Published in San kuo, or Romance of the Three Kingdoms, 1925
The people of China, particularly during the premodern era, tended to have a unique view of history. For many centuries during ancient times, the Chinese believed that theirs was the only civilization in the world. It is understandable why they thought this, because they had no contact with the cultures of India, far away across high mountains to the south; nor did they know of Greece or Rome. All around them, they saw only barbarians, or uncivilized people, threatening their borders. Therefore to the Chinese, China was the world.
Coupled with this idea was the notion that history— Chinese history, that is, which in the view of the Chinese was world history—ran in cycles of about three or four hundred years. A new dynasty, or ruling house, would establish power, and enjoy many years of peace and stability. But eventually, signs would appear that indicated that the rulers had lost the "Mandate of Heaven," or the favor of the gods. These signs took the form of natural disasters, along with diseases, and together they indicated that an age was about to end. Great misfortunes would follow, until a new dynasty arose that pos-
“As he drew near the throne, a rushing whirlwind arose in the corner of the hall and, lo! from the roof beams floated down a monstrous black serpent that coiled itself up on the very seat of majesty. The Emperor fell in a swoon. Those nearest him hastily raised and bore him to his palace while the courtiers scattered and fled. The serpent disappeared."
Lo Kuan-chung
Lo Kuan-chung was not the only author of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The original text had been written in the period from a. d. 265 to 316 , not long after the events depicted in the book took place. A century after that, another writer revised the great story; but it was Lo— whose name is sometimes rendered as Luo Guanzhong—who wrote the full tale during the early years of China's Ming dynasty (1368-1644).
Another work partially attributed to Lo is Shui-hu chuan (SHWEE-hoo CHWAHN), or Story of the Water Margin, which like Romance of the Three Kingdoms was a tale drawn from Chinese history. It is not clear whether Lo cowrote that book with Shih Nai-an (SHEE NY-ahn), another writer of the era, or simply revised Shih's text.
Sessed the Mandate of Heaven—and then the cycle would repeat itself.
Events seemed to prove this idea: for instance, the Han (HAHN) dynasty, the last before the beginning of the medieval period, lasted just over 400 years, from 207 b. c. to a. d. 220. The period that followed, which lasted until the establishment of the Sui (SWEE) dynasty in 589, was a time of civil war and upheaval; yet thanks to a book called Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it would also be remembered as an age of great glory and adventure.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a novel, or extended work of fiction, based on records kept at the time of the events it depicts. A thousand years later, these stories were compiled and rewritten by Lo Kuan-chung (GWAHN-zhoong; c. 1330-c. 1400) as Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The book is equivalent to works more well known in the West, such as the tales of King Arthur and his knights: in the case of such stories, writers took great liberty with historical facts in order to portray events of the past as glorious and romantic.
World History
