Three Kingdoms

As the Eastern Han fell apart, three kingdoms stood in balance: Wei under Cao Cao, who held the emperor to command the nobles; Shu under Liu Bei, who bowed three times at the thatched cottage to invite Zhuge Liang; Wu under Sun Quan in the southeast. Three great battles — Guandu, Red Cliffs, Yiling — drew the map of the tripod.

This was an age of heroes and stratagem: Guan Yu's thousand-li ride, Zhao Yun saving the young lord at Changban, Zhuge Liang serving "with all his heart until his death". And an age of letters: the three Caos and the Jian'an style are recited to this day.

The Three Kingdoms live so vividly in memory thanks to the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms — seven parts fact, three parts fiction. It is worth reading beside the formal history, Records of the Three Kingdoms.