| All the worlds under heaven, | | | | novel has been rewritten many times. It was originally |
| After a long period of division, | | | | based on Recordings of the Three Kingdoms by Chen |
| Tends to come together; | | | | Shou of the Jin Dynasty, as well as historical notes |
| After a long period of unity, | | | | kept by Pei Songzhi of the Southern Dynasty. The |
| Tends to fall apart. | | | | Romance of the Three Kingdom’s evolution from |
| | | | | historical facts and tales was a common technique |
| Written by Luo Guanzhong ( ??? ) in the late Yuan | | | | that was well followed by later Chinese classical |
| and early Ming period (the exact period is not known ), | | | | novels. Indeed, in the modern world as we know today, |
| the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, continue to be | | | | it is also common to see movies and books written |
| the most popular classical novels in Chinese Literature | | | | with storyline based partially on historical facts. This |
| all these years. | | | | technique was also used in western movies. |
| | | | | |
| The period of the Three Kingdoms, from late Eastern | | | | The story has three main characters, Cao Cao, Zhuge |
| Han to the Western Jin Dynasty (169-265 AD) lasted | | | | Liang and Guan Yu. Cao Cao was, somewhat |
| about ninety years, and was an extremely chaotic | | | | incorrectly, portrayed as a treacherous and evil |
| period in which heroes rose to compete against one | | | | overlord, while Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu were |
| another and legends were made. Among the famous | | | | endowed with Confucius’s virtuous attributes of |
| incidents was one of the most decisive battle in | | | | humility, loyalty and righteousness. This preference was |
| ancient China, the Battle of the Red Cliff ( ???? ) | | | | in part due to the early Chinese’s belief that Liu Bei |
| where southern warlords Liu Bei and Sun Quan allied | | | | (whom Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu served) was the |
| to stopped the numerically superior Cao Cao from | | | | orthodox ruler descended from the royal Han family. |
| crossing the Yangtze river. The battle stopped Cao | | | | Read more about China History and the Romance of |
| Cao from conquering the South and marked the | | | | the Three Kingdoms. |
| border demarcation of the three forces which was the | | | | Copyright @ |
| foundation for the formation of the Three Kingdoms. | | | | Interested in China and the Chinese Culture? Read |
| | | | | more articles by Linus Leong at eChina Expat Articles. |
| About seventy percent truthful to historical records, the | | | | |