Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel. Abridged Edition [Abridged] [Hardcover]

Luo Guanzhong (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520215842 | ISBN-13: 978-0520215849 | Publication Date: September 30, 1999 | Edition: 1

Three Kingdoms tells the story of the fateful last reign of the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220) when the Chinese empire was divided into three warring kingdoms. Writing some twelve hundred years later, the Ming author Luo Guanzhong drew on histories, dramas, and poems portraying the crisis to fashion a sophisticated, compelling narrative that has become the Chinese national epic. This abridged edition captures the novel's intimate and unsparing view of how power is wielded, how diplomacy is conducted, and how wars are planned and fought. As important for Chinese culture as the Homeric epics have been for the West, this Ming dynasty masterpiece continues to be widely influential in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, and remains a great work of world literature.
This abridged edition is particularly useful for undergraduate courses. For the complete text, see the unabridged edition, now available in two parts: Part One; Part Two

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The subject matter of Three Kingdoms has long held an extraordinary grip on the Chinese imagination. . . . No less an authority than Mao Zedong asserted that when he set out on the campaigns that would ultimately bring him to power, Three Kingdoms was the book he valued most." -- Patrick Hanan, New York Times Book Review

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Chinese

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 504 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (September 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520215842
• ISBN-13: 978-0520215849
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,470,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars certainly worth starving over, August 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel. Abridged Edition (Hardcover)

I came across Roberts's translation of Three Kingdom a year ago and was surprised how good it is. Other than being lucid and close to the original, it reads astonishingly well, reproducing the fast-paced narrative as well as the intimate vernacular which Lo wrote his Chinese. Few Chinese prose classics has been as well done as this (certainly, of all translations of Three Kingdom, this must be the best, far better than Brewitt-Taylor's), and it's worth starving yourself to get the full version rather than the abridged one.

Three Kingdoms needs very little introduction. In China, Japan, Korea and elsewhere it has spanned countless dramas, operas, serials, comic strips, video, Nintendo games etc., and it boosts by far the most well-known pantheon of characters in East Asian literature: Guan Yu, epitome of loyalty, deified in China; reckless Zhang Fei; their ruler-brother Liu Bei; the supreme strategist Zhuge Liang; the villain-ruler Cao Cao (used as a foil for Liu Bei but also portrayed as a cunning tactician); Sun Quan and his fellow advisor Zhou Yu; lion-hearted Zhao Yun...the list goes on. But Three Kingdoms is worth reading not just because its pantheon of wonderfully vibrant characters, but also as a strategem and for its masterful blend of history, culture, political insights and popular storytelling. Lo embellished and at times changed history, but always for the sake of heightening the dramatic effect.

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A review for the Abridged., July 20, 2004

By 

J. Moon "terrapinjer03" (B-More, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel. Abridged Edition (Hardcover)

Since I am a novice in the realm of Chinese history, I felt that the abridged version of Romance of the Three Kingdoms would be a better starting point to satiate my appetite that has been whetted by various video games. I find this odd, since I've always lived by the rule of never reading abridged versions, and never buying greatest hits albums. I wouldn't say disappointment settled in, but when reading such a story of chivalry, honor, and valor, you don't want the beautiful writing to end. But then it did. Needless to say, I was left wanting.

Moss Roberts is a poet, no doubt. The language he uses in translation would make this a great work no matter what the age. Essentially, Three Kingdoms is the abridged version of about 90 years of Chinese history chronicling the fall of the Han Empire, the splintering into Three Kingdoms; Wei, Shu, and Wu; and the rise of Wei to prominence. It deals with betrayal, honor, strategy, and respect. And if you can read this, and not have Zhao Zhilong (Yun) be your favorite character, you are a better person than I. His abilities are outstanding.

This is an abridged version (4th time I've said that... Theme?) so you're getting a taste. The original work is 4 volumes and in excess of 2400 pages, this is a hair over 400, so you see what you're getting. I'm about to tackle the original, I've got to get through my Sophocles first, though, and I'll let you know how much better that is. If you're at all interested in Medieval Chinese History, consider this a jumping off point, the chocolaty exterior before the creamy filling.