Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

Chen Shou Chen Shou (; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is most known for his most celebrated work, the ''Records of the ...

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

,

Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' <

Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' <

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in h ...

in the Three Kingdoms period into a single compiled text. The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is the main source of influence for the 14th century historical novel ''

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 ...

,'' considered one of the great four novels of

Chinese classical literature Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confucian ...

. Major chunks of the records have been translated into English, but the tome has yet to be fully translated.

Origin and structure

The ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...

'', ''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. I ...

'' and ''

Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Later ...

'', and the ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' make up the four early historical texts of the ''

Twenty-Four Histories The ''Twenty-Four Histories'' (), also known as the ''Orthodox Histories'' (), are the Chinese official dynastic histories covering from the earliest dynasty in 3000 BC to the Ming dynasty in the 17th century. The Han dynasty official Sima Qia ...

'' canon. The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', also known as ''Sanguozhi'', contains 65 volumes and about 360,000

Chinese character Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the Written Chinese, writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are k ...

s broken into three books. The ''Book of Wei'' contains 30 volumes, the ''Book of Shu'' 15 volumes, while the ''Book of Wu'' contains 20 volumes. Each volume is organised in the form of one or more biographies. The author

Chen Shou Chen Shou (; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is most known for his most celebrated work, the ''Records of the ...

, was born in present-day Nanchong,

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

, in the state of

Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' <

Conquest of Shu by Wei The Conquest of Shu by Wei was a military campaign launched by the dynastic state of Cao Wei against its rival Shu Han in late 263 during the Three Kingdoms period of China. The campaign culminated in the fall of Shu Han and the tripartite equi ...

in 263, he became an official historian under the government of the Jin dynasty, and created a history of the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

period. After the

Conquest of Wu by Jin The conquest of Wu by Jin was a military campaign launched by the Western Jin dynasty against the Eastern Wu dynasty in 280 at the end of the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. The campaign concluded with the fall of Eastern Wu and ...

in 280, his work received the acclaim of senior minister

Zhang Hua Zhang Hua (232–7 May 300According to Sima Zhong's biography in ''Book of Jin'', Zhang Hua was killed on the ''guisi'' day of the 4th month of the 1st year of the ''Yongkang'' era of his reign. This corresponds to 7 May 300 永康元年夏四 ...

. Prior to the Jin dynasty, both the states of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

and Wu has already composed their own official histories, such as the ''Book of Wei'' by Wang Chen, the ''

Weilüe The ''Weilüe'' () was a Chinese historical text written by Yu Huan between 239 and 265. Yu Huan was an official in the state of Cao Wei (220–265) during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280). Although not a formal historian, Yu Huan has been h ...

'' by

Yu Huan Yu Huan ( third century) was a historian of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Life Yu Huan was from Jingzhao Commandery, which is around present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi.''Shitong'' vol. 12. He is best known for writin ...

, and the ''Book of Wu'' by Wei Zhao. Chen Shou used these texts as the foundation of the ''Records of the Three Kingdoms''. However, since the state of Shu lacked documents about its history, the ''Book of Shu'' in the ''Records'' was composed by Chen Shou himself based on his personal memories of his early life in Shu and other primary sources he collected, such as the writings of

Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang ( zh, t=諸葛亮 / 诸葛亮) (181 – September 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is ...

. The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' used the year 220 AD—which marks the end of the Han dynasty—as the year in which the state of Wei was established. The ''Records'' refer to the rulers of Wei as 'Emperors' and those of Shu and Wu as 'Lords' or by their personal names.

Legacy

The Records of the Three Kingdoms was the main source of inspiration for the 14th century

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

Classic Chinese 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 ...

. As such the records is considered one of the most influential historical and cultural texts in Chinese history. In addition, the records provide one of the earliest accounts of Korea and Japan. Chen's Records set the standard for how Korea and Japan would write their official histories as well.

Influence on Asia

Chen's Records is the final text of the "Four Histories" (), which together influenced and served as a model for Korean and Japanese official histories. The ''Records'' are important to the research of early Korean ( ''Samguk ji'') and Japanese history (三国志 Sangokushi). It provides, among other things, the first detailed account of Korean and Japanese societies such as

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...

