The Religio-Philosophical Implications of Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Preliminary Research)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, considered one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature, has been wildly popular since it was first penned by Luo Guanzhong sometime in the thirteenth to fourteenth century. But while it has been incredibly popular and thoroughly researched by many historians, much of the non-Chinese scholarly debate has regarded the text’s usefulness as a historical source, such as Dr. Rafe de Crespigny of the Australian National University’s Man From the Margin: Cao Cao and the Three Kingdoms. While such research is important as a means of helping us to better understand and make use of the events of the Three Kingdoms Period (220–265 CE), in this paper I argue that Romance of the Three Kingdoms provides a unique window into other periods as well. The periods that I consider in this paper include the turbulent time between the fall of the Yuan Dynasty in the 1360s and the rise of the Ming soon after, followed by the subsequent editing and commentating of the text by Mao Zonggang and his father in 1679. Examining the Romance of the Three Kingdoms from this angle provides compelling insight into the common views held during both the original printing, as well as after the editing of Mao Zonggang. After Mao Zonggang edited the text, it is no longer actually about the Three Kingdoms period, but is actually an exploration of the Warring States period, from 475 to 221 BCE. More specifically, I argue that the Romance of the Three Kingdoms explores the three main Chinese philosophical traditions that came into being during the Warring States period, and it uses the Three Kingdoms as a metaphor.
First, I would like to provide a brief overview of the text. Romance of the Three Kingdoms tells the story of the titular Three Kingdoms period, from 220–265 Common Era. It follows the rise and fall of the Three Kingdoms for which the period is named, the Shu-Han, the Cao-Wei, and the Sun-Wu, as well as the various individuals associated with each of these kingdoms. Each of these kingdoms had distinct ways of ruling and handling politics, as well as marshaling their forces, all laid out in explicit detail in the text. These Three Kingdoms align with the three major philosophies generated during the Warring States period. The Warring States period, as the name suggests, was a time of political upheaval in Chinese history, in which several small kingdoms vied for control of the country. It was during this turbulent time that the three major philosophies of China came about. Taoism, a philosophy built around the idea of Wu-Wei, or action through inaction, aligns closely with the empire of Shu-Han. [slide] Confucianism, a philosophy built around scholarly advancement and the idea that “knowledge is power,” aligns closely with the empire of Cao-Wei. While Legalism, a philosophy built around strict law and corporal punishment, aligns closely with the empire of Sun-Wu, to the point where there is even a line in the text that explicitly references the Wu’s direct lineage to Sun Tzu, the famous author of The Art of War.
To fully understand these connections, we need to know the various hands involved in the writing of this text. We begin with Luo Guanzhong [slide], a scholar from the late thirteenth-century to the early fourteenth century. Born Luo Ben, and later given the courtesy name of Guanzhong, not much is known about him. Even his hand in authoring Romance of the Three Kingdoms is disputed. We do know though that he was born sometime in the early 1300s, and died in the early 1400s. This would mean that he was born and raised during the end of the Yuan or the Mongol dynasty, was likely at the middle of his life during the fall of the Yuan and the rise of the Ming in 1368, and died after the Ming were firmly in control of China. While it is possible that the text was written during the late Yuan Dynasty, Conrad Shirokauer and Miranda Brown put the actual publication of the text at 1522. Because of how vividly everything in the text is written, and how resonant it is with Eastern Asian traditions, the text not only did well in China, but also saw widespread popularity in Japan and Korea, as well as the surrounding region.
The second influence we need to take a quick look at is Mao Zonggang and his father, Mao Lun. We have a bit more information on these two, as they are from the Qing dynasty, which was from 1644 to 1912. Mao lived from 1632 to 1709, during the early Qing period. These two played an important role in altering the text. Andrew West, author of the Study of the Editions of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, went so far as to say “[t]here is hardly a line that has not been affected to some degree by Mao Lun’s surgical knife.” Wai-Yee Li, Professor of Chinese Literature at Harvard, tells us that the editing these two did to Romance of the Three Kingdoms was so extensive that they not only dropped as much as 150,000 characters from the text, but also most of the sections praising Cao Cao’s advisers and generals so as to better vilify the character. This version was so incredibly popular among the people at the time that it effectively removed all previous versions of the text from the shelves. The Qing Dynasty was a time in which the Manchus of Manchuria, who had taken over China during a time of political unrest, ruled China, and so it is unsurprising to see the text achieving popularity during a time when the Chinese, Han Chinese in particular, feel oppressed.
