The True Image of the Three Kingdoms in Du Fu's Eyes (2): Year One of Xingping to Year Forth of Jian'an - The True Image of the Three Kingdoms in Du Fu's Eyes, #2

Many people have likely heard of or seen stories about the Three Kingdoms, perhaps through animations or games. However, those are mostly based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which is only about 30% rooted in historical facts, with the majority of the content being fictional elements added by the author.

Although there are several works based on the historical Three Kingdoms, they lack the depth that the poetry of that era provides.

This novel, while fictional, is entirely grounded in historical events, with the timeline faithfully restored according to real history.

Many friends might be familiar with Zhuge Liang, but in the history of the Three Kingdoms, there was another notable figure who was born and died in the same years as Zhuge Liang and also lived to be 54 years old—that person was Emperor Xian of Han. What's even more interesting is that before Zhuge Liang officially joined Liu Bei's camp at the age of 27, the history of the Eastern Han Dynasty mainly revolved around Emperor Xian and the imperial court. However, after both turned 27, Emperor Xian virtually vanished from historical prominence, while Zhuge Liang rose to occupy the historical stage. This coincidence is quite intriguing.

The reason for using Du Fu as a lens to view the true history of the Three Kingdoms is not only because he was a devoted admirer of Zhuge Liang, but also because he fled to Sichuan during the An Lushan Rebellion, which was the most stable period of his life. He wrote many poems about Zhuge Liang, making it fascinating to explore the history of the Three Kingdoms through his poetry and perspective.

This series of novels, which covers the most critical 54 years of the Three Kingdoms, is structured by chronological order. It has several key features:

Whether it's Du Fu's or the Three Kingdoms era's poetry, the works are translated into Japanese to convey the original essence, making it comprehensible for all readers. The poetry, orders, and official documents from the Three Kingdoms are arranged strictly according to time and figures, which allows readers to better understand the context of events, providing deeper insights compared to simple narrative descriptions. All fictional events from Romance of the Three Kingdoms are excluded, with the true historical events restored to their original form.

The hope is that through a novelistic approach, readers who are interested in this period can enjoy the poetry while gaining a deeper understanding of the true history.

The second part spans from the first year of Xingping to the fourth year of Jian'an, focusing on major events such as Cao Cao's campaign in Xuzhou and his seizing of the Emperor to command the warlords.