Zhou Yu and Wang Lang frothing at the mouth in anger rn.
u/FiggyVix — 14 hours ago
r/threekingdoms
▲ 12 r/threekingdoms
Did Cao Cao Never Really Plan to Assassinate Dong Zhuo?
Did Cao Cao’s assassination attempt on Dong Zhuo ever have a realistic chance of succeeding?
Dong Zhuo was known as a physically imposing man, and Lü Bu was by his side. Cao Cao was hardly an imposing fighter himself. An assassination at close range would have been incredibly risky, and Cao Cao had to know that.
In the traditional version of the story, Dong Zhuo turns his back, yet Cao Cao doesn’t strike immediately. He hesitates long enough for Dong Zhuo to notice something is wrong.
Then there’s the Seven-Star Sword. Why insist on borrowing Wang Yun’s precious sword instead of using his own? It also gave Cao Cao a ready-made excuse if he was caught (it was as a gift).
The failed attempt also gave Cao Cao something very valuable: the reputation of being one of the few men willing to stand up to Dong Zhuo. That reputation later helped him rally supporters and build his own faction.
So is it possible that Cao Cao went in expecting the assassination to fail—or at least planned for that possibility from the beginning?
u/Mikasabing — 12 hours ago
▲ 24 r/threekingdoms
The Miraculous Escape: "Leaping the Tan Stream" (马跃檀溪) in classic Lianhuanhua style.
u/CHN_Art_Cartoon — 1 day ago
▲ 5 r/threekingdoms
[ROTK 8R] Best duo traits combo for original character
Hi guys, I'm new to this game was very interesting about the trait system of the game. But the game provide too much trait while only allow you to select 2. May I know your thought on best dou trait I can pick for my original officer
u/Background-Cow1214 — 22 hours ago
▲ 25 r/threekingdoms
Liu Bei's Imperial Bloodline
Was Liu Bei's pedigree or bloodline documented officially by the Han Imperial Court? While watching 2010's "Three Kingdoms" drama series, there is a scene where when Liu Bei kowtows before Emperor Xian. The emperor then asks Liu Bei his line of descent and Liu Bei answers, naming his father and grandfather. To verify, Emperor Xian orders one of his court officials to bring out a document and the official, to my surprise, reads out Liu Bei's line going all the way back to Emperor Jing of the Western Han Dynasty (a period of 300 years or about 20 generations), verifying his imperial bloodline. (Disclaimer: I do understand that this is a drama and things are embellished in dramas haha)
Now, this seemed quite incredulous to me initially because why would the Imperial Court keep record of a lowly peasant like Liu Bei? Liu Bei claimed to be a direct descendant of Liu Sheng, Prince of Zhongshan, who was a the son of Emperor Jing. Because Liu Sheng alone had over 100 sons, this genealogical branch exploded over the centuries. By the time Liu Bei was born, his relation to the sitting emperor was so distant that it conferred no practical nobility or wealth.
Additionally, under Han Dynasty succession laws, noble titles and estates were passed down to only one primary heir. The remaining sons and their descendants were gradually stripped of their noble status and demoted to commoner standing. Consequently, Liu Bei's family had completely lost their official court ties by the time of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
Would this scene be accurate where the official just happens to have a record of Liu Bei's branch? Does the court have records of the other thousands of commoner Liu clansmen who also descend from the House of Han?
u/AttilaTheDude — 1 day ago
▲ 40 r/threekingdoms
The animated movie "Three Kingdoms Battle in Luoyang" released its ending theme MV "Immortal by the River: Rolling Yangtze River Flows East", which is the opening theme song of the 1994 Three Kingdoms TV drama.
Linjiang Immortal · The Mighty Yangtze Rolls Eastward 《临江仙·滚滚长江东逝水》
Linjiang Immortal The Mighty Yangtze rolls eastward; Its waves sweep away all heroes. Success or failure, right or wrong— All vanish in an instant.
