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The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese
official history An official history is a work of history which is sponsored, authorised or endorsed by its subject. The term is most commonly used for histories which are produced for a government. The term also applies to commissions from non-state bodies includi ...
written by
Chen Shou Chen Shou ( zh , t = 陳壽 ; 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 best known for his most celebrated work, the ...
in the late 3rd century CE, covering the
end of the Han dynasty The end of the (Eastern) Han dynasty was the period of History of China, Chinese history from 189 to 220 CE, roughly coinciding with the tumultuous reign of the Han dynasty's last ruler, Emperor Xian of Han, Emperor Xian. It was followed by the ...
(220 CE) and the subsequent
Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...
period (220–280 CE). It is regarded as to be the authoritative
source text A source text is a text (sometimes oral) from which information or ideas are derived. In translation, a source text is the original text that is to be translated into another language. More generally, source material or symbolic sources are ob ...
for these periods. Compiled following the reunification of China under the
Jin dynasty (266–420) The Jin dynasty or Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the or the , was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty in China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had previou ...
, the work chronicles the political, social, and military events within rival states
Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...
,
Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu ( zh, t=蜀, p=Shǔ; Sichuanese Pinyin: ''Su'' < Middle Chinese: *''źjowk'' < Eastern Han Chinese: *''dźok''), was a Dynasties in ...
and
Eastern Wu Wu (Chinese language, Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < Eastern Han Chinese: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in historiography as Eastern Wu or Sun Wu, was a Dynasties of China, dynastic state of China and one of the three major sta ...
into a single text organized by individual biography. The ''Records'' are the primary source of information 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 to be one of the four classic novels emblematic of
written vernacular Chinese Written vernacular Chinese, also known as ''baihua'', comprises forms of written Chinese based on the vernacular varieties of the language spoken throughout China. It is contrasted with Literary Chinese, which was the predominant written form ...
. While large subsections of the work have been selected and translated into English, the entire corpus has yet to receive an unabridged English translation.


Origin and structure

The ''
Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' is a history of China finished in 111 CE, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), ...
'' and ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' join the original Han-era universal history ''
Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...
'' to constitute the first three entries in the ''
Twenty-Four Histories The ''Twenty-Four Histories'', also known as the ''Orthodox Histories'' (), are a collection of official histories detailing the dynasties of China, from the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors in the 4th millennium BC to the Ming ...
'' canon, with each work cementing the new genre's literary and historiographical qualities as established by
Sima Qian Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China cov ...
. The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' consist of 65 fascicles divided into three books—one per eponymous kingdom—totaling around 360,000
Chinese character Chinese characters are logographs used to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represent the only on ...
s in length. The ''Book of Wei'', ''Book of Shu'', and ''Book of Wu'' receive 30 fascicles, 15 fascicles, and 20 fascicles respectively. Each fascicle is organised in the form of one or more biographies. The author
Chen Shou Chen Shou ( zh , t = 陳壽 ; 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 best known for his most celebrated work, the ...
was born in present-day
Nanchong Nanchong ( zh, c=南充 , p=Nánchōng , w=Nan-ch'ung; Sichuanese: lan2cong1) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of Sichuan province, China, with an area of . At the 2020 census it was home to 5,607,565 people, of whom 1,936,534 liv ...
,
Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...
, then 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 ( zh, t=蜀, p=Shǔ; Sichuanese Pinyin: ''Su'' < Middle Chinese: *''źjowk'' < Eastern Han Chinese: *''dźok''), was a Dynasties in ...
. After the
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 equil ...
in 263, he became an official historian under the government of the
Jin dynasty Jin may refer to: States Jìn 晉 * Jin (Chinese state) (晉國), major state of the Zhou dynasty, existing from the 11th century BC to 376 BC * Jin dynasty (266–420) (晉朝), also known as Liang Jin and Sima Jin * Jin (Later Tang precursor) ...
, and created a history of the
Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...
period. After the
Conquest of Wu by Jin The conquest of Wu by Jin was a military campaign launched by the Jin dynasty against the state of Wu from late 279 to mid 280 at the end of the Three Kingdoms period of China. The campaign, which started in December 279 or January 280, conc ...
in 280, his work received the acclaim of senior minister Zhang Hua. Prior to the Jin dynasty, both the states of
Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...
and Wu has already composed their own official histories: the ''Book of Wei'' by Wang Chen, Xun Yi, and
Ruan Ji Ruan Ji (210–263), courtesy name Sizong, was a Chinese musician, poet, and military officer who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period. He was one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. The guqin melody ''Jiukuang'' ( ...
; and the ''Book of Wu'' by Wei Zhao, Hua He,
Xue Ying Xue Ying (died 282), courtesy name Daoyan, was a Chinese historian, poet, and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. After the fall of Wu, he continued serving under the Jin dynasty (266–4 ...
, Zhou Zhao (), and Liang Guang (). Additionally, Yu Huan had completed his privately compiled history of Wei, the '' Weilüe''. Chen Shou used these texts as the foundation of the ''Records of the Three Kingdoms''. However, since the state of Shu lacked an official history bureau, the ''Book of Shu'' in the ''Records'' was composed by Chen Shou himself based on his earlier personal notes about events in Shu and other primary sources he collected, such as his previously compiled writings of
Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang () (181September or October 234), also commonly known by his courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman, strategist, and inventor who lived through the End of the Han dynasty, end of the Eastern Han dynasty ( 184–220) and t ...
. The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' used the year 220 CE—when the last emperor of the Han dynasty was forced to abdicate to Cao Pi—as the year in which the Wei dynasty 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.


