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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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    About the Sanguo Yanyi Audiobook

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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 Yuan Shao (9)

    Thursday
    Nov052009

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 32

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 32:

    Jizhou Taken: Yuan Shang Strives;

    River Zhang Cut: Xun You Schemes.



    Listen:

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    WARNING: THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

    I know I said before that the story is shifting to the south, and so it is, but for the next couple of chapters, Cao Cao's got some loose-ends to take care of in the north. What are these loose-ends, you might ask? Their names are Yuan Shang, Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi, and Gao Gan, the sons (and nephew) of Yuan Shao.

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    Monday
    Nov022009

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 31

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 31:

    Cao Cao Overcomes Yuan Shao In Cangting;

    Liu Bei Seeks Shelter With Liu Biao In Jingzhou.



    Listen:

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    WARNING: THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS. BUT YOU WANT TO READ IT ANYWAY, BECAUSE MY WORDS JUST, YOU KNOW, LIKE, HYPNOTIZE PEOPLE AND SHIT...

    And here it is. Come one, come all, and listen to Chapter 31 of the Sanguo Yanyi, I know it's a bit late (I blame Daylight Standard Time. :p), but nonetheless, better late than never.

    So the first quarter of the story was pretty much building up to the great Battle of Guan Du. Now that Guan Du is over (almost), the focus of the story begins to shift, rather, to the south, where two strong powers stand poised in control of the lands below the Yangtze River. Sun Quan, newly ascended to the office held by his Brother Sun Ce, and his father Sun Jian before that, controls the southeast with a strong and well-trained army. In Jingzhou, Liu Biao, a member of the Imperial Family, holds the office of Imperial Protector (Governor, pretty much). He also has an army of decent size, and capable officers such as Cai Mao, Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue, Wen Ping, Wei Yan, Gan Ning, Huang Zhong, and Yi Ji, to name but a few.

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    Sunday
    Oct182009

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 30

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 30:

    Shunning Advice, Yuan Shao Loses Leaders and Granaries;

    Using Strategy, Cao Cao Scores Victory At Guandu.



    Listen:

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    WARNING: THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS. AT ANY RATE, IT CONTAINS A REALLY, REALLY REAALLY BIG F'N BATTLE!

    Yep. It is official. We're one quarter of the way through this novel now. It's Chapter 30, and what better way to celebrate that fact than by having a big giant f'n battle, eh? That's right. Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, childhood friends, court officials, former subordinates of He Jin, now the two most powerful Lords in China, are squared off against each other in an all out battle for supremacy in the Northern Provinces of the crumbling Han Dynasty.

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    Monday
    Oct052009

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 26

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 26:

    Yuan Shao Loses Another Leader;

    Guan Yu Abandons Rank And Wealth.



    Listen:

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    WARNING! HEH, THAT WORD COULD ALMOST BE A CHINESE WORD. WAR NING. I WONDER IF HE WAS GAN NING'S HOTHEADED COUSIN...

    Anyways, now that I've got my daily digression out of the way...it's Chapter 26, or as Yuan Shao might have called it, "HOLY SHIT! GUAN YU IS KILLING OFF ALL MY MOST POWERFUL GENERALS ONE BY ONE!"

    That's pretty much what's going down, up in the northern regions of the Han Empire. Cao Cao, if you remember, obtained Guan Yu's services at the beginning of last chapter, and now, finds himself coming within half a mile of...guess who...his sworn brother and sworn lord, Liu Bei.

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    Thursday
    Oct012009

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 25

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 25:

    Besieged In Tushan, Guan Yu Makes Three Conditions;

    Relieved At Baima, Cao Cao Beholds A Marvel.



    Listen:

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    WARNING! THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

    In Chapter 25, the great Battle of Guan Du, one of the most titanic clashes between two rulers that China...and perhaps the world...has ever known, begins in earnest. And who would have been able to foresee the way the lineup has changed over the past few chapters.

    Liu Bei, having been crushed by Cao Cao in Xu Province, has fled to seek refuge with Yuan Shao, and Guan Yu, sworn brother of Liu Bei, now serves, at least for the time being, the man who did the crushing...

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    Tuesday
    Sep292009

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 24

    The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 24:

    Cao Cao Murders The Consort Dong;

    Liu Bei Flees To Yuan Shao.



    Listen:

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    WARNING! THE FOLLOWING IS PROBABLY NOT VERY FUNNY AND ALSO CONTAINS LANGUAGE NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN...

    So Chapter 24 is probably the shortest chapter thus far produced in the Sanguo Yanyi audiobook. Clocking in at just under 20 minutes, but just like people with a Napoleon Complex, it's short of stature, but compensates for its lack of length by being jam-packed full of action. However, since it's so short, instead of writing a commentary on it like I normally do, I think I'mma just rewrite the chapter in slightly different terms. :p

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