great Chinese Classics, both date of composition and author of The Three Kingdoms (also known as Romance of the Three Kingdoms) are not known with certainty. It is generally assumed that it was written by Luo Ghuanzong (who also may have edited and maybe even written parts of Outlaws of the Marsh) and assumed to have been written in the latter half of the 14th century, but neither of those appears to be quite uncontested.

After having read three of the Six Classic Chinese novels before, several things about The Three Kingdoms struck me as immediately familiar, namely its length, the huge number of its characters and that it is set in the past. Two of these three items, however, also mark where The Three Kingdoms differs from the other novels: its cast of characters is insane even by Classic Chinese Novel standards, going literally into the hundreds. Admittedly, very many of those characters (again, to a much greater degree than in the other novels, even Outlaws of the Marsh ) are introduced only to be killed off a sentence or two later – if this novel is the one with the largest number of characters, it is also the one with the highest body count. The reason for this relates to the third point, namely the time the novel is set in: While the other novels back-dated their events in order to be able to write freely about the present, placing (mostly) fictional characters in a (vaguely) historical period, The Three Kingdoms is a proper historical novel. It takes place during an identifiable time span, namely the periods during which the Han dynasty empire fell apart into three separate kingdoms (hence, obviously, the title), to be reunited again under the Ji dynasty only after 113 years of almost constant strife and warfare between the kingdoms.

The Three Kingdoms, then, is mostly about warfare and battles; but one of the interesting features about this novel is the way the author pays attention to the administration of war, i.e. things like supply lines and communication between troops. This marks a major difference to Outlaws of the Marsh which also featured a lot of military action (chiefly in its final parts), but there it usually took the shape of the armies’ leaders meeting in single combat, and the battle was decided by which individual had the greater fighting prowess. There are scenes like this in The Three Kingdoms as well, but they are quite rare and often accompanied by comments like “X is a great fighter but he knows nothing about strategy, therefore he is no danger.” Throughout the novel there is as much emphasis in strategy as on actual fighting – actually, even more emphasis, to the point where the importance of strategy appears as the overarching theme.

In the first volume, this mainly takes the form of the relationship between rulers and their counselors – Luo Guanzhong shows us the Han empire falling apart into a large number of warring factions, due to either rulers not listening to their good counsellors or indeed listening to their bad counsellors. One gets the impression here that being a counsellor during this period was a far more dangerous job than being a soldier as the leaders of the various faction tend to execute anyone who gives them advice they do not want to hear. This also leads to a vast array of characters passing by the reader at truly dizzying speed.

By the second volume, things have consolidated somewhat and we finally get the three kingdoms of the novel’s title. That volume also sees the introduction of what is arguably the most fascinating character, namely master strategist Zhuge Liang. With his arrival, military conflicts become even more of an intellectual endeavour and battles between armies turn into battles of wit. Admittedly I have not read all that much military fiction, but have come across quite a lot of battle descriptions in my time, but I can’t think of any other example (not any in a realistic framework, that is), where the mind is consistently presented as the most fearsome weapon.

In the final volume, the circle closes, and China becomes a unified Empire again – but now not under the Han but the Jin dynasty – which, in the context of the novel which has consistently been lauding the Hans and has had all the likeable characters strive to bring them back to power – essentially means that the good guys lose.

On the one hand, there is a lot of repetition in The Three Kingdoms – there is after all only a limited arsenal of tricks to play on your enemy, and some strategies are employed again and again over all three volumes. (It is astonishing how almost everyone keeps falling for the old “fake a retreat to lure your enemy into an ambush” trick. You’d think people grow wary at some stage, but in this novel, they almost never do.) On the other hand, I did not find this at all troublesome and the repetitions in no way diminished my enjoyment of the novel. The reason for this, I think, is that the novel is not centered around those parts, but that they establish a kind of rhythm, form a kind of pattern which serves as the background as in an embroidery on which a variety of colourful scenes are stitched.

Scenes like this one:

One day they sought shelter at a cottage. A young hunter named Liu An came out and bowed low to him. Hearing who the visitor was the hunter wished to lay before him a dish of game, but though he sought for a long time nothing could be found for the table. So he came home, killed his wife, and prepared a portion for his guest. While eating, Liu Bei asked him what meat it was. The hunter told him it was wolf. Liu Bei believed him and ate his fill. The next day at daylight, just as he was leaving, he went to the stables in the rear to get his horse, and passing through the kitchen, he suddenly saw the dead body of a woman lying on the ground. The flesh of one arm had been cut away. Quite startled, he asked what this meant, and then he knew what he had eaten the night before. He was deeply affected at this proof of his host’s regard for him, and tears rained down as he mounted his steed at the gate.

I usually avoid quotes, but I just had to share this. Also, it gives me occasion to wonder why cannibalism in one form or another has shown up in every single Chinese classic I have read so far. It seems like the Chinese have some kind of obsession with eating human flesh – from the book on Chinese history which I read recently I have learned that cannibalism apparently did occur during several really bad famines, but I’m not sure this really explains things. And I am not the first to notice this either – there even is a Wikipedia article about it (but check out that article’s “Talk” page while you are there).

This is one of the more extreme – even outright shocking episodes – but that apart it is not atypical for the kind of narrative one encounters in Three Kingdoms – tales that are on a smaller scale than the battles and power struggles but that, taken together, like colourful beads connected by the string of the historical main plot, which, as they pass in front of the reader present a parade of the society and people of 3rd century China, or at least Luo Ghuanzong’s version of it. Overall it is yet another surprisingly entertaining novel which I had a lot of fun reading despite its length, age and cultural distance.

It’s not however, as the book’s blurb claims very likely to “appeal to readers of George R.R. Martin” which is just silly. And that is not even the most outlandish claim the edition I read makes, that would be that “many Chinese view it as a guide to success in life and business as well as a work that offers great moral clarity.” Regarding moral clarity I refer you to the episode I quoted above, as for the rest you will have to take my word that it appear fairly bizarre claims to make. One really would have liked to find out what led editor Ronald C. Iverson to them; one also would have liked some information as the genesis of the novel, or explanations as to how far its presentation of events is historically correct. Instead what we get is – nothing. No introduction, no afterword, no explanatory notes – I really have no clue what the supposed editor was actually editing. In this respect this edition was a vast disappointment, but at least the translation by Yu Sumei made up for it. As usual, I’m not really competent to judge it, not knowing any Chinese, but it is supposedly the first English translation by a Chinese native speaker. It has some unexplained idiosyncrasies (like the consistent use of “worsted” where one would have expected “bested”) but it reads well and is free of pseudo-Oriental floweriness.

[Nguyên Trang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hồi bé đọc bộ này chỉ nhớ ba cái đoạn chửi bới buồn cười với mỹ nhân kế với mấy cái tích nổi tiếng á. Đọc thấy ngồ ngộ chứ không ấn tượng gì. Gần đây thấy nhiều bạn khen Tam Quốc quá, khen hơn cả Chiến tranh và Hòa bình - cuốn đọc xong mình cảm giác như là tiểu thuyết hay nhất lun - với cả dạo này mới lột xác tinh thần hihi nên đọc lại thử coi thế nào.

