Romance of the Three Kingdoms
one of China's Four Great Classical Novels
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (traditional Chinese: 三國演義; simplified Chinese: 三国演义; pinyin: Sānguó Yǎnyì) is a 14th-century Chinese historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. Its narrative covers events from the decline of the Han dynasty and the Yellow Turban Rebellion to the reunification of China under the Western Jin in 280.
The novel draws on Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms, Pei Songzhi's [[Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms
|annotations]], earlier chronicles, and popular storytelling traditions including the Sanguozhi Pinghua. It combines historical figures and events with fictional scenes, speeches, and supernatural episodes. The narrative gives particular moral and political weight to Liu Bei and Shu Han while following the rivalry among Shu, Cao Wei, and Eastern Wu.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is acclaimed as one of the Four Great Classic Novels of Chinese literature; it has a total of 800,000 words and nearly a thousand dramatic characters (mostly historical) in 120 chapters. The novel is among the most beloved works of literature in East Asia, and its literary influence in the region has been compared to that of the works of Shakespeare on English literature. Its impact is also extensive and eminent in Southeast Asia, with many of its characters becoming household names there. It has influenced literature, drama, games, and popular accounts of the Three Kingdoms throughout the regions. It is arguably the most widely read historical novel in late imperial and modern China.
“Romance of the Three Kingdoms” enters the record as one of China's Four Great Classical Novels. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Romance, Three and Kingdoms can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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