,

Yemaek Yemaek or Yamaek () was an ancient tribal group in the northern Korean Peninsula and Manchuria who are regarded by some scholars as the ancestors of modern Koreans. They had ancestral ties to various Korean kingdoms including Gojoseon, Buyeo, Go ...

and Wa. The passages in Volume 30 about the Wa, where the Yamatai-koku and its ruler

Queen Himiko , also known as , was a shamaness-queen of Yamatai-koku in . Early Chinese dynastic histories chronicle tributary relations between Queen Himiko and the Cao Wei Kingdom (220–265) and record that the Yayoi period people chose her as ruler fo ...

are recorded, are referred to as the ''

Wajinden The ''Wajinden'' refers to the passages in the 30th volume of the Chinese history chronicle ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' that talk about the Wa people who would later be known as the Japanese people. It describes the mores, geography, and ...

'' in

Japanese studies Japanese studies (Japanese: ) or Japan studies (sometimes Japanology in Europe), is a sub-field of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on Japan. It incorporates fields such as the study of Japanese ...

. The Japanese started writing their own records in the early 7th century and the earliest extant native record is the ''

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

'' of 712.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

The text forms the foundation on which the 14th-century novel ''

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 ...

'' is based. In addition, Chen Shou's literary style and vivid portrayal of characters have been a source of influence for the novel. The Records include biographies of historical figures such as

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate Grand chancellor (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...

and

Guan Yu Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on ...

who feature prominently in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Some characters in the Romance were also fictional. See

List of fictional people of the Three Kingdoms The following is a list of fictional people significant to the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. The list includes characters in the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' by Luo Guanzhong and those found in othe ...

and

List of fictitious stories in Romance of the Three Kingdoms The following is a chronologically arranged list of apocryphal stories in the 14th century novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguo Yanyi''), one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Although the novel is a romanti ...

. However, most of the historical facts were drawn from Chen's Records.

Dates

Due to the biographical rather than primarily annalistic arrangement of the work, assigning dates to the historical content is both imprecise and non-trivial. Certain volumes contain background information about their subjects' forebears which date back centuries before the main record. For example, the biography of Liu Yan begins with discussing his ancestor Liu Yu's enfeoffment at Jingling (present-day

Tianmen Tianmen () is a sub-prefecture-level city (sometimes considered a county-level city) in central Hubei Province, China. It is on the Jianghan Plain, on the west side of Wuhan (the biggest city of Central China, as well as the capital of Hubei) ...

,

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

) in around 85 AD. The first event to receive detailed description throughout the work is the

Yellow Turban Rebellion The Yellow Turban Rebellion, alternatively translated as the Yellow Scarves Rebellion, was a List of peasant revolts, peasant revolt in China against the Eastern Han dynasty. The uprising broke out in 184 CE during the reign of Emperor Ling of ...

in 184. Many biographies make passing mention of the event, but more concrete information such as correspondence and troop movements during the uprising can be found in fragmentary form in at least four volumes: the biographies of

Cheng Yu Cheng Yu (141 – December 220), originally named Cheng Li, courtesy name Zhongde, was a Chinese politician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was an adviser to Cao Cao, the warlord who became the ''de facto'' head of ...

,

Yu Jin Yu Jin (died 221), courtesy name Wenze, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He joined Cao Cao in 192 around the start of the civil wars leading to the collapse of the dyna ...

,

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the H ...

, and

Sun Jian Sun Jian () () (155–191?), courtesy name Wentai, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He allied himself with Yuan Shu in 190 when warlords from eastern China formed a ...