Mới đầu đọc cũng cảm giác y chang như hồi bé. Nhưng càng đọc càng suy tư thật ;)) Thấy cứ đánh hết trận này tới trận khác nay bạn mai thù thắng thua luân chuyển thật thấy đúng là cảnh bể dâu. Trong một chương có ẩn sĩ, ông La Quán Trung cũng nói vậy. Nhưng biết là vậy mà vẫn sống khác đi.

Ngay cả các nhân vật cũng không hiểu là sao. Lưu Bị thì vẫn hay được người đời ca ngợi. Trong truyện La Quán Trung cũng tả kiểu dân quỳ rạp theo, khen ngợi nhân đức 10 điều. Nhưng nhìn các chi tiết nhỏ thì hài quá =)) cảm giác như La Quán Trung ghét Lưu Bị nhưng không dám trái sử chung nên nhân vật rất nhiều cảnh hãm. Miêu tả đầu tiên về Lưu Bị là người không thích đọc sách. Tam Quốc không ai như ông này, đánh trận nào cũng bìu ríu hai vợ. Bắt quân tinh nhuệ bảo vệ hai vợ. Khi mất thành thì nói như thánh "được mất không quan trọng" nhưng khi nghe vợ còn trong thành thì chết lặng cười vkl =))) cả tập 1 không được mưu kế nào khá. Chỉ đu hết người này tới người kia không từ một ai chính tà. Đàn ông mà buồn thì "khóc rống", vui thì "mừng rỡn", gặp địch thì "rụng rời", hay lén lút rình mò người khác. Đi đái nhìn xuống thấy béo cũng khóc (tập 1 chỉ có ông này suốt ngày chuyện ỉa đái đủ cả). Chia tay trai lần nào cũng nắm chân nắm tay khóc như mưa. Đi cầu Gia Cát Lượng lời lẽ không có, chỉ khóc lóc van xin. Bình thường ăn nói ra vẻ chính nghĩa, mỗi lần rượu vào lỡ miệng thì toàn câu hãm lộ bản chất =))) Công nhận là ông này có lòng không hại dân nhưng ăn thịt người không ghê miệng, đi đánh chém giết núi người cũng không áy náy. Vân Trường, Trương Phi tính tình thẳng thắn hơn nhưng hữu dũng vô mưu, lại theo hầu loại này nên cũng không đáng nói. Xét ra Lưu Bị khá giống Tống Giang bên Thủy Hử. Rất là giả tạo.

Ngược lại Tào Tháo 10 điểm tôi phải cho 9,9. Công nhận là có một hai tích hơi ác như giết cả nhà cho khỏi bị phụ hoặc trong tập 1 có lần nổi nóng giết minh thần. Nhưng cả truyện quang minh chính đại. Vào thành không bao giờ hại dân. Thậm chí dân làm trái lệnh, bắt về nhưng giết thì thương mà tha thì không nghiêm nên bảo dân là thôi mày trốn xa đi đừng để tao thấy. Thưởng phạt công minh vô cùng. Người tài mà trước đây chửi bố mình, thấy tài vẫn dùng. Bên địch không hàng, tỏ lòng trung với chúa thì khen ngợi hâm mộ. Không bao giờ nghe lời gièm, không để bụng, không chấp nhặt. Khi bắt được danh sách những người cấu kết hại mình cũng cho đốt luôn không xem. Ra trận anh dũng, mưu trí không ai bằng. Đọc đoạn nào Tào Tháo hăng say đoạn đó, đọc đoạn nào Lưu Bị thấy khó tiêu. Thế mà toàn bị chửi bới các thứ là sao nhỉ hoho

Anw mới đọc lại hết tập 1 thôi nhưng ngẫm thấy Tam Quốc với Chiến tranh và Hòa bình có thể nói là một chín một mười, là kiểu hai thái cực đối nghịch của phương Đông và phương Tây. Phương Đông hay kiểu nước chảy mây trôi bao quát mọi sự. Phương Tây thì thích bóc tách gọi tên soi tới vi trùng. Cả hai đều rất bao la. Nhưng La Quán Trung thì dựa vào sử còn Tolstoy cơ bản tự lực. Nhưng nếu siêu hình tác phẩm, cứ phải nói rõ thì có lẽ Tam Quốc mười Chiến tranh chín thật ;))

[Sean Patrick Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to know in what way the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is viewed within China. Whereas it seems world epics from other countries have a mix of good and evil, right and wrong, just and unjust, everyone in this book just sucks. They are just all the worst.

The lessons I've picked up so far:
- You have to backstab to get ahead.
- You'll still get screwed in the end, but you'll survive a bit longer.
- Everyone is evil*
- Living in this time sucked for everyone

* there is one exception, however even he engages in psychotic cannibalism, and yet he's the best

So at least part one is enjoyable enough, as long as you can deal with hundreds of characters and everyone being an asshole. But the Mahabharata/Ramayana are better in every conceivable way.

[Eric C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Off-the-cuff thoughts on “The Three Kingdoms” (Moss translation):

This is one of those rare books which I truly enjoyed, but don’t know who I’d ever recommend it to.
Written around 1300 A.D. (a thousand years after the events it depicts), it’s one of the most popular books ever in China, a foundational text. It’s about the 100 years of chaos at the end of the Han dynasty, features almost 1,000 named characters, and six major plots all interwoven. It’s "Game of Thrones" with less character development. It’s the most astonishing game of Risk you’ll ever read about. It’s a mediation on what it takes to be a great ruler, a great adviser, the value and cost of loyalty, and the nature of government. The characters and structure are brilliant and thrilling and tedious. It’s engaging and exhausting and ultimately moving.
But it. Is. Tough.

- “The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide”. So begins the book and that’s pretty much the theme of the whole epic. Which I found oddly comforting. No loss is permanent, no victory is final. No matter how much we fight for or against the tides of history, they will flow on - good things will be replaced by bad which will be replaced by good which will be replaced by bad. It’s honorable and necessary to fight hard for your beliefs, but regardless of whether you win or lose, the outcome will change and change again, forever. And that’s perfect. And it’s also a warning to the current Communist government that even if it lasts for hundreds of years, it WILL disintegrate and be replaced. So don’t get too comfortable.

- If you took a swig of wine every time a head gets cut off, you’d be unconscious by page 30. So much decapitation and displaying of heads. But then I realized in 200 AD there was little proof that you killed some rival general, except to display his severed head. Which led me to realize that the third century version of “Pics or it didn’t happen” was “Heads or it didn’t happen.”

- Every single chapter ends with a cliffhanger: Literally “Was this the end of Cao Cao? Read on.”, or “Zhang Fei set his sword at his throat. Would he take his life? Read on.” No chapter end provided a resting spot.

- You really do get a sense of the sheer AGE of China from this novel. It takes place almost 2,000 years ago, and the people then all quote people and sophisticated strategies that existed 1,000 years before them.

- There are hundreds of named characters, but the author gives tips on which ones you REALLY need to follow: If we are told how tall a person is and what their face looks like, FOLLOW THAT PERSON. If not, they are likely to be dead in a few chapters. And ultimately there are only about a dozen people that you truly follow for the duration. Or most of the duration. Well before the ending, all the characters we have come to know and love/hate are dead, supplanted by less memorable but historically important people.

- A common practice adopted in the years before this story takes place and used oh-so-frequently in the novel: If someone is a traitor, kill them and all of their extended family members. This does not, unsurprisingly, actually decrease traitorous activities.

