The Sānguó Zhì (Chinese 三国志, or 三國誌), variously translated as Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms, Records of the Three States and Records of the Three Kingdoms, was the official and authoritative historical text on the Three Kingdoms Period compiled by Chen Shou during the Jin Dynasty (265-420). The work collects the smaller histories of the rival states Wei, Shu and Wu into a single text and provided the basis for the later more popular historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The Three Kingdoms period (Traditional Chinese characters: 三國, Simplified Chinese characters: 三国, pinyin Sānguó) is a period in the History of China. ... Chen Shou (?? - 297 AD) is the author of the San Guo Zhi, an historical account of the Three Kingdoms period of China. ... The Jin Dynasty (晉 pinyin jìn, 265-420) followed the Three Kingdoms and preceded the Southern and Northern Dynasties in China. ... The Kingdom of Wei (ch. ... The Kingdom of Shu (蜀 shǔ) (221 – 263) was one of the Three Kingdoms competing for control of China after the fall of the Han Dynasty. ... The Kingdom of Wu (Chinese: 吳, pinyin: wú) refers to a historical nation and several states in a region of China. ... Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Simplified Chinese: 三国演义; Traditional Chinese: 三國演義, Pinyin: sān guó yÇŽn yì), written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a Chinese historical novel about the turbulent period often referred to as the Three Kingdoms (220-280). ...

Origin and structure of Sanguo Zhi

Together with the Shi ji (Records of the Grand Historian), Han Shu (Book of Han) and Hou Han Shu (Book of the Later Han), Sanguo Zhi is part of the 'Four Histories', as well as the canon of histories known as the Twenty-Four Histories. The work contains sixty five volumes in all, broken into three books, one on each kingdom. The Book of Wei contains thirty volumes, the Book of Shu contains fifteen volumes and the Book of Wu contains twenty volumes. Each volume is organised in the form of one of more biographies. The amount of space a biography takes up is dictated by the importance of the figure. For example, Sun Quan's life occupied one volume whilst the profiles of Zhou Yu, Lu Su and Lü Meng were pushed into another. Jump to: navigation, search The Records of the Grand Historian or the Records of the Grand Historian of China (Chinese: 史記; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Shih-chi; literally Historical Records), written from 109 BCE to 91 BCE, was the magnum opus of Sima Qian, in which he recounted Chinese history from the... The Book of Han (Ch: 漢書, Hanshu) is a classic Chinese historical writing covering the history of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BCE-9 CE). ... The Book of Later Han (Chinese: 後漢書; pinyin: ) is one of the official Chinese historical works which was compiled by Fan Ye (Traditional Chinese: 范瞱; Simplified Chinese: 范晔; 398-445), using a number of earlier histories and documents as sources. ... The Twenty-Four Histories is a collection of historical books covering a period of history from 3000 B.C. to the Ming Dynasty in the 17th century. ... Sun Quan (孫權 pinyin: SÅ«n Quán) (182 - 252), son of Sun Jian, was the third ruler of the State of Wu and the founder of Kingdom of Wu, during the Three Kingdoms period, in China. ... Jump to: navigation, search Zhou Yu (周瑜) (175 - 210) was a famous militarist and strategist of the Three Kingdoms of China. ... Lu Su (鲁肃) was an advisor for the kingdom of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of ancient China, having taken over the position from Zhou Yu. ... Lü Meng (å‘‚è’™ 178 - 219) was a great general of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. ...

