Romance of the Three Kingdoms 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, drawing on Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms, Pei Songzhi's annotations, earlier chronicles, and popular storytelling traditions. It combines historical figures and events with fictional scenes, speeches, and supernatural episodes, giving particular moral and political weight to Liu Bei and Shu Han while following the rivalry among Shu, Cao Wei, and Eastern Wu. Acclaimed as one of the Four Great Classic Novels of Chinese literature, it runs to about 800,000 words and nearly a thousand characters across 120 chapters, and its literary influence in East Asia has been compared to that of Shakespeare on English literature. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Disputed
Composed, From (Year)Traditionally attributed to Luo Guanzhong, who lived sometime between 1315 and 1400, late Yuan to early Ming; the earliest written combination of the Three Kingdoms stories, the pinghua Sanguozhi Pinghua, was published between 1321 and 1323, and the novel itself was first printed in 1522. Composed, To (Year)1400 marks the later bound of Luo Guanzhong's traditional lifespan (1315-1400); the novel was first printed in 1522 as Sanguozhi Tongsu Yanyi. Classification
Original Language FAQs
How much of Romance of the Three Kingdoms is true history?
The Qing historian Zhang Xuecheng called it seven parts fact and three parts fiction.
The Qing dynasty historian Zhang Xuecheng famously wrote that the novel was seven parts fact and three parts fiction. The fictional parts were drawn from different sources, including unofficial histories, folk stories, the Sanguozhi Pinghua, and the author's own imagination.
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Source Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Wikipedia)
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Source Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Wikipedia)
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Sources
1. Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
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.
Origins and versions section
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is traditionally attributed to Luo Guanzhong, a playwright who lived sometime between 1315 and 1400 (late Yuan to early Ming period)
Origins and versions section, Luo Guanzhong attribution sentence
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is traditionally attributed to Luo Guanzhong, a playwright who lived sometime between 1315 and 1400 (late Yuan to early Ming period)
Origins and versions section, first printing sentence
It was first printed in 1522 as Sanguozhi Tongsu Yanyi
Lead
is a 14th-century Chinese historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong.
In Genre: Historical Fiction, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Historical fiction
Authored By: Luo Guanzhong, Infobox, author field
Author: Luo Guanzhong
View the Source 2. Wikipedia
Wikipedia
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