- The major turning point in the novel is the Battle of Red Cliff, around which John Woo made a 5 hour film a few years ago. I expected this to be the climax of the book, but it’s just 100 pages stuck in the middle.

- That said, the Battle of Red Cliff features a superb example of the sheer monster strategizing found over and over in this novel: One strategist knows an opposing general will be retreating the battlefield. The Strategist sets up an ambush for the General in the wooded mountains. The Strategist tells his ambushing troops to light campfires and let the smoke be seen by the retreating forces. Because the Strategist knows the retreating General has two routes through the mountains, and where the General sees the campfires he will know enemies are lying in wait. EXCEPT that the General will know he’s SUPPOSED to think that, which means, the General will suspect the REAL ambush will lay on the path where there IS no smoke, EXCEPT that the General knows the Strategist will think like this, so the General will go TOWARD the smoke, assuming THAT's a decoy from the real ambush where there is no smoke. And thus the General will walk right into the real ambush. But this plan is only to be put in motion AFTER four OTHER ambushes take place, each of which will decimate more and more of the General’s retreating army, which will only happen AFTER the final attack on the General's naval forces where the Strategist has been spending months sending over fake traitors with false information, and allowing the General to send over fake traitors who the Strategist will feed false information to, all while working six OTHER angles to ensure the General’s defeat.
The entire book is filled with this kind of planning. It’s exhilarating, and has been used now for centuries by Chinese military leaders, including Mao Tse Tung. This book worships the Long Game.

- And then, repeatedly, we see how even brilliant sure-fire plans can go awry because of the actions of one jealous underling, or one drunk general, or one fearful soldier who runs to the enemy with information. As often as these plots work, they equally collapse because of human failings.

- But even when a general is winning battles because of his master strategist, that general realizes that the strategist is such a genius that he will be unstoppable and may one day side with an enemy… so better to kill that strategist now even though they’re still on our side. Of course the assassination plans don’t work because the strategist sees them coming.

- And speaking of unstoppable strategists: Zhuge Liang - best military and diplomatic tactician who ever lived. Not only does he outthink almost everyone he ever faces while alive, conquering vast swaths of China against all odds, but AFTER HE’S DEAD he leaves behind four or five complicated (successful) plots which will ensure his kingdom’s survival in the chaos of his passing.

- I love all the animal metaphors that permeate the book: “It takes a hidden bow to catch a fierce tiger and delicate bait to hook a great tortoise”, “We are sparrows in the eaves unaware the mansion is about to burn down”, “This is a case of ‘ruining a perfect picture of a snake by adding paws'”. Even the different military strategies have names like “Tigers Fight For Food”, and "Drive The Tiger To Swallow The Wolf”.

- At one point a very powerful but unpopular leader on his deathbed specifies exactly what his tomb should look like… and also that there must be 72 decoy tombs in the region. I will now be requesting the same.

- Another recurring phrase i love: “We are enemies who cannot share one sky.”

- Also a pleasure are the honorary titles given to victorious generals: “Commandant Who Cherishes Loyalty”, “Imperial Corps Commander Who Cheers The Army”, etc. I want those titles for our leaders.

- And the Chinese, they knew how to do omens, man! Westerners get clouds and locusts and whatnot, but here’s what was up in the Kingdom of Wei before its downfall:
“Recently many uncanny and frightful things have been seen in our kingdom - a dog in Taoist headgear and dressed in red walked on a roof like a man. In another case, some country folk south of the city were preparing their meal when inside the rice pot they found a small boy who had been steamed to death. Again, in the north market of Xiangping a hole opened up in the ground and a piece of flesh was thrown up. It was several spans around and it had a face with features, but it lacked the four limbs. It was impervious to sword and arrow; none knew what to make of it."

- You can see why, with this history as part of the DNA of a nation, China might generally value stability over personal freedom. The 400 years of relative security of the Han Dynasty let people farm and live and deal with droughts, but not constantly be invaded and counter-invaded and drafted into one army and then another army, tens of thousands dying every year from battle, land burned, all food taken for the military, not knowing who you could say what about… give me a relatively benevolent dictator any day.

- And oh my yes, there are tedious sections of this book - a bit like the “Beget” section of the Bible. At one point in the notes, even the translator (the excellent Robert Moss) pretty much says, “Yeah, this part is just boring but historically important. If you want to skip the rest of the chapter, here’s the summation: "

- One final favorite battlefield passage - not exactly indicative of the novel, but perhaps showing why it has been a crowd pleaser for millennia:
“From a point of vantage, Cao Xing drew his bow and, sighting true, shot Xiahou Dun in his left eye. Bellowing in pain, Xiahou Dun plucked out the arrow; the eyeball had stuck fast to the point. ’The essence of my parents cannot be thrown away,’ he cried and swallowed the eye. Then he went for Cao Xing and speared him in the face before he could defend himself. Cao Xing fell dead from his horse. The spectacle left both armies aghast.”

[S. Naomi Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not really qualified to offer an in-depth review of this book or speak to the quality of the translation, other than to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it, and found it remarkably readable. There's a lot going on, and a massive cast of characters to keep track of, but for all that it's not as impenetrable as you might expect. Cracking good stuff.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's very long and often full of tedious military machinations, but it's also punctuated by exciting, gruesome, tragic, and otherworldy moments--so I think it's worth it. On to volume two!

[Lauren]

Let's face it - I'm not going to finish this book.

[Colin Hoad · Rating 4 out of 5]

(NOTE: This is a review for all three volumes of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms)

I had been aware of this epic of Chinese literature for many years, but first developed a serious interest in reading it after having watched the excellent Chinese drama adaptation made in 2010. That gave me the impetus to pick up the first volume and give it a go.

Some words of caution first, from one who has now read all three volumes. This is a book that very much requires you to juggle hundreds of names in your head and keep track of who is who. Indeed, I would strongly recommend watching that aforementioned TV series prior to reading the books. This may sound the wrong way around, but having made my way through all 1,377 pages, it would have been considerably harder without some pre-knowledge of key characters to anchor my progress. Having some understanding, for example, that a Lu Su matters where a Lu Xun does not, certainly makes getting through the book a mite less daunting.

Another warning for those considering embarking on the Three Kingdoms: if you are not interested in military strategy and take no pleasure in reading about the minutiae of war, you should probably turn away. A significant percentage of the book is spent on detailing battles: many, many battles, often in quick succession. While war itself is not the core of what the Three Kingdoms is about, it is nevertheless the medium through which many of the story's messages are related.

This is a fictionalised account of a very real historic period in Chinese history. After the fall of the Han dynasty in 220 AD, the country fell into a state of civil war, as rival warlords fought one another for superiority - each claiming to be the rightful successor to Han. Gradually power consolidated around three separate kingdoms: Wei in the North, Wu in the South and Shu in the West. Each was led by its own charismatic leader - Cao Cao, Sun Quan and Liu Bei respectively. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms tells their story, how they rose to power, what they did with that power and how each, ultimately, fell. It is truly epic in its scale, and widely recognised in China as one of the greatest books ever written.

