Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel (World Literature in Translation)

Description

“A material epic with an astonishing fidelity to history."—New York Times Book Review Three Kingdoms tells the story of the fateful last reign of the Han dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 220), when the Chinese empire was divided into three warring kingdoms. 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. This abridged edition captures the novel's intimate and unsparing view of how power is wielded, how diplomacy is conducted, and how wars are planned and fought. As important for Chinese culture as the Homeric epics have been for the West, this Ming dynasty masterpiece continues to be widely influential in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam and remains a great work of world literature. Cover Three Kingdoms Title Copyright CONTENTS Foreword to the Abridged Edition Preface to the Abridged Edition Acknowledgments for the Unabridged Edition Foreword to the Unabridged Edition THREE KINGDOMS: A HISTORICAL NOVEL Afterword: About Three Kingdoms List of Principal Characters Chronology of Main Events