Luo guanzhong, 301400, chinese writer who traditionally has been credited as the author of the classic chinese novels sanguozhi yanyi three kingdoms and shuihuzhuan water margin, or all men are brothers. At the lead was one general with a broad open face, a body as an alert tigers, and a torso as a lofty bears. Three kingdoms by guanzhong luo paperback university. I have the moss roberts translation, which is excellent. Romance of the three kingdoms books and literature. Three kingdoms a historical novel, fifteenth anniversary abridged edition with. Romance of three kingdoms by luo guanzhong table of contents. Feb 23, 2012 5 responses to romance of the three kingdoms i love romance, and am enjoying outlaws. Im still marketing it out to literary agents at the moment. Romance of the three kingdoms author luo guanzhong original title. Romance of the three kingdoms book by luo guanzhong.
This english edition, by us sinologist moss roberts, is based on the mao zonggang edition published during the reign of emperor kangxi of the qing dynasty 1644 1911. Moss roberts comments on this in his fourth volume of his english translation of romance of the three kingdoms on page 2179 under chapter 95 notes, fourth and last paragraph of the chapter notes. I own 5 editions of brewitttaylor 1925, 1929, 1959, 1985, 1995, and 3 roberts editions 1976, 1991, 1999. Is there unabridged kindle version of the romance of the. If you can, i would find a copy of the novel with the modern names, or otherwise you will be reading cao cao as tsao tsao. Then a few years ago i finally found and purchased the full unabridged version published by the university of california press and also translated by dr. Jan 21, 2000 reading the romance of the three kingdoms in translation. The novel offers a startling and unsparing view of how power is wielded, how diplomacy is conducted, and how wars are planned and fought. It is an historical novel written in the 14th century by luo guanzhong set in the three kingdoms period at the end of the han dynasty. Hello there friends, this is my first thread on this forum and i could never imagine it would be about this, but here we are. Written more than six centuries ago and still read by millions throughtout asia today, the romance of three kingdoms is an epic chinese novel set during the han dynasty that dramatizes the lives of feudal lords and their retainers, recounting their personal and military battles, intrigues, and struggles to achieve dominance for almost 100 years. Three kingdoms, a historical novel by guanzhong luo.
The historical sima yi was not at the western front for the vacant city ruse but at the more important southern front with the southland wu. Romance of the three kingdoms illustrated in english and chinese 2008 asiapac books. Romance of the three kingdoms gongjins campaign memorials. Best english translation of the romance of the three. It tells the story of the fall of the han dynasty in the. I read the 1976 abridged version of three kingdoms translated by moss roberts first and thought it was pretty good, but felt that the story wasnt developed enough and lacked cohesion. Roberts deliberately made some stylistic choices that would render it more approachable and readable to new readers e.
Writing some twelve hundred years later, the ming author luo guanzhong drew on histories, dramas, and poems portraying the crisis to fashion a. Actually, the romance sums it up with one long poem at the very end of the novel. Romance of the three kingdoms was written sometime around the 14001500s late yuan to midming and tells a dramatized version of the fall of the han dynasty and the three kingdoms period, spanning 168280 a. Can anyone point me to a good english translation of the romance of the three kingdoms. While the text overall improved as a result, zhonggang excised some passages, sometimes lengthy ones, that dramatically changed the character of certain scenes in the novels. Which translation of romance of the three kingdoms should i read. Written in 14th century during the transition between the yuan and ming dynasties by luo guanzhong, romance of the three kingdoms serves as the first major chapterdivided novel in chinese history. Attributed to luo guanzhong, romance of the three kingdoms can be best described as a historical novel. Moss roberts is professor of chinese at new york university. Jul 02, 2004 it chronicles the tale of one of the periods of chinese history known as the three kingdoms period where the han dynasty fell apart into civil war, eventually forming three great kingdoms which continued to fight this civil war until the country is reunited. Languages and literatures of eastern asia, africa, oceania. Writing some twelve hundred years later, the ming author luo guanzhong drew on histories, dramas, and poems portraying the crisis to fashion a sophisticated, compelling narrative that has become the chinese national epic. What is the best translation of romance of the three.
Three kingdoms, a historical novel by guanzhong luo paperback. Three kingdoms portrays a fateful moment at the end of the han dynasty 206 b. Robertss elegant and powerful translation of chinas most important historical romance. Updated with a new foreword by moss roberts for this fifteenth anniversary edition, three kingdoms tells the story of the fateful last reign of the han dynasty 206 b. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the han. Brewitttaylor for flowery classical translation, moss roberts for simpler easiertoread translation. Chineseenglish, 5 volume set chinese and english edition luo guanzhong, moss roberts on. The objective of this section is to list the various products that one can find today with indepth information, links to the. English translation by moss roberts, introduction by shi changyu.
This english edition, by us sinologist moss roberts, is based on the mao zonggang edition published during the reign of. Romance of the three kingdoms book purchase information. Service grew up in china and was a foreign service officer there from 1933 to 1945. Jan 01, 2000 three kingdoms library of chinese classics. It is more enjoyable than the original chinese text, i truly agree. With this characterization of the inevitable cycle of chinese. Three kingdoms chineseenglish translated by moss roberts foreign language press, 2000 5 volumes, 3115 pages, hardcover rating. Readers can purchase either a twovolume set that contains the full work, or a one volume abridged edition that omits over a couple dozen chapters. Romance of the three kingdoms i need more of this resetera.
