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An Introduction To The Greatest Masculine Epic Ever Written

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The Romance Of Three Kingdoms is a historical novel written in the 14th century by Luo Guanzhong that chronicles the fall of Han dynasty and the rise of three kingdoms that vie in an epic struggle to rule all of China. Not only is this classic a literary masterpiece of the East, this is one of the greatest epic that demonstrates the true potential and the greatness of men.

The Premise

The story features hundreds of characters and numerous secondary stories that spans a century from the Yellow Turban Rebellion to the eventual re-unification of China. The main characters are: Liu Bei, the honorable and compassionate descendant of the founder of Han dynasty who rises to prominence with the help of his sworn brothers, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, in spite of his humble background; Caocao, the villainous hero whose combined brilliance and ruthlessness puts Machiavelli to utter shame and would eventually become the arch rival of Liu Bei; and the Sun family who are said to be direct the descendants of the famous author of the Art of War, Sun Tzu. Of course, those are just the few men who represent the three kingdoms, Shu, Wei, and Wu. There are dozens of more memorable characters of importance throughout this epic.

In spite of the title, we don’t see the three kingdoms established until about halfway point in the story. Up until then, we witness numerous factions of warlords and nobles fight one another to expand their own influence as the emperor no longer possesses any real authority. You see men rise and fall with their strengths, weaknesses, ambitions, duty, and fortune.

Lessons In Life And Masculinity

Throughout the book, we see countless acts of honor and loyalty, treachery and betrayal, bravery and cowardice, as well as stories of brotherhood, triumph, and revenge. But above all, power struggle is the main theme that perpetuates throughout the novel. Whether it be the sheer force of strength and determination on the battlefield or the use of coy traps, intrigues, and deception to manipulate the enemy, all that seems to matter is that one should come out victorious no matter the cost (and this is why Liu Bei is respected by other men in the story as being the most noble leader of all). It’s no surprise then that Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power features numerous anecdotes from the Three Kingdoms.

The use of military tactics and strategies are also one of the great features of this novel that has no other match. The way the characters penetrate each other’s minds for psychological warfare as well as the way human nature, the elements, terrain and weather, and various arsenals all come into play is simply sublime. Centuries after the book was published, Mao Zedong, a peasant with no formal military training, manged to lead his army of Communist guerillas to victory against the much larger and better equipped Nationalist forces. He did this not by reading the Art of War, but by drawing upon lessons he learned from reading the Three Kingdoms (as another bit of trivia, Caocao was his favorite character).

Also, notable in absence in the story are strong female characters we’re used to seeing in our modern times. In fact, there are only a handful of females throughout the entire novel who only play minor roles as mothers, consorts, and daughters offered for marriage. If anything, women are seen as distractions that detract men from achieving greater deeds if not outright baits to lure men into traps.

The Cult Status In East Asia

Statue of Guan Yu in Jingzhou.

One thing you must understand about the Three Kingdoms is its everlasting mythological influence on not just the Chinese culture, but also that of the other nations surrounding China.

The vast majority of Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese have read the book and are familiar with the story, and it continues to remain popular among these nations with people of all ages. Besides the novel itself, the story has spawned plays, movies, television series, dozens of video games, comics, anime series, action figures, collectible cards, and so on. Combine the cultural influence of Greek mythology to the modern fandom of Star Wars and you’ll start to get an idea of just how popular and enduring the love for Three Kingdoms is in East Asia—not bad for a novel written more than 600 years ago about historical events that happened in the 3rd century.

As recently as last year, a gigantic 1,320 ton statue of Guan Yu, one of the main protagonists, was completed in China (pictured above). Obviously, people in that region are still enthusiastic about the legends of the Three Kingdoms. So it’s safe to say that the legacy of this work will continue on to be an essential part of Chinese cultural consciousness for as long as China exists.

