Sanguo - Books, Culture, Podcasts, and Revolution

About the Sanguo Yanyi Audiobook

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 Marriage of Liu Bei (2)

Tuesday

Mar082011

The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 55

Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at 5:42AM

The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 55:

Liu Bei Rouses The Spirit Of Lady Sun;

Zhuge Liang A Second Time Angers Zhou Yu.

Listen:

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS. DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YA. :p

Chapter 55 is the second chapter in a two part subplot involving Liu Bei and his sojourn in the Southland. You may recall that in the previous chapter, the Southland, in the person of Lu Fan, went to Liu Bei to propose that Liu Bei marry Lady Sun Shang Xiang, or Sun Ren, as she's called in the novel. Shang Xiang, you might also remember, is daughter to Sun Jian, and sister to both Sun Ce and the current ruler of the Southland, Sun Quan. On the surface, this was put forth by the Southland as a method of cementing a strong alliance between the Houses of Sun and Liu, but the real plot, and one that Zhuge Liang saw through completely, was to attempt to lure Liu Bei to the Southland and alienate Liu Bei from his ministers. Because Zhuge Liang saw through all of this, his tactics led to the bogus marriage becoming a real one, and Liu Bei did indeed get his wife, and whether they had wanted it or not, the Southland was indeed stuck with a bit of an unpleasant situation on their hands...an further strengthened alliance with an ally they didn't really want. What Zhou Yu and Sun Quan wanted was the Jing Province, and now they were allied by marriage with the man who had "stolen" it from them...

Click to read more ...

D.J. Raspe |

The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 54

Monday, March 7, 2011 at 10:57AM

The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 54:

The Dowager Marchioness Sees Her Son-In-Law;

The Imperial Uncle Takes A Worthy Consort.

Listen:

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS. THAT'S ALL RIGHT...RIGHT?

Chapter 54 is the beginning of a bit of a side-story, as Zhou Yu, obsessed with gaining possession of Jingzhou for Sun Quan, attempts yet once again to develop a scheme for accomplishing his goal. You might recall the stalling tactics employed by Zhuge Liang in previous chapters to delay over and over the transfer of Jingzhou to Sun Quan. I think it's pretty reasonable to assume that the average reader/listener has probably figured out by now that Zhuge Liang has no real intention of relinquishing Jingzhou. I think Zhou Yu knew this also, and I also believe that it's indeed a possibility that Lu Su, deep down, also knew it. But Lu Su, as portrayed in the novel, was an honest man, and maybe a little bit on the credible side, by reason of extreme politeness. Lu Su was a brilliant man, and it's very hard to believe that he had no clue what Zhuge Liang was doing. But, ever attentive to the observation of etiquette, Lu Su found himself time and time again in the uncomfortable position of middleman between Liu Bei and the Southland. Thus, it's difficult not to feel more than a little sorry for Lu Su at this part of the story, where he is caught between Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu...probably the last place I would want to be is in between two intellectual juggernauts. I've been there before, time and time again, and it's really not fun.

Click to read more ...

D.J. Raspe |

2 Comments |

tagged