Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. II [Hardcover]

Lou Guan Zhong (Author), C. H. Brewitt-Taylor (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1985

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is Lo Kuan-chung's retelling of the events attending the fall of the Han Dynasty in 220 A.D., one of the most tumultuous and fascinating periods in Chinese history. It is an epic saga of brotherhood and rivalry, of loyalty and treachery, of victory and death. As important for Chinese culture as the Homeric epics have been for the West, this fourteenth-century masterpiece continues to be loved and read throughout China as well as in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lo Kuan-Chung (c.1330-c.1400) was a novelist and dramatist who played an important role in the development of Chinese popular fiction.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 638 pages
• Publisher: Heian Intl Pub Co (September 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0893469254
• ISBN-13: 978-0893469252
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,830,106 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fabulous Read, October 10, 2002

By 

M. A Jenkins "southerndudeman" (Manhattan, KS) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Volume II (Hardcover)

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?

92 of 109 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars to the work, but only 4 to the translation!, September 7, 2003

By 

M. A Jenkins "southerndudeman" (Manhattan, KS) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

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!

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great story but a very sloppy edition, January 7, 2005

By 

Joseph Johnson "Echo5Joker" (Manhattan, KS, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

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.