For me, this book is about much more than just a historic narrative. Still less is it a book merely about military tactics - although they certainly feature prominently throughout. Rather, the Three Kingdoms represents an insightful, penetrating look at power - how it can be won, how it can be maintained and how it can be lost. Each of the three rulers demonstrates different virtues and flaws, and is aided by a wide variety of generals and advisers, each with their own agendas. The ruthlessness of Cao Cao is tempered by his intellectual brilliance and his ability to exercise power without ever openly admitting to it. The virtue of Liu Bei, meanwhile, is undone by his inability to win his own battles and by his undying loyalty to those who do not always serve him best. The astuteness of Sun Quan is highlighted by the way in which he employs people best suited to the role, implicitly acknowledging his own shortcomings. Each ruler has a coterie of advisers, and the relationship between power and those who would shape and direct that power is fascinating. Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi both stand out as impressive figures in their own right, often outshining the men they exist to serve. Their interplay, in particular, is a highlight of the book. And it would be remiss of me not to mention Liu Bei's two brothers-in-arms: Zhang Fei, the oft-drunk and irascible warrior and Guan Yu, the legendary fighter who keeps his honour to his very last breath.

Another lesson the Three Kingdoms teaches is that for all the struggles and grand designs, winning or losing may very often lie in the lap of the gods. A rainstorm at the wrong moment or a change in the direction of the wind can make all the difference. Illnesses strike down otherwise undefeated veterans, just as ultimately the collapse of the three kingdoms ends up owing more to the dissipation and idleness of the rulers' successors than to any great military victory. Power is ephemeral, and it cannot ever be taken for granted.

There are so many stories and sub-plots woven into the fabric of the Three Kingdoms that it would be both infeasible and futile to assess them all here. The best I can say of this book is that it is a joy to read and its many pages a wonderful place within which to lose yourself. It is long, and there will be times when you may wonder if the battles will ever end with one siding achieving anything close to a significant victory; but stick with it and you will be rewarded.

[Carla Crusius · Rating 3 out of 5]

First and foremost, this is all about war. (I imagine like the Chinese predecessor to War and Peace). Forget about trying to keep the characters straight because personally I found it impossible. A couple of the characters are present throughout the book, so focus on them. This is a great translation, and breaking the story down into three volumes makes it much easier to handle. The original version, I believe, is over 2,000 pages long. Volume 1 is just over 400 pages so I imagine the later volumes will be longer. That being said, there is much to commend this book. There is strategy, treachery, loyalty, and brotherhood. However, there is a great deal of blood and violence described in gory detail but with surprising and disturbing nonchalance. Will I read volume two? Probably, but I think I need to take a break, albeit a short one lest I lose track of the few characters I remember!

[Richard Marney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like reading Russian novels, come equipped with a notepad and pencil to keep track of the characters’ names, histories, and interrelationships.

That aside, this novel (here I’m reading volume 1) is one of the major works of Chinese fiction and should be on your world literature reading list.

A thorough review is promised when the full novel is finished.

[Tu Ta · Rating 5 out of 5]

