Records of the Three Kingdoms

"Sangokushi" redirects here. For the video game series, see Romance of the Three Kingdoms (video game series). For the manga series, see Sangokushi (manga).

Records of the Three Kingdoms

A fragment of the biography of Bu Zhi from the Records of the Three Kingdoms, part of the Dunhuang manuscripts
Author	Chen Shou
Original title	三國志
Country	China
Language	Classical Chinese
Subject	History of the Three Kingdoms period
Publication date	3rd century

Records of the Three Kingdoms
Traditional Chinese	三國志
Simplified Chinese	三国志
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sān Guó Zhì

The Records of the Three Kingdoms, also known by its Chinese title Sanguozhi (traditional Chinese: 三國志; simplified Chinese: 三国志; pinyin: Sānguó Zhì), is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). It is widely regarded as the official and authoritative historical text for that period. Written by Chen Shou in the third century, the work combines the smaller histories of the rival states of Cao Wei, Shu Han and Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period into a single text. The Records of the Three Kingdoms provided the basis for the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century.

Origin and structure

Together with the Records of the Grand Historian, Book of Han and Book of the Later Han, the Records of the Three Kingdoms is part of the early four historiographies of the Twenty-Four Histories canon. It contains 65 volumes and about 360,000 Chinese characters which are broken into three books. The Book of Wei contains 30 volumes, the Book of Shu 15 volumes, while the Book of Wu contains 20 volumes. Each volume is organised in the form of one or more biographies. The amount of space a biography takes up is dictated by the importance of the figure.

The original author was Chen Shou, who was born in present-day Nanchong, Sichuan, in the state of Shu. After the fall of Shu in 263, he became an official historian under the government of the Jin dynasty, and was assigned to create a history of the Three Kingdoms period. After the fall of Wu in 280, his work received the acclaim of the senior minister Zhang Hua. Prior to the Jin dynasty, both the states of Wei and Wu already had their official histories, such as the Book of Wei by Wang Chen, the Weilue by Yu Huan, and the Book of Wu by Wei Zhao. Chen Shou created the Records of the Three Kingdoms with these preexisting works as a foundation. However, since the state of Shu lacked documents about its history, the Book of Shu in the Records of the Three Kingdoms was composed by Chen Shou himself based on his personal memories of his early life in Shu and other primary sources he collected, such as the writings of Zhuge Liang. The Records of the Three Kingdoms used the year 220 AD — which marked the end of the Han dynasty — as the year in which the state of Wei was established. The Records of the Three Kingdoms referred the rulers of Wei as 'Emperors' and those of Shu and Wu as 'Lords' or by their personal names. This was to uphold the legitimacy of the Jin dynasty as the inheritor of the Mandate of Heaven from Wei — because Wei must first be "designated" as the true successor to the Han dynasty in order for Jin's claim to be effective.

Historical record

The romantic and historical traditions for the Three Kingdoms period have been so confused over the centuries that the Records of the Three Kingdoms is often regarded as an invaluable resource. Although it contains errors, it is nevertheless more historically accurate than the embellishments of writers in later periods. Many of the political, economic and military figures from the Three Kingdoms period have their own biographies in the Records of the Three Kingdoms, as are those who contributed to the fields of culture, arts and science. In its nature, the work is indeed a chronicle, much like those of early Medieval Europe written much later. The text is bland and little more than a collection of historical facts.

A rough translation of a typical extract from Guan Yu's biography is as follows:

In the 24th year (of Jian'an), the Former Lord became the King of Hanzhong, and he appointed (Guan) Yu as the "General of the Vanguard". In the same year, (Guan) Yu led his men to attack Cao Ren at Fan. Lord Cao sent Yu Jin to aid (Cao) Ren. In autumn, great rains caused the Han River to flood, (Yu) Jin and the seven armies were lost.

From this, we can establish reasonably accurately the flow of events and how history unfolded but almost nothing about society or elements of institutions or policies.

The amount of creative imagination used in ancient Chinese historical narratives — of "fictionalising" — is impossible to estimate precisely. Sima Qian employed this device in his Records of the Grand Historian and it can be assumed that Chen Shou also did the same in the Records of the Three Kingdoms. It is highly unlikely that various remarks which leaders or soldiers are supposed to have made in the heat of battle could have been taken down stenographically and thus many of them may be false.

Chen Shou, a former Shu subject, favoured his state over Wu in the work, but this preference was subordinate to the Jin dynasty's point of view, which saw Wei as the legitimate successor to the Han dynasty. He referred to the Wei rulers as 'Emperors', the Shu rulers as 'Lords', and the Wu rulers by their personal names. He also never referred to the Wu empresses as "empresses", instead calling them "Ladies".

