Summary and Comments on "History of China 04: The World of the Three Kingdoms, Later Han Dynasty, Three Kingdoms Period" - Recommended reference book to learn the differences between the "Sanguozhi Yanyi" and historical facts.
Introduced here is "History of China 04: The World of the Three Kingdoms: The Later Han and the Three Kingdoms Period" by Wenjing Jin, published by Kodansha in 2005.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
The shock of the fall of the Han Dynasty (220) brought the country to a crossroads. Liu Bei of Shu, a wandering hero. Cao Cao of Wei, a first-rate poet. Sun Quan of Wu, a cunning realist. And then there were the international relations over the Korean peninsula and the Yamataikoku. After 100 years of turmoil, the idea of a unified empire was established in China. This is the era of great rivalry as revealed in "Sanguozhi Yanyi," the most familiar foreign literature to the Japanese.
AmazonProducts Page.
The Three Kingdoms period in China is the world of "The History of the Three Kingdoms," in which Cao Cao of Wei, Liu Bei of Shu, and Sun Quan of Wu all fought with sparks flying.
I remember reading "Sangokushi" (The History of the Three Kingdoms), a manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, as if I was devouring it. I was absorbed in the battles between the great masters and geniuses that made my blood boil.
However, although we are familiar with the "Records of the Three Kingdoms," most of them are actually fictions that differ from historical facts. The "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" as we know it is based on the novel "Sanguozhi Yanyi" (The History of the Three Kingdoms).
In this work, "History of China 04: The World of the Three Kingdoms, Later Han: The Three Kingdoms Period," you can also learn more about the differences between the "Sanguozhi Yanyi" and the historical "Three Kingdoms.
The significance of studying these fictions and historical facts is discussed at the beginning of this book as follows. In fact, learning the history of the Three Kingdoms period is also learning the history of Buddhism. This is a long but important point, so I will read it carefully.
But even so, is there any reason why we should be looking into the reality of the Three Kingdoms period? If historical verification ends up with the conclusion that the novels are a lie, there is nothing more boring than this. What is the meaning of our knowledge of China eighteen hundred years ago?
In my opinion, this period is of unmissable importance for understanding China's subsequent history, society, and culture, which has continued to the present day. In fact, much of China, a country with an extremely unique culture in the history of the world, began during this period. The spread of the use of paper is one example.
The late historian Yoshio Kawakatsu once described the Three Kingdoms Period and the subsequent Northern and Southern Dynasties Period as a "glamorous dark age. He meant that although this was a turbulent period of political turmoil, it was precisely because it was turbulent that people of sparkling individuality flourished freely and a variety of cultures flourished.
Take Cao Cao, for example. The man who is considered the representative of villains in novels was an outstanding reformer with a strong personality, and he and his sons, Cao Pi and Cao Ueda, were also outstanding poets. When we think of Chinese poetry, we all think of the Tang poetry of Li Bai and Du Fu, but the world of Tang poetry, with its splendor and grandeur, directly originates in the literary movement led by Cao Cao and his sons during this period. It was during the Three Kingdoms period that literature as an expression of individuality gained independent status for the first time in Chinese history.
The same can be said of ideology and religion. Confucianism, which is the representative ideology of China, was founded by Confucius, and the most important commentary for reading the Confucian scriptures, which Confucius is said to have selected, was written by Zheng Xuan, a Confucian scholar at the end of the Later Han Dynasty. In the novel, Liu Bei is said to have studied under Zheng Xuan, but as usual, this is a fiction, and Liu Bei actually studied under Zheng Xuan's friend Lu Yue.
It is said that Buddhism was first introduced to China from India in the late 1st century during the reign of Emperor Ming of the Later Han Dynasty. However, it was not until the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Later Han Dynasty that many monks actually arrived in China and began translating sutras and spreading Buddhism among the people. Sun Quan of Wu was a visiting monk,Koushoukai (Buddhist sect founded in 1899 as an offshoot of Nichiren Buddhism)Cao Cao's son, Cao Wei, founded Jian Hsiao-ji Temple for thesong in praise of Buddhas virtues(Buddhist songs), which would indicate the spread of Buddhism.
Taoism, a folk religion unique to China, has its origins in the Taoist philosophy of Laozi, Zhuangzi, and others during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, but it was also during the Three Kingdoms Period at the end of the Later Han Dynasty that it began its full-scale religious cult activities. The Yellow Turban Rebellion, which is the origin of the novel, was started by the Taiping Taoists, an early Taoist group,Way to the Five ContinentsZhang Lu of the Taoist Kingdom of China formed its own religious kingdom between Cao Cao and Liu Bei. The Wutume Dao was later called the Tian Shi Dao, and descendants of Zhang Lu reigned over the Daoist cult as Zhang Tian Shi for many generations. Their descendants are still active in Taiwan.
The three religions of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism became the backbone of subsequent Chinese thought and religion, and furthermore, the debate and exchange among the three religions gave rise to China's unique idea of the "three religions unification". The Three Kingdoms Period was a brilliant and turbulent period in Chinese history, comparable to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, when the Shuji and the Hundred Families were active, and was an epoch-making period in various fields, including religion, thought, literature, and art.
In addition to culture and religion, the Three Kingdoms period was also a political departure point. The greatest characteristic of China in the history of the world is that it was a unified empire with a vast territory that lasted for a long period of time, and it was during this period that the idea of a unified empire was strongly established. It was also during this period that the idea of a strongly unified empire was established, and it had a great impact on neighboring countries such as Japan and Korea.
Kodansha, Kim Wen-kyo, "History of China 04: The World of the Three Kingdoms, Later Han Dynasty, Three Kingdoms Period," p. 17-19.
The Three Kingdoms period, along with the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, was a brilliant and turbulent period in Chinese history, and an epoch-making period in many fields, including religion, thought, literature, and art."
The Three Kingdoms period was not only a stage for spectacular great men, but also a period of great significance in terms of ideology and culture.
It was during this period that Buddhism took root in China and eventually flourished greatly. This book was a very interesting study of Buddhism. It also reaffirmed for me that the Three Kingdoms is an interesting read. The novel "The History of the Three Kingdoms" is interesting, of course, but the historical facts themselves are also dramatic and interesting.
I highly recommend this work. Why not pick up a copy?
The above is "History of China 04: The World of the Three Kingdoms, Later Han: The Three Kingdoms Period" - a recommended reference book that also lets you know the differences between the "Sanguozhi Yanyi" and historical facts.
Next Article.
Click here to read the previous article.
Related Articles
