Romance of the Three Kingdoms written by Luó Guànzhōng in the 14th century, is a Chinese historical novel based upon events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty, and the Three Kingdoms period (220-280). It is acclaimed as one of the Four Classical Novels of Chinese literature.
Story:
It must be understood that one of the greatest achievements of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is the extreme complexity of its stories and characters. The novel is studded with numerous "mini-stories", many of which could be developed into full-length feature films in their own right (the Battle of Red Cliffs and the treatment of Guān Yǔ by Huá Tuó being two examples). As such, the following effort only serves as a very high level summary of the entire story:
The story is set in the waning days of the Hàn Dynasty, when the last Hàn emperors placed heavy trust in
eunuchs and ostracized able officials. The
government became extremely corrupt and inefficient, leading to serious deterioration in the economy and national security. During the reign of the penultimate Hàn emperor,
emperor Líng, the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out under the leadership of Zhāng Jiǎo, who practised Taoist wizardry and supposedly held immortal powers. Zhāng Jiǎo pretended to be a travelling doctor curing people of sickness while secretly inciting the common people to rise up against the Han dynasty. In this time of turmoil many of the major characters are introduced; Liú Bèi and his two 'brothers' Guān Yǔ and Zhāng Fēi, Cáo Cāo and so forth.
The rebellion was quickly put down with the collective effort of the various
marquises under the leadership of Hé Jìn, who was the brother-in-law of the emperor and served as the
chief general to the central government. However, Hé Jìn was
soon tricked into the
palace and murdered by the eunuchs. A fight then broke out within the palace between the eunuchs and angry marquises, resulting in the victory of the latter.
Among the nobles who came to the rescue of the emperor was Dǒng Zhuō, who was a governor of Western Liáng (西凉). Dǒng Zhuō took the opportunity to move into the palace under the pretense of protecting the emperor. He then deposed Emperor Líng and placed on the throne Emperor Xiàn, whom he held in his power.
Dǒng Zhuō's tyrannical behavior soon aroused the wrath of the marquises, who united their forces behind Yuán Shào and drove Dǒng Zhuō from Luòyáng to Cháng'ān. Dǒng Zhuō was eventually killed by his own foster son Lǚ Bù, mightiest warrior of his time, in a dispute over Diào Chán, a beautiful woman they both coveted. This scheme was orchestrated by Wáng Yún, and although Dǒng Zhuō's chief advisor Lǐ Rú saw through the ruse, Dǒng Zhuō did not heed his warnings.
In the mean time, however, the nobles were having internal disagreements of their own. Sūn Jiān, father to Sūn Cè and Sūn Quán, found the imperial seal in the bottom of a well in the burnt down city of Luòyáng. Without a strong central government, the marquises returned to their own territories and soon began fighting among themselves. Many talented leaders who were formally without title or troops, such as Cáo Cāo and Liú Bèi, were also building up their own forces.
A series of events that ensued saw the rise in Cáo Cāo's power. A major victory Cáo scored was at Guāndù, during the military campaign against Yuán Shào. The defeat of the latter - due to his apparent inability to get over his son's toothache - laid the foundation for Cáo's absolute power over the entirety of northern China.
Meanwhile, in exile after a failed attempt to ambush Cáo Cāo, Liú Bèi established his base in Xīnyě (新野). There he acquired his chief advisor Zhūgě Liàng (or Kǒngmíng) after three visits to the latter's home. During the first two visits, Zhūge refused to see his visitors, pretending to be out. Only on the last visit was Zhūge moved by the sincerity and perseverance of Liú Bèi and agreed to join his side.
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