TAM QUỐC DIỄN NGHĨA- La Quán Trung
“Trường Giang cuồn cuộn chảy về đông- Bạc đầu ngọn sóng cuốn anh hùng-Thị phi thành bại theo dòng nước- Sừng sững cơ đồ bỗng tan không- Non sông nguyên vẹn cũ- Bao độ ánh chiều hồng”
Tổng quan:
Tên gốc là Tam Quốc chí thông tục diễn nghĩa. Được La Quán Trung(1330-1400) viết cuối thế kỉ XIV- cuối thời Nguyên, TQ. Là bộ tiểu thuyết lịch sử đồ sộ(120 hồi), theo lối kể 7 thực 3 hư. Nó thành công tới mức trở thành một trong Tứ đại Danh tác và đưa tên tuổi các nhân vật như Lưu Quan Trương, Gia Cát Lượng, Tào Tháo truyền bá rộng rãi trong dân gian . Ở Việt Nam, Bộ truyện cũng được giới thiệu trong SGK với 2 trích đoạn Hồi trống Cổ Thành và Tào Tháo uống rượu luận anh hùng- xưa mình đọc khoái mấy đoạn này cực. Do cực kì phổ biến nên nó trở thành tài liệu quan trọng để nghiên cứu nhân vật và sự kiện thời Tam quốc, các bạn có thể dễ tìm thấy rất nhiều bài phân tích, nghiên cứu hay giả thiết về thời này đầy trên mạng hay youtube…
Cốt truyện:
Dựa trên cuốn sử Tam Quốc Chí của Trần Thọ, bộ sách viết về thời kì Tam Quốc trong lịch sử Trung Hoa (190-280). Cuối thời Đông Hán, giặc Khăn vàng nổi lên, sau lại đến loạn Đổng Trác, Lý Thôi,…khiến chính quyền trung ương suy yếu. Từ đó, các thế lực nổi lên dẫn đến những cuộc giao tranh liên miên với những cuộc chiến lớn như Xích Bích, Quan Độ, Hào Đình… Ba thế lực “ưu tú” còn lại là Ngụy- Tào Tháo, Thục- Lưu Bị, Ngô- Tôn Quyền; Tạo thành cục diện chân vạc để kiềm chế lẫn nhau. Cả ba cùng xung Đế hiệu( danh xưng cho ai thống nhất được thiên hạ) để mưu đại nghiệp. Cuối cùng, cả ba về tay nhà Tây Tấn của dòng họ Tư Mã. Đây được coi là thời kì đẫm máu bậc nhất lịch sử TQ cổ đại với thống kê dân số giảm tới hàng chục triệu.
Bộ truyện lấy nhà Thục làm trung tâm, đứng đầu là Lưu Bị- một thân thích xa của Hán đế, với hình tượng nhân nghĩa, thương dân. Với những hiền thần như thừa tướng Gia Cát Lượng, Ngũ hổ tướng: Quan Vũ, Trương Phi, Triệu Vân, Mã Siêu, Hoàng Trung,… Cùng nhau vượt qua bao gian khó từ lúc “kết nghĩa đào viên” đến lập nên nhà Thục Hán nối hương hỏa nhà Hán, cùng tranh đoạt thiên hạ với 2 thế lực còn lại.
Đánh giá cá nhân:
Trước tiên mình phải nói qua bộ mình đang có đây được phát hành bởi công ty Đông A- một đơn vị có tiếng về phát hành sách Văn học Kinh điển. Nguyên tác đã được học giả Mao Tôn Cương thời Thanh tu đính, viết lời bàn- bản gốc vốn 240 hồi. Bản dịch tiếng Việt truyện của cụ Phan Kế Bính hiệu đính bởi cụ Bùi Kỉ- Bản dịch chất lượng cao, đầy đủ cả lời bàn của Mao Tôn cương cuối chương và đang được lưu hành phổ biến ở Việt Nam. Ngoài ra, còn có thêm tranh minh họa và một tấm bản đồ Tam quốc, nhiều NXB khác còn không có.
Đọc bộ này sẽ giúp bạn luyện tính kiên nhẫn cực tốt vì nó dài. Tuy dài nhưng với lối kể truyện tinh tế, sắp đặt lại các tình tiết cho hợp lí khiến nó không hề nhàm chán như đọc Sử kí. Điều này mình thấy cực kì quan trọng vì Sử kí vốn là một văn bản khoa học mà tác giả biến thành một tác phẩm nghệ thuật phổ biến cho dân chúng thì phải biết ông có tâm và tầm cỡ nào.
Xuyên suốt bộ truyện, ngoài lịch sử khách quan, tác giả đan xen những tình tiết “chế” và các giai thoại dân gian khiến câu chuyện hấp dẫn và dễ đọc hơn nhiều như giai thoại Ôn tửu trảm hoa hùng, Qua 5 ải chém 6 tướng, Thuyền cỏ mượn tên, Không thành kế… vốn chúng đã được phổ biến trong dân gian từ lâu. Những tình tiết trên còn làm nổi bật tính cách của các nhân vật: Tào Tháo đa nghi, Lưu Bị nhân nghĩa, Khổng Minh mưu trí, Quan Vũ trung nghĩa, Trương Phi nóng tính… từ đó làm gương cho hậu thế. Còn cả tình tiết tâm linh nhằm khẳng định nói nổi tiếng: mưu sự tại nhân, thành sự tại thiên. Ngoài ra nhiều bài thơ được dẫn vào để tăng tính biểu cảm cho truyện.
Theo các tài liệu lịch sử, Ngụy mới là triều đại chính thống kế thừa Hán. Nhưng tác giả lại nghiêng về nhà Thục theo mình phần nhiều do hoàn cảnh sáng tác. Thời đó là cuối triều Nguyên- vốn do người Mông Cổ làm chủ. Việc đứng về 1 “hoàng thúc” như Lưu Bị có thể thấy được tinh thần dân tộc của riêng tác giả và người Hoa nói chung: muốn một vị lãnh đạo người Hoa đứng lên dẫn dắt dân tộc đánh đuổi “ngoại tộc”, đồng thời cũng giúp khẳng định địa vị vua triều Minh, một người xuất thân bần hàn nhưng lại có được thiên hạ.
Đọc Tam quốc không chỉ giúp ta giải trí với những cuộc chiến tay đôi hấp dẫn của các danh tướng một thời hay đại chiến lớn với quân số 100 vạn cùng hàng loạt phương thức chiến đấu sáng tạo như thủy công, hỏa công… ; những pha đấu trí đấu khẩu với lí lẽ cực kì sắc bén của các mưu sĩ trên chính trường. Mà còn cho chúng ta tấm gương về tính cách con người dẫn đến số phận: như Quan Vũ chết vì kiêu ngạo, Trương Phi chết vì nóng tính, Tào Tháo sắp chết vẫn đa nghi… Răn dạy mọi người đề cao chữ “nghĩa” trong văn hóa Á Đông.
Không chỉ đề cao những vị anh hùng nam giới, bộ truyện cũng lồng ghép nhiều tấm gương nữ nhân trung liệt nhằm đề cao phụ nữ trong xã hội phong kiến. Tuy yếu đuối, luôn là nạn nhân hay con rối chính trị nhưng họ vẫn giữ tấm lòng trung chinh với chồng, con và nặng lòng với sự tồn vong đất nước.
Trên mức đó: sự hình thành, lớn mạnh và suy vong nhà Thục là lời bàn về thịnh suy của một quốc gia, dân tộc thời phong kiến: Thịnh do vua hiền minh, quần thần tài chí, trung thành và đồng lòng họ xây dựng một quốc gia từ tay trắng; Suy do vua chơi bời, quần thần đấu đá, gièm pha để tranh giành dư danh, quyền lực.
Nếu so với chính sử, các nhân vật nhà Thục không được quá thần thánh như trong truyện đâu, có thế làm các bạn “vỡ mộng” nếu quá tin vào truyện 3 trận đánh lớn ( Quan Độ, Xích Bích,...) quân số chỉ vài chục mà bác La chém lên hàng triệu, cái này đúng phong cách các ông Tàu rồi. Tác giả đã cho không rất nhiều chiến công cho tuyến nhân vật chính, còn thay đổi tính cách các nhân vật phụ đặc biệt là Chu Du khiến câu nói "Trời sinh Du sao còn sinh Lượng" vốn ko tồn tại mà lại đc lưu truyền,… để nâng vị thế phe Thục. Nước Thục ban đầu được vẽ ra rộng lớn, dân giàu nước mạnh nhưng thực tế cực nhiều vấn đề địa thế, kinh tế, chính trị,...-giỏi như Gia Cát Lượng còn chẳng thể cứu vãn. Thế nên trở thành nước bị diệt đầu tiên.
Bộ này đã được bên TQ chuyển thể thành phim 2 lần năm 1994 và 2010, đều là những dự án phim cổ trang truyền hình hoành tráng kỉ lục một thời, ngoài ra còn rất nhiều bộ phim truyền hình lẫn điện ảnh lấy cảm hứng từ truyện. Mình rất ấn tượng với bản năm 1994 từ tạo hình nhân vật siêu chất, bày trận công phu đặc biệt trận Xích Bích đốt toàn tàu thật luôn và nội dung rất sát nguyên tác, cảm giác như được sống vào thời đó vậy. Bản 2010, hình ảnh, võ thuật với kĩ xảo tốt hơn khá nhiều nhưng còn lan man chuyển thể ko được nhiều chi tiết bằng, tạo hình chưa thật với thời đại; bù lại phim bổ sung thêm nhiều cảnh đối thoại hay mà trong truyện không có, cùngg với đó là vận dụng thêm các giả thiết để làm cho mạch phim rõ hơn.
Thật sự còn quá nhiều điều để nói về tác phẩm này vì nó quá đồ sộ với nhiều tầng ý nghĩa, thuyết âm mưu mà tác giả thiết lồng ghép vào nữa, cái này các bạn có thể tìm hiểu thêm; Ngoài ra các tuyến nhân vật phụ nhà Ngụy, Ngô, Tây Tấn cũng rất thú vị, tài năng như Tào Tháo, Tôn Quyền, Tư Mã Ý... đến ngày nay tên tuổi, chiến công của họ còn lấn áp danh tiếng phe chính diện.
Kết luận: Không chỉ là 1 tiểu thuyết lịch sử, tác giả còn lấy nhiều chất liệu từ dân gian thế nên có thể coi đây vốn là tác phẩm “quốc dân”.Truyện khắc họa toàn diện một xã hội phong kiến điển hình,những đạo lí từ cá nhân đến quốc gia đặc biệt là chữ “nghĩa” trong văn hóa Á Đông. Thế nên Tam quốc diễn nghĩa không chỉ thành Kinh điển bên nước bạn mà còn phổ biến sang Việt Nam, các nước Á Đông và được nhiều thế hệ ưa chuộng. Chắc chắn Tam Quốc diễn nghĩa còn sống mãi với thời gian.
#tamquocdiennghia #tamquốcdiễnnghĩa #book #theromaceofthethreekingdoms

[Pranjal Yadav · Rating 4 out of 5]

The English translation is mediocre but the content is fascinating and I am excited to read the next part. If it wasn't for the flat prose I would have given it 5 stars, but I'll contend with 3.5 stars.

There is no prose in the English translation, and the reader won't be moved even when the historical figures are suffering great anguish or making lofty proclamations that will change the course of history, the book manages to convey the story of ruination of Han dynasty of China.

My knowledge of Chinese culture was limited, and this book proved to be a good starting point to learn about the Chinese culture and get to know their values and fears. The civil wars during the last days of Hans make the backdrop of the book and bring out the all personality traits of the key figures. Even though personalities of many figures have been pointed out, the reader is able to form opinions about the figures, through the actions (loyalty, treachery, idiocy, brilliancy, kindness, sadism, empathy, apathy; all could be performed by the same figure during different circumstances) they undertake and under what circumstances. The military strategies employed speak a lot about the technology and culture of the time.

