There is a way that "less do not read "Water Margin", the old do not read "Three Kingdoms", one shows that the influence of these two books is large enough to affect the hearts of the people in the world, and the other reveals the content characteristics of the two books, "Water Margin" is written about the good man of the rivers and lakes, a heroic atmosphere; "Three Kingdoms" is written about historical heroes, and political strategies can be seen everywhere in the shadow of swords and swords. I have always loved reading "Three Kingdoms", and at different stages, there are different understandings and gains.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" Historical Examination Edition, Shi Lin's Interpretation, Chongwen Bureau March 2022 Edition.
The first contact with "Three Kingdoms" began with comic strips, which were called villain books at that time, small folios, pictured below, narrated in pictures, stories of various themes, more popular with children than large tomes of pure text. "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is one of the classics and is the most sought after. Blue cover, painted with fresh armor, fierce battle flags, Sensen swords, angry-eyed figures...
There are dozens of books in the whole set, each with a single title and a story. Three Ying Battle Lü Bu, Thousand Mile Walk Single Ride, Three Gu Maolu, Great War Changsaka Slope, Grass Boat Borrowing Arrows, Burning Chibi, Borrowing Jingzhou, Lost Street Pavilion, Empty City Meter, Wuzhangyuan...
The pictures are exquisite, the individuals are vivid, and the stories are gripping. Here, I read a single piece of independent wonderful story, if you do not see all of them, or fail to see all in order, it is difficult to piece together a complete panorama of the history of the Three Kingdoms through these pieces. Reading at this stage is storytelling.
Slightly longer, have the opportunity to read the original, a thick one. From the opening volume of "Feast taoyuan Haojie three knots of righteousness, beheading the first meritorious service of the yellow turban hero", to the last time "Recommend Du Pre-veteran will dedicate a new plot, demote Sun Hao three points to unify", one hundred and twenty times original, the plot is coherent, and it is done in one go.
The stories from the former comic strips are in place in the novel, like scattered pieces embedded in a complete puzzle. The whole novel is huge, the narrative history is long and horizontal, the plot is close and meticulous, and the character image is extremely plump. Don't give up day and night, read it in one breath, it is really moving, swinging back to the intestines. Liu Bei's benevolence and generosity, Cao Cao's treachery and suspiciousness, Kong Ming's resourcefulness, Guan Yu's loyalty and courage, Zhang Fei's sex is like fire...
"Intercepting the River and Capturing Ah Dou"
Each character has a distinct personality, a living dragon, and is in front of you. Different from the fragmentary storytelling, the story of the novel is complete and coherent, starting from the Yellow Turban Rebellion at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, experiencing the disputes between the princes, the establishment of the Three Kingdoms, and finally the surrender of the Wu lord Sun Hao and the unification of the Western Jin Dynasty, during which the 60-year history of change is described in detail. After reading, the evolutionary history of this historical period can be described as clear. In the process of reading, as the plot progresses and the fate of the characters changes, the mood also rises and falls. Reading at this stage is fictional reading.
A few days ago, after reading Professor Shi Lin's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" (historical examination version), I felt that the reading experience of this classic had risen to another level. The so-called "historical examination version" is to compare and analyze the historical facts in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" with the historical books such as the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "The Book of the Later Han Dynasty", and the "Zizhi Tongjian", so as to examine the existence and authenticity of the facts in the "Romance".
In fact, this work has always been done. The Qing Dynasty scholar Zhang Xuecheng said in the "Notes of Ying Chen": "However, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is seven points of reality and three points of fiction, so that the viewer is often confused. ”
《乙卯記記 丙辰記記知非日札》
Later, Hu Shi and Lu Xun also expressed this statement, and it was conclusive. So, which of the "Renditions" are true and which are false? Previously, many scholars have had a lot of research and achievements, but most of them have discussed a certain fact, and it is the first time that Professor Shi Lin has summed up a large-scale full coverage.