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 fascicles 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) a ...
,
Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...
) in around 85 CE. 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 peasant revolt during the late Eastern Han dynasty of ancient China. The uprising broke out in 184 CE, during the reign of Emperor Ling. Although t ...
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 fascicles: 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 September 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 o ...
,
Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a China, Chinese warlord in the late Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty who later became the founding Emperor of China, emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms of ...
, 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 Cao Huan () (246 – 302/303), courtesy name Jingming, was the fifth and last emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. On 4 February 266, he abdicated the throne in favour of regent Sima Yan (later Emperor Wu of the J ...
in February 266, 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 Liang ...
in 271, and the ''Book of Wu'' ending with the death of
Sun Hao Sun Hao (242 – 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 a son of ...
in 284. One abstract regarding the chronology is translated as follows:


Contents


''Book of Wei'' (魏書)


''Book of Shu'' (蜀書)


''Book of Wu'' (吳書)


Annotations

During the fifth century, the
Liu Song dynasty Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern dynasties (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 peri ...
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 the Liu Song dynasty. His ancestral home was in Wenxi County, Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanizati ...
(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 of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...
period, under the title ''Sanguozhi zhu'' (三国志注 ''zhu'' meaning "notes"). Bibliographical records indicate that up until Pei's own Liu Song dynasty, Chen Shou's three books had circulated individually rather than as a single work. 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.


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 works of literary fiction across pre-modern Chinese literature. The group usually includes the following works: Ming dynasty novels ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', '' Water Margin'', ''Journey to th ...
. 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 chronologically 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) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...
,
Yemaek The Yemaek or Yamaek are an ancient tribal group native to the northern Korean Peninsula and Manchuria and are commonly regarded as the ancestors of modern Koreans. The Yemaek have ancestral ties to multiple kingdoms in Northeast Asia including G ...
and Wa. The passages in Fascicle 30 about the Wa, where the Yamatai-koku and its ruler Queen Himiko are recorded, are referred to as the ''
Wajinden The ''Wajinden'' (倭人伝; "Treatise on the Wa People") are passages in the 30th fascicle 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 de ...
'' in
Japanese studies , sometimes known as 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 language, history, culture, litera ...
. The Japanese did not have their own records until more than three centuries later, with the earliest extant native record being 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 ...
'' by
Luo Guanzhong Luo Ben (c. 1330–1400, or c.1280–1360), better known by his courtesy name Guanzhong (Mandarin pronunciation: ), was a Chinese novelist who lived during the Ming dynasty. He is also known by his pseudonym Huhai Sanren (). Luo Guanzhon ...
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 (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...
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'', though the ''Romance'' also includes a number of characters and stories that are fictional. However, most of the historical facts were drawn from Chen's ''Records''.


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 tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
, 1999), which includes the translations for fascicles 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 New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...
, 1983), which includes a full translation of fascicle 29.
Rafe de Crespigny Richard Rafe Champion de Crespigny (born 1936), also known by his Chinese name Zhang Leifu (), is an Australian sinologist and historian. He is an adjunct professor in the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University. ...
, in addition to his translation of Sun Jian's biography (Fascicle 46), also translated excerpts of the ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' in his translation of the ''
Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...
'' that deals with the last years of the Han dynasty, as does Achilles Fang, who translated the ''Zizhi Tongjian'' fascicles that deal with the Three Kingdoms period proper. The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' fascicles 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 texts on a particular subject intended for use as an introduction to the subject. The selected texts are typically edited, laid out, and typeset in a uniform format before binding, and the result is often a hardcov ...
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 ''Records of the Three Kingdoms in Plain Language'' is not a translation of ''Sanguozhi'', but a translation of '' Sanguozhi Pinghua'' ("
Pinghua Pinghua is a pair of Sinitic languages spoken mainly in parts of Guangxi, with some speakers in Hunan. Pinghua is a trade language in some areas of Guangxi, spoken as a second language by speakers of Zhuang languages. Some speakers are offic ...
" 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 ...
''.


See also

*
Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms The following are lists of people significant to the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of Chinese history. Their names in Mandarin pinyin are sorted in alphabetical order. Fictional characters in the 14th-century historical novel '' Romance o ...
* Timeline of the Three Kingdoms period *
Military history of the Three Kingdoms The military history of the Three Kingdoms period encompasses roughly a century's worth of prolonged warfare and disorder in History of China, Chinese history. After the assassination of General-in-chief He Jin in September 189, the admini ...


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