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Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1
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Manufacturer: Tuttle Publishing
Author: Lo Kuan-Chung, Robert E. Hegel, C. H. Brewitt-Taylor
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $18.45
You Save: $ 9.50 ( 34% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Tuttle Publishing
Author: Lo Kuan-Chung, Robert E. Hegel, C. H. Brewitt-Taylor
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Average Customer Rating:
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Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1 Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 895.1346
EAN: 9780804834674
ISBN: 0804834679
Label: Tuttle Publishing
Manufacturer: Tuttle Publishing
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 708
Publication Date: 2002-04-15
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Studio: Tuttle Publishing
Dewey Decimal Number: 895.1346
EAN: 9780804834674
ISBN: 0804834679
Label: Tuttle Publishing
Manufacturer: Tuttle Publishing
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 708
Publication Date: 2002-04-15
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Studio: Tuttle Publishing
Editorial Review of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is Lo Kuan-chung's retelling of the events attending the fall of the Han Dynasty in 220 A.D., one of the most tumultuous and fascinating periods in Chinese history. It is an epic saga of brotherhood and rivalry, of loyalty and treachery, of victory and death. As important for Chinese culture as the Homeric epics have been for the West, this fourteenth-century masterpiece continues to be loved and read throughout China as well as in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
Customer Reviews of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1
Customer Rating: 
Review Summary: A great read...
Review: Romance of the Three Kingdoms is one of my favorite novels. Unfortunately for this version, however, the story is not done much justice in its Pinyin translation. For newcomers to the series, it is quite difficult to become accustomed to it. I would recommend a Wade-Giles translation of this novel.
On the plus side, this version is completely unabridged, so readers gain the full experience of one of China's great literary classics.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Can't wait to read volume 2
Review: Details of the past are brought into sharp focus in this fascinating account.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Confusing For Spelling and Comprehensive For Pronunciation Ideas
Review: I wrote this novel's review a couple of years ago as below.
(Name revised for Pinyin system and some errors corrected)
-----------------------------
Romance of Three Kingdoms is not just the novelized version of the history record "Three Kingdoms". It overtook the heart of both Chinese and Japanese. In Japan even younger generation who rarely read literature enjoy the story in the form of either comic books or in popular PC games. In China many of the Chinese Opera comes from the part of this story.
The story is based on the history of ancient China around late 2nd century to late 3rd century when the Chinese continent was divided by three strong kingdoms,Shu(Gui in Japanese),Wu(GO in Japanese) and Wei(SHOKU in Japanese).
I am familiar with the version of Eiji Yoshikawa, the author of Musashi, focusing more on the story of Liu Bei(Wei emperor),Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang. Liu Bei, an heir of Han Dynasty ruling clan, is a humane leader supported by Guan Yu, deft both in brain and might maybe eastern version of Knight, Zhang Fei,short tempered but really strong warrior, and Zhuge Liang the master of strategy.
Rivaling Lie Bei is another giant Cao Cao outstanding ruler who nearly took hold of the whole Chinese continent but blocked by the allied forces of Wu and Wei in 208. Cao Cao is a bit demonized in this story but he is in fact one of the greatest rulers China ever had comparable to Napoleon. While Lie Bei who has little power gradually gains by charming a lot of talented people by his couteousness yet with propaganda tactics to demonize Cao Cao, Cao Cao took advantage of courting the Emperor and with the finest staff collected from the whole continent. Cao Cao's Wei will be overthrown by Sima clan who eventually subdue both Shu and Wu but Lie Bei, Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang are still loved and idealized by Chinese public.
On first reading you will be enjoying the way the characters outsmart the other camps. On second reading you will be struck by the humanity upon which the story is based. It is much more than a legend. It will surely get you closer to the mind of either Chinese and Japanese. But be careful. The way character name is pronounced differ between Chinese and Japanese. Such as Cao Cao is pronounced in Japanese as SOSO.
----------------
Now I must add a few things for newer 3k fans who encountered this epic through koei games. Koei adopts Pinyin system for three kingdom character names and pinyin method has almost subdued English speaking community. Brewitt Taylor uses Wade system differeing so much from the way the character names were currently spelled. For example. Cao Cao is spelled T'sao T'sao. As you can see older system is useful in pronunciation ideas.
Verdict: Excellent translation getting you much closer to this Chinese epic. Must-read for chivalry novel fans.
Rating: 94 out of 100. A bit cut by spelling confusion as I mentioned.
