A historical text compiled by Chen Shou (233–297 CE) during the Western Jin dynasty. It is a biographical state-by-state history chronicling the Three Kingdoms period – Wei, Shu, and Wu – and comprises 65 scrolls: Book of Wei (30 scrolls),Book of Shu (15 scrolls), and Book of Wu (20 scrolls).
The work covers nearly a century of history, from the late Guanghe era of Emperor Ling of Han (around 184 CE, marked by the Yellow Turban Rebellion) to the first year of Taikang under Emperor Wu of Jin (280 CE), when the Jin dynasty conquered Wu and reunified China.
In composing theSanguo Zhi, Chen Shou drew upon existing official histories: for Wei, he used Wang Shen’s Book of Wei and Yu Huan’s Weilüe; for Wu, Wei Zhao’s Book of Wu. However, Shu Han had no official historiographical records after its fall, so Chen Shou – himself a former Shu official – had to gather materials independently, resulting in a relatively concise Book of Shu (only 15 scrolls).
Originally, the three sections circulated as separate texts. They were first combined into a single work in 1003 CE during the Northern Song dynasty (Xianping 6th year).
Among the Twenty-Four Histories, the Sanguo Zhi is distinctive – and often criticized – for its extreme brevity. Unlike standard dynastic histories modeled on the Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian) and Hanshu (Book of Han), it lacks “Tables” (biao) detailing noble lineages and bureaucratic successions, and omits “Treatises” (zhi) on critical topics such as economics, geography, administrative offices, rites, music, and calendrical systems.
Recognizing these limitations, the Liu Song dynasty scholar Pei Songzhi (372–451 CE) was commissioned by Emperor Wen to annotate the text. His commentary, completed in 429 CE, vastly exceeds the original in length, incorporating quotations from over 200 lost or rare sources. Pei’s annotations not only clarify ambiguities but also preserve invaluable historical fragments otherwise lost to time, making his version the definitive edition studied ever since.
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