The Three Kingdoms, Vol 1, 2, and 3
I’m reading the Iverson translation, but the Moss Roberts is also highly recommended. I’m going to read the first two Iverson volumes and the Moss Roberts for the third (it’s divided into four volumes, so I’ll pick it up somewhere into the third).
Volume 1: The Sacred Oath
Summary here: https://randallwriting.com/three-kingdoms-chapter-summary-1/
Chapter 27, Guan Yu the Beautiful Beard Travels a Thousand Li And Slays Six Officers at Five Passes - This would be a great movie, along the lines of Kill Bill (in fact, the plots are so similar one might’ve inspired the other). Guan Yu, separated from his oath-bound brother and leader Liu Bei, has taken up with Cao Cao, fearing his brother dead. Guan Yu keeps telling Cao Cao that he would go to Liu Bei when he finds him, but it turns out Liu Bei is with Yang Shao, Cao Cao’s rival. Guan Yu leaves at once, with Cao Cao’s passive blessing, but six officers block his path. Guan Yu, riding the unrivaled Red Hare and donning his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, smites each warrior who stands in his way to be reunited with Liu Bei, who has since departed from Yang Shao.
Fun Three Kingdom’s drinking game - any time:
- a messenger is killed
- a messenger is almost killed but is saved by entreaties from advisers
- bouts are exchanged (like one on one duels)
- some leader says “who will capture him for me”
- killing a leader wins a battle
- someone dies less than two sentences after being introduced
- a new character is introduced and gets promoted to general in under two sentences
- a new character is introduced and becomes a high-ranking strategist for another character in under two sentences
Liu Bei really isn’t very heroic in this first volume. He mostly gets it handed to him and runs from the shelter of one powerful benefactor to another, although all the characters seem to regard him as a sleeping dragon.
Why I read this book
This book is acclaimed as perhaps the greatest of the Four Greatest Classical Novels of chinese literature, and as a student of history, myth, and fiction, any further education would be impoverished were it missing this novel.
One key takeaway
“Unity succeeds division and division follows unity. One is bound to be replaced by the other after a long span of time.” This sets the tone for the tragedy of this work.
How was the book
At first, this book was really hard to follow until the general narrative is set and the main characters resolve. It is very much a court intrigue and battle heavy story, similar to Game of Thrones. You have the reluctant hero, Liu Bei (who doesn’t seem to ever win a single battle, and mostly denies any chance to seize power), the treacherous villain Cao Cao, the impetuous warrior Lu Bu, Liu Bei’s sworn brothers the incorruptible Guan Yu and the hot-headed Zhang Fei, the tyrannical Dong Zhuo, a weak and ineffectual Emperor Xian, and then like a billion advisers and petty warriors. For a 700 year old story, it holds up really well, and is one part The Iliad, another Beowulf. There is tons of concentration paid to supply lines and strategic gambits, to posturing warriors and humongous forces, to ambushes and feints, intrigue and treachery. It’s a really great story once it gets going.
I can’t speak to the quality of the translation other than to say it seems well-regarded online, and this is the first translation by a native Chinese speaker, Yu Sumei. What I can say is that while this version seems well put together, I would have really enjoyed a map at the beginning, or even a few maps sprinkled throughout. During the earlier battles, it is hard to figure out who is fighting whom, and where everything is happening, especially as the names share nothing with current geography.
I’ve taken a look at the other “definitive” English translation, the Moss Roberts edition. In addition to being much cheaper, I like the tone and language used in the Yu Sumei version better. For example, Moss Robert’s version has chapter 15 as “Taishi Ci and Sun Ce Fight Their Hearts Out; Sun Ce Plants His Kingdom South of the River”, whereas Yu Sumei has it as Taishi Chi Fights a Fierce Battle with Sun Ce; Sun Ce competes with the White Tiger”. Subtle, by less sappy.
Volume 2: The Sleeping Dragon
Pronunciation Guide
Consonants
x - The best way to think of x is as an “sh” sound. This is not quite accurate, as “sh” is also used in Chinese and has a subtly different pronunciation. For those interested in understanding the distinction, the “sh” in Pinyin is much closer to the typical English sh, while “x” is pronounced with the tongue near the front of the mouth.
c - This is a “ts” sound, NOT a k sound. Chinese also has the k sound, but it is (unsurprisingly) represented in Pinyin with a k.
zh - This is most similar to an English j or hard soft g. Like with “x”, this is not quite accurate, but it’s close enough. Chinese also has another j, but (like with “x” and “sh”) it is made with the tongue closer to the front of the mouth, while zh is made with the tongue further back. This means Dong Zhuo should not be pronounced the same as “Dong Zuo”, but rather more like “Dong Juo”
q - This is basically a ch sound, though Chinese also has another “ch”. Just like “x/sh” and “j/zh”, the difference between “q” and “ch” is that q is pronounced with the tongue at the front of the mouth (almost to the point that you’re touching your front teeth with it) while ch is pronounced with the tongue much further back.
Vowel Sounds
ou and uo - This is one of the more frustrating ones to hear. In Chinese, ou is pronounced the same as you pronounce the word “Oh”. On the other hand, uo does not have an English equivalent. The best I can give is the beginning of the world “woah”: essentially just the “wo”, before you transition to the “oh” sound at the end.
e - This is not a long e sound, but rather a schwa – the same sound as in “uh”.
a - This is a short a, as in “mama”, except when it follows a “y”, in which case it becomes the same vowel as in “men”
i - Usually, this is a long e, as in “treat”. However, it can also be the vowel sound in “her”; this happens when it follows “sh”, “zh”, “ch”, or “r”. And it has a third sound when it follows “z”, “c” and “s”, which is most similar to “uh”. (There’s no real English equivalent to this third sound.)
u - The vowel sound in “too”.
ü - This one is tricky, because it’s actually different than the u above and there’s no direct English equivalent. It is similar to “u” except heavily nasalized. (Inconveniently, Lü Bu has both “u” and “ü” in his name. These are different!)
iu - Unfortunately, this is a bit different than just “i” and “u” stuck together. It is a long “e” followed by the “yo” in “yo-yo” – “ee-yo” – but glided together so it is only one syllable.
ei - The vowel sound in “may”
ao - The vowel sound in “now”
ua - Adding the “u” in front of the “a” changes the “a” sound to a schwa.
Sample Names
- Cao Cao - Tsow Tsow (same sound as “now”)
- Liu Bei - Lee-yo Bay
- Sun Jian - Swuhn Jee-en
- Yuan Shao - You-en Sh-ow
- Yuan Shu - You-en Shoe
- Zhang Yan - Jahng Yen (“yen” like the currency)
- Zheng Jiang - J-ung Jee-ahng
- Dong Zhuo- Dong Joo-oh
- Gongsun Zan - Gong swuhn zahn
- Liu Biao- Lee-yo Bee-y-ow (just like “meow” but with a b)
- Ma Teng - Mah T-uh-ng (like “tongue”)
- Kong Rong- Kong Rong
- He Yi - Huh Yee
- Gong Du - Gong Doo
- Huang Shao - Who-ahng Sh-ow
- Sun Ren - Swuhn Ruhn
- Zhang Fei - Jang Fey
- Guan Yu - Goo-ahn Yoo
- Sima Yi- Suh ma yee
- Zhuge Liang - Joo guh lee-ahng
- Xiahou Dun - She-ah hoe dwuhn