The book is quite long and the characters numerous, but you get the hang of it by putting them all up on a mind-tree based on their family names (last names are written first in Chinese culture). The practice gained by reading "A Song of Ice and Fire" doesn't hurt either.

[Kevin Fulton · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the 4 Chinese classic novels.
This is an entertaining, if repetitive book.

Some recurring tropes:
1) Person A brings a massive army then Person B brings an even bigger one.
2) The armies send one representative each to fight, like David vs Goliath.
3) There is a betrayal somewhere, always
4) Valiant soldiers or wise men get extravagant rewards and titles. There seems to be a limitless supply of money, silks, and titles.

The dialogue is consistently witty and fun.
“Your civilians are but pallid students of books, not men fitted to weave and control destiny.”

“The speaker was a tall man with a face like a unicorn.”
This could mean two things. The man either has a big nose, or he has a large cyst.

“When you throw stones at a rat, beware of the vase.”

“The arrow hit him full in the eye. He cried out in pain, and reaching up, pulled out the arrow, and with it the eye...and he put the eye into his mouth and swallowed it.”

“Tigers without claws, birds without wings, will not be able to escape from your grip for very long. They are not worth thinking about.”

“Dong Zhuo looked up and his eyes rested upon a stalwart man of fierce mien, lithe and supple. He had a tiger’s body and a wolf’s waist.”

While I enjoyed it, I’m gonna take a breather before I jump into volume 2.
The style is pretty different so it takes some effort to read.

[Garnette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, a path into The Romance of the Three Kingdoms! I’ve wanted to read this Chinese classic for decades and I’ve tried several times but I always got bogged down in a bewildering array of difficult Chinese names. John Zhu’s excellent Romance of the Three Kingdoms podcast presents the story in plain English, tells me which characters (still quite a few!) I need to remember and which ones are irrelevant, and provides historical background as needed. I listen to his podcast, then read the relevant chapter of the book, then watch the 2010 Chinese television series, available on You Tube with English subtitles. This sounds time consuming and it is. But it gives me three different perspectives on this classic: contemporary American retelling, a good translation of the original, and a popularized Chinese video version. And it’s addictive. Very few literary classics (this one dating from the 14th century) have inspired video games, action figures and the fanatic devotion of teenage boys. I’m thoroughly enjoying it, and talking to my husband, who grew up with the stories, about the the characters and events.

[Hikachi · Rating 5 out of 5]

If only there's a special skill to dampen Lu Bu's provoked state so I can easily beat him and opened up a new route...

Anyway, I really like this translation. It's very easy to read. Hence, the five stars. Also, the drama~~~ duh-rah-mah! One guy deserted the long-served master while the other willing to die even though he was treated unjustly. Such political loyalty is amazing, especially at this time of the century...

I have to keep telling myself that it's a fiction. First historical fiction perhaps... I don't know... Do we count Genji Monogatari as a historical fiction too? Which one comes first?

The records of the Three Kingdoms itself is a product of a 3-4th century, about things that happened 2 centuries before. While Luo Guanzhong wrote this one in 14 AD. Which mean ten centuries after the record. Of course he took some liberties and added some characters and events. But generally, it's a retell on history.

Now I wonder if I have all four greatest Classical Chinese novels... Hmm...

[Phrodrick slowed his growing backlog · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Three Kingdoms, Volume 1: The Sacred Oath (The Three Kingdoms, #1 of 3) Begins one of China’s foundational, sacred texts. This means, I guess that we are obligated to declare it great and wonderous. The concern being that failure to agree is a slap at every Chinese person. That is over 8 billion slaps. It might decrease the wear on my hands if I could blame the translation, but IMHO there is not enough story in these too many hundred pages for translation to be that much of what is disappointing. In my defense I have also read The Tale of Gengi., a better case for the world’s first novel, and a version of Monkey: Folk Novel of China and taken some pleasure from each. Please 8 billion people of China I do not mean to demean your classics.

My initial response to The Three Kingdoms, Part I, is that it has all of the things that people report hating in a history book and none of the things that make for good fiction. It is over burdened with names and locations and battles. Good news, not that many dates. I now think of it as Game of Thrones , but only the killing, torture and betrayals, and no sex, romance or dragons. Among the other reviews for this book is a cogent case, by a very learned reviewer that reading the Sacred Oath is easier if you can frame it as a version of The Three Musketeers. Again, with no romance. His is a nice case, but it means making more of the three sworn ‘brothers’ of the Peach Orchard Oath and recasting one figure as a Machiavellian plotting stinker. IMHO that is a weak case and is unjustifiable until the last 100 pages or so. I rather liked this would be villein. He protects the Han emperor, kills off a vicious Prime Minister and has a reputation for not pillaging enemy cities or beheading all of enemies’ followers. Mostly his enemies come off as power hungry and resentful, rather than candidates for exemplars of great leadership.

The historical setting of this book of what we might call historical fiction the last days of the Han dynasty and what would become the period of the waring kingdoms. As a matter of history, there was an end to the Han dynasty and period of a waring-kingdoms. No where in this book is anyone of the belief that the Hans will continue, nor is there an opinion documented by the last of the Hans. He remains an important pawn with the sides being those who intend to keep him in office, kill him off, or keep him alive but only as a symbol and a bunch of opportunists and bandits who fight now this way and then that.

Understandable are those who hate this book on the bases of the way women appear in this book. By a large margin they do not appear. Mostly they are being killed along with the rest of the family of most of the 80-100 named major characters. A few are allowed to voice some advice and usually that advice is important if only about 50/50 if it is good advice. All are sold or traded into marriage, something that should be despised, but not an entirely bad deal given that death by poverty was the norm and at least sold into a major household meant regular food, good treatment and a major probability that your lord and master will not get around to his sexual ’rights’ that often.

Reading as literature. The plot is all plotting and back door decisions about who and how many to kill. Armies are formed set forth and conqueror die, only to be called back into service to take , retake or fall back on the nearest capital. I suspect that a world count would list words like “Just Then”, But before” and other sudden arrivals and reversals due to the sudden arrival of some hero or large army. This would play into the overall structure of a cliff hanger. Most all chapters end with a statement like, “What will happen to our hero with be explained in the next chapter.”

I understand that there is a televised, or on-line version of this book. I suspect it is more entertaining if only for the costumes and movement. Gotta wonder how many ways the huge cast was directed to die or handle being beheaded. I sorta want to finish this book, but for now, there is no rush.

[Akemi G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the abridged version of this in Japanese. Even so, and with basic understanding of Chinese history, I had a hard time with names. There are so many characters, and we also need to pay attention to the locations.

So why would someone today want to read this? Well, it’s fun first of all. I’d also say there is an element of detecting what the author attempted to hide.

Ming dynasty was founded by expelling the Mongols and was extremely xenophobic, and we can safely assume the author, undoubtedly a highly educated man, was also xenophobic. What better way to raise the Han 漢 awareness than to write about the man who tried to save the failing Han dynasty? (Han is the traditional identity the Chinese had about themselves, named after this dynasty that lasted four centuries. They pride themselves on inventing, or more like formalizing, the writing system; characters are called Han letters 漢字.)