A Key To Understanding China

By reading the Three Kingdoms, you can start to appreciate why China, both as a nation and government, obsessively pursues the One China policy no matter how much criticism they face for being repressive and dictatorial. Ever since the first unification by the Qin Emperor, China has always valued strong central authority that allowed the nation to prosper. Whenever that central authority failed and the nation became divided, there had been nothing but chaos, rebellion, bloody civil wars, foreign invasion, and misery for the people until a new authority came about to reunite the nation once again to bring peace and harmony. The brutal internal strife depicted in this novel shows why the Chinese people are so determined to keep their nation together as one regardless of the cost.

Second, the Yellow Turban Rebellion depicted in the beginning of the story also explains why the Chinese government is intolerant of religious groups that may threaten its rule. It’s only understandable why the government so harshly cracks down on groups like the Falun Gong when you realize that such mass religious cults were what brought down dynasties and sowed chaos and disorder throughout the nation’s history. The more recent Taiping Rebellion, for example, was a civil war started by a man claiming to be the brother of Jesus that lasted for fourteen years with casualties that rivaled the First World War—if not higher. It’s no surprise then that a cult-like movement or a religious group that threatens the central authority of the current Chinese regime are targeted for persecution (I don’t justify the Chinese government’s actions, but only attempt to explain their motives).

Conclusion

Personally, I can say with ease that I learned more about life, manhood, and the nature of the world with the Three Kingdoms than all other works of fiction I’ve read combined. It is also one of the very few books that I’ve read more than once. In fact, I got so worked up by the thought of writing this article that I started reading it again for the fourth time. It’s just one of those rare works you must read and re-read again.

For those who are interested in taking the plunge, the best English version is generally accepted as the one translated by Robert Moss (be sure to get the unabriged edition). And for those who want a Kindle version (there doesn’t seem to be a digital version of Moss’s translation), newer translation by Ron Iverson is also well-received. There is also an entire manga series available for free here which could be better for those who want a lighter reading and may have difficulty visualizing ancient China.

Read More: The Most Sincere Autobiography Ever Written

182 thoughts on “An Introduction To The Greatest Masculine Epic Ever Written”

  1. This is the sort of multiculturalism that we should be advocating. Other cultures actually have interesting stories to tell and there things we can learn from them.
    The “multiculturalism” of the left today is really just “anti-Anything-Western-Civilization.”

    2. And turning the West into a giant shopping mall. I don’t have a problem with Chinese IN China or Mexicans IN Mexico, I just want to be able to enjoy my own land, people, and culture at home.

        1. When I argue with multiculturalists they always say “but m’ethnic food!” and I respond, “Why not send American chefs over to China, Mexico, or where ever else to learn how to cook authentic ethnic food. Have them come back to America and open up restaurants, rather than importing a bunch of third worlders in the hopes a few of them will open up restaurants.”
          Seems like a much better strategy that will encourage entrepreneurship amongst our own people. Not to mention the sense of pride of owning your own business and contributing something to your community.

        2. Yeah, well that would make too much sense though. We can’t be subverting the plan to destroy America by making wise decisions like that.

    3. Exactly I love other cultures but only the best aspects of them and at my own choosing.

    4. But don’t spread it around here too much. Keep RO3K on back shelves and in niche video games where it belongs. If it gets too popular, Hollywood will get a hold of it and cuck it.

    5. The oldest continuous culture on Earth lasted so long by being the most ethnocentrist culture on Earth.
      Tsinos traditionally refered to their land as the “middle kingdom” between Earth and Heaven, and look down upon everyone else as sub human. As a culture, this is how you win.

      1. China’s culture might’ve survived the longest, but it has been “The Sick Man of Asia” for its entire run.

        1. No, it’s been called the “sick man of Asia” only since the 1800s. Prior to the 1600s, China was the richest and most advanced empire on earth.

        2. I strongly doubt that second part, “Jyna” has never been the richest and most advanced empire on Earth.
          Have you been rating too much Gavin Menzies?
          China’s greatest feat was its treasure fleet (which was commanded by a castrated mohammedan…), and that was ultimately destroyed by the Chinese themselves, in what can only be described as a bout of stupidity.
          So, even at its best, China was still the “Sick Man of Asia”. That name came later, but it was always applicable.