Professor Shi Lin's research efforts were relatively "stupid", and Huanghuang's big book, from the beginning to the end, from the identity of the characters, to the details of the story, and even the weapons used, were all compared one by one according to the historical data, and with the strength of one person, a huge and arduous census work was completed.
For example, weapons, Guan Gong's Green Dragon Crescent Knife, Lü Bu's Fang Tian Painting Blade, have almost become our cognition of their personal image, and the weapons that are far from the standard, are they still called?
Imagine the appearance of Guan Gong dancing the sword, it is both funny and awkward. But history can't bear to look at it directly, Professor Shi Lin examined it like this:
Guan Gong stamps
The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms has only one reference to the weapons used by Guan Gong: "The thorn is good among the multitudes." The word "stab" was used, but the word "knife" was not used, and there was no such weapon as a long-handled large knife during the Three Kingdoms period. There are many works of Tang and Song poetry, and it is written that Guan Yu's weapon is a "sword". Guan Yu's use of the "big knife" began at the time of Jin and Yuan. Yuanren Hao jing "Reconstruction of the Temple": "Horizontal knife worship book to Cao Gong." And the "Three Kingdoms Zhiping Dialect" wrote that Guan Yu "slashed his face and landed on the ground with a knife.".
It is hard to doubt. It can be seen from this that Guan Laoye really uses a sword instead of a knife. The reason for the use of large knives in "Yanyi" comes from the goodwill beautification of folk artists since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, probably because they feel that the long-handled large knives are more worthy of Guan Gong's heroic temperament.
Lü Bu's heroic image is associated with his Yuanmen shooting sword, but the weapons he carried, according to the "Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms Lü Bu" Pei Zhuan quoted in the "Hero Record" and the "Later Han Shu Dong Zhuo Biography", are "spears", not "Fang Tian painting halberds". In addition, Liu Bei's double-stranded sword and Zhang Fei's Zhangba Snake Spear have also undergone some originality and transformation by Luo Guanzhong. His allocation of the heroes' weapons and equipment can be described as well-intentioned.
The plot fiction is even more unexpected. Guan Yu's section of Wenjiu Chopping Huaxiong is so heroic and generous that it is impressive, but it is an adaptation of the author's ingenuity. At that time, the combined forces of the princes were against Dong Zhuo, and the commander sent by Dong Zhuo to meet Sun Jian was Hu Yi, and Hua Xiong was just one of the many governors under Hu Yi, not a lieutenant of the Xiao Cavalry Who commanded the whole army, and his heroic deeds of killing Yu Shi and Pan Feng were only the foreshadowing of the novel to show Guan Yu's heroic image.
Cui Junmu paints "Warm Wine Chop Huaxiong"
In fact, it was not Guan Yu who beheaded Huaxiong, but Sun Jian. The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, Sun Jian's biography, says: "The Great Breaker Zhuo Jun, the Governor of Qiqi, Hua Xiong, and so on. Here, "Yanyi" was cleverly appropriated, without a trace, and achieved Guan Yu's stunning move of first appearance.
The novel also features fictional characters. The mink cicada is a kind of hat ornament for officials in ancient times. Book of the Later Han Dynasty: "Xie Mink Cicadas Flee in the Grass." "Sable cicadas its people, Yu Shi Wuzheng." The romance of the Three Kingdoms depicts the story between her and Lü BuDongzhuo mainly from the popular literature of the Song and Yuan dynasties.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms has a description of the mink cicada burning incense and praying. Wang Yun asked him why he burned incense, and the mink cicada said: "The concubine's original surname is Ren, the small character mink cicada, the parent is Lü Bu, since the Lintao mansion lost, so far they have not met, so they burn incense." Undoubtedly, Luo Guanzhong used the writing method in "Plain Words" and played a perfunctory role in promoting the development of the plot.