We will now look at each kingdom individually as we explore their connections to the three Chinese philosophical traditions. And what better place to start than with the first characters introduced in the book, the progenitors of Shu-Han. The Shu-Han kingdom forms due to Cao Cao’s manipulation and eventually overthrow of the Han dynasty. The fall of the Han, while eventually being finished by Cao Cao, was shown through the text to be largely due to corruption in the government after two particularly devastating rebellions. This is largely parallel with the historical record of the account, however any of the mysticism and magic attributed by the book to the rebellion leaders is remembered as a simple con. Liu Bei, a descendant of the progenitor of the Han, uses his connection to the legendary Han line as basis for his claim to the throne. With the help of various allies Liu Bei acquires along the way, he eventually forms the Southern Shu-Han Kingdom in an attempt to retake the throne from Cao Cao and re-establish the waning Han empire. Parallels between the Shu and Taoism are evident in the way Liu Bei, the eventual ruler of Shu-Han, is described in the text, extolling not only his lack of scholarly learning but also how relaxed and amiable he was, a common theme in Taoist literature. The most compelling examples for the Shu and Taoist connection begin slightly later in the text with the introduction of Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang, and later Pang Tong, are devout Taoist philosophers, living life away from the common bustling and posturing of the court. They are later recruited, first Zhuge Liang, then Pang Tong, to serve as strategists for Liu Bei as he begins forming his kingdom. The text, rather than simply naming Zhuge Liang and extolling his strategic mind, spends a relatively long period of time talking explicitly about his connection to Taoism. The same is true of Pang Tong to an extent, as he also receives a good two paragraphs explaining his Taoist name and virtues as a Taoist, but Zhuge Liang is where the text drives the point in. Not only do they explain the significance of both characters’ Taoist names, but Zhuge Liang gets a lengthy description of his dress which explicitly ties each piece of clothing to his Taoist beliefs, as well as almost a full page exalting his Taoist virtues and ideals. For the remainder of the text, Zhuge Liang has a strong hand in the building, broadening, and maintenance of the Shu-Han empire, extolling a laissez-faire method of governance and a relaxed method of foreign policy that resonates strongly with Taoist traditions, which call for either no government, or a government so uninvolved with people’s daily lives as to appear non-existent.
After we are introduced to the main characters of the Shu-Han, we are quickly introduced to the eventual progenitor of the Cao-Wei Empire, Cao Cao. Cao Cao is, in the context of the story, the polar opposite of Liu Bei. Well learned, cunning, and deceitful, Cao Cao is shown early on to be impossibly clever in his own right. He is also shown to be impossibly arrogant, with a flair for the dramatic. Showing up in every scene almost like a trickster god, coming in from impossible angles with strange lines, Cao Cao initially appears to exist more as a plot device than an actual character in the story. While this is possibly due to the editing of Mao Zonggang, Cao Cao eventually settles into place once he starts planning to usurp the throne. While he initially seems to be largely unrelated to the teachings of Confucianism, his ascension is when we see the connections form. Cao Cao swiftly appoints many people of proven intelligence to government posts, and shows a well-documented love of writings and teachings much in the vein of Confucian scholarship. Once his rule is in place, he is even shown to have an immense sense of filial piety, or the practice of honoring one’s ancestors and family by respecting their gifts, such as bodily features and skills they’ve passed down to you. The most compelling example of filial piety comes in the form of Xiahou Dun, one of Cao Cao’s generals. During one battle, the text mentions an instance in which, after being shot in the eye with an arrow, Xiahou Dun cries out to the spirits of his father and mother and swallows the eye whole, so as not to lose such a precious gift from his ancestors. While filial piety, an important cultural concept in China, is reflected in many philosophies that emerged in this country, it is strongly held by Confucians, making this gory display especially telling. However, unlike the Shu-Han characters, who almost never wander from their Taoist connections, such as Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei, the Cao-Wei kingdom, and Cao Cao in particular, are shown to believe strongly in Confucian philosophy but are simultaneously terrible at adhering to its traditions. Cao Cao, for example, through trickery and guile, defames his uncle at a young age so as to avoid punishment from his father; also, in a fit of rage, he beheads one of his trusted advisors simply because of a disagreement.
While Shu-Han and Cao-Wei show ties to Taoism and Confucianism respectively, the Sun-Wu are closely tied to Legalism in the early parts of the text, going so far as to tie their lineage to that of Sun Tzu, author of the prominent legalist text The Art of War. Legalism favors harsh and draconian punishment for even the slightest offenses, and the Sun-Wu were more than ready to deliver those punishments. This is brought up many times in a portion of the text that focuses on the brief alliance between the kingdoms of Shu and Wu, in which Zhou Yu, the most respected general of the Sun-Wu kingdom, threatened to behead Zhuge Liang on several occasions if he did not perform tasks that Zhou Yu considered impossible. However, in the same way as the Cao-Wei kingdom, the Sun-Wu kingdom is also shown as struggling with their Legalist ideals. Repeatedly, Sun Quan, the leader of the Sun-Wu Kingdom, is shown to attempt manipulation and treachery in an attempt to reach his goals, a strategy considered perfectly acceptable by Legalist standards, and is punished for these attempts again and again. Everything from coercing his opponents, to his deceit of Liu Bei regarding the marriage of Sun Quan’s sister backfires, leading him to worse and worse situations.
The reason that this text was so resonant with the people of the 14th century lies within the political climate at the time. China had just dethroned the Mongolian Empire and made way for the Ming to rise to power. This would be the first time that the Han would be in control of China for nearly a century, and the resulting cultural pride created an era of unprecedented stability. This social environment would have been the perfect point for such a title to see widespread popularity, especially considering that the primary ethnicity of the population were Han Chinese. Coincidentally, the Mongol occupation of China likely paved way for the philosophical connotations within the text, as Kublai Khan had done extensive work to see all religions respected and fostered within his borders. The second major increase in the book’s popularity, during the Qing Dynasty, when the Manchus ruled China, had a similar effect but for the opposite reason. With the Manchus dictating mandatory Queue hairstyles [slide], considered an insult to the ancestors, among other things that spat in the face of China’s traditions, it is unsurprising to see an editing of this book that emphasizes the Han, and the various Chinese philosophies in particular, as powerful and proud.
In this paper, I consider Romance of the Three Kingdoms in relation to the times in which it was originally penned, the times in which it was edited and saw popularity, as well as the times it describes and the times it alludes to. More research will have to be done into the various philosophical teachings in question to shed more light on the connections between those texts and Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
