Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Romance of Three Kingdoms is based on a classical novel of the same title, which was one of the four famous Chinese literature; the other three being Outlaws of the Marsh (Water Margin), Dream of the Red Mansion, and Journey to the West. The story set from the period toward the ending of the Eastern Han Dynasty (circa AD 25-220) to the unification of three kingdoms (AD 220-280) under the Jin Dynasty.

For those who wish to read an online English translation and learn more on the historical background, please visit http://www.threekingdoms.com.

Basic Story
The Eastern Han Dynasty was in the hands of many tyrants. The young emperor only ruled in name, but the actual power was passed from ten eunuchs to Dong Zhuo, and finally to Cao Cao, who set up a kingdom of Wei.

Meanwhile, three sworn brothers -- Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei -- settled in Sichuan region in the name of Shu-Han in order to restore the glory of the dynasty. They received help from the greatest strategist in the era, Zhuge Liang or otherwise known as Kong Ming, and several mighty warriors such as Zhao Yun and Ma Chao.

In the south, a prosperous region ruled by Sun Guan was known as Wu. Together with Wei and Shu, they formed the legendary Three Kingdoms.

Against one another, they battled. Wars of wits and prowess were exchanged. Heroes emerged and were remembered in poems and songs. Cities were taken and reclaimed. At the end, all three kingdoms were united by the Sima family.

About the Series
This historical serial was 84 episodes long and took over 3 years to film. Thousands of extras were used and large amount of resources was spent to make all details as impressive as possible. Many actors were opera artists and relatively unknown (at least to me). The actor in Zhuge Liang role also appeared as the Emperor Yong Zheng in the Yong Zheng Dynasty series.

Opinion
The serial was no doubt a classic. Not only did it follow closely to the original story, but the production was also excellent in all aspects. The outdoor vistas were breathtaking, and the indoor sets were elaborate. Themesong and subsongs fit the mood and very beautiful. Costumes were appropriate according to the period, and casting of main characters was superb. Battle scenes were so realistic and detailed. Kudos to the hardworking extras who made this series so alive.

Although the background knowledge from the book would help one appreciate the series more, the serial was enjoyable and educational in itself. Each episode could be viewed separately as well, for all of them are memorable and unique. Frequent changes of supporting cast could be a bit distracting and needed to be viewed with patience. My advice to viewers with no historical background would be to take it slowly at first. The beginning might be a bit confusing and slow, but the pace will pick up, and despite anything, the audience will get engrossed with the show and will not getting enough to watch (Speaking from my experience, my sister can be qualified as ignorant of historical drama, but she ended up loving the series and being a fan of the three sworn brothers).

The story would get a bit dull towards the end when many main characters passed away. However, another new and interesting characters were also introduced such as Suma Yi, Jiang Wei, and the Cao brothers.

Since it reflected the actual history, don't expect the series to have a happy ending. Your heroes would likely die, and your favorite character might not win. In the end, it showed the rise and fall of power and the struggle of the politics as the novel said, "that is domains under heaven, after a long period of union, tends to divide; after a long period of division, tends to unite." (from online translation of ROTK)

Although most artists were unknown (at least to me), their performances were great. From their graceful movements, many of them must have been opera artists. My favorite actors from this series were the ones who played Guan Yu and the one who acted as Zhuge Liang (also my favorite character in ROTK), but the most impressive scene was when Zhao Yun, with small Liu Shan, fought against Cao Cao's army. The subsong was so moving, and the choreography was excellent. Too bad that Liu Shan grew up to be a worthless scandal.

Some of my favorite episodes are:
* The swearing of brotherhood in the Peach Garden
* Zhao Yun rescued Liu Bei's son
* The reunion of three brothers
* The Battle between Wu and Wei at Three Gorges
* Liu Bei's three visits to Zhuge Liang
* Zhou Yu pitted battles of wit against Zhuge Liang
* Zhuge Liang's debate with Wu's scholars

Rating
4 and 3/4 stars. The serial really deserved perfect five, but I took 1/4 away to honor the unfortunate animals, which mainly were horses, in the series. It was evident that some actors couldn't ride well, thus holding the reins so tight that viewers could see how the steeds suffered in full screen.

Also, some minor characters were changed so ridiculously often, and some had wrong substitutes like the characters of Zhao Yun and Sima Yi. The first casts were usually better than their following ones. Anyway, it was also understandable since the whole production took a long time in filming.

Recommendation
There are so many reasons to watch this series. One of them was for the display of the richness in Chinese history and culture. I felt compelled to reread the novel after watching the series, and I learn something each time I watch any episodes. In short, this is a rare production that everyone should watch along with the Mainland Journey to the West, which was another classic production.

Definitely watch it and you might unwittingly become the next Zhuge Liang or Sima Yi.