"The general trend of the world is that if it is divided for a long time, it must be united, and if it is united for a long time, it must be divided." This is a sentence in Luo Guanzhong's "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". It is precisely because this famous saying is so insightful and universally applicable that it is regarded as a classic. In fact, the success of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is obvious to all. In addition to being one of the four famous novels in ancient China, it is also deeply loved by foreign readers.

In 1569, "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" spread to Japan. In 1689, Japan specially published the Japanese version of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Not only that, the Japanese also like to compare their country’s Warring States Period with China’s Three Kingdoms Period.

The period from 190 to 280 was the Three Kingdoms period in China. The so-called Warring States Period in Japan should be counted from the outbreak of the Onin Rebellion in 1467 and ended in 1615 when the Toyotomi clan was completely wiped out. There is a thousand years difference between these two periods, but why are they always compared? What are the similarities between the two?

Era Background

In 184 AD, the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out due to corruption in the imperial government and dark governance. However, the power of the dynasty was declining at that time, and there was no financial resources or energy to deal with local uprisings. Therefore, in order to quell this uprising, the central government decided to delegate power to the local governments and let them recruit their own troops. This will lead to the rise of those princes with evil intentions who are ready to take action. Over time, a situation of separatism was formed.

Between 1467 and 1477, the Onin Rebellion also occurred in Japan. There are some differences between the Onin Rebellion and the Yellow Turban Uprising, because the Onin Rebellion was a struggle within the Japanese bureaucracy. However, the results between the two are similar, because the Onin Rebellion also directly caused the rise of local forces in Japan. Not only that, these local forces are also constantly annexing each other through war.

Representative figures

Speaking of the Three Kingdoms, the image of the traitor Cao Cao will appear in almost everyone's mind. However, Cao Cao in history was not what he was described in literary works. But one thing is certain, that is, Cao Cao was not very studious when he was young and had nothing to do all day long. But this does not prevent him from waking up and achieving great success in the future. In 200 AD, Cao Cao defeated the greater number in the Battle of Guandu, which is still regarded as a miracle in the history of war.

A figure similar to Cao Cao’s experience also appeared during Japan’s Warring States Period. He was Oda Nobunaga. When he was a child, he had nothing to do. He only knew how to cause trouble and fights all day long. But he is not just a gangster, he is also a general with considerable leadership skills. In 1560, Oda Nobunaga also ordered 4,000 elite soldiers to fight against an army of 20,000.

Final trend

Cao Cao spent his military life and finally established Cao Wei. Unfortunately, his reign did not last. In 249 AD, Sima Yi took advantage of Cao Shuang's visit to Cao Fang's grave to launch a coup. From then on, Sima Yi replaced Cao's descendants and established a new regime. The most surprising thing is that Oda Nobunaga's retainers also worked hard for decades like Sima Yi. Toyotomi Hideyoshi also created a new era after Oda Nobunaga. However, the good times did not last long. Toyotomi Hideyoshi passed away eight years later. The Edo shogunate was founded in 1603, and the Toyotomi clan was completely eliminated in 1615, ending the Warring States Period.