The following is a list of media adaptations of Luo Guanzhong's 14th century novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms , one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. The story has been adapted in numerous forms, including films, television series, manga and video games.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms has been adapted into several Japanese manga, with varying degrees of historical accuracy and faithfulness to the original story and popular tradition. [3] [4] Some of the more widely read manga in Japan include:
Card games
Board games
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ending with the reunification of the land in 280 by the Western Jin. The novel is based primarily on the Records of the Three Kingdoms, written by Chen Shou in the 3rd century.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a series of turn-based tactical role-playing simulation grand strategy wargames produced by Koei. Originating from Japan in 1985, fourteen installments of the game have been published in Japan, Taiwan, China, South Korea and North America to date. While the game's title as it was released in English refers to the 14th century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三國演義) by Luo Guanzhong, the title as it was released in Japan and Chinese regions refers to the 3rd century historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms (三國志) by Chen Shou.
Zhao Yun, courtesy name Zilong (子龍), was a military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a subordinate of the northern warlord Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun later came to serve another warlord, Liu Bei, and had since accompanied him on most of his military exploits, from the Battle of Changban (208) to the Hanzhong Campaign (217–219). He continued serving in the state of Shu Han – founded by Liu Bei in 221 – in the Three Kingdoms period and participated in the first of the Northern Expeditions until his death in 229. While many facts about Zhao Yun's life remain unclear due to limited information in historical sources, some aspects and activities in his life have been dramatised or exaggerated in folklore and fiction. In the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he was lauded as a member of the Five Tiger Generals under Liu Bei.
The Two Qiaos of Jiangdong were two sisters of the Qiao family who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. In ahistorical tales, the two Qiaos were sisters of exceptional beauty who were the pivot to the Battle of Chibi, one of the most impactful battles of the pre-Three Kingdoms period. Cao Cao, Chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, was described to be interested in having the two sisters, to the point that his intentions were evident in his son's poem "Ode to the Bronze Sparrow Platform" (銅雀臺賦); consequently leading Zhou Yu of Jiangdong to go to war with Cao Cao.
Dynasty Warriors 4 is a hack and slash video game and the fourth installment in the Dynasty Warriors series. Dynasty Warriors 4 was developed by Omega Force and published by Koei. The game is available on PlayStation 2 (PS2) and Xbox and is based on a series of books called Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong. As the series has progressed, it has strayed further from the actual plot of Romance of the Three Kingdoms but instead has given the user more input on how the storyline progresses. When it was released in Japan as Shin Sangokumusou 3, it topped the sales charts, sold over one million copies within nine days, and received an average of 78 out of 100 on Metacritics reviews.
The Records of the Three Kingdoms is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regarded as to be the authoritative source text for these periods. Compiled following the reunification of China under the Jin dynasty (266–420), the work chronicles the political, social, and military events within rival states Cao Wei, Shu Han and Eastern Wu into a single text organized by individual biography.
Kessen II is a strategy game loosely based on the Three Kingdoms period of China. It is the sequel to Kessen in name only; both Kessen and the later sequel Kessen III are based on events in Japan and China. The gameplay involves playing out major battles as the storyline progresses, with cutscenes between each battle for the development of the events and major characters. Before battle, players are given a choice of strategies to take, although they can manually control all units in the battlefield. All units are controlled by the AI unless the player directly intervenes, and battles between forces are carried out in real-time. While in control of a unit, players are able to use special skills or magic spells to turn the tables, although enemy characters are also able to do so.
Sangokushi Kōmeiden is the second installment in the Sangokushi Eiketsuden tactical role-playing series developed by Koei.
Sangokushi Taisen is a hybrid physical and digital collectible card game for the arcade, on the Chihiro arcade board. It is a real-time strategy-based game set in the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history and the 14th century Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong. It uses the same housing as World Club Champion Football, with a sensitive playing area that can detect the position of the physical cards. Over 500 million trading cards have been shipped. It is the sixth trading card arcade game by Sega, following World Club Champion Football, Mushiking: The King of Beetles, The Key of Avalon, Love and Berry: Dress Up and Dance! and Quest of D.
Sangokushi Sōsōden is the fifth release in the Eiketsuden tactical role-playing series developed by Koei, and the third to be set during the Three Kingdoms period.
The Battle of Bowang, also known as the Battle of Bowang Slope, was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Liu Bei in 202 in the late Eastern Han dynasty.
Sangokushi (三国志) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, based on Eiji Yoshikawa's retelling of the 14th century Chinese literary classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It was adapted into an anime television called Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi.
Kōtetsu Sangokushi (鋼鉄三国志) is a 2007 Japanese anime loosely based on the 14th century Chinese historical fiction novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It was produced by NAS and Konami Digital Entertainment.
Three Kingdoms is a 2010 Chinese television series based on the events in the late Eastern Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. The plot is adapted from the 14th century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms and other stories about the Three Kingdoms period. Directed by Gao Xixi, the series had a budget of over 160 million RMB and took five years of pre-production work. Shooting of the series commenced in October 2008, and it was released in China in May 2010.
Koihime Musō: Doki Otome Darake no Sangokushi Engi is a series of Japanese adult visual novels and strategy video games primarily developed and published by BaseSon for the Windows and is based on the classic 14th century Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong. The first game was developed by BaseSon, and was first released on January 26, 2007, for Windows as two DVD-ROMs, followed by a re-release on April 11, 2008, containing an extra CD-ROM.
Dynasty Warriors 7 is a hack and slash video game and the seventh official installment of the Dynasty Warriors series. It is developed by Omega Force and published by Tecmo Koei. The story is based on the 14th-century Chinese historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The game was unveiled at the 2010 Tokyo Game Show. On 26 October, it was revealed at the Koei Press Conference to have improved graphics and gameplay, with the support of stereoscopic 3D. Tecmo Koei released it in North American on 29 March 2011, in Europe on 8 April 2011 and in Australia on 14 April 2011, after news that it has been delayed and was released on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Tecmo Koei Japan had released Dynasty Warriors 7 with Xtreme Legends, along with downloadable content up to October 2011 released on PlayStation 3 version, on Microsoft Windows. It was later released worldwide in December 2018 via Steam as Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends Definitive Edition.
The Legend of Guan Gong is a 2004 Chinese television series based on the story of Guan Yu, a general of the late Han dynasty. The series has been released in North America by Image Entertainment.
Zhuge Liang is a Chinese television series based on the life of Zhuge Liang, a chancellor of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period. The plot is based on stories about Zhuge Liang in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The series starred Li Fazeng as the title character and was first aired on Hubei TV in mainland China in 1985. The show has been applauded for its historically accurate sets and costumes.
Dynasty Warriors: Godseekers is a tactical role-playing game developed by Omega Force and published by Koei Tecmo. The game is a spinoff to the Dynasty Warriors series of video games that focuses less on action, and more strategy, similar to prior spinoff Dynasty Tactics. The game was released on the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 video game consoles in the West, with a PlayStation 3 port existing only in Japan.