Three Little Kingdoms

[muckefuck]

As of last night, I was just over one sixth of the way through the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. (After 250+ pages, we're closing in on the part where there are three kingdoms. Real. Soon. Now.) I feel pretty good about that, given that I'm not generally Mr Reads Long-Ass Books. If I get through this, the Russian novels will seem a little less terrifying. Chef Jeff told me that there's a Thai saying to the effect that anyone who reads "San Kok" cover to cover "is a scary person". (I think some nuances must be casualties of translation there.)

It's tough to figure out why it's so engrossing, since it basically consists of combat after combat linked with a little intrigue and the occasional bizarre incident. If I thought that the most distasteful of these would be in ch. 4 where Cao Cao slaughters an entire family because he mishears their hog-butchering preparations as plans to kill him (slaying the aged paterfamilias on the road out of town, lest the old man set a posse on him), I was sadly mistaken. No, Liu An butchering his wife for Liu Bei to eat since he has no game to offer is far worse. (Not only does Liu Bei--the hero of the novel--eat her, but, upon finding out, his reaction is to shed tears of gratitude--and when he tells his commander, Cao Cao decides to reward the guy with 100 taels of silver!) By comparison, the scene where Xiahou Dun eats his own eye is mere comic relief.

Comments

[camwyn]

Come on, we're talking about Liu Bei here. When one of his lieutenants risked his life to save Liu Bei's son in a strategically tight spot, Liu Bei pretty much spiked the baby like a football because he didn't think the soldier should have risked himself and the army for something so small. At least, that's how I remember it - it's been a while.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

That doesn't sound the least bit out of character for him--or his brothers, for that matter. (Roberts' translation includes a reference to another work where Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are depicted as slaughtering each other's families so they'll both be orphans like Liu Bei and family will never come between them.) I guess I'd never fully considered the one-sidedness of the Five Confucian Relationships, but the book pretty much rubs my nose in it.