Before watching this series, I had read the epic novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and I was well aware of the history surrounding the period after the death of the First Emperor. Usually the movie does not do justice to the novel, but this series does it justice and more. The only exception is the actor chosen to play Lu Bu. An amazing movie. And an amazing period in Chinese history.
8 Reviews
Great Historical Drama
popedan27 April 2002
Romance of the Three kingdoms is a must see for anybody who is interested in this period of Chinese history. Love, Drama, war, loyalty all make their presences felt in this epic. No small wonder why it is still around, even after almost 2000 years.
Excellent Dramatization of a Historical War Novel
scottlam7 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Romance of the three kingdoms is a historical fiction and has been enjoyed by many generations of Chinese and their neighbors. It's main attraction is the highly-developed strategic rationalization of the various factions in their struggle for political supremacy. The motives, strategies, actions and consequences of the main characters were all highly developed and credible because they were adapted from real historical personages.
The setting is that of the fall of the Han Dynasty beginning circa 180 AD and through the break-up of the Han Dynasty empire of China into various warlord regimes and finally into three kingdoms (Wei, Shu-Han, and Wu) before eventually reunited in 280 AD under the Jin dynasty, a period of almost one hundred years spanning two generations of people.
There were five major phases: (i) the fall of the Han dynastic regime due to stagnation, exhaustion and decay of the ruling class; the trigger was a mass rebellion by starving peasants known as the yellow turban rebellion; after many years of peace the ruling classes has become corrupt, fractious and out of touch.
Then (ii) the disintegration of central government control and struggle for supremacy among the regional governors. These guys were all former colleagues in government and many had known each other for generations especially among the high officials (nepotism was common). The situation is not unlike that of the Amercian Civil War or the English Civil War where opposing generals know each other and may even be friends.
(iii) the re-consolidation of government and control but by three contending regimes based in different locations instead of a unified government. Up to this point, the Han emperor was still the recognized head of state although powerless and held hostage by one of the regimes (the future state of Wei). The Han emperor was eventually forced to abdicate and one after another, the three regimes declare themselves emperor and hence the three kingdoms formally.
(iv) one of the regimes (Shu-Han)claimed direct lineage to the founder of the Han dynasty (a side-branch of the family tree) and was determined to eradicate the other two to reunify the country under a new Han. During this phase, many of the first generation heroes died either in battle, in sickness or executed, etc. They have been on hard campaigning for many decades.
(v) one of the original three kingdoms, Wei, now lead by sons brought up with silver spoons was usurped by a general (Sima Yi) who establish the Jin dynasty. This new regime brought vigor to their enterprises and eventually defeated the other two regimes who were lead by monarchs brought up as spoiled brats in the palace from young.
This TV serial is very well made and followed closely the main threads of the novel. The initial period were very similar to feudal Europe where nobility-commoner class distinctions were jealously guarded by the established families. As the struggle became more desperate, talents rather than high birth became more relevant. The first warlords who understood this was Cao Cao, Sun Jian and Liu Bei and hence it was no surprise that these three guys became the founder of the three kingdoms.
The string of supremos in the novel were He Jin, Grand Marshal of the Han dynasty. He probably got his position from being the brother of the Han Queen. He was assassinated by the eunuchs.
The next was Dong Zhuo who was a frontier commander (imagine Attila the Hun serving as mercenary general of the Roman Empire). He was a subordinate of He Jin. His unruly control of the Court after He Jin's death caused the collapse of central government.
Then came Yuan Shao who was from a very established family (many of his clan ancestors served as Han prime ministers). He was a subordinate of He Jin. He was not very capable and alienated many of his talented subordinates. One disgruntled eventually betrayed him to Cao Cao.
Then came Cao Cao, who controlled the Han Court as prime minister. He is the first real hero (or great villain) of the story. He is the Napoleon of his age and almost conquered all the other regimes with great skill until the battle of the red cliff which was his retreat from Moscow. He never suffered a waterloo.
After Cao Cao, there were three supremos: Liu Bei (or more correctly Zhuge Liang), Sun Quan and Cao Pi (son of Cao Cao. These three were in a sort of dynamic equilibrium (meaning mutual hostilities and campaigns). After the early death of Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang was Regent cum Prime Minister of Shu Han, effectively ruler in substance.
Finally, came Sima Yi who seize control of Wei and his son Sima Zhao who reunited the three kingdoms.
Get the DVD editions with English subtitles. Note that the stories are, like the novel,not simplified for lay readers. It requires some study and there were lectures clarifying various angles in the stories. For me, I found it extremely rewarding, especially for audiences/readers who enjoy military strategies, espionage and political intrigues.
(The 2010 version was produced to make the stories more transparent for modern and lay audiences but unfortunately included modern exaggerated action sequences).
The setting is that of the fall of the Han Dynasty beginning circa 180 AD and through the break-up of the Han Dynasty empire of China into various warlord regimes and finally into three kingdoms (Wei, Shu-Han, and Wu) before eventually reunited in 280 AD under the Jin dynasty, a period of almost one hundred years spanning two generations of people.
There were five major phases: (i) the fall of the Han dynastic regime due to stagnation, exhaustion and decay of the ruling class; the trigger was a mass rebellion by starving peasants known as the yellow turban rebellion; after many years of peace the ruling classes has become corrupt, fractious and out of touch.
Then (ii) the disintegration of central government control and struggle for supremacy among the regional governors. These guys were all former colleagues in government and many had known each other for generations especially among the high officials (nepotism was common). The situation is not unlike that of the Amercian Civil War or the English Civil War where opposing generals know each other and may even be friends.
