Customer Reviews

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I think that all Westerners should be exposed to this classic of the East. Without a doubt, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is one of the very best works of literary art that the human mind had ever produced.
A short synopsis is in order. The novel centers around a rather short, turbulent time in ancient China, following the collapse of the Han Dynasty and predating the rise of the Jin dynasty, the period known as the "Three Kingdoms". In order to rise up against the now-corrupt Han dynasty, the mystic Zhang Jiao began what is known as the "Yellow Turban rebellion". In response to this menace, heroes of China gathered in order to put down this threat. Among these heroes are the virtuous Liu Bei, the loyal and familial Sun Jian, and the cruel and wily (but talented) Cao Cao. After the Yellow Turban rebellion is put down, it is realized that the Han dynasty has grown horribly weak and corrupt, and the heroes leave for home with their own ambitions of ruling China. Liu Bei wishes for the old days (he is a distant relative of the Han line), Cao Cao wishes for personal glory and honor, and Sun Jian wishes to rule China in order to leave it to his sons. Many other players enter the drama (hundreds in fact!), but the story really revolves around these three and their spheres of influence.
The author, Luo Guan Zhong, wrote a book that is at once of strategy, history, psychology, warfare. Although battles are always present, even those readers not interested in warfare can find a great deal in this book. Inevitably, the reader will find himself siding with one of the great Kingdoms of Wei, Wu or Shu, and yet will still feel compelled to feel compassion, elation and sorrow for the others, as their fortunes rise and fall with the changing fates. Each time I read the book (six and counting!), I pull for Liu Bei, who brings himself from commoner status to the highest positions in the land despite his tragic flaw of being TOO virtuous! And yet, I cannot deny enjoying reading about Cao Cao, as he gains support and popularity until the battle of Chi Bi, at which point he falls and must rise again. Also, the ending is fabulous, and unexpected.
However, I must warn the first time reader of the complete deluge of names with which he will be accosted. To further complicate matters, different publishers of the book spell the names in different ways (e.g. Cao Cao=T'sao T'sao, Chuko Lee-ong=Zhuge Liang). I was aided in this struggle by the fact that I had played a game with these characters, so that I was familiar with some of them. The author revels in his knowledge of history, and expects the same of his readers, but the reader may feel completely overwhelmed. Just keep in mind the three main characters, and try to remember who follows whom, and you should do fine (however, it is frustrating when the character Xun Yu introduces the character Xun You, etc.).
"Empires wax and wane, states cleave asunder and coalesce". The first statement in the book is as true today as it was 2000 years ago. If you are a reader who prides himself on his knowledge of the classics, I can honestly say that your mental library is incomplete until you read this book. So, what are you waiting for?

I love the Three Kingdoms. However, having read Brewitt-Taylors masterful exposition, this translation seems lacking, in my opinion.

First, I must confess, I hate the modern Pinyin system of romanization. I cannot abide in a system where letters do not have the proper values. I mean, an entire generation of Americans (and God help the ignorant French!) will pronounce names like Cao Cao as "Cow Cow", or the Qin dynasty as the "Kwin" dynasty. The Brewitt-Taylor translation uses the old Wade system, and while it can be hard on the eyes, the reader gets a sense of at least the rough pronunciation (Cao Cao is rendered Ts'ao Ts'ao, Qin is rendered Ch'in, etc).

Also, Brewitt-Taylors translation is nice to listen to. "Empires wax and wane, states cleave asunder and coalesce"; the sound itself is beautiful, and yet still renders the sense clearly. The Roberts translation certainly succeeds in the latter, but the beauty is lost. However, Brewitt-Taylor requires a very great vocabulary, whereas Roberts is more tame in this regards. Still, this was a book for scholars, and the translation should at least reflect that.

Again, if you have no familiarization with the events of this tale, the complete rainstorm of names is daunting indeed. Always keep in mind the three separate forces (Cao Cao of Wei, Liu Bei of Shu and the Sun family of Wu) as well as a few of the other players (Zhang Jiao of the Yellow Scarves, Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu, Yuan Shao. Liu Biao and Liu Zhang) and you'll do fine. The book itself, in my opinion, is the greatest book ever told, succeeding in being at once a work of strategy, psychology, government, warfare, and human emotion, and there is nothing like it in the lexicon of Western literature. Enjoy!

The story is truly a classic and the translation is pretty good. However, the actual product is pretty sloppy. Volume one was less problematic than volume two, but both had a high number of instances. The main problem is that letters that are similar in shape, such as b and d, p and g, etc. get switched, almost once a page. Also, the names weren't proofread very well, as apostrophes get pretty regularly left out. In a translation system where an apostrophe is the only difference between the names to two characters or places, this becomes a source of confusion. Also, entire words are left out pretty regularly. I wonder if any highly fluent English speakers actually got to proofread this, because most of these errors are so obvious. These errors aren't so bad that it is unreadable, but they really take a person out of the scene while the confusion is dispelled.

I wrote this novel's review a couple of years ago as below.
(Name revised for Pinyin system and some errors corrected)

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Romance of Three Kingdoms is not just the novelized version of the history record "Three Kingdoms". It overtook the heart of both Chinese and Japanese. In Japan even younger generation who rarely read literature enjoy the story in the form of either comic books or in popular PC games. In China many of the Chinese Opera comes from the part of this story.
The story is based on the history of ancient China around late 2nd century to late 3rd century when the Chinese continent was divided by three strong kingdoms,Shu(Gui in Japanese),Wu(GO in Japanese) and Wei(SHOKU in Japanese).

