Luo Ben (c. 1330–1400, or c.1280–1360), better known by his

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

Guanzhong (Mandarin pronunciation: ), was a Chinese writer who lived during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. He was also known by his pseudonym Huhai Sanren (). Luo was attributed with writing ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...

'', one of the

Four Great Classical Novels Classic Chinese Novels () are the best-known novels of pre-modern Chinese literature. These are among the world's longest and oldest novels. They represented a new complexity in structure and sophistication in language that helped to establish ...

of Chinese literature.

Identity

The location and date of Luo's birth are controversial. One possibility was that he was from

Taiyuan Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. ...

, and lived in the late

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

and early

by the record of his contemporary, the playwright Jia Zhongming (賈仲明), who said that he had met him in 1364. Another possibility was that he was born in Dongyuan, the province of

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

, in about 1280 – 1360. Literary historians suggest other possibilities for his home, also including

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

and

Jiangnan Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...

. According to Meng Fanren (孟繁仁), Luo can be identified in the pedigree of the Luo family, and Taiyuan is most likely his hometown. But, his name is not in this pedigree, and some people believe that pedigree of the Luo Family can't prove that Luo is the author of Three Kingdoms. Some people doubt that If Luo came from Taiyuan, why he had intimate knowledge of people life in Shandong, and he had taken all his time and energy to write about them, and not about people in Taiyuan. Some people believe that the source of Taiyuan statement, which was written by Jia Zhongming (賈仲明), is most likely wrong in handwritten copy. According to recent research, there were two people named Luo Guanzhong during this time (陈辽，Chen Liao): one was a drama artist who came from Taiyuan, and the other was the author of the novel who came from Dongping. Recent research has suggested that his date of birth was between 1315–1318.Ouyang Jian, referenced in Roberts 1991, pg. 938 But other sources state it was nearer to 1330.

Works

The stories forming the bulk of ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' and ''Water Margin'' are thought to have been developed by many independent storytellers.

Shi Nai'an Shi Nai'an (, ca. 1296–1372) was a Chinese writer from the Yuan and early Ming periods. ''Shuihu zhuan'' (''Water Margin''), one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, is traditionally attributed to him. There are few re ...

is thought to be the first to assemble ''Water Margin'' into a unified work, and Luo subsequently brought it to the current form of 100 chapters. Luo is usually considered the author of ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''. ''

The Three Sui Quash the Demons' Revolt ''The Three Sui Quash the Demons' Revolt'' (; ) also translated as ''Quelling the Demons' Revolt'' and ''The Sorcerer's Revolt'' is a Chinese novel attributed to the 14th-century novelist Luo Guanzhong, although the earliest extant version was com ...

'' (平妖傳) is a shenmo fantasy story attributed to Luo with 20 chapters, developed from the original pieces of storytelling based on a rebellion at the end of the

Northern Song Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

, and later expanded by

Feng Menglong Feng Menglong (1574–1646), courtesy names Youlong (), Gongyu (), Ziyou (), or Eryou (), was a Chinese historian, novelist, and poet of the late Ming Dynasty. He was born in Changzhou County, now part of Suzhou, in Jiangsu Province. Life Fe ...

(馮夢龍) into 40 chapters. ''Can Tang Wudai Shi Yanzhuan'' (殘唐五代史演義傳) is a chronicle of the end of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

and the following

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...

, a compilation of storytelling pieces based on the rebellion of

Zhu Wen Emperor Taizu of Later Liang (), personal name Zhu Quanzhong () (December 5, 852 – July 18, 912), né Zhu Wen (), name later changed to Zhu Huang (), nickname Zhu San (朱三, literally, "the third Zhu"), was a Chinese military general, mona ...

Images

Bibliography

*''

Can Tang Wudai Shi Yanzhuan Can may refer to: Containers * Aluminum can * Drink can * Oil can * Steel and tin cans * Trash can * Petrol can A fuel container is a container such as a steel can, bottle, drum, etc. for transporting, storing, and dispensing various fuels. ...

'' (残唐五代史演義, "The End of Tang Dynasty and the Period of the Five Dynasties") *'' Fenzhuang Lou'' (粉妝樓, "Cosmetical Building") *''

'' *''

Sui Tang Zhizhuan Sui or SUI may refer to: Places * Sui County, Henan, China * Sui County, Hubei in western Suizhou, Hubei in central China * Suizhou, Hubei, China, formerly Sui County * Sui, Bhiwani, Haryana, India * Sui, Rajasthan, India * Sui, Balochistan, P ...

'' (隋唐志傳) *''

Sui Tang Liangchao Zhizhuan Sui or SUI may refer to: Places * Sui County, Henan, China * Sui County, Hubei in western Suizhou, Hubei in central China * Suizhou, Hubei, China, formerly Sui County * Sui, Bhiwani, Haryana, India * Sui, Rajasthan, India * Sui, Balochistan, P ...

'' (隋唐兩朝志傳, "The Chronicle of the Sui and Tang Dynasties) *''

'' (attributed) *''

Water Margin ''Water Margin'' (''Shuihu zhuan'') is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin, and is attributed to Shi Nai'an. It is also translated as ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''. The story, which is s ...

'' (editing)

References

Citations

Sources

* *
A record of a conference on ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' in China in 1999
*

External links

* * *

Andrew West Andrew or Andy West may refer to: * Andrew West (linguist) (born 1960), English linguist * Andrew West (pianist) (born 1979), English pianist * Andrew Fleming West (1853–1943), American classicist and academic administrator * Andrew J. West ( ...

The Textual History of Sanguo Yanyi - Authorship
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luo, Guanzhong 14th-century Chinese people 14th-century Chinese novelists Chinese historical novelists Chinese male novelists Ming dynasty novelists People from Jinzhong Writers from Shanxi Year of birth uncertain Yuan dynasty people Romance of the Three Kingdoms