Liu Bei insists he is a descendant of a former emperor—with zero proof, like family tree. He is most likely just a man with the same family name Liu. (Liu Bang, the founding emperor of Han, was born a peasant, and there were probably many many families called Liu.) No matter. He recruits two strong men, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. They run around and they are nobody until Liu finds Zhuge Liang, who possesses superhuman intelligence. With Zhuge, he succeeds in stealing land from someone with the same family name and who has treated him well. All while preaching peace and order.

I regard him as yakuza don. No one preaches peace and order like Yak don, you know?

Meanwhile, there is Cao Cao. The author tries to put him down because he doesn’t really respect the Han emperor, and his son eventually takes over the throne. However, even with the author’s attempts to portray him as a brutal beast of a man, we can see how smart Cao was. He also welcomes Liu when he has nowhere to stay—pretty kind. Not that he is always kind; he has cruel side as well.

Another reason the Ming-era author despised Cao; he invited the northern foreigners to participate in his wars. With wars, diseases, widespread starvation, the population declined sharply (some say it halved; others say the Han practically died out and all Chinese after this period are mixed with foreigners) especially in the northern area (Wei) and foreign soldiers were necessary.

I’d like to mention the women in this mega novel. There aren’t many—it’s mostly men’s stories—but these few are quite intriguing. For example, the mother of Sun Quan and Lady Sun. Quan arranges his sister’s marriage to Liu Bei. Zhuge Liang figures it’s a trick and utilizes it to their advantage. Upon hearing the arrangement, the mother, who was not informed, gets upset at his son for using his sister as a decoy.

Yeah, right. What kind of a man uses his sister as a ploy? Apparently the mother has control and the marriage materializes. Lady Sun is described as a martial art expert (with a group of armed handmaidens) and self-deciding figure. Now let’s see how the marriage works out.

Some people say the last part of the novel, especially after Zhuge Liang dies, is boring. Maybe. But this is where history reveals its no-nonsense nature. Liu Bei’s son, the baby brave Zhao Yun rescued in the mess of a losing war, grows up to be a totally stupid man, zero leadership. Cao Cao’s son Pi is a decent leader, but he dies rather young, and his son Rui is no good. (See the pattern?) The final winner is someone we never expected.

P.S. Many characters in this novel are cultural icons in East Asia. In UK, you know who it is when you see a youngish man holding a skull. In China and beyond, we know it’s Zhuge Liang when we see a man with a feather fan. And three men, one with long beard and another with big round eyes, especially if there are peach blossoms. And so on.

[Brok3n · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic historical novel of ancient China

There are four widely-recognized classic Chinese novels. Seriously, do a web search for "classic Chinese novels" and you will find dozens of pages referring to "The Four Classic Novels of Chinese Literature". (Wikipedia lists six on its Classic Chinese Novels page" -- these include the usual four, plus two others.) The phrase "Four classic Chinese novels" also appears frequently in commentary on Chinese literature. The four are

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
The Water Margin
Journey to the West
Dream of the Red Chamber

Some of these come in multiple versions, even in Chinese, and multiple English translations, often with different titles. (For instance, Dream of the Red Chamber is also known as The Story of the Stone.) So it can get a little confusing. In my (inexpert) opinion, Three Kingdoms is the best novel of the first three. (I don't include Dream of the Red Chamber in my judgment because its discussions of Chinese poetry, art, and calligraphy are too far over my head.)

Don't be confused by the word "romance" -- it is used in its original sense -- essentially just "novel". Three Kingdoms is not a story of romantic love. It is a historical novel of the very early days of China, in the second and third centuries, before China existed as a single nation. It describes the political and military battles for the rule of what would eventually become China. It was written much later (mostly 15th century, although modern versions incoroporate later editing by other writers). Although Luo Guanzhong referred to historical records, the narrative of Three Kingdoms is probably not terribly accurate with regard to real events. (My own impression is that Three Kingdoms is roughly as accurate a guide to historical events as Shakespeare's plays, and less accurate than, say, Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series.) There is, however, one way in which Three Kingdoms feels quite real. Real history is big and messy. Three Kingdoms is also big and messy.

The most famous incident in Three Kingdoms is called the Peach Orchard Oath. This is a version of the Oath (from Wikipedia)

When saying the names Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, although the surnames are different, yet we have come together as brothers. From this day forward, we shall join forces for a common purpose: to save the troubled and to aid the endangered. We shall avenge the nation above, and pacify the citizenry below. We seek not to be born on the same day, in the same month and in the same year. We merely hope to die on the same day, in the same month and in the same year. May the Gods of Heaven and Earth attest to what is in our hearts. If we should ever do anything to betray our friendship, may heaven and the people of the earth both strike us dead.

It is not clear that this ever happened in reality -- historical sources don't mention it. It is likely that Luo adapted the story from folktales.

It has, however become historical. The Peach Orchard Oath has resonated down Chinese culture and history. For instance, it is referenced in Water Margin. It has served as a model for Chinese secret societies and military organizations. And it is central to Three Kingdoms. Although, as I said above, Three Kingdoms is a story of extraordinary complexity, from a certain point of view it is simple. Liu, Guan, and Zhang can rely completely on each other -- this gives them an advantage over the hundreds of other generals and would-be emperors they face, for whom treachery is entirely routine and to be expected.

If you read just one classic Chinese novel, it should be Three Kingdoms.

Blog review.

[Michael Mcintyre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why I read this book
---
This book is acclaimed as perhaps the greatest of the Four Greatest Classical Novels of Chinese literature, and as a student of history, myth, and fiction, any further education would be impoverished were it missing this novel.

One key takeaway
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"Unity succeeds division and division follows unity. One is bound to be replaced by the other after a long span of time." This sets the tone for the tragedy of this work.

How was the book
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At first, this book was really hard to follow until the general narrative is set and the main characters resolve. It is very much a court intrigue and battle heavy story, similar to Game of Thrones. You have the reluctant hero, Liu Bei (who doesn't seem to ever win a single battle, and mostly denies any chance to seize power), the treacherous villain Cao Cao, the impetuous warrior Lu Bu, Liu Bei's sworn brothers the incorruptible Guan Yu and the hot-headed Zhang Fei, the tyrannical Dong Zhuo, a weak and ineffectual Emperor Xian, and then like a billion advisers and petty warriors. For a 700 year old story, it holds up really well, and is one part The Iliad, another Beowulf. There is tons of concentration paid to supply lines and strategic gambits, to posturing warriors and humongous forces, to ambushes and feints, intrigue and treachery. It's a really great story once it gets going.

I can't speak to the quality of the translation other than to say it seems well-regarded online, and this is the first translation by a native Chinese speaker, Yu Sumei. What I can say is that while this version seems well put together, I would have really enjoyed a map at the beginning, or even a few maps sprinkled throughout. During the earlier battles, it is hard to figure out who is fighting whom, and where everything is happening, especially as the names share nothing with current geography.

I've taken a look at the other "definitive" English translation, the Moss Roberts edition. In addition to being much cheaper, I like the tone and language used in the Yu Sumei version better. For example, Moss Robert's version has chapter 15 as "Taishi Ci and Sun Ce Fight Their Hearts Out;
Sun Ce Plants His Kingdom South of the River", whereas Yu Sumei has it as Taishi Chi Fights a Fierce Battle with Sun Ce; Sun Ce competes with the White Tiger". Subtle, by less sappy.