. The three books in the ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' end at different dates, with the main section of the ''Book of Wei'' ending with the abdication of Cao Huan in 265, the ''Book of Shu'' ending with the death of

Liu Shan Liu Shan () (207–271), courtesy name Gongsi, was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. As he ascended the throne at the age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Lia ...

in 271, and the ''Book of Wu'' ending with the death of

Sun Hao Sun Hao (243 – January or February 284), courtesy name Yuanzong, originally named Sun Pengzu with the courtesy name Haozong, was the fourth and last emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the son ...

in 284. One abstract regarding the chronology is translated as follows:

Annotations

During the fifth century, the

Liu Song dynasty Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. ...

historian

Pei Songzhi Pei Songzhi (372–451), courtesy name Shiqi, was a Chinese historian and politician who lived in the late Eastern Jin dynasty and Liu Song dynasty. His ancestral home was in Wenxi County, Shanxi, but he moved to the Jiangnan region later. He i ...

(372–451) extensively annotated Chen Shou's ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' using a variety of other sources, augmenting the text to twice the length of the original. This work, completed in 429, became one of the official histories of the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

period, under the title ''Sanguozhi zhu'' (三国志注 ''zhu'' meaning "notes"). Pei collected other records to add information he felt should be added. He provided detailed explanations to some of the geography and other elements mentioned in the original. He also included multiple accounts of the same events. Sometimes, the accounts he added contradicted each other, but he included them anyway since he could not decide which version was the correct one. If Pei added something that sounded wrong, he would make a note or even offer a correction. In regard to historical events and figures, as well as Chen Shou's original text, he added his own commentary. Crucially, he cited his sources in almost every case.

Translations

The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' has not been fully translated into English. William Gordon Crowell alludes to a project to translate Chen Shou's work with Pei Songzhi's commentary in full, but it was apparently discontinued. Parts of that project are published by Robert Joe Cutter and William Gordon Crowell under the title ''Empresses and Consorts: Selections from Chen Shou's Records of the Three States With Pei Songzhi's Commentary'' (

University of Hawaii Press A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, 1999), which includes the translations for volumes 5, 34, and 50. Other translations include Kenneth J. Dewoskin's ''Doctors Diviners and Magicians of Ancient China: Biographies of Fang-Shih'' (

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...

, 1983), which includes a full translation of volume 29. Rafe de Crespigny, in addition to his translation of Sun Jian's biography (Volume 46), also translated excerpts of the ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' in his translation of the ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

'' that deals with the last years of the Han dynasty, as does

Achilles Fang Achilles Chih-t'ung Fang (; August 20, 1910November 22, 1995) was a Chinese scholar, translator, and educator, best known for his contributions to Chinese literature and comparative literature. Fang was born in Japanese-occupied Korea, but atten ...

, who translated the ''Zizhi Tongjian'' volumes that deal with the Three Kingdoms period proper. The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' volumes in question draw heavily from ''Records of the Three Kingdoms''. Further excerpts of the ''Records'' can be found in various

sourcebook A sourcebook is a collection of writings on a subject that is intended to be a basic introduction to the topic presented. Academic use In American universities, a sourcebook, either a standard one or a custom collection, may function as a supplem ...

s dealing with East Asian history. Below is a table containing the known English translations of the ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' that have been published in academia:Note that although there is a book that bills itself as
Records of the Three Kingdoms in Plain Language
', it is not a translation of ''Sanguozhi'', but a translation of ''Sanguozhi Pinghua'' ("Pinghua" means "plain language"), a novel that served as the basis for the later and more famous ''

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 ...

''.

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * *

External links

*
''Records of the Three Kingdoms''
on the

Chinese Text Project The Chinese Text Project (CTP; ) is a digital library project that assembles collections of early Chinese texts. The name of the project in Chinese literally means "The Chinese Philosophical Book Digitization Project", showing its focus on books ...

page *
''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' 《三國志》
Chinese text with matching English vocabulary {{DEFAULTSORT:Records of the Three Kingdoms Twenty-Four Histories 3rd-century history books History books about the Three Kingdoms Jin dynasty (266–420) literature

Origin and structure

Legacy

Influence on Asia

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Dates

Contents

''Book of Wei'' ()

''Book of Shu'' ()

''Book of Wu'' ()

Annotations

Translations

See also

References

Citations

Sources

External links