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The Sanguo Yanyi
  • Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1
    Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1
    by Lo Kuan-Chung, Robert E. Hegel, C. H. Brewitt-Taylor

    I am currently producing an audiobook adaptation of the Sanguo Yanyi (The Romance of the Three Kingdoms), one of the Four Classics of Chinese Literature.  

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    By the Romance of the Three Kingdoms on Amazon

    I have long been fascinated with the almost two millenia-old Chinese epic, the Sanguo Yanyi, or "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" as it has been called here in the west. The book, written by various authors contributing to it throughout the centuries, is truly one of the finest examples of epic storytelling in the history of the world. I tend to refer to it, sometimes, when I'm describing the story to people, as "The Chinese Illiad". The term might be a tad bit imprecise, since the Illiad only covers, what, ten years or so? Whereas, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms covers 90+ years of Chinese history. Some time back, I got a bug up my ass or something, and decided to go out and find audiobook versions of all my favorite books. I have been very successful for the most part, but there were some glaring omissions that I could not countenance. For one thing, I've not yet been able to score an audio copy of "The Aeneid" by Virgil. And from all the information I've thus far been able to gather, there is no audiobook adaptation of the Three Kingdoms saga. (Perhaps this might have something to do with the fact that the story is 120 chapters long!) To say that I was a bit indignant to discover that no one had ever made an audiobook version of one of the best-selling books of all time, one of the greatest STORIES of all time would be a bit of an understatement. I looked and looked and looked for months to see if I could track down an audio copy, and found none. So I decided that I would make one myself.

    By the way, I just want to say right here and now: I do not speak any of the Chinese dialects, so if I happen to mispronounce anything, my apologies, but I do the best I can. :p I realize that this is a project which will probably consume my entire lifetime. The book is, as I have said before, quite a long one. But I am resolved to finish this project, if it takes me forever, and when I'm done, the world will have this fine, fine story of loyalty, brotherhood, ambition, and betrayal in audiobook form! This version is adapted from the online version published by the good folks at Threekingdoms.com, featuring a musical score taken from the many Romance of the Three Kingdoms video games put out by Koei over the years. The music is courtesy of Kongming.net. If you're as much of a fan of the Three Kingdoms as I am, you'll have to check that one out! I have put a lot of work into this so far, and it's not going to stop, so I hope that each and every one of you enjoy this.

    Entries in Li Jue (4)

    Thursday
    Sep032009

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 13

    DateThursday, September 3, 2009 at 6:46PM

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 13:

    Li Jue and Guo Si Duel In Changan;

    The Emperor Establishes Anyi The New Capital.



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    WARNING: IF YOU ARE EVER IN A RIOT SITUATION, DON'T DO WHAT I DID...

    In chapter 13, Lu Bu, smarting from a recent asswhuppin' from Cao Cao, flees to Xuzhou, now under the governance of Liu Bei. I know what you're thinking. "OH MY GAWD! Lu Bu and Liu Bei together! Like, on the same team?!" Yes. I know, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were just fighting with the guy a few chapters ago. But apparently, ancient chinese nobles, much like modern professional wrestling fans, and for that matter, the American electorate, don't seem to have much of a memory. So the answer is, yes. For the time being, at least, Liu Bei and Lu Bu are on the same team.

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    Thursday
    Sep032009

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 10

    DateThursday, September 3, 2009 at 12:56PM

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 10:

    Gathering Arms, Ma Teng Moves To Rescue The Emperor;

    Commanding A Force, Cao Cao Marches To Avenge His Father.



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    WARNING: THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS, AND IS PART OF A COMPLETE BREAKFAST...

    Ahhhhhh, Chapter 10. Dong Zhuo's fat, bloated corpse, rejected by Mother Nature Herself, can do little but lay there and ooze gravy out of every pore. I suppose that's poetic justice there...

    Meanwhile, Dong Zhuo's former generals, the ones I like to call "The Xiliang Four", have seized control of the Imperial Court in Chang'an, and the air is always heavy with the threat of violence. Li Jue and Guo Si, the leaders of this new regime, have made no secret of their desire to kill Liu Xian and rule his empire in their own names.

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    Thursday
    Sep032009

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 9

    DateThursday, September 3, 2009 at 12:04AM

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 9:

    Lu Bu Kills Dong Zhuo For Wang Yun;

    Li Jue Attacks The Capital On Jia Xu's Advice.



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    WARNING:........you know what? Screw it. No disclaimer this time...

    Chapter 9 is a very, very important chapter. The reader has most likely, just like the rest of late-Han China, been waiting quite some time to see the big fat tyrant Dong Zhuo get his comeuppance. Well, my friends, the time has finally come. Things are coming to a head between Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu, his adopted Son and rival for the heart of the lovely maiden Diao Chan, whom you might remember was engaged to both of them in the previous chapter by her Guardian, the Minister of the Interior, Wang Yun.

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    Wednesday
    Sep022009

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 6

    DateWednesday, September 2, 2009 at 9:27PM

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 6:

    Burning The Capital, Dong Zhuo Commits An Atrocity;

    Hiding The Imperial Hereditary Seal, Sun Jian Breaks Faith.



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    WARNING: THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

    In this day and age, we tend to use the word "terrorism" a bit loosely. But Dong Zhuo was a man who knew exactly what real terrorism was, and how absolute power could get a man exactly what he wanted.

    The death toll inflicted during the Pearl Harbor attack of December 7, 1941 by the Japanese Air Force numbered somewhere around 2350. The attacks of September 11, 2001 produced around 1500 confirmed victims. The removal of the Han capitol (and capital) from Luoyang to Chang'an by Dong Zhuo dwarfs those figures.

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