Romance of the Three Kingdoms for Beginners: The Story, Heroes and History Behind China's Epic

Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a fourteenth-century Chinese historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong, telling the story of the collapse of the Han dynasty and the long struggle between three rival states, Wei, Shu and Wu, from about 169 to 280 AD. It is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, with hundreds of characters, and its heroes, battles and schemes are still known across East Asia through games, films and comics.

Who wrote it?

The novel is traditionally credited to Luo Guanzhong, a writer of the late Yuan and early Ming periods about whom little is known for certain. He drew on the official history Records of the Three Kingdoms by Chen Shou, as well as centuries of folk tales, storytellers' versions and plays. The version most people read today was edited in the seventeenth century by Mao Lun and his son Mao Zonggang.

History or fiction?

A famous traditional estimate says the book is "seven parts fact and three parts fiction". The main events and people are real, but many scenes are invented or exaggerated, and the novel takes sides. It generally presents Liu Bei and his state of Shu as the rightful heirs of the Han, and Cao Cao of Wei as a cunning villain. Historians see Cao Cao in a much more balanced way, as a capable ruler, general and poet.

The story in brief

The story begins as the Han dynasty weakens. Peasant rebels known as the Yellow Turbans rise up, and powerful warlords begin fighting for control. Three men, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, swear brotherhood in a peach garden, promising to serve the country together; this "Oath of the Peach Garden" is one of the best-known scenes in Chinese literature.

Cao Cao gains control of the emperor and the north. Liu Bei, with few resources, visits the brilliant strategist Zhuge Liang three times at his thatched cottage before Zhuge agrees to serve him. In the great Battle of Red Cliffs, the allied forces of Liu Bei and Sun Quan of Wu defeat Cao Cao's huge fleet with fire. China is then divided into three states.

The later chapters are full of loss. Guan Yu is captured and killed, Zhang Fei is murdered, and Liu Bei dies after a failed campaign of revenge. Zhuge Liang leads repeated northern expeditions against Wei but dies before he can succeed. In the end none of the three original states wins: the Sima family takes over Wei, founds the Jin dynasty and reunifies China in 280.

Heroes to remember

Liu Bei is shown as kind and virtuous, winning loyalty through character. Guan Yu becomes the model of loyalty and courage and was later worshipped as a god. Zhang Fei is fierce and hot-tempered. Zhuge Liang is the ultimate wise strategist. Cao Cao is ambitious, clever and ruthless, the novel's great antihero.

Why it is still read

The novel is about loyalty, strategy, ambition and the rise and fall of power. Its opening line says that the empire, long divided, must unite, and long united, must divide. Business leaders read it for strategy, and many popular video games are based on it. For learners of Chinese, it is the source of many common idioms.

Learn with the Three Kingdoms: Chinese idioms

Idiom	Meaning	Example
三顾茅庐 (sān gù máo lú)	to sincerely invite someone again and again	The company made three visits, like 三顾茅庐, to hire her.
桃园结义 (táo yuán jié yì)	to swear deep friendship	The three friends made a "peach garden oath".
说曹操，曹操到	speak of the devil	We were just talking about him, and here he is!
鞠躬尽瘁 (jū gōng jìn cuì)	to give everything to a duty	He worked like Zhuge Liang, giving his all.
空城计 (kōng chéng jì)	a bold bluff	Her calm answer was an "empty fort strategy".

Try this: Write three sentences about a friend or teammate, using "speak of the devil" and the idea of the "peach garden oath".