/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.20546440]

Why was the author allowed to get away with writing a history that painted the ruling dynasty as the villains?

[Anonymous No.20546517]

1. It came out over 1000 years after the original events. Luo wrote the book based on folk tales about the three kingdoms period, and there are deliberately fantastical parts of the story. If you look at the heights of the characters, they're all described as being around 7 feet tall. There's a a part where a guy literally scares off an army just by yelling. It isn't literal history.

2. It doesn't turn the ruling dynasty at any time in to the villain. There were actually about 11 kingdoms, but this focuses on the three major ones, Shu Han, who are the heroes, Wei, who are painted as villains, and Wu. Shu Han are really the heroes because the Han dynasty is symbolic of the Han people, the major ethnic group in China. The Shu Han wanted to restore the Han dynasty, and they started as a popular movement with virtually no power, so it's remarkable they were as popular as they were. They fell first. However, The fight with Shu Han weakened Wei so much that not long after that, Wu defeated Wei. But likewise, that fight weakened Wu so much that they were overthrown by the next dynasty easily just a few years later. Also, while Wu are painted in a better light than Wei, their rep is tarnished by the fact that they were only as powerful as they were because they hired tons of pirates.

[Anonymous No.20546562]

>>20546517
>the major ethnic group in China.
Not anymore since Genghis Khan and his people raped all Chinese people.

[Anonymous No.20546578]

>>20546562
Everyone's more ethnically mixed than they realize. Idk how much Mongolian Han Chinese really have in them, but if that's true they're better off for it, since Mongols tend to be bigger and stronger.

[Anonymous No.20546585]

>>20546562
The “Mongol” army in China was like 1/2 Chinese and only a million max

[Anonymous No.20546593]

>>20546517
Can you help me understand what happened roughly between the decline of the Han and the rise of the Tang in China?

Would you count Sui as a "full" dynasty like Tang or Song, or would you see them as more of just yet another minor dynasty during a fluctuating intermediate period?

[Anonymous No.20546634]

>>20546593
I won't be that much help, but Sui is definitely a notable dynasty, even if they aren't nearly as significant as the Tang dynasty. Throughout most of Chinese history there were little independent kingdoms and dynasties that most people never bother to learn about, but Sui was much more significant than that, they were a legitimately huge dynasty, even if they didn't last that long. I think China was basically experiencing a major cultural shift from the decline of the Han, through the Sui dynasty, up to the rise of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang is known as one of the strongest, as well as possibly one of the more authoritarian, dynasties. They focused very strongly on solidifying power, and the Tang Dynasty marks a shift in everything from art to religion (the Tang Dynasty was actually one of the only times Zen was the most popular form of Buddhism in China). Someone who knows better than me could explain this better, but Tang was so powerful and strong that it set up the Song Dynasty for success as it gave China a kind of renaissance. Unfortunately, unlike Tang, Song paid a lot less attention to its military as it was focusing more on commerce, and it eventually weakened to a point that the Mongols could take over.

[Anonymous No.20546796]

>>20546517
>Wu defeated Wei
what the fuck

[Anonymous No.20546802]

>>20546593
>Would you count Sui as a "full" dynasty
Tang is just Sui desu. Literally the things the Tang were known for (Grand canal) was done by the Sui

[Anonymous No.20546888]

>if only you knew how bad things really are