Stories from the Three Kingdoms period existed as oral traditions before any written compilations. In these popular stories, the characters typically took on exaggerated and mythical characteristics, often becoming immortals or supernatural beings with magical powers. With their focus on the history of Han Chinese, the stories grew in popularity during the reign of the foreign Mongol emperors of the Yuán Dynasty (AD 1279-1368). During the succeeding Míng Dynasty, an interest in plays and novels resulted in further expansions and retelling of the stories.

The earliest attempt to combine these stories into a written work was Sān Guó Zhì Píng Huà (三國誌評話), literally "Commentary on Sanguozhi", published sometime between 1321 and 1323. This version combined themes of magic, myth, and morality to appeal to the peasant class. Elements of reincarnation and karma were woven into this version of the story. The decline of the Hàn Dynasty was thus traced to the sins of its founding emperor, Hàn Gāo Zǔ, who unjustly executed his three able generals Hán Xìn (韓信), Péng Yùe (彭越) and Yīng Bù (英布). Hàn Gāo Zǔ was later reborn as the last Hàn emperor, Emperor Xiàn, while the three generals were reincarnated as rulers of the three kingdoms: Hán Xìn became Cáo Cāo; Péng Yùe became Liú Bèi; and Yīng Bù became Sūn Quán. This time the emperor was to suffer at the hands of Cáo Cāo.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms as we know it today is attributed to Luó Guànzhōng, written between 1330 and 1400 (late Yuán to early Ming period). It was written in partly plain and partly Classical Chinese and was considered the standard text for 300 years. Luó made use of available historical records, including the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms compiled by Chén Shòu, which covered events from the Yellow Turban Rebellion in AD 184 up to the unification of the three kingdoms under the Jìn Dynasty in AD 280. Luó combined this historical knowledge with a gift for storytelling to create a rich tapestry of personalities, and initially published it in 24 volumes. During Kangxi's reign in the Qing Dynasty, Mao Zhonggang significantly edited the text and fitted it into 120 chapters. Nowadays, Mao's version is the most common.

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 novels 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 (西涼). 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.

After quelling the forces of Yuán Shàng and Yuán Tán, who were fighting one another for the right to be the heir of the Yuán clan, Cáo Cāo soon turned his attention south. He personally led troops to invade Xīnyě. The people of Xīnyě loved and respected Liú Bèi, for he governed the city well. Facing imminent invasion, the entire city decided to follow Liú on foot further south into Jīngzhōu to seek protection from Liú Biǎo, who was a distant cousin of Liú Bèi.

Unfortunately, Liú Biǎo then died, leaving Jīngzhōu split between his two sons, with the younger son Liú Cōng surrendering. Leading the people of Xīnyě to Xiāngyáng, where Liú Cōng ruled, Liú Bèi was denied entry to the city. He had no choice but to carry on south towards Jiāngxià (江夏), where Liú Qí, the elder son, ruled. By the time the exodus was complete, many civilians had been chased and killed by Cáo's men. But in Jiāngxià, Liú Bèi was finally able to establish a foothold against the onslaught of Cáo Cāo.

Away in the southeast, Sūn Quán was newly placed in command after the untimely death of his elder brother Sūn Cè. Liú Bèi intended to ally with Sūn, while Cáo Cāo ordered Sūn to surrender. However, Zhūgě Liàng personally journeyed to Cháisāng (柴桑) and, after many attempts on his life by Wú advisor Zhou Yu, he persuaded Sūn to cooperate with Liú. This collusion eventually led to Cáo's heaviest defeat at the Battle of Red Cliffs.

In a bid to do away with Liú Bèi, whom he deemed to be a potential threat, Sūn Quán offered to marry his own sister to Liú at the counsel of Zhou Yu. Liú Bèi was lured to Cháisāng for the wedding, where there was a plot to assassinate him. However, Sūn Quán was very filial towards his step-mother, the Sun Dowager, who had taken care of him after his blood mother died. The Sun Dowager took a liking to Liú Bèi, and when she got wind of the plot to assassinate him, she flew into a great rage and insisted that no harm was to come to him. Sūn Quán, being left with no choice, agreed. Aided by the cunning of Zhūgě Liàng, Liú Bèi later escaped back to Jiāngxià together with his new wife on the pretext of going to offer incense to the ancestors during the Lunar New Year.

Liú Bèi, with the help of Zhūgě Liàng, then proceeded to capture much of Jīngzhōu and Yīzhōu. Soon after he conquered Han Zhong from Cáo Cāo, he proclaimed himself the Prince of Hanzhong.

The situation among the three major powers almost reached a stalemate after this, until Cáo Cāo died in AD 220 (probably of a brain tumor). The next year, Cáo Cāo's second son Cáo Pī forced Emperor Xiàn to abdicate and formally established the Cáo Wèi. In response to this, Liú Bèi declared himself Lord of the Kingdom of Shǔ Hàn (to signify that he still carried on the bloodline of the Hàn royal family, but was based in Shǔ).

At this time, Sūn Quán leaned to Wèi again. He attacked Liú Bèi's Jīngzhōu while its governor, Liú Bèi's much-esteemed 'brother' Guān Yǔ, was away attacking Cáo Wèi. Sūn, with his able generals Lü Meng and Lù Xùn, conquered a huge portion of Liú's lands and captured and executed Guān Yǔ. Then for an ally against the expected retaliation by Liú Bèi he accepted Cáo Pī's acknowledgement of his status as the Lord of the Kingdom of Wú. This allowed Sūn to concentrate his forces against Liú Bèi, who indeed launched a war against Wú over the slaying of Guān Yǔ.