The book is also important to the research of Japanese history (where it is known as Sangokushi (三国志)), for its volume on Wa is the first historical document to make explicit mention of Japan. It describes the ancient country of Yamatai and its queen Himiko.

Contents

Dates

Due to the biographical rather than primarily annalistic arrangement of the work, assigning dates to the historical content is both imprecise and non-trivial. Certain volumes contain background information about their subjects' forebears which date back centuries before the main record. For example, the biography of Liu Yan begins with discussing his ancestor Liu Yu's enfeoffment at Jingling (present-day Tianmen, Hubei) in around 85 AD. The first event to receive detailed description throughout the work is the Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184. Many biographies make passing mention of the event, but more concrete information such as correspondence and troop movements during the uprising can be found in fragmentary form in at least four volumes: the biographies of Cheng Yu, Yu Jin, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian.

The three books in the Records of the Three Kingdoms end at different dates, with the main section of the Book of Wei ending with the abdication of Cao Huan in 265, the Book of Shu ending with the death of Liu Shan in 271, and the Book of Wu ending with the death of Sun Hao in 284.

Book of Wei (魏書)

#	Title	Translation	Notes
Volume 1	武帝紀	Annals of Emperor Wu	Cao Cao
Volume 2	文帝紀	Annals of Emperor Wen	Cao Pi
Volume 3	明帝紀	Annals of Emperor Ming	Cao Rui
Volume 4	三少帝紀	Annals of the three young emperors	Cao Fang, Cao Mao, Cao Huan
Volume 5	后妃傳	Biographies of empresses and concubines	Empress Dowager Bian, Lady Zhen, Guo Nüwang, Empress Mao, Empress Guo
Volume 6	董二袁劉傳	Biographies of Dong, the two Yuans, and Liu	Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Liu Biao
Volume 7	呂布臧洪傳	Biographies of Lü Bu and Zang Hong	Zhang Miao, Chen Deng
Volume 8	二公孫陶四張傳	Biographies of the two Gongsuns, Tao, and the four Zhangs	Gongsun Zan, Tao Qian, Zhang Yang, Gongsun Du, Zhang Yan, Zhang Xiu, Zhang Lu
Volume 9	諸夏侯曹傳	Biographies of the Xiahous and Caos	Xiahou Dun, Han Hao, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Cao Chun, Cao Hong, Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen, Cao Shuang, Xiahou Shang, Xiahou Xuan
Volume 10	荀彧荀攸賈詡傳	Biographies of Xun Yu, Xun You, and Jia Xu
Volume 11	袁張涼國田王邴管傳	Biographies of Yuan, Zhang, Liang, Guo, Tian, Wang, Bing, and Guan	Yuan Huan, Zhang Fan, Liang Mao, Guo Yuan, Tian Chou, Wang Xiu, Bing Yuan, Guan Ning
Volume 12	崔毛徐何邢司馬傳	Biographies of Cui, Mao, Xu, He, Xing, and Sima	Cui Yan, Mao Jie, Xu Yi, He Kui, Xing Yong, Bao Xun, Sima Zhi
Volume 13	鍾繇華歆王朗傳	Biographies of Zhong Yao, Hua Xin, and Wang Lang	Zhong Yu, Wang Su
Volume 14	程郭董劉蔣劉傳	Biographies of Cheng, Dong, Guo, Liu, Jiang, and Liu	Cheng Yu, Sun Xiao, Guo Jia, Dong Zhao, Liu Ye, Jiang Ji, Liu Fang
Volume 15	劉司馬梁張溫賈傳	Biographies of Liu, Sima, Liang, Zhang, Wen, and Jia	Liu Fu, Liu Jing, Sima Lang, Liang Xi, Zhang Ji, Zhang Ji, Wen Hui, Jia Kui
Volume 16	任蘇杜鄭倉傳	Biographies of Ren, Su, Du, Zheng, and Cang	Ren Jun, Su Ze, Du Ji, Zheng Hun, Cang Ci
Volume 17	張樂于張徐傳	Biographies of Zhang, Yue, Yu, Zhang, and Xu	Zhang Liao, Yue Jin, Yu Jin, Zhang He, Xu Huang
Volume 18	二李臧文呂許典二龐閻傳	Biographies of the two Lis, Zang, Wen, Lü, Xu, Dian, the two Pangs, and Yan	Li Dian, Li Tong, Zang Ba, Wen Ping, Lü Qian, Xu Chu, Dian Wei, Pang De, Pang Yu, Yan Wen
Volume 19	任城陳蕭王傳	Biographies of the princes of Rencheng, Chen, and Xiao	Cao Zhang, Cao Zhi, Cao Xiong
Volume 20	武文世王公傳	Biographies of nobles in Emperors Wu and Wen's time	Cao Ang, Cao Shuo, Cao Chong, Cao Ju, Cao Yu, Cao Lin, Cao Gun, Cao Xuan, Cao Jun, Cao Ju, Cao Gan, Cao Shang, Cao Biao, Cao Qin, Cao Cheng, Cao Zheng, Cao Jing, Cao Jun, Cao Ji, Cao Hui, Cao Mao, Cao Xie, Cao Mao, Cao Lin, Cao Li, Cao Yong, Cao Gong, Cao Yan
Volume 21	王衛二劉傳	Biographies of Wang, Wei, and the two Lius	Wang Can, Wei Ji, Liu Yi, Liu Shao, Fu Jia
Volume 22	桓二陳徐衛盧傳	Biographies of Huan, the two Chens, Xu, Wei, and Lu	Huan Jie, Chen Qun, Chen Tai, Chen Jiao, Xu Xuan, Wei Zhen, Lu Yu
Volume 23	和常楊杜趙裴傳	Biographies of He, Chang, Yang, Du, Zhao, and Pei	He Qia, Chang Lin, Yang Jun, Du Xi, Zhao Yan, Pei Qian
Volume 24	韓崔高孫王傳	Biographies of Han, Cui, Gao, Sun, and Wang	Han Ji, Cui Lin, Gao Rou, Sun Li, Wang Guan
Volume 25	辛毗楊阜高堂隆傳	Biographies of Xin Pi, Yang Fu, and Gaotang Long
Volume 26	滿田牽郭傳	Biographies of Man, Tian, Qian, and Guo	Man Chong, Tian Yu, Qian Zhao, Guo Huai
Volume 27	徐胡二王傳	Biographies of Xu, Hu, and the two Wangs	Xu Miao, Hu Zhi, Wang Chang, Wang Ji
Volume 28	王毌丘諸葛鄧鍾傳	Biographies of Wang, Guanqiu, Zhuge, Deng and Zhong	Wang Ling, Guanqiu Jian, Zhuge Dan, Deng Ai, Zhong Hui
Volume 29	方技傳	Biographies of fangshis and artisans	Hua Tuo, Du Kui, Zhu Jianping, Zhou Xuan, Guan Lu
Volume 30	烏丸鮮卑東夷傳	Biographies of the Wuhuan, Xianbei, and Dongyi	Wuhuan, Xianbei, Buyeo, Goguryeo, Okjeo, Yilou, Yemaek, Samhan, Wa; and a long footnote at the end containing the chapter on the Xirong, or ‘Peoples of the West’ from the Weilüe, or “Brief Account of the Wei Dynasty,” composed by Yu Huan in the second third of the 3rd century AD.