Recommended: For wide variety of readers.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Great story but a very sloppy edition
Review: The story is truly a classic and the translation is pretty good. However, the actual product is pretty sloppy. Volume one was less problematic than volume two, but both had a high number of instances. The main problem is that letters that are similar in shape, such as b and d, p and g, etc. get switched, almost once a page. Also, the names weren't proofread very well, as apostrophes get pretty regularly left out. In a translation system where an apostrophe is the only difference between the names to two characters or places, this becomes a source of confusion. Also, entire words are left out pretty regularly. I wonder if any highly fluent English speakers actually got to proofread this, because most of these errors are so obvious. These errors aren't so bad that it is unreadable, but they really take a person out of the scene while the confusion is dispelled.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Overall i have pleasure reading it
Review: I enjoying reading it except the following problems:
Review Summary: A great read...
Review: Romance of the Three Kingdoms is one of my favorite novels. Unfortunately for this version, however, the story is not done much justice in its Pinyin translation. For newcomers to the series, it is quite difficult to become accustomed to it. I would recommend a Wade-Giles translation of this novel.
On the plus side, this version is completely unabridged, so readers gain the full experience of one of China's great literary classics.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Can't wait to read volume 2
Review: Details of the past are brought into sharp focus in this fascinating account.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Confusing For Spelling and Comprehensive For Pronunciation Ideas
Review: I wrote this novel's review a couple of years ago as below.
(Name revised for Pinyin system and some errors corrected)
-----------------------------
Romance of Three Kingdoms is not just the novelized version of the history record "Three Kingdoms". It overtook the heart of both Chinese and Japanese. In Japan even younger generation who rarely read literature enjoy the story in the form of either comic books or in popular PC games. In China many of the Chinese Opera comes from the part of this story.
The story is based on the history of ancient China around late 2nd century to late 3rd century when the Chinese continent was divided by three strong kingdoms,Shu(Gui in Japanese),Wu(GO in Japanese) and Wei(SHOKU in Japanese).
I am familiar with the version of Eiji Yoshikawa, the author of Musashi, focusing more on the story of Liu Bei(Wei emperor),Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang. Liu Bei, an heir of Han Dynasty ruling clan, is a humane leader supported by Guan Yu, deft both in brain and might maybe eastern version of Knight, Zhang Fei,short tempered but really strong warrior, and Zhuge Liang the master of strategy.
Rivaling Lie Bei is another giant Cao Cao outstanding ruler who nearly took hold of the whole Chinese continent but blocked by the allied forces of Wu and Wei in 208. Cao Cao is a bit demonized in this story but he is in fact one of the greatest rulers China ever had comparable to Napoleon. While Lie Bei who has little power gradually gains by charming a lot of talented people by his couteousness yet with propaganda tactics to demonize Cao Cao, Cao Cao took advantage of courting the Emperor and with the finest staff collected from the whole continent. Cao Cao's Wei will be overthrown by Sima clan who eventually subdue both Shu and Wu but Lie Bei, Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang are still loved and idealized by Chinese public.
On first reading you will be enjoying the way the characters outsmart the other camps. On second reading you will be struck by the humanity upon which the story is based. It is much more than a legend. It will surely get you closer to the mind of either Chinese and Japanese. But be careful. The way character name is pronounced differ between Chinese and Japanese. Such as Cao Cao is pronounced in Japanese as SOSO.
----------------
Now I must add a few things for newer 3k fans who encountered this epic through koei games. Koei adopts Pinyin system for three kingdom character names and pinyin method has almost subdued English speaking community. Brewitt Taylor uses Wade system differeing so much from the way the character names were currently spelled. For example. Cao Cao is spelled T'sao T'sao. As you can see older system is useful in pronunciation ideas.
Verdict: Excellent translation getting you much closer to this Chinese epic. Must-read for chivalry novel fans.
Rating: 94 out of 100. A bit cut by spelling confusion as I mentioned.
Recommended: For wide variety of readers.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Great story but a very sloppy edition
Review: The story is truly a classic and the translation is pretty good. However, the actual product is pretty sloppy. Volume one was less problematic than volume two, but both had a high number of instances. The main problem is that letters that are similar in shape, such as b and d, p and g, etc. get switched, almost once a page. Also, the names weren't proofread very well, as apostrophes get pretty regularly left out. In a translation system where an apostrophe is the only difference between the names to two characters or places, this becomes a source of confusion. Also, entire words are left out pretty regularly. I wonder if any highly fluent English speakers actually got to proofread this, because most of these errors are so obvious. These errors aren't so bad that it is unreadable, but they really take a person out of the scene while the confusion is dispelled.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Overall i have pleasure reading it
Review: I enjoying reading it except the following problems:
- Typos are almost appeared in every 3 pages.
- Stories are not link between paragraphs. There are pages that I have to read 4-5 times in order to picture what is going on and who and who die.
How about describe more about the heros when introducing them like, how old, what weapon they used and how strong. I believe those will spice up the book a lot more.
EQ