What was the difference between the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the official history of the Three Kingdoms?
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the official history of the Three Kingdoms were two different literary works and historical documents. Although they both described the historical background and characters of the Three Kingdoms period, there were also many differences. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms was a novel written by Luo Guanzhong, a novelist of the Ming Dynasty. It was set in the Three Kingdoms period and mainly narrated the story of the war between Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and Liu Bei at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The novel deeply described and shaped the politics, military, and culture of the Three Kingdoms period. At the same time, it also integrated some myths, legends, and character stories to make it have a strong literary color. The official history of the Three Kingdoms was based on the period from the Yellow Turban Uprising at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the establishment of the Western Jin Dynasty, including the Records of the Historian, the Book of Han, the Records of the Three Kingdoms, and many other historical books. The official history records were more objective and accurate. They not only described the historical background and characters of the Three Kingdoms period, but also discussed the political, military, cultural and other aspects of the system and problems at that time. It was one of the important materials for studying ancient Chinese history. In terms of character creation, the characters in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms were more exaggerated and fictional. Many characters 'personalities and behaviors were processed and imagined by literature. However, the characters in the official history of the Three Kingdoms were more real and full. Many historical figures had more detailed biographies and descriptions. Although the Romance of the Three Kingdoms was also set in the Three Kingdoms period, its plot was more artistic, such as fiction, mythology, etc. The story of the official history of the Three Kingdoms was more objective and true to the historical events and the struggles and wars between the characters. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the official history of the Three Kingdoms were both literary works that described the history and culture of the Three Kingdoms period, but there were many differences in the characters and plots.