(iii) the re-consolidation of government and control but by three contending regimes based in different locations instead of a unified government. Up to this point, the Han emperor was still the recognized head of state although powerless and held hostage by one of the regimes (the future state of Wei). The Han emperor was eventually forced to abdicate and one after another, the three regimes declare themselves emperor and hence the three kingdoms formally.
(iv) one of the regimes (Shu-Han)claimed direct lineage to the founder of the Han dynasty (a side-branch of the family tree) and was determined to eradicate the other two to reunify the country under a new Han. During this phase, many of the first generation heroes died either in battle, in sickness or executed, etc. They have been on hard campaigning for many decades.
(v) one of the original three kingdoms, Wei, now lead by sons brought up with silver spoons was usurped by a general (Sima Yi) who establish the Jin dynasty. This new regime brought vigor to their enterprises and eventually defeated the other two regimes who were lead by monarchs brought up as spoiled brats in the palace from young.
This TV serial is very well made and followed closely the main threads of the novel. The initial period were very similar to feudal Europe where nobility-commoner class distinctions were jealously guarded by the established families. As the struggle became more desperate, talents rather than high birth became more relevant. The first warlords who understood this was Cao Cao, Sun Jian and Liu Bei and hence it was no surprise that these three guys became the founder of the three kingdoms.
The string of supremos in the novel were He Jin, Grand Marshal of the Han dynasty. He probably got his position from being the brother of the Han Queen. He was assassinated by the eunuchs.
The next was Dong Zhuo who was a frontier commander (imagine Attila the Hun serving as mercenary general of the Roman Empire). He was a subordinate of He Jin. His unruly control of the Court after He Jin's death caused the collapse of central government.
Then came Yuan Shao who was from a very established family (many of his clan ancestors served as Han prime ministers). He was a subordinate of He Jin. He was not very capable and alienated many of his talented subordinates. One disgruntled eventually betrayed him to Cao Cao.
Then came Cao Cao, who controlled the Han Court as prime minister. He is the first real hero (or great villain) of the story. He is the Napoleon of his age and almost conquered all the other regimes with great skill until the battle of the red cliff which was his retreat from Moscow. He never suffered a waterloo.
After Cao Cao, there were three supremos: Liu Bei (or more correctly Zhuge Liang), Sun Quan and Cao Pi (son of Cao Cao. These three were in a sort of dynamic equilibrium (meaning mutual hostilities and campaigns). After the early death of Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang was Regent cum Prime Minister of Shu Han, effectively ruler in substance.
Finally, came Sima Yi who seize control of Wei and his son Sima Zhao who reunited the three kingdoms.
Get the DVD editions with English subtitles. Note that the stories are, like the novel,not simplified for lay readers. It requires some study and there were lectures clarifying various angles in the stories. For me, I found it extremely rewarding, especially for audiences/readers who enjoy military strategies, espionage and political intrigues.
(The 2010 version was produced to make the stories more transparent for modern and lay audiences but unfortunately included modern exaggerated action sequences).
Something really different :-)
Master_of_My_Domain23 January 2002
I got this series from Hong Kong on 58 VCD discs (beautiful special release box-set) and after seeing first episode I put it back on a shelf. Quality of picture is poor, english subtitles are so small even on my 36'' screen hardly readable... But after a while I played it again on big screen tv and altough blockiness and all artifacts from poor encoding showed up even more, tiny english text became easier to read thus I could follow action :-) And what an action it is! By the end of first disc I was so immersed in an ancient historical events of China, it took a sunrise to get me off my lazy chair ;-) I have no idea how historically correct are all shown events, but I must say it is very fascinating to watch it how the Great Empire of China was erected... It seems more like a kind of fantasy for a western person like me, yet it is so similiar to western countries history with familiar if not exactly the same behaviour of Lords of those times; there is treason, there are heroes and anti-heroes... There are plenty of scenes one not being chinese may not fully understand, yet it didnt bother me much. Flow of the action sometimes stutter due to unbeknowst to me reason like concentrating on some (in my opinion) not important details, but make no mistake: it is really *worth* to view this made for tv series, what an incredible experience. Just give yourself a favor: get it on DVD instead ;-)
Really Good!
fate20011 March 2001
Although this is not subtitled, at least not that I've known, it is the best series you will ever see! Rich Chinese historical fiction is brought no farther than reality on TV. Tang Guoqiang does a great job being the wise Zhuge Liang, as does all the other famous actors that star in this series.
A masterpiece for it's time
andrew-pike2215 June 2014
What is so great about the 94' version of telling the tale of the Three Kingdoms rather than the 2010 version (which was also great as well). The 94 version tells the ancient and classic Chinese tale with a stylistic tone that is done so well even if the show has errors by the end of the show you seriously want to restart the entire show from episode one and watch it over and over again with a bright smile for the characters of that classical tale that you fell in love with, admire, and sometimes hate.
The only real big overlook of this show is how cheesy it is with it's entertainment granted it will be cheesy at times but again that magical charm of loving it every step of the way keeps this show fresh and fun for viewers and future generation of fans to enjoy and laugh at
The only real big overlook of this show is how cheesy it is with it's entertainment granted it will be cheesy at times but again that magical charm of loving it every step of the way keeps this show fresh and fun for viewers and future generation of fans to enjoy and laugh at
Gone history, unchanging character
xuefeiding13 July 2020
This version of the romance of the Three Kingdoms costs a lot of money and takes the longest time to shoot. The producers have a strong sense of responsibility. The scene is grand and the scene is realistic. It is one of the classic works of Chinese TV series.
Not bad at all, for entertainment
zzmale26 November 2003
Obviously, many parts in the original novel was omitted simply because there would never been enough resources to translate every single detail in the original work into actions, even though the condensed version is already one of the longest TV series in China. What is left in the TV series is still enough for you to sit back and enjoy
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