Any other reading
---
Vol 2 and 3 to complete the epic

[slowmokim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Là một người chưa xem phim, từ nhỏ chỉ loáng thoáng nhớ vài cái tên nổi bật, mình vốn nghĩ truyện sẽ khó tiếp cận, đọc được rồi thì thấy cũng không đến nỗi thử thách :)) Điều duy nhất gây khó dễ là số lượng nhân vật quá lớn, thôi thì cứ chậm rãi đọc sẽ theo kịp.

Điểm thú vị nhất là cách tác giả xây dựng nhân vật có chiều sâu, không đơn thuần phân định thiện – ác. Tào Tháo hiện lên như một gian hùng đầy mưu mô, biết thu phục nhân tài, nhưng cũng sẵn sàng giết người vô tội để đạt mục đích. Trong khi đó, Lưu Bị và hai huynh đệ Quan, Trương tượng trưng cho lý tưởng trung nghĩa, nhưng vẫn còn khá mờ nhạt trong tập này.

Sau những cuộc chiến tranh đoạt là một quy luật tàn khốc: chư hầu dù hùng mạnh vẫn có thể bị diệt vong, còn kẻ sống sót phải biết thích nghi với thời thế. Tam Quốc Diễn Nghĩa ngay từ đầu đã đặt ra một thế cục không có chỗ cho kẻ yếu, nơi anh hùng và gian hùng đôi khi chỉ cách nhau một lằn ranh mong manh.

Một điều nho nhỏ góp phần quan trọng cho Tam Quốc Diễn Nghĩa chính là lời bàn của Mao Tôn Cương, những lời bình luận này gợi lên nhiều suy ngẫm về lòng người và thời cuộc: lúc thì bàn khen ngợi một hành động nghĩa hiệp, có lúc lại chỉ ra mưu mô ẩn giấu sau những toan tính. Không có những lời ấy, mình nghĩ là mình không thể nào ngẫm nghĩ thấu đáo những tình tiết của truyện.

[Zed Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came into this having played the Dynasty Warriors series of games by Koei so I already have some degree of familiarity with the characters, but I can imagine someone with no knowledge of the story coming into this and being absolutely confused with the amount of characters.

That said, the games present a romanticised version of these characters and it was fun to read about them in the original text as they are much more nuanced. I found Cao Cao to be fascinating. I also found it interesting to read about the virtues and values of this era, although I'm not sure whether the story reflects the values of the time the story is set in or the time the story was written.

Unfortunately, the prose is stiff. Whether this is the fault of the original text, the translation, or my modern reader sensiblities, I'm not sure. But this is the only modern unabridged translation that is available on Kindle, the other one being an almost hundred-year-old translation where Cao Cao is Ts'ao Ts'ao.

But overall, this is an interesting read that I would recommend to anyone who has some knowledge of the characters already.

[mangtay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Không hổ danh là một trong tứ đại danh tác của Trung Quốc bao gồm Tam Quốc Diễn Nghĩa, Hồng Lâu Mộng, Tây Du Kí, Thuỷ Hử, đọc tới đâu cuốn tới đó, cả tác phẩm, nhân vật, hoạ thế giới được mô phỏng hết sức đồ sộ, mỗi nhân vật có quá khứ và hiện tại được minh hoạ rõ nét với tính cách riêng biệt.

Thực là mộ tài quân sư của Gia Cát Khổng Minh, tính toán như thần, trên thông thiên văn dưới tường địa lý, hô phong hoán vũ, nhân tướng thiên văn đều thông cả; Lưu Bị nhân đức, lấy dân làm gốc, lấy nhân nghĩa mà trị; Quan Vũ - Vân Trường trọng nghĩa khí, tấm lòng trung nghĩa trước sau như một, cao ngạo với kẻ trên nhưng không chấp kẻ dưới, dũng mãnh với kẻ mạnh nhưng hay thương hại kẻ yếu; Trương Phi tính tình có nóng nẩy nhưng nghĩa vườn đào chưa bao giờ quên, râu hùm oai phong, quát 1 tiếng quân Tào lui ngàn dặm; Triệu Vân 2 lần xông vào cứu ấu chúa, dũng mãnh hiên ngang - Toàn là bậc anh tài cả.

Trước hay nghe câu:
“Trời đã sinh ra Du sao còn sinh ra Lượng” - Chu Du, đọc mới thấy sự bất lực của câu nói này trước tài năng của Gia Cát Lượng.
“ Ta thà phụ người chứ không để người phụ ta” - Tào Tháo, sự lạnh lùng, đa nghi.
“Thắng bại là chuyện bình thường của binh gia.” (Tào Tháo)

[Ben Fishman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, the first of three parts, is a gripping new translation of the 14-th century classic. Luo Guanzhong is the measuring stick against which George R.R. Martin, Tolkien, and others are measured against - they can compare, but never surpass. Further, Yu Sumei's translation is lively and dynamic, bringing the story to life. I can't recommend this book enough to anyone who liked A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones, or any other fantasy political thriller. Further, the book is one of the Four Great Classic Novels, and it's value as a historical source warrants a read all on it's own. The novel is essentially a dramatization of the 3rd-century text Records of the Three Kingdoms, so the novel also does a remarkable job of articulating those events for the modern reader. All in all - read this book.

[Kevin Staley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea :-) I almost stopped reading about halfway through. I mixed this book in with other books I was reading to provide some variety, or I may not have completed it.

So much of the story consisted of key military figures and their conquests. I do get that the story is about the history of kingdoms and leaders in China, but it seemed you went from one city to another with people warring, opponents and/or traitors being executed, and advisors attempting to foretell the future. Different names and places, same essential plot - conquer.

If I had a better understanding of the history of China during this period I might have appreciated it more. I don't intend to read the other two volumes in this series.

[Michael B Tager · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been playing the video games and watching the movies based on these novels for over 20 years. It's fantastic to be able to finally get the whole thing. The writing is obviously dated as it was written hundreds of years ago, in the 14th century, but you can't hold that against it. It's still clear and poetic and the translation feels very authentic.

What drew me into this mythos was how little it's permeated the Western World. This is a huge story--maybe equivalent to how the West views Rome?--and basically unknown. It's certainly not taught in schools that I've heard. And it's fascinating and deep and amazing.

I have the 2nd book on the shelf. Can't wait to dig in.

[Ashley Taglieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh so much beheading ... like seriously how is there anybody left alive in central China by 200AD given all of the waring and mass murdering of entire families??!! If I had to chose between being transported to Westeros or China during this time, I would risk white walkers and dragons instead of trying to survive all the tyranny going on during this 10 year time period.

A engaging read despite all this death ... fun drinking game is to drink any time a page goes by without someone getting killed or beheaded ... you will be very sober unfortunately.

Highly recommend if you're interested.

[P · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this book at all, but I also decided to put it down earlier than I normally would. I just knew I wouldn't like it. There were already way too many characters, the storytelling technique was odd to me, and none of it seemed interesting. I didn't want to wade through the clunky narrative any further, and went to Goodreads to check out reviews, and determined it wasn't for me. But I didn't give it much of a chance and it's not the book's fault for it not being my cup of tea. So I rated it how it was rated by other users because I didn't think my score should affect anything. For me though, this was a 0.5/10.