Glance

Four of the best

Want to know more about the history of the Three Kingdoms? There are few accessible routes to understanding the period, besides the card game:

Movies

Just released in summer, the movie depicts Cao Cao (曹操), founder of the Wei Kingdom, in his old age, trying to unify the country and stop war. The movie claims to entirely reinterpret Cao Cao's character in contrast to his portrayal in the classic novel.

In the early third century, the land of Wu is invaded by warlord Cao Cao with an army of millions at his back. The Wu ruler, Sun Quan (孙权), calls on rival warlord Liu Bei for help, but their two armies are still hopelessly outnumbered. However, the Wu strategist Zhou Yu (周瑜) sees that Cao Cao's army is unused to maritime warfare, offering a glimmer of hope if the pair can exploit this weakness properly.

TV Series

The latest TV adaption of the classic novel. Consisting of 95 episodes, the series was planned by the Television Production Center of Communication University of China. First aired on four different channels, the series won an audience vote as the most popular of the year.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

(《三国演义》sān guó yǎn yì), 1995

Classic TV series adapted from the novel of the same title. Widely regarded as well written and produced, the series by CCTV consisted of 84 episodes, each 45 minutes long. The show involves a cast and crew of more than 400,000.

(China Daily 11/16/2012 page27)