    6. Yes. Nearly all of what passes as ‘multiculturalism’ isn’t even shallow. They don’t study the great world religions, they have no interest in serious philosophy, and they refuse even to acknowledge literature that is not identitarian and anti-Caucasian.

    7. (East) Asian culture is respectable. I wouldn’t necessarily want it here but it is 10x than anything from Africa.

    8. I love tasting, felling and seeing different cultures. But multiculturalism absolutly disgust me.
      Multiculturalism is really anti-culturelism in it’s purest form.

    1. My doctor advises that I only use real butter.

  3. Love Romance of the 3 Kingdoms. Who doesn’t think LU BU was awesome? Of course he eventually pissed everyone off and was executed.

      1. why would people who eat with sticks invent something you need a fork to eat?

    2. That’s outrageous! What about their contributions to dry cleaning, overpriced mini grocery stores and assembling all the shit white people think of.

      1. Dude…what do you think the “Ancient Chinese Secret” is all about?

        1. I thought it was a special blowjob technique or some such. Hmm…

        1. Didn’t he also ghost author Under The Bleachers as I.C. Butts?

      2. Um, the preferred nomenclature is “Asian” dude.

        1. I thought it was oriental, but apparently even that is considered racist these days

        3. Funny that: if you were to refer to a Chinese, Korean or Japanese person as ‘Asian’ in the U.K, they’d look at you as if you were nuts. They use Asian as referring to Indian, Afghnai, Pakistani, etc.

    5. Is that Elliot Rodger?
      Btw: the hapa community always claimes that when an asian woman has a kid from a white man the kid is going to be an ugly loser.
      Well, after watching The Weeknd’s latest vid and searching for this girl Kiko Mizuhara (american dad; korean-japanese mother) it’s safe to say they are wrong.

      https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/17/88/6f/17886f1aa0c9543fc751493ee6e87082.jpg
      https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/e8/56/36/e856363bcfb8344166df9d214592a395.png
      http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/wzCp2wvNpHEd7vlnzt8Uq5wmxV5.jpg

      1. The way I hear it, females from such unions can be breathtakingly beautiful, but males born from them usually get the worst of both worlds.

        2. Well, you’re right with this one. I actually know a few guys in reallife with Hapa children and the girls are all lil cuties turning into hotties into ten years but the boys are all of the Elliot Rodger type.
          If I’d knock up an asian woman I would make sure she has an abortion if the baby is a boy.

        3. Agreed…In Brazil there is a fairly large Japanese community. I forget the history I think they arrived in Brazil from Japanese fishing the waters off Brazil. There are Japanese +Brazilian women that are beyond beautiful . Exotic. Asian eyes. Dark skin. Unrelated the Japanese brought Jui Jitsu to Brazil….

        7. If I’d knock up an asian woman I would make sure she has an abortion if the baby is a boy.

          How diluted does the gene pool have to get, I wonder, before the “Elliot Rodger effect” goes away?
          IOW, If a half-white, half-asian woman has a son from a white man, what are the odds of a quarter-asian male experiencing that ER effect?

      3. It’s a luck game. But if the dad happens to be from a third world country and mates with a white woman, then the child inherits most of the dad’s dominant genes. The results turn out to be quite bad. We are seeing a large decline in the White population thanks to interracial breeding.

        1. Dominant? Me thinks that mixrace kids are somewhere in-between!
          Also, these “dominant” genes are the result of very homogeneous and isolates haplogroups!

      1. wow your mind really goes to homosexuality quickly. Funny. I wonder why. After all, I know you are all man. As you say “PUA” is right in your name so that means you are the shit.
        Jesus Christ, the insects been nipping my ankles lately.

        3. also true. Whatever, if Pua MGTOW whatever associates being pissed on with sex that’s his business. We already know he is a low IQ closet homosexual with severe emotional problems, not reason for him not to be into odd kink.

        1. We’re learning about keto in Biochemistry next week. I’ll get back to you when I actually know what it means.

    8. Fuck them. One fucking chink backstabbed me recently to put his out of work business partner into position. I see how those yellow cunts work and help only each other. My friend who finished uni of waterloo was one white guy there doing computer engineering and those useless cunts never helped him. They would sell their own mother. Fuck them. I have no respect for chinks. They lack morals. Different mentality, different culture. I heard many other stories like that. Never trust a chink. No matter how big his fishy smiles are.