The original author was Chen Shou (233-297), who was a native of Anhan of Western Ba. After Jin conquered Shu, Chen became the Gentleman of Works, and was assigned to creating a history of the Three Kingdoms. After the fall of Wu, Chen Shou's Sanguo Zhi received the acclaim of senior minister Zhang Hua, who suggested assigning him to the creation of the history of Jin. It cannot be specified the year the work was completed. At the time Wei and Wu both had their own histories and it was with these works as basis that Chen Shou began work. Since Shu lacked a history of its own, data was compiled by Chen himself. The Sanguo Zhi used the dates of Wei kingdom as standard after the fall of Han. That is, years are quoted by eras set out by Wei rulers (eg. year of Huangchu: 220 AD). The Wei volumes always name Cao Cao, Cao Pi and Cao Rui as emperors whilst rulers of Shu were called zhu (lord) and rulers of Wu only by their names. This is to uphold the legitimacy of Jin as inheritor of the Mandate of Heaven from Wei. The use of "lord" titles for Shu rulers shows in part Chen's sympathy towards his native land. Chen Shou (?? - 297 AD) is the author of the San Guo Zhi, an historical account of the Three Kingdoms period of China. ... The Jin Dynasty (晉 pinyin jìn, 265-420) followed the Three Kingdoms and preceded the Southern and Northern Dynasties in China. ... The Kingdom of Shu (蜀 shǔ) (221 – 263) was one of the Three Kingdoms competing for control of China after the fall of the Han Dynasty. ... The Kingdom of Wu (Chinese: 吳, pinyin: wú) refers to a historical nation and several states in a region of China. ... The Kingdom of Wei (ch. ... The Kingdom of Wu (Chinese: 吳, pinyin: wú) refers to a historical nation and several states in a region of China. ... The Kingdom of Shu (蜀 shǔ) (221 – 263) was one of the Three Kingdoms competing for control of China after the fall of the Han Dynasty. ... The Kingdom of Wei (ch. ... Jump to: navigation, search Han commanderies and kingdoms AD 2. ... The Kingdom of Wei (ch. ... The Kingdom of Wei (ch. ... Jump to: navigation, search Cao Cao (155 – 220), whose name is also often transliterated and should be correctly pronounced as Tsao Tsao, was a regional warlord and the last Chancellor of Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty... Cáo PÄ« (曹丕, 187 - 226), born in Qiao County, Pei presently Bozhou city in An Hui Province. ... Cao Rui, ch. ... The Kingdom of Shu (蜀 shǔ) (221 – 263) was one of the Three Kingdoms competing for control of China after the fall of the Han Dynasty. ... The Kingdom of Wu (Chinese: 吳, pinyin: wú) refers to a historical nation and several states in a region of China. ... The Jin Dynasty (晉 pinyin jìn, 265-420) followed the Three Kingdoms and preceded the Southern and Northern Dynasties in China. ... For the book of this title, see Mandate of Heaven (book) The Mandate of Heaven (天命 Pinyin: Tiānmìng) was a Chinese concept used to support the rule of the kings of the Zhou Dynasty and later the Emperors of China. ... The Kingdom of Wei (ch. ... The Kingdom of Shu (蜀 shǔ) (221 – 263) was one of the Three Kingdoms competing for control of China after the fall of the Han Dynasty. ...

Pei Songzhi's Annotations

In the fifth century, Sanguo Zhi was annotated by Pei Songzhi (372-451), a native of Wenxi, Hedong (present day Shushan, Shanxi). After he moved to Jiangnan, he became Gentleman of Texts under Liu Song of the Song Kingdom (420-479), and was given the assignment of editing the Sanguo Zhi, which he completed in 429. Pei went about providing detailed explanations to some of the geography and other elements mentioned in the original. More importantly, he made corrections to the work, in consultation with records he collected of the period. In regard to historical events and figures, as well as Chen Shou's opinions, Pei added his own commentary. From his broad research Pei was able to create a history which was relatively complete, without many of the loose ends of the original.

Sanguo Zhi as historical record

The romantic and historical traditions of Three Kingdoms have been so confused in the centuries after the period that the Sanguo Zhi is an invaluable resource. Its information, although full of errors itself, is nevertheless much more accurate than the embellishments of later writers. Many of the political, economic and military figures of the Three Kingdoms are included in the work as well as 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. The text is bland and little more than a collection of historical facts. A typical extract: "In the twenty-fourth year, the Former Lord became King of Hanzhong, and made Guan Yu General of the Vanguard. In the same year, Guan Yu attacked Cao Pi at Fan with his followers. Lord Cao sent Yu Jin to aid Cao Pi. In the 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; but it is obviously considerable. The great historian Sima Qian employed this devise greatly and it can be assumed that Chen Shou also did this in his text. 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. Take the description of Gongsun Zan's early campaign against the Xianbei, for instance. After a defeat he supposedly said "If we don't charge today, then it will be a offense until death" and charged into the enemy ranks. Nevertheless, some of the dialogue seems to be at least credible. Jump to: navigation, search Sima Qian (circa 145—90 BC) was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes (太史令) of the Han Dynasty. ... Chen Shou (?? - 297 AD) is the author of the San Guo Zhi, an historical account of the Three Kingdoms period of China. ...

See also

• Romance of the Three Kingdoms
• History of China
• Twenty-Four Histories