Luo Guanzhong
c. 1330–1400
Biography
Luo Guanzhong was a Chinese novelist who lived under the Ming dynasty. His personal name was Luo Ben, but he is better known by his courtesy name, Guanzhong. The dates of his life are uncertain: he is often placed at about 1330 to 1400, while some estimates put him earlier, around 1280 to 1360. He also used the pen name Huhai Sanren, which suggests a carefree wanderer of lakes and seas.
He is credited with Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a long novel about the collapse of the Han dynasty and the rival states that followed, when warlords such as Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan fought for power. It is counted among the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. The novel builds on the official history of the period written by Chen Shou, but it turns events into a story of loyalty, betrayal and strategy, and it has shaped how generations of Chinese readers picture those years.
The site holds the book under its Chinese title, 三國志演義, and credits it to him under 羅貫中, the form of his name that appears on the book. Other works have also been linked to his name, but scholars have debated several of those attributions, so the Chinese article, which lists them, is the place to check which claims are generally accepted.
This biography was written by a language model. The sources below are where to check it; treat details with care.
Books
三國志演義
by Luo Guanzhong
As the Han dynasty crumbles at the end of the second century, three sworn brothers, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, take up arms, and the empire splits among rival warlords. Battles, stratagems and shifting loyalties fill a century of war, with the cunning Cao Cao and the…
Summary written by Claude Sonnet 5.5.