The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is one of the most famous novels in China and it has never failed to fascinate people in modern Chinese society. It was written by Luo Guanzhong, who livedduring the Ming dynasty, based on real historical events occurring between 190 AD - 260 AD.  Luo’s work describes the long, intricate, and intriguing conflicts between Wei, Shu, and Wu (the names of three kingdoms).

The story begins with the Yellow Turban Uprising - a peasant revolution that marked the end of the Han dynasty. This great rebellion triggered many small armies led by far-sighted commanders to form and to fights, including Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan. The book details how these commanders set up the armies, hired talented advisers and generals, and finally fought against each other. Cao Cao (the founder of Wei) initially organized a strong army and occupied northern China after he won the war of Gongdu. Liu Be i( the founder of Shu) inherited the power and troops from the Han dynasty and set up in the western part of China. Sun Quan (the founder of Wu) unified the easternpart of China with his brother Sun Ce. These three great powers fought constantly for 60 years and in the end were all subdued by the Sima family, the founders of Jin dynasty.

After reading the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, I was most impressed by the chapter called “The Battle of Guandu” in which Cao Cao won the war against Yuan Shao’s army—the most influential power in northern China—and became the greatest power in China. In the battle, Cao Cao’s army only had 20,000 soldiers while Yuan Shao’s army had 100,000 soldiers. However, Cao Cao won the battle surprisingly, by attacking Yuan Shao’s supply line of army provisions and by burning all of Yuan Shao’s food storage. I was riveted by the scene where the general of Cao Cao’s army - Guan Yu - kills two generals of Yuan Shao’s army. The author portrays Guan Yu as a valiant and resourceful by describing how quickly and easily Guan Yu killed the two generals and how he broke through the siege with only 30 soldiers.

My favorite character in the book was Zhuge Liang, a counsellor of Shu (fromLiu Bei’s army). Luo calls him a “dormant dragon”, which indicates that he is an unusual person. Zhuge played an important role in developing Shu into a great power. He promoted the alliance with Wu to fight against Wei and led Wei to lose the battle of Chibi by proposing a war strategy that burned all of Wei’s boats. After the death of Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang took up his business and help the new king to reach the apotheosis of Shu. 

To conclude, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a worth-while book to read, as the story is intriguing, the portrait of people and valiantly fought battles are vivid, and the logic of this ancient game of thrones is clear. I highly recommend this book and, especially if you are interested in Chinese history, I think that you will enjoy it.