Green hills still stand, Sunset glows again and again. An old fisherman and a woodcutter by the river, Often watch the autumn moon and spring wind. A jug of rough wine in hand, They share countless past tales, Laughing through all rise and fall of mortal men.
临江仙·滚滚长江东逝水 滚滚长江东逝水，浪花淘尽英雄。 是非成败转头空。 青山依旧在，几度夕阳红。
白发渔樵江渚上，惯看秋月春风。 一壶浊酒喜相逢。 古今多少事，都付笑谈中。
u/Low-Career3769 — 2 days ago
▲ 22 r/threekingdoms
Fratricide and the Fall of Hebei: "Settling the Four Provinces" (定四州) in vintage Lianhuanhua style.
u/CHN_Art_Cartoon — 2 days ago
▲ 4 r/threekingdoms
Destruction of authentic 3K tombs - a query
It is widely known (to us overseas Chinese) that many historical tombs were destroyed/vandalised during the Cultural Revolution 文化 (which lasted approx 10 years from 1966 to 1976). Red Guards 红衛兵 (fanatical little communist shits) committed many evils. The tomb of the ever righteous Bao Zheng of the Northern Song dynasty 包拯 (包青天) was not even spared. For those of you who forgotten who 包青天 is, here is a clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLaIhZTJbtY and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wGNVcflAI8
Was there ever a formal research done to ascertain which Three Kingdoms tombs were deliberately destroyed during the Cultural Revolution years? I know most Shu tombs were well preserved (partly due to the fact that they are in Sichuan neatly tucked away from tumultous central China etc). Many Wei tombs were looted and destroyed by the northern barbarians which invaded China proper in the centuries after the Jin dynasty. But I'm curious about those Three Kingdom tombs that were partially or wholly destroyed/vandalised in recent decades by modern Chinese (the communists).
Any info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
u/Patty37624371 — 2 days ago
Found in an Old Comic
Reading an old Fantastic Four comic and came across this advert. The name Lu Bu caught my eye and I had to read it.
Apparently Capcom made a Dynasty Warriors RPG for the NES! I know other companies have made Romance of the Three Kingdoms games but I haven't heard of this one before. I will say some of the different names like Yellow Scarves instead of Yellow Turbans threw me off.
u/Pharohbacon — 4 days ago
The Liu Chong Experience
The Prince of Chen is on his way to unleash chaos upon those who seek to destroy the Han! What could have happened, if Yuan Shu did not assassinate him.
u/AdMinimum5970 — 4 days ago
▲ 77 r/threekingdoms
Me anytime a 3K person is mentioned in a show or movie
u/HawaiianPerson — 6 days ago
▲ 9 r/threekingdoms
The ultimate clash of titans: "The Battle of Guandu" (战官渡) in classic Lianhuanhua style. The strategic collapse of Yuan Shao's empire is so intensely detailed in these vintage ink frames!
u/CHN_Art_Cartoon — 5 days ago
▲ 9 r/threekingdoms
8R or XIII for first time saga player
I've pretty much decided I'm either going to play the 8 remake or 13, but all of the posts talking about people's favorite romancing game are made prior to the 8PUK. Since it's release, have opinions changed concerning these two titles?
u/Weoh-s — 7 days ago
Zhuge Liang launched five military campaigns against Cao Wei and failed to achieve his strategic objective in all five. Why does China remember him as the greatest strategist in its history?
Most of what the Western internet knows about Zhuge Liang comes from the
*Romance of the Three Kingdoms*
— a 14th-century historical novel written 1,100 years after his death. The Empty Fort Stratagem (bluffing Sima Yi with an open gate and a lute). The Straw Boat Stratagem (collecting enemy arrows in fog). The borrowing of the east wind at Red Cliffs. None of these appear in the
*Sanguozhi*
, the contemporaneous Wei Shu chronicle and the closest thing we have to a verified record.