Book of Shu (蜀書)

#	Title	Translation	Notes
Volume 31	劉二牧傳	Biographies of the two Governor Lius	Liu Yan, Liu Zhang
Volume 32	先主傳	Biography of the Former Lord	Liu Bei
Volume 33	後主傳	Biography of the Later Lord	Liu Shan
Volume 34	二主妃子傳	Biographies of concubines and sons of the two Lords	Lady Gan, Empress Wu, Empress Zhang (former), Empress Zhang (later), Liu Yong, Liu Li, Liu Xuan
Volume 35	諸葛亮傳	Biography of Zhuge Liang	Zhuge Qiao, Zhuge Zhan, Dong Jue
Volume 36	關張馬黃趙傳	Biographies of Guan, Zhang, Ma, Huang, and Zhao	Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun
Volume 37	龐統法正傳	Biographies of Pang Tong and Fa Zheng
Volume 38	許麋孫簡伊秦傳	Biographies of Xu, Mi, Sun, Jian, Yi, and Qin	Xu Jing, Mi Zhu, Mi Fang, Sun Qian, Jian Yong, Yi Ji, Qin Mi
Volume 39	董劉馬陳董呂傳	Biographies of Dong, Liu, Ma, Chen, Dong, and Lü	Dong He, Liu Ba, Ma Liang, Ma Su, Chen Zhen, Dong Yun, Chen Zhi, Lü Yi
Volume 40	劉彭廖李劉魏楊傳	Biographies of Liu, Peng, Liao, Li, Liu, Wei, and Yang	Liu Feng, Peng Yang, Liao Li, Li Yan, Liu Yan, Wei Yan, Yang Yi
Volume 41	霍王向張楊費傳	Biographies of Huo, Wang, Xiang, Zhang, Yang, and Fei	Huo Jun, Huo Yi, Luo Xian, Wang Lian, Xiang Lang, Xiang Chong, Zhang Yi, Yang Hong, Fei Shi, Wang Chong
Volume 42	杜周杜許孟來尹李譙郤傳	Biographies of Du, Zhou, Du, Xu, Meng, Lai, Yin, Li, Qiao, and Xi	Du Wei, Zhou Qun, Du Qiong, Xu Ci, Meng Guang, Lai Min, Yin Mo, Li Zhuan, Qiao Zhou, Xi Zheng
Volume 43	黃李呂馬王張傳	Biographies of Huang, Li, Lü, Ma, Wang, and Zhang	Huang Quan, Li Hui, Lü Kai, Ma Zhong, Wang Ping, Zhang Ni
Volume 44	蔣琬費禕姜維傳	Biographies of Jiang Wan, Fei Yi, and Jiang Wei
Volume 45	鄧張宗楊傳	Biographies of Deng, Zhang, Zong, and Yang	Deng Zhi, Zhang Yi, Zong Yu, Liao Hua, Yang Xi