      1. They’re incredibly race conscious and materialistic.
        Even my closest Chinese friends have an internal network that I’ll never really be a part of.
        I can admire their tribalism, but it seems they treat each other like shit in their own country.

        2. In a way yeah.
          I’ve noticed that Jews and Chinese intermarry and it probably reflects their similarity in worldview.

        3. What’s more, the Chinese are the Jews of South Asia: A small 1 or 2 percent minority that controls a disproportionate share of the economy in those countries. Like the Jews, they’re resented for it. But perhaps the rest of us can learn from them.

        4. I think they’re starting to do that in the West as well.
          As for the Jews, I don’t resent them for their wealth but rather for their arrogance and hypocrisy.

      2. You can thank the communists for destroying like 90% of Chinese morality and ethics.

      3. oh boo hoo, poor loser lost and now he’s whinning, get another job you dick.

        4. Haha you piece of shit have some mental issues. Get off my dick bitch I forgot about you already.

        5. oh boo hoo, poor loser lost and now he’s whinning, get another job you dumb Jew . LOL

    9. Those fuckers are always putting pee-pee in the Coke; protect your caffeinated beverages when they’re around otherwise you’ll get Coke Uro.

  5. You are the fucking man corey. Sorry for such inarticulate adulation but such is my excitement. Ive been craving something like this for a while now.
    THIS is multiculturalism,not importing chinnese culture wholesale but picking and choosing the best aspects of every corner of the globe at YOUR leisure.

  6. Never heard of this before, will need to give a look-see. The Robert Moss link you provided is apparently out of stock.

    This single-volume, unabridged paperback edition of The Three Kingdoms: A
    Historical Novel is out of stock indefinitely. Please see our new
    two-volume, unabridged paperback edition, which is identical to this
    book except that it is divided in two: Part One; Part Two

    Greatest ever though? I’m a fan of the Illiad and the Odyssey, and of course Beowulf which are all, from what I can see, all about honor, virtue, manliness and, to a lesser extent, one eyed people and/or mead hall ravaging monsters.

      1. I must confess that I never read Odysseus or the Iliás but I read the original latin version of ‘Metamorphoseon libri’ by Ovid.
        I should give Homer’s masterworks a try. Maybe I should start with ‘Das Nibelungenlied’ – After all I’m german.

        1. Illiad first, then Odyssey, as they’re in chronological order. Some people don’t care, but I’m a bit persnickety about that kind of thing.

        2. the ovid is so great. The story where Zeus gets caught banging some farm girl by Hera so he turns her into a cow and she is questioning him where the cow came from and he does the whole embarrassed Englishman routine before Hera takes the girl/cow for herself is hilarious.

        3. Metamorphosis I think, is that right? Read that a long time ago. The hanky panky the European pantheons engaged in was pretty shocking when you compare it to how the Victorians looked at sexuality.

        4. yes indeed. Yeah the Victorians were incredibly prudish and the Peloponnesian Posse were anything but.

        5. Did you read it in verse or a prose translation?
          Because I hate the canto/in verse form.
          Reading Ovid in verse in latin was a pain in the ass.
          I’m probably buying the Odyssey in german prosa.

        6. Prose. Ancient Greek to English translation always comes across as clunky to me. I don’t know Ancient Greek but sometimes it just doesn’t resonate well in English. Well, in my opinion anyway.

        8. The Fagles translations have great introductions. I also recommend Michael Wood’s “In Search of the Trojan War” for historical context as a companion.

        9. I second Fagles. My Classic Greek is fair right now, but it used to be very good — that is right about when the fagles translations dropped…..I remember thinking how impressive they were even when my greek was super on point.

