The Stars Speak: Unpublished Monologues from the People Who Lived Through the Three Kingdoms
“If Cao Cao, Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu, Guan Yu... had all written autobiographies, and never told a single lie, then Romance of the Three Kingdoms would probably have to be rewritten.”