Book of Wu (吳書)

#	Title	Translation	Notes
Volume 46	孫破虜討逆傳	Biographies of Sun Who Defeats Barbarians, and Sun Who Attacks Rebels	Sun Jian, Sun Ce
Volume 47	吳主傳	Biography of the Lord of Wu	Sun Quan
Volume 48	三嗣主傳	Biographies of the three heirs	Sun Liang, Sun Xiu, Sun Hao
Volume 49	劉繇太史慈士燮傳	Biographies of Liu Yao, Taishi Ci, and Shi Xie	Ze Rong, Liu Ji
Volume 50	妃嬪傳	Biographies of concubines and ladies	Lady Wu, Wu Jing, Lady Xie, Lady Xu, Bu Lianshi, Lady Wang, Lady Wang, Empress Pan, Quan Huijie, Empress Zhu, Empress Dowager He, Teng Fanglan
Volume 51	宗室傳	Biographies of nobles	Sun Jing, Sun Yu, Sun Jiao, Sun Huan, Sun Ben, Sun Fu, Sun Yi, Sun Kuang, Sun Shao, Sun Huan
Volume 52	張顧諸葛步傳	Biographies of Zhang, Gu, Zhuge, and Bu	Zhang Zhao, Zhang Fen, Zhang Cheng, Zhang Xiu, Gu Yong, Gu Shao, Gu Tan, Gu Cheng, Zhuge Jin, Bu Zhi
Volume 53	張嚴程闞薛傳	Biographies of Zhang, Yan, Cheng, Kan, and Xue	Zhang Hong, Yan Jun, Cheng Bing, Kan Ze, Xue Zong
Volume 54	周瑜魯肅呂蒙傳	Biographies of Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and Lü Meng
Volume 55	程黃韓蔣周陳董甘淩徐潘丁傳	Biographies of Cheng, Huang, Han, Jiang, Zhou, Chen, Dong, Gan, Ling, Xu, Pan, and Ding	Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, Jiang Qin, Zhou Tai, Chen Wu, Dong Xi, Gan Ning, Ling Tong, Xu Sheng, Pan Zhang, Ding Feng
Volume 56	朱治朱然呂範朱桓傳	Biographies of Zhu Zhi, Zhu Ran, Lü Fan, and Zhu Huan	Zhu Ji, Zhu Yi
Volume 57	虞陸張駱陸吾朱傳	Biographies of Yu, Lu, Zhang, Luo, Lu, Wu, and Zhu	Yu Fan, Lu Ji, Zhang Wen, Luo Tong, Lu Mao, Wu Can, Zhu Ju
Volume 58	陸遜傳	Biography of Lu Xun	Lu Kang
Volume 59	吳主五子傳	Biographies of the five sons of the Lord of Wu	Sun Deng, Sun Lü, Sun He, Sun Ba, Sun Fen
Volume 60	賀全呂周鍾離傳	Biographies of He, Quan, Lü, Zhou, and Zhongli	He Qi, Quan Cong, Lü Dai, Zhou Fang, Zhongli Mu
Volume 61	潘濬陸凱傳	Biographies of Pan Jun and Lu Kai
Volume 62	是儀胡綜傳	Biographies of Shi Yi and Hu Zong	Xu Xiang
Volume 63	吳範劉惇趙達傳	Biographies of Wu Fan, Liu Dun, and Zhao Da
Volume 64	諸葛滕二孫濮陽傳	Biographies of Zhuge, Teng, the two Suns, and Puyang	Zhuge Ke, Teng Yin, Sun Jun, Sun Chen, Puyang Xing
Volume 65	王樓賀韋華傳	Biographies of Wang, Lou, He, Wei, and Hua	Wang Fan, Lou Xuan, He Shao, Wei Zhao, Hua He

Pei Songzhi's annotations

Main article: Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms

See also

• Twenty-Four Histories
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms
• List of people of the Three Kingdoms
• Timeline of the Three Kingdoms period
• Military history of the Three Kingdoms

References

• Roberts, Moss, tr. Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel (1991) University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-22503-1

External links

• (Chinese) Records of the Three Kingdoms on the Chinese Text Project page