Three kingdoms by guanzhong luo paperback university of. He is the translator and editor of chinese fairy tales and fantasies 1979. Best english translation of the romance of the three kingdoms. Romance of the three kingdoms, attributed to luo guanzhong, is a historical novel set in the turbulent years towards the end of the han dynasty and the three. Since rotk fans often want to purchase paper books, they email me quite frequently to ask about the info of these editions. The three brothers lived in harmony, eating at the same table and sleeping on the same couch. So about 23 yrs ago i got into the romance of the three kingdoms thanks to videogames, mainly the dynasty warriors series and they say videogames dont teach anything i got so into the plot and the characters that i wanted to learn more about it. Scholars of shen zhou, kongmings archives discussion forum, is an online community devoted to the chinese novel romance of the three kingdoms, the three kingdoms period of chinese history, and all related games. I read it sidebyside with the original chinese and the fidelity and the masterful u. Chineseenglish, 5 volume set chinese and english edition. Ritsuko inami, sangokushi engi romance of three kingdoms tokyo. Mar 17, 2015 moss roberts translation, three kingdoms m is the one you want, unabridged if you can get it.
It was not until 1991 that a new translation of romance of the three kingdoms was made. This was done by moss roberts, a professor of chinese at new york university. A subreddit for those classy individuals who have a large fondness for the three kingdoms period of china andor the romance of the three kingdoms book or games. Three kingdoms tells the story of the fateful last reign. Romance of the three kingdoms audiobook, chapter 1 part 1. Roberts is professor of chinese at new york university. This decisive period in chinese history became a subject of intense and continuing interest to historians, poets, and dramatists.
This is one of the great works of world literature. What is the best translation of romance of the three kingdoms. Romance of the three kingdoms ix ost spring large force. I tried a different translation for romance of the three kingdoms done by brewitttalyor as well. Romance of three kingdoms by luo guanzhong table of. I have the five volume edition in both chineseenglish, but there is a two volume english one. Just then there arrived a body of horse and foot from the east. Unless moss roberts thought that only those already versed in the historical period of the three kingdoms would read this, i cannot fathom why he would deem it appropriate or even necessary to reveal such things to the reader without warning him first.
It includes a bunch of awesome optional footnotes with historical context and several notes about where the book deviates substantially from history e. Due to the popularity of the romance of the three kingdoms novel and the era behind it, many commercial products have been developed over the years including movies, books, games, and even action figures. Romance of the three kingdoms is a 14thcentury historical novel attributed to luo guanzhong. An earlier translation by roberts was an abridged shorter version. This deal is for a preowned, but unused copy of the 4 volume set of three kingdoms classic novel in four volumes, attributed to luo guanzhong, translated by moss roberts. I suppose this was published before the phrase spoiler alert was coined. Moss roberts, trans, luo guanzhong, three kingdoms beijing. Readers can purchase either a twovolume set that contains the full work, or a one volume abridged edition that omits over a. There are three translations that are of any merit. Romance of the three kingdoms, or, as is it is called in mandarin, san guo yan yi, is one of the four great classics of chinese literature the other three are the. Which translation of romance of the three kingdoms should. This book has influenced the ways that chinese think about power, diplomacy, and war, even to this day. Definitely the moss roberts translation and definitely the unabridged version. The translation by moss roberts uses the familiar pinyin system, so id recommend finding that one.
China history three kingdoms, 220265 fiction category. This is the unabridged version which was published later, sometime in the nineties. Many editions of three kingdoms have appeared, and the novel has been translated into foreign languages since the end of the 17th century. What is the aftermath of romance of the three kingdoms in. Romance of the three kingdoms, or sanguo yanyi in chinese, is the classic historical romance recounting the events following the collapse of the han dynasty 206 b. Three kingdoms, a historical novel complete and unabridged, part one. Feb 08, 2014 updated with a new foreword by moss roberts for this fifteenth anniversary edition, three kingdoms tells the story of the fateful last reign of the han dynasty 206 b. Buy three kingdoms a historical novel book online at low prices. What is the aftermath of romance of the three kingdoms in a. This hardcover 5volume edition might be of interest to hardcore three kingdoms fans and bilingual households. Mar 11, 2010 v 5romance of the three kingdoms 5 01. All featured romance of the three kingdoms books and literature. The moss roberts translation would appear to be the best. The romance of the three kingdoms by luo guanzhong.
It is more famous than chen shous records of three. Publication 14th century contents subjects three kingdoms period chapters 120 illustrations yes romance of the three kingdoms sanguo yanyi. The version used as the basis for the english translation is actually the 17th century version of the novel, extensively edited for readability by mao lun and his son, mao zhonggang. The following relates to the video game series by koei. It doesnt really hold up well compared to the moss roberts and the yu sumei translations. Both translations are readily available through most. Berkeley called three kingdoms is far and away the best. Moss roberts translation, three kingdomsm is the one you want, unabridged if you can get it. If you dont read japanese or mandarin, koei will screw you over.
This is moss roberts s translation of the mao version of the chinese classic three kingdoms, a highlyinfluential historical novel that covers a sweep of over a century from 168 a. Romance of the three kingdoms sgyy purchase and book. Im considering purchasing an english translation of the. The romance of three kingdoms covers the period 168 ad to 280 ad the collapse of the han.
Romance of the three kingdoms, or, as is it is called in mandarin, san guo yan yi, is one of the four great classics of chinese literature the other three are the outlaws of the marsh, dream of the red chamber and journey to the west. Romance of the three kingdoms contains everything you could wish for in such a history. Im also doing my best to introduce the west to these books, as ive written a fantasy version of romance. Three kingdoms tells the story of the fateful last reign of the han dynasty 206 b. Obviously the price difference is significant, but as an owner of both editions i can assure you that they are both worth their respective prices to a fan of the three kingdoms. Translated by moss roberts as gao zu entered xianyang, sword in hand, hans fiery sun climbed the tree of dawn.