A series of strategic mistakes due to the impetuosity of Liú Bèi led to the cataclysmic defeat of Shǔ troops in the Battle of Yi Ling after initial victories against Wú. However, Lù Xùn (陸遜), the military advisor of Wú who spearheaded the war against Shǔ, refrained from pursuing deep into the west. Lù's caution was vindicated when Cáo Pī launched an invasion against Wú, thinking that Wú forces would still be abroad. The invasion was crushed by strong Wú resistance, coupled with a plague outbreak.

Meanwhile, in Baidicheng, Liú Bèi died of sickness, leaving his young and weak-willed son Liú Shàn in the care of Zhūgě Liàng. In a moving final conversation between Liú Bèi and Zhūgě Liàng, Liú Bèi asked Zhūgě Liàng to assume the imperial throne himself in place of Liú's if Liú Shàn is proven to be inept. He refused to do so, and swore that he would remain faithful to the trust that Liú Bèi had for him. This promise was to be a raison d'être for Zhūgě Liàng for the rest of his life.

In Wèi, seizing the opportunity, Cáo Pī tried to bribe several forces, including Sūn Quán, Meng Da, Meng Huo of the Nanman, and the Qiang tribe, into attacking Shǔ, along with a main army by Cao Wei itself. By employing able generals such as Wei Yan, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, he forced Meng Huo, Cao Wei and the Qiang into retreat respectively; then by sending an envoy to Meng Da, who was a general under Shu Han that betrayed Liu Bei, he successfully persuaded Meng Da to feign sickness and retreat. Seeing that all the other four offensives failed, Sun Quan decided not to attack Shǔ; An envoy from Shǔ eventually persuaded Sūn Quán to reaffirm its alliance with Shǔ.

In one of his final strokes of brilliance, Zhūgě Liàng launched a campaign against Mèng Huò, the king of Mán tribe (蠻族). Zhūgě Liàng captured Mèng Huò alive six times, each time letting him go unscathed and showing him the Shǔ camp, so that Mèng Huò could form a new plan. When Zhūgě decided to let Mèng Huò go the seventh time he was captured, he was moved by Zhūgě Liàng's wit and benevolence and swore allegiance to Shǔ forever.

At this time, Cáo Pī also died in illness. Zhūgě Liàng then turned his eyes northwards. However, his days were numbered and Shǔ was far too weak to overcome the material superiority of Wèi. His last significant victory against Wèi was probably the defection of Jiāng Wéi, a general whose brilliance paralleled his own.

Zhūgě Liàng had all along had a chronic illness, which was compounded when he refused to rest even to the wee hours of the morning, so that he would be able to complete his analysis of the battlegrounds or to formulate his next plan. He finally died of sickness at the Battle of Wǔ Zhàng Plains, while leading a stalemated battle against the Wèi strategist, Sīmǎ Yì, with his far superior force. As a final ploy, he set a statue of himself up, and bought time for the Shǔ army to retreat, as Sīmǎ Yì believed that Zhūgě Liàng had returned from the grave.

Jiāng Wéi carried on Zhūgě Liàng's campaign against Wèi for a bitter three decades, even after Liú Shàn surrendered. Jiāng plotted to incite internal strife between Dèng Ài and Zhōng Huì, and Dèng Ài and Jiāng Wéi planned to rebuild Shǔ. However, he was not able to see it to the end when his heartache grew intolerable in the midst of the final battle. He then killed himself with a sword, marking the last stand of Shǔ.

The long years of battle between Wèi and Shǔ saw many changes on Wèi's throne. The Cáo family gradually grew weak. Eventually, during the reign of Cáo Huàn, Sīmǎ Yán forced him to abdicate in the same fashion Cáo Pī forced Liu Xie. Sīmǎ Yán then established the Jìn Dynasty in AD 265, making himself the first emperor of the new dynasty.

The last lord of the kingdom of Wú, Sūn Hào (孫皓), was subdued by Sīmǎ Yán only in AD 280. All three last rulers of the kingdoms, Cáo Huàn, Liú Shàn and Sūn Hào, were allowed to live until their natural deaths. Thus the Three Kingdoms period concluded after almost a century of civil strife.

Luó Guànzhōng's re-telling of this story also gives us a window into the politics of his time. The contemporary Míng Emperor Wànlì had officially elevated Guān Yǔ to the position of a god, Lord Guan, to promote Guān Yǔ's characteristics of bravery and extreme fidelity (characteristics the emperor no doubt wanted to promote in his subjects). Luó Guànzhōng, however, gives us a more complex Guān Yǔ who dies a shattered idol, deserving pity because of his overconfidence. This dissonance was overlooked in traditional commentaries on the text but recent research finds in Luó Guànzhōng's Guān Yǔ a fascinating reflection of Chinese culture under Míng rule, the author complying with the program of imperial propaganda while also subtly subverting it.

Besides the famous oath, many in use today are derived from the novel:

"Spouses are as clothing, but brothers are as limbs." (妻子如衣服, 兄弟如手足) (a broken marriage can be easily sewn back together, but a damaged friendship can never be repaired or replaced)

"Speak of 'Cáo Cāo' and Cáo Cāo is at the gates." (說曹操, 曹操到) (equivalent to "speak of the devil" in English when a person under discussion suddenly appears)

"Three smelly tailors, defeat one Zhūgě Liàng." (三個臭皮匠, 勝過一個諸葛亮, or more colloquially, 三個臭皮匠, 賽過諸葛亮) (Three incapable persons if joined up will always overpower one capable person)