I am familiar with the version of Eiji Yoshikawa, the author of Musashi, focusing more on the story of Liu Bei(Wei emperor),Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang. Liu Bei, an heir of Han Dynasty ruling clan, is a humane leader supported by Guan Yu, deft both in brain and might maybe eastern version of Knight, Zhang Fei,short tempered but really strong warrior, and Zhuge Liang the master of strategy.

Rivaling Lie Bei is another giant Cao Cao outstanding ruler who nearly took hold of the whole Chinese continent but blocked by the allied forces of Wu and Wei in 208. Cao Cao is a bit demonized in this story but he is in fact one of the greatest rulers China ever had comparable to Napoleon. While Lie Bei who has little power gradually gains by charming a lot of talented people by his couteousness yet with propaganda tactics to demonize Cao Cao, Cao Cao took advantage of courting the Emperor and with the finest staff collected from the whole continent. Cao Cao's Wei will be overthrown by Sima clan who eventually subdue both Shu and Wu but Lie Bei, Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang are still loved and idealized by Chinese public.

On first reading you will be enjoying the way the characters outsmart the other camps. On second reading you will be struck by the humanity upon which the story is based. It is much more than a legend. It will surely get you closer to the mind of either Chinese and Japanese. But be careful. The way character name is pronounced differ between Chinese and Japanese. Such as Cao Cao is pronounced in Japanese as SOSO.

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Now I must add a few things for newer 3k fans who encountered this epic through koei games. Koei adopts Pinyin system for three kingdom character names and pinyin method has almost subdued English speaking community. Brewitt Taylor uses Wade system differeing so much from the way the character names were currently spelled. For example. Cao Cao is spelled T'sao T'sao. As you can see older system is useful in pronunciation ideas.

Verdict: Excellent translation getting you much closer to this Chinese epic. Must-read for chivalry novel fans.
Rating: 94 out of 100. A bit cut by spelling confusion as I mentioned.
Recommended: For wide variety of readers.

I'm a girl in Korea, who loves this book, The Romance of Three kingdom. I think this book can be regarded as the 'Odyssey of far east Asia.' It's really funny, exciting and instructive. Almost every far east Asian have ever read this book. And I too read this book five times. But it's not boring at all.I hope much more people in the world can have the pleasure reading this. I like Kung-ming and Chou-Yu best out of too many heros in the book. You'll be excited to see the wisdom fighting between them.

A great book to read. I do not recall another tome like this that has many elements masterfully blended that includes larger-than-life legendary characters, intricate and complicated plot that keeps you reading, and last but not least, descriptions of betrayal and strategy throughout the book. You will find yourself getting more and more engrossed with the storyline and the characters, and you will eventually come to favor one or some of the heroes. I myself favor the legendary line of Sun: Sun Jian, Sun Ce, and Sun Quan. I also have profound admiration for their young, wise, and crafty advisors: Chou Yu and Lu Xun. This is a book you will never forget.

Thre is an old Chinese saying... "Do not read Romance of the Three Kingdoms when you are old". the implication is, you will already be very wise from your years, and to read this book then will make you almost superhuman. This book is one of the greatest novels ever written. It is a lesson in human relations, in war, in startegy, in emotion, in man management... it is so many things. Luo Guanzhong deveoted his entire life to writing just this one book, and his careful effort can be felt through the book's emotion. Today its characters are revered as gods and sages in much of the Chinese speaking world.

This is a very good bok, filled with brotherhood, strategy, battles, loyalty, chivalry, etc. And although quite long,it is still worth it. It is a cultural classic, just like the Iliad and the Odyssey are to Greek culture. It has many misspellings but they are easily surmounted and pose no real threat to the stories comprehension. I would recommend it to anyone who likes reading, especially those who enjoy historical,cultural, or classical books. Note: This translation may be somewhat confusing to some people because it uses the more old-fashioned Wade-Giles spellings rather than the more contemporary Pinyin System. If you were introduced to the Three Kingdoms through the multiple video games that are out,as I was, that use the Pinyin system, it might take a little extra thought on your part to understand who is who as you are reading. For Example, Guan Yu and Cao Cao in Pinyin become Kuan Yü and Ts'ao Ts'ao in Wade-Giles.

This is China's great achievement in literature. The book retells history splendidly, although there may be some fabrications of what actually did happen. It tells of bravery amongst men, strategy, morality, and loyalty that withstands the test of time. The book has great men that take the role of heroes, and even the antagonists in the story are represented in somewhat of a valorous manner. The writing itself is just magnificent, historical literature is usually boring because of some much explaining, describing, and so forth, but in this piece the writing flows so well that even that is very enjoyable to read. As you read through it you will find yourself rooting for certain warriors and hoping that your personal favorite becomes the hero of the day. Some of China's greatest historical figures are major players in the book, mainly Zhuge Liang. A splendid read. I recommend it to the highest degree.

[San Kuo Shih Yen-I] This book has a theme that is so deep that a 1000 years after the Three Kingdoms period ended the book was written. From 189AD to about 300AD, the state of China was in turmoil. The evil Cao Cao ended up "winning" the battle in the end. But is evil, chaotic empire was resolved to dust. So is the way of the world. The goodness of the world's mana and underlying goodness of the human soul cannot be quenched by even the greatest, smartest chaotic evil executive. The good won the war. Even in death, the Good Heroes, Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, Liu Pei and Zhang Fei are now religious figures. They have transcended time and have conquered so many more people with their intellect, love and morality than Cao Cao could have ever dreamed of. This is a book of biblical proportions. Enjoy it.