The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is one of the most widely read Chinese novels, although the term epic would be more appropriate here. With its structure, scale, multitude of plots and characters, it brings to mind the Iliad by Homer. Its influence on Chinese culture was equally great – quotes and references to the Romance… became an inspiration for many proverbs and anecdotes, becoming a source of folk wisdom with time. Among the literally hundreds of characters appearing in it, some have achieved the status of icons, such as Zhuge Liang – an outstanding strategist, advisor and fortune-teller, still considered a symbol of cleverness and acumen. An even better example is the charismatic and militant general Guan Yu, who was later deified and was worshiped in every city as the god of war.
The fast-paced action of the novel is an excellent source of historical knowledge. It covers a period of over one hundred years, from the end of the Han dynasty (169 CE), through the division of the empire into three kingdoms, until the reunification of China (280 CE). Although it was not written until the 14th century and enriched with numerous plot threads, its author, Luo Guanzhong, devoted many years to researching official chronicles in order to recreate authentic events as accurately as possible. In addition to caring for the faithfulness of the historical message, a characteristic element of ancient Chinese literature, also in this case, is the emphasis on the moral aspect and the transmission of universal wisdom. The best example of this is the famous sentence: “The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been”.
Over the years, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and in particular the part devoted to the “Battle of the Red Cliffs”, it was adopted into numerous film and stage adaptations. A great example of this is Three Kingdoms (2008) directed by John Woo – a few hours long, epic show with a star cast, which for years was considered the most expensive and highest-grossing film in the history of Chinese cinema.
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