"The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is the first chapter novel in the history of Chinese literature, the pioneer of historical romance novels, and the first literati novel.

Author introduction:

Luo Guanzhong (about 1330-about 1400), named Guanzhong, nicknamed Huhaisanren, was a novelist in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, and the author of "The Popular Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms" The author of "Romance". Born in Taiyuan Prefecture, Bingzhou, Shanxi, his other major works include novels: "The Chronicles of the Sui and Tang Dynasties", "The Romance of the Remaining Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties", "The Story of Three Sui Ping Yao", and "The Complete Story of Water Margin". "The Popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms" (referred to as "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms") is Luo Guanzhong's masterpiece. This novel has a profound influence on later literary creation. In addition to novel creation, there is also a drama "Song Taizu Dragon and Tiger Meeting".

Author's evaluation:

Luo Guanzhong is not only recognized as the author of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", one of the earliest chapter-style novels in China and the pioneer of the "historical romance" type, but also by It is believed that the "hero legends" and "gods and demons novels" genres of chapter-style novels were created. The authors of "Water Margin" and "The Legend of Sansui Pingyao" all included Luo Guanzhong's statement, while another major category of "novel about worldly affairs" originated from "The Plum in the Golden Lotus" is adapted from the plot of "Water Margin". From this, it can be considered that Luo Guanzhong alone serves as the originator (or at least one of the originators) of the four main categories of Chinese classical chapter-length novels, and has epoch-making significance for the development of Chinese novels. Some people even call Luo Guanzhong "the king of ancient Chinese novels".

Introduction to the work:

"The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" can be roughly divided into five parts: the Yellow Turban Uprising, Dong Zhuo's Rebellion, the Heroes' Competition, the Tripod of the Three Kingdoms, and the return of the Three Kingdoms to the Jin Dynasty. It describes the period from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the The nearly hundred years of historical events in the early years of the Western Jin Dynasty mainly describe wars, telling the story of the war between the heroes in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the political and military struggles among the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu. In the end, Sima Yan unified the three kingdoms and established the Jin Dynasty. story. It reflects the transformation of various social struggles and contradictions in the Three Kingdoms era, summarizes the great historical changes of this era, and creates a group of all-powerful heroes of the Three Kingdoms.

Content introduction:

"The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is the first chapter-like historical romance novel in Chinese history. It begins with the Yellow Turban Uprising in the first year of Zhongping, Emperor Ling of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and ends with the unification of the country in the first year of Taikang, Emperor Wu of the Western Jin Dynasty. It lasts for 97 years before and after, with Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhuge Liang as the central figures, and runs through The ideological tendency of the masses to "support Liu and oppose Cao" regards the Shu-Han as the dominant aspect of the contradiction between Wei, Shu and Wu. It focuses on depicting the military, political and diplomatic struggles between the various feudal ruling groups in the Three Kingdoms era, and depicts scenes of ups and downs. , majestic war scenes. Through these descriptions, the author reveals the decadence and darkness of the society at that time, condemns the cruelty and ugliness of the rulers, and more objectively reflects the people's love, hatred and opposition to the political groups as well as their opposition to war and separatism and their desire for peaceful reunification. "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" describes the historical events of nearly 105 years from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the early years of the Western Jin Dynasty. It mainly describes wars and tells the story of the war between the heroes in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the political and military struggles among the three kingdoms of Han, Wei and Wu. , the story of Sima Yan finally unifying the three kingdoms and establishing the Jin Dynasty. It reflects the transformation of various social struggles and contradictions in the Three Kingdoms era, summarizes the great historical changes of this era, and creates a group of all-powerful heroes of the Three Kingdoms. The whole book can be roughly divided into five parts: the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Dong Zhuo's Rebellion, the heroes vying for the throne, the Three Kingdoms, and the Three Kingdoms' return to Jin. On the vast background, scenes of majestic war scenes were staged. The editor, Luo Guanzhong, integrates the Thirty-Six Stratagems of the Art of War between the lines, with both plot and tactics.

Structure:

1. Describing war

The first point is the diversity of war. The book describes hundreds of wars, which can be divided into land wars, water wars, or mixed land and water wars, such as Flooding the Seventh Army; they can also be divided into offensive wars, defensive wars; or ambush wars, sneak attack wars; or position divisions. War, guerrilla warfare; or a battle between generals, or a melee between two armies, the forms are diverse.

The second point is the combination of military operations and political strategies. For example, Cao Cao's invasion of the south was not without purpose. It was to complete the great cause of unification. Liu Bei joined forces with Wu to fight against Cao in order to gain a foothold and then revitalize the Liu family's Han Dynasty foundation.

The third point is that the outcome of a war depends on intelligence. The key lies in the intelligence of the planners, whether they can adopt the good plans and strategies of their subordinates, whether they can correctly judge the enemy's situation, whether they can objectively distinguish between loyal and traitors, and whether they can deal with things calmly. The outcome of all wars, big or small, is closely related to wits and tactics.

The fourth point is to focus on the people, not the process of the war. Absorb the experience of describing wars in "Zuo Zhuan" and describe the strategy in detail and the battle process in outline; describe in detail those who have the upper hand and those who are at a disadvantage; describe in detail the winner and briefly describe the loser. Through several confrontations, the character's personality is gradually shaped.

2. Structural Art

The story of the Three Kingdoms basically takes the rise and fall of the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu, and Wu as the vertical line, and uses the development of the war and the activities of the characters as the material. The history of more than ninety years of rise and fall can be roughly divided into three main stages: the first stage from the Yellow Turban Rebellion to the Battle of Chibi; the second stage from the establishment of the Three Kingdoms to Zhuge Liang's death of illness; and the third stage from then until the unification of the world by the Jin Dynasty. Interspersed with the intricate disputes between Wei, Shu and Wu, various large and small wars and the cunning schemes of civil servants and generals are brought out one by one, and finally a complete big story is formed.

Because the structural rounds of traditional chapter novels echo back and forth, following the development of the main line, there is concentration in the dispersion, and consistency from beginning to end, forming a unified novel system.

3. Language characteristics

"The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" uses simple classical Chinese, which is bright and smooth, and is both elegant and popular; the writing style is full of changes, contrasts, redundancies, and waves. Twisting and swaying.