        10. The biggest problem, imo, and this is a belief I held for years dating back to when I did the intensive greek program at the CUNY Latin/Greek Institute, the people who wrote greek poetry were full of life and vigor and wine and cum. They were so alive. The people who tend to be modern day professional scholars of greek poetry and philosophy are a bunch of boring old cuntish pricks with no sense of humor who wouldn’t know what to do with a bottle of wine and a wet pussy if they had an instruction manual….mind you, this is not all, but it really is most. The Venn Diagram of people who have a zest for life along with people who are good enough with ancient greek to effectively be proficient translators does have an overlap, but it is incredibly small.
          The clunkiness you see in some translations, Jowett’s Republic for instance, is totally eradicated in Alan Bloom’s translation which reads beautifully and really captures the soul of the book.,

        11. back to when I did the intensive greek program at the CUNY Latin/Greek Institute,

          Ah, so then it’s fair to say that you’re a CUNY Linguist.

        12. it was only a 6 month program, but I think I will go with in.

        13. definitely start with the nibelungenlied, i love that one as it taught me early on (when it was read to me) to never trust a woman

        15. I think that I just learned a new term to refer to the band The Eagles by. Heh.

        16. There is no need to actuall read the Nibelungenlied.
          Just turn up the volume and listen to that glorious Wagner.

        17. As I came home on Tueday night,
          As drunk as drunk can be
          I saw a horse outside the door where my old horse should be.
          So i called the wife and I says to her:
          Will ya kindly tell to me
          Who owns that horse oustide the door where my old horse should be?
          Oh, you drunken drunken silly old fool,
          Oh, can you not see?
          That’s a lovely cow that me mother sent to me
          Well, many’s the days I travelled, a hundred miles and more,
          But a cow with a saddle sure I never saw before

        19. haha dint know there was a movie, i only watched a cartoon once, but seriously did you watch it?

        1. lol. do you ever, even accidently, say something that isn’t fucking moronic?

        7. Somehow the fact that you didn’t get the joke didn’t surprise me. It must be so strange and dull to be you

        8. Crime and Punishment was ok, but it was no “Horton Hears A Who”, I’ll tell you that much.

      3. Total Beta.
        He refused that sweet sweet Calypso ass for his oneitis, while she was partying with Jodie back home.
        Plus, he tried to DHV and totally got AMOG’d by that cyclops

        1. He was also married to a loyal wife who bore him sons and stood by him. You’re taking today’s assumptions and plugging them into a story thousands of years old. That’s a big, big mistake.

    2. And Andromache’s lament, Calypso’s cave, Penelope’s weaving, the shades of Book XI … should be required reading for men and women both.

  7. Great article. The Yellow Turban rebellion that kicked off the 3 Kingdoms Era resulted in approximately 3 million casualties… at that time the world’s population was about 250 million. It’s interesting that leftists are able to pin all of the world’s atrocities on Caucasians of Euro descent and conveniently ignore the campaigns of bloodshed that have occurred all around the globe.
    Back in my console gaming days I was a huge fan of the Dynasty Warriors series, which depicted this conflict in it’s entirety. I was always partial to Liu Bei & his brothers under the Shu Dynasty, where as my cousins would always pick Caocao’s ilk. I never got around to reading the books, I may now that you’ve reminded me of this amazing story.

  8. Wow, I actually wanted to buy this book. It was first released in german language three weeks ago and costs 99€. Wtf. Way too expensive. Smdh.

    1. Damn. Does it come with a coupon for two free blowjobs or something? That’s way more than I’d pay for a book going on Amazon for about 25 bucks, give or take.

      1. No prob…not sure how long the book is, as I could only get access up through Chapter 66 at the above link…but it gives a guy a pretty good chunk for free.

        1. Not sure what you’re seeing. It’s 120 chapters long, and all seem to be accessible to me.

        3. Imagine if you can, a one Mister Bob Smith, a man who is like any other man, except for one thing. You see, Mr. Smith lives his life under a curse, a curse that has vexed him for as long as he can remember. For while most people can read all of a book, Mr. Smith can only read half of a book’s chapters and then the book disappears. Here, in the library, of The Twilight Zone.

    2. Yeah, it’s free, but it looks like the abridged version that’s watered down. Not recommended. You get what you pay for.