There are many classic pieces of artistic fiction or processing in the novel. Guan Yu rode through five levels and slashed six generals, burned Bowangpo, Jiang Gan stole books, borrowed arrows from grass boats, counted bitter meat, borrowed the East Wind, Huarong Daoyi explained Cao Cao, single knife society, Zhuge Liang cursed Wang Lang, empty city plan, Pang Tongxian serial plan, Wei Yanyou anti-bone, Zhang Fei vs Ma Chao, Shuzhong Five Tiger Generals, Ji Wei Wei, etc., are all wonderful strokes in the novel, but they are all clever artistic fictions of the author Luo Guanzhong.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" commemorative coin
The intuitive feeling brought about by this kind of exploration and truth-seeking reading experience is frustration, blowing, and destruction, and the solid image established by reading novels over the years has been seriously bruised, and it turns out that Guan Yu is not so brave, Zhuge Liang is not so godly, and the main lord of the grass boat borrowing arrows is not Sun Quan, who is not a military veteran. Watching the "stars" in my mind become dimmed one by one, I inexplicably felt a sense of loss. It seems that we are seriously watching the play, very into the play, fascinated by the characters in the play, and suddenly glimpsed the backstage actors laughing and playing, no image, it is not a taste.
So, how do we view these processing transformations of the author? Can we deny the "Renyi" on the basis of these unsubstantiated "truths" that are not in line with historical facts? The result of this will undoubtedly be laughed at generously.
The central word of the historical novel is the novel, and history is the qualifier, which is a novel with history as the theme. Historical material can only be called a novel if it has been artistically processed by the writer. The success or failure of the novel lies in the plot setting and character image shaping.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is undoubtedly very successful in this regard, it generally follows the historical documents of the Three Kingdoms, although there are such and such fictions or even "tampering", but it does not change the course of history, not to distort the low level of history "falsification", but to deliberately serve the shaping of characters, reflecting the praiseworthy ingenuity.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" New Year painting
Another source of material for "Yanyi" is folk literature since the Song and Yuan dynasties, and in the widely disseminated history and commentary, the main character images and personalities have basically taken shape, who is loyal and who is adulterous, who is good and who is bad? Reflecting the long-standing public opinion, Luo Guanzhong accepted these collective wills, properly used writing techniques, and perfected and beautified the characters.
In the face of these considerations, standing in the author's position, we can closely understand the author's ingenious creative process, and we can carefully see how the author cuts the material and processes a typical artistic image throughout the process.
In order to show Cao Cao's treachery and viciousness, it was necessary to write that he killed Lü Bohao's entire family, killed Hua Tuo, and killed Yang Xiu; in order to show Guan Yu's loyalty and courage, it was necessary to write that he had to write that he had beheaded Yan Liang, and in order to show guan Yu's loyalty, he had to write that he had cut off Yan Liang and wrote that he had cut off Five Levels and Six Generals Wen Jiu huaxiong, and at the single knife meeting, it was obvious that Lu Su took advantage, preferring to say that Wu Fang was forced to give in to Guan Yu's momentum; in order to show Zhuge Zhizhi, he spared no effort, writing that he fought with his tongue, skillfully borrowed the East Wind, captured Meng Yu seven times, and counted back Sima Yi, and he could also retreat from Wei's army and kill Wei Yan behind his back. Lu Xun criticized the "Yanyi" as "like Zhuge Zhizhi and close to a demon", which is not very authentic.
Interestingly, Lu Xun once criticized Ji Xiaolan's unwise attack on Pu Liuxian in the article "How to Write", and Ji said that "Liaozhai Zhiyi" "The secret words of the two people will never be leaked, and they are not heard by outsiders, how does the author know it?" Therefore, his "Notes on Reading Wei Caotang" tried to write only the facts, and avoided the thoughts and secret words", so that "relying on facts to obtain authenticity" was not respectful of the methodology of literary creation. Therefore, Lu Xun is sure that literary creation should be allowed and must be fictionalized, how can we see that the fiction of "Yanyi" cannot be tolerated?
The Complete Works of Lu Xun
Compared with story reading and novel reading, this reading can be called academic reading, and it has advanced to a higher realm. The first two kinds of reading are simply accepted as readers, and the latter is rational observation, knowing why it is so, and being able to understand the original work more deeply. This harvest is far beyond the original.