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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 Xuzhou (5)

    Tuesday
    Sep152009

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 21

    DateTuesday, September 15, 2009 at 2:21PM

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 21:

    In A Plum Garden, Cao Cao Discusses Heroes;

    Using The Host's Forces, Guan Yu Takes Xuzhou.



    Listen:

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    WARNING: THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY MIGHT JUST CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS. MAYBE. JUUUUUUUUST MAYBE....

    Chapter 21 is sort of a transitional chapter between one plot arc and another. Lu Bu has been destroyed, Liu Bei and Cao Cao have developed an uneasy friendship, and outside the capitol, the affairs of the Imperial warlords (i.e. Yuan Shao, Sun Ce, Liu Biao, Liu Yan/Zhang, etc.) grind on as the Middle Kingdom enters the 3rd century...

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    Wednesday
    Sep092009

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 19

    DateWednesday, September 9, 2009 at 7:21PM

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 19:

    Cao Cao Makes a Flood In Xiapi;

    Lu Bu Perishes At The White Gate Tower.



    Listen:

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    WARNING: READING PAST THIS POINT MIGHT SPOIL SURPRISES IN THIS CHAPTER NOT ALREADY SPOILED BY THE CHAPTER'S TITLE!

    If you've been paying attention to the story (and I certainly hope you have...), you might have noticed that things between Cao Cao and Lu Bu are coming to a head.

    I mentioned before the power struggle taking place in the East of China, between Cao Cao, Lu Bu, Liu Bei, and Yuan Shu. For chapters, the four of them have been maneuvering around each other, and some rather strange alliances have grown out of that struggle.

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    Friday
    Sep042009

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 17

    DateFriday, September 4, 2009 at 11:11AM

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 17:

    Yuan Shu Marches Out Seven Armies;

    Cao Cao And Three Generals Join Forces.



    Listen:

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    WARNING: THE EDITOR IS GETTING REALLY TIRED OF COMING UP WITH NEW WAYS TO SAY THAT THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

    Okay. I've been sitting here at this computer uploading audiobook episodes and writing commentaries for each chapter for three days now. Today is a workday, and I'm tired and more than a little grumpy. So I'll go ahead and make this one relatively brief.

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    Thursday
    Sep032009

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 14

    DateThursday, September 3, 2009 at 7:01PM

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 14:

    Cao Cao Moves The Court To Xuchang;

    Lu Bu Leads A Night Raid Against Xuzhou.



    Listen:

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    WARNING: MUCH LIKE A SACK OF ORANGES, SOME OF WHICH ARE ROTTEN, WE GOTS SOME SPOILERS ALL UP IN THIS BEEYATCH!

    You know, ^^^^ Those are getting a bit trickier to write every time.

    Anyways, we've made it to Chapter 14. Cao Cao is King Shit right now. Li Jue and Guo Si got over their beef with each other, got a room, then after they were done, they decided to chase down and...get this...KILL the Emperor. But Cao Cao had this little army that he had obtained from stomping the Yellow Turbans of Qing Province into the mud. (Did I ever mention that he also at the same time obtained a big, bristly mustached man-tiger, name of Xu Zhu [or Xu Chu. I'm not quite sure which.])

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    Thursday
    Sep032009

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 12

    DateThursday, September 3, 2009 at 5:49PM

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 12:

    Tao Qian Thrice Offers Xuzhou To Liu Bei;

    Cao Cao Retakes Yanzhou From Lu Bu.



    Listen:

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    WARNING: THERE MIGHT BE SPOILERS IN THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY. BUT THERE SHOULD NEVER BE SPOILERS ON CARS. EVER. THEY'RE SO UGLY.

    So now Cao Cao and Lu Bu are getting ready to get down to business. Lu Bu, at the insistence of Chen Gong and with the connivance of Cao Cao's longtime friend, Zhang Miao, has stolen the city of Puyang away from Cao Cao while His Scottishness was off in the East trying to punish Tao Qian.

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