  11. For me nothing’s ever come close to the Iliad and Odyssey, but you piqued my curiosity for this.
    My own upcoming epic story (The Red War) tries to focus on these kinds of themes, and Homer was the biggest source of inspiration, but now you have me wondering if I may have missed anything. It’s worth a look.

    2. Any recommended translations of those classics? They’re on my reading list for this summer.

    3. Illiad and Odyssey are more poetical and lyrical, for obvious reason, but ROTK is better in almost every other aspects.
      Check out the other thee Chinese Classics too.

  12. I’ll have to check it out. I like historical fiction but have never read anything about the East before. Always preferred Greek, Roman, and English

  13. Guess the religion …
    Hendrix on harp,
    Michael fails at being white, on b.ass,
    & jesus boiling in semen for eternity … on drums
    Extra bonus hint … has phobia of lampshades & faps to shekels

  14. This article proves a Strong Nationalist Dictatorship is superior to limp wristed democracy … a strong white dictatorship, is superior to a weak pussified democracy …
    “China has always valued strong central authority that allowed the nation to prosper. Whenever that central authority failed and the nation became divided, there had been nothing but chaos”

  17. I too recommend this book. I’ve read it like 15 times. My favorite passage is the one that goes “Me Chinese, me play joke, me put peepee in your Coke.”. Fucking epic, man.

  18. Nice…”greatest epic” not Western…Asian fetish again?
    I prefer sticking with my own civilization, thanks cuck.

    1. If Aristotle was a Kung-Fu monk and could wield a badass sword while philosophizing, delivering Truth and Logic to the ignorant with his fists, I might have agreed with you.

  19. Actually, Mao Tse-Tung only won because the nationalists had fought the Japanese virtually alone. The communists, as usual, would rather see their country destroyed than let their political opponents rule it, and so refused to help. Only very late did the criminal communists join the fight. The psychopath Mao later claimed that he had early on pioneered the idea to fight the Japanese together with the nationalists, but it was a lie: The communists joined late, and it was OTHER communist leaders who made this happen, not Mao.
    Mao in fact kept his army away from battle even to the point of letting other communist leaders be defeated. At one point Mao’s army was on one side of a mountain and another communist general was on the other side, fighting the Japanese. Mao refused to help him. He wanted the other communist leaders to die so he could take control.
    He then continued by killing tens of millions of Chinese to weaken the country. His “Great Leap Forward” destroyed agriculture and all real metal industry, so that no province would be strong enough to rise against him. His “cultural revolution” created teenage fanatics that he could use to terrorize other party leaders and their local appointments. He also had his soldiers bring underage village girls to him and raped them, giving them syphilis. Mao was an anti-Chinese criminal.

    1. Yeah, a real shit-bird Mao was! I recall doing a paper on him in high school. Had to be objective and non-critical. Hardest thing to resist calling him out or “editorializing”, ‘cuz that otherwise affected the grade. That’s what happens when you do so-called objective scholarly research on an historical figure: You find out how much of a cunt he/she really was!

    2. Yeah, all this eulogizing of Mao is calculated ideological subversion to get the Communists a legitimate seat in the pantheon of Chinese history. There is so much about modern China that is not Chinese that Japan and Korea probably preserved more of the culture than the Chinese themselves.

    3. Commies and leftists propagating fake news?! Wow I would of never of have thought!

  20. Never heard of this book either. Thank you for this. I assume everyone here has read Tolstoy’s War & Peace. It affected me the same way this novel affected the author. When you finish the brick, you understand why Russians are as they are and why they still venerate the man. Russia has learned to avoid war at all costs… but if forced, they have the will to take down not just the enemy, but themselves in defeating the enemy. Total commitment to land and countrymen.

    1. Ugh. I have a copy of War and Peace at home which I haven’t yet had the guts to start. Brick indeed.

      1. Just start reading. It is slow to start, but it sets the tone and once you see how he uses that tone, the rest of the book is nothing short of pure immersion and emotion. It is the first book that allowed me to literally create a movie in my mind and be right in it. Every book since then has been easier to imagine since War & Peace. The last chapter is Tolstoy’s epic refutation of traditional theories on history and the then trending “man of destiny” theory that history was supposed to revolve around. Simply the most stunning story with a deep philosophical world view threaded into every character, every scene, every word.