What the *Sanguozhi* does record is more interesting than the legend.
Zhuge Liang spent ten years in voluntary obscurity in the Longzhong valley before Liu Bei ever found him. During that period he developed what later became known as the Longzhong Plan — a strategic framework that required an 18-year multi-phase execution before it had any realistic chance of succeeding. The framework correctly identified that Liu Bei could not beat Cao Cao in direct confrontation, and proposed instead to restructure the entire competitive landscape: seize the Jing and Yi provinces, stabilize the south through coalition, then strike north in a two-pronged movement once the position was set. The plan was sound. The execution ran into supply logistics and the loss of Jing province after Guan Yu's death, which Zhuge Liang himself had flagged as the critical vulnerability in 207 AD.
His five Northern Expeditions (228–234) all stalled on supply — the Qin Mountains between Sichuan and the Wei River front were approximately 1,000 miles of the worst resupply terrain in China. He knew this before the first expedition and spent years engineering solutions: military farming colonies in forward positions, improved transport systems, an ox-and-horse logistics apparatus called the wooden ox and gliding horse (source-disputed; the *Sanguozhi* mentions it but offers no technical description). The fifth campaign did achieve forward agricultural settlement in Wei River territory, which suggests the supply problem was being solved iteratively rather than ignored.
The Ma Su incident is the most documented example of his administrative practice. When his trusted subordinate disobeyed orders at Jieting and destroyed the position, Zhuge Liang had him executed — then submitted a self-demotion memorial reducing his own rank three grades. This is recorded in the *Sanguozhi* without novelistic embellishment.
When he died at Wuzhang Plains in 234, the Wei commander Sima Yi — one of the most capable generals of the era — refused to pursue the retreating Shu army, reportedly saying he feared a trap. This is confirmed in multiple sources. It is the best single data point for how his opponents actually assessed him.
The question of why China remembers him despite the failed objective is historically interesting. Partly it's the *Romance* — the novel created the legend that created the memorial cult. But the *Sanguozhi* treatment is also genuinely admiring. Chen Shou, who compiled it, wrote that Zhuge Liang's talent for governance exceeded his military talent — and that the military failures were structural (supply and resources) rather than strategic.
Happy to discuss any of the specific campaigns or the historiographic issues around sources.
u/Thin_Interview7 — 8 days ago
▲ 72 r/threekingdoms
Legend of heroes three kingdoms what a great rpg, rts? little big game is this i dont know how to describe it like the one from koei+final fantasy+heroes of might and magic damn.
damn i played everything in the rpg, rts, strategy games with complexity like crusader kings wich i found very very boring maybe if that series was half the game this one is will be a good game lol, total war every one of them, hearts of iron is so so but you cant go wrong with this one for the period it covers and what it does is just amazing a little bit better than koei romance of three kingdoms any of them.
u/Jediknight81 — 9 days ago
▲ 15 r/threekingdoms
What if Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign failed?
What if Zhuge Liang failed to surpress the rebellion by the governors of Nanzhong? What would they lose by failing to gain control of the region from the rebels?
u/mr_beanoz — 7 days ago
▲ 9 r/threekingdoms
The ultimate test of brotherhood: "Riding Alone for a Thousand Miles" (千里走单骑) in classic Lianhuanhua style. Guan Yu crossing the 5 passes and slaying the 6 generals is rendered so beautifully in these vintage frames!
u/CHN_Art_Cartoon — 6 days ago
▲ 19 r/threekingdoms
The rise of the God of War: "Baima Slope" (白马坡) in classic Lianhuanhua style. Guan Yu's legendary duality of tragic loyalty and absolute martial dominance is masterfully drawn here!
u/CHN_Art_Cartoon — 7 days ago
▲ 69 r/threekingdoms
General Zhu Sujin (writer of the 2010 Three Kingdoms TV) on criticism directed at him
u/22dmgxy — 10 days ago