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Regarded as one of China’s “Four Great Classical Novels,” Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Yanyi) is more than a literary masterpiece – it is a cultural touchstone that has shaped Chinese ideas of heroism, loyalty, and strategy for over 600 years. Written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century during the Ming Dynasty,…
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Following the pivotal Battle of Red Cliffs (208 CE), the alliance between Sun Quan and Liu Bei had successfully repelled Cao Cao’s southern advance. However, victory left a complex territorial puzzle. While Cao Cao retained control of northern Jing Province, the southern portion – especially the critical commandery of Nan Commandery (Nanjun) centered on…
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Chapter 55 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms delivers the climactic unraveling of Zhou Yu’s grand stratagem, transforming what was meant to be a political coup into a national embarrassment. Having failed to detain Liu Bei through marriage, Sun Quan and Zhou Yu now resort to force – but every move is anticipated by…
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Chapter 53 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms – presents a striking contrast between two kinds of heroism: one rooted in Confucian virtue and martial honor, the other in tactical mastery. In the south, Guan Yu and Huang Zhong engage in a duel that transcends enmity, bound by mutual respect and chivalry. In the…
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The popular saying – “Liu Bei borrowed Jing Province and never returned” – is deeply entrenched in Chinese folklore, largely due to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Yet historical records tell a far more nuanced story. In fact, the very notion of “borrowing Jingzhou” is something of a misleading construct, if not a…
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Chapter 51 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms exposes the fragile nature of wartime alliances through a tale of military valor undone by political cunning. Fresh from the triumph at Red Cliffs, Zhou Yu engages Cao Ren in a fierce struggle for Nan Commandery (Nan Jun), only to see his hard-won gains snatched away…
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Was Lü Meng’s capture of Jing Province in AD 219 a betrayal of an ally? Some people argue that the Sun–Liu alliance effectively collapsed after the Xiang River Partition (circa AD 215), when Liu Bei and Sun Quan divided Jing Province along the Xiang River. However, primary sources from the Records of the Three…