  21. Just added to my reading list. It is a pity that in all the “world literature” thrust upon me that I have never heard of this epic before today. Thank you Corey.

    1. Well, I don’t know if Chinese students learn the Greek mythology / philosophy that we do at western schools.
      I’ve also never been taught any Indian, Russian or Uzbek mythology.

  22. “Those who are skilled at combat do not become angry. Those who are skilled at winning do not become afraid”.
    Does that remind you guys of anyone?

      1. Trump? I think that any normal man would have rolled up into fetal position and cried his eyes out, after getting slammed and smeared constantly in the media like he was last year.
        I felt like I was watching a man stare down Satan himself.

        1. There was a speech Trump gave during the election run – something about gladly taking the attack and media abuse for the people. Pretty powerful I have to say

        2. It was nuts, seeing him take all this slander without flinching and with a grin. So inspiring, and a great role model.
          Many times I thought, “this is it, he’s surely gonna quit after this”. But no. It was extraordinary to see him stay until the very end. But then to actually win on top of that, despite all the cheating, WOW. It was one of the most impressive feats I’ve ever seen anyone do.

  23. Is that the one with Jackie Chan and the hidden terracota army?
    Just kidding. thanks for the review

  24. Great piece / recommendation…for shame that I have not yet read this book! Thanks for shedding an enthusiastic guiding light on it.
    On the same token I’ve read Sun Tzu and Machiavelli’s gripping texts more than once to digest the wisdom at different stages of life.

  25. Hum, I don’t know. Reading this book might be considered cultural appropriation. You may want to check your privileges before enjoying it.

  26. Each of the four great Chinese novels makes for good, if heavily involved reading: ROTK about the establishment of order, Outlaws of the Marsh about the collapse of order, Journey to the West about spiritual cultivation, and Dream of the Red Chamber (a decidedly girly but still “redpill” work) about the ephemeral nature of human sentimentality. Each says something about the overall mentality of China and its immediate neighbors.
    The article is good in the main, but buys into communist disinformation. Falun Gong isn’t a cult, but a revitalization of Chinese spiritual foundations that were actively destroyed by Mao and company.
    The communists have a huge stake in portraying Chinese culture and history as uniformly Machiavellian, atheist, and despotic, because this legitimizes their own despotism. In fact, traditionally China had a central government that mostly just controlled the capital, guarded the frontier, and assigned nobles to manage the provinces. Local matters as well as religion and ideology were the business of the locals. The emperor might govern with absolute legal authority, but he wouldn’t impose a strict worldview on the people. Logistically this proved impossible when attempted.

  27. Bow and pay homage a direct descendant of Liu Bei, MY NAME is also LIU.
    The writer’s article whilst informative is wrong on two counts:
    1) Chinese people have never like to be dominated by a central authority, exactly the reason why our cultural institutions are non centrally controlled. Communist China is not truly China !
    2) Just because the commie Govt, don’t like religious leaders don’t mean the people don’t. The founder of the MING dynasty Hong Wu started of as such a leader.

    1. I’m sure you’re closer to being related to genkhis khan than Lui Bei. Just saying.
      To my asiatic brother

        1. Triggered. Hey newbie, make sure you know who you’re addressing before typing Dumb shit.

        5. what a liberal fag, that’s your only excuse ” triggered”, how faggish.

  28. The title of this article makes a bold claim. I’ll have to check it out. The most masculine, revenge filled, man on a mission book I’ve read to date is “The Count of Monte Cristo”.

  29. I was not aware of this work. Adding it to the queue. I will see if It is available on line some where on line. What I don’t know is what is lost in translation. Is there one edition you can recommend over any other?

  30. Yes, that one is a gem. Supposedly there’s a Chinese saying that goes something like “Don’t discuss life with someone who hasn’t read the 3 Kingdoms.” I’m probably butchering it but it was something on that order. 🙂

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