Romance of the Three Kingdoms Volume 2 - 9780804834681

Name : Romance of the Three Kingdoms Volume 2
Binding : Paperback
Publication Date : 2002-04-15
Author : Kuan-Chung, Lo
Publisher : Tuttle Publishing
ISBN-13 : 9780804834681
Language : English
Pages : 680


Description :
This epic saga of brotherhood and rivalryof loyalty and treacheryof victory and deathforms part of the indelible core of classical Chinese culture and continues to fascinate modern-day readers.
In 220 ECthe 400-year-old rule of the mighty Han dynasty came to an end and three kingdoms contested for control of China. Liu Peithe legitimate heir to the Han throneelects to fight for his birthright and enlists the aid of his sworn brothersthe impulsive giant Chang Fei and the invincible knight Kuan Yu. The brave band faces a formidable array of enemiesforemost among them the treacherous and bloodthirsty Ts'ao Ts'ao. The bold struggle of the three heroes seems doomed until the reclusive wizard Chuko Liang offers his counseland the tide begins to turn.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is China's oldest novel and the first of a great tradition of historical fiction. Believed to have been compiled by the play-wright Lo Kuan-chung in the late fourteenth centuryit is indebted to the great San-kuo chi (Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms) completed by the historian Ch'en Shou just before his death in 297 CE. The novel first appeared in print in 1522. This editiontranslated in the mid-1920s by C. H. Brewitt-Tayloris based on a shortened and simplified version which appeared in the 1670s. An Introduction to this reprint by Robert E. HegelProfessor of Chinese and Comparative Literature at Washington Universityprovides an insightful commentary on the historical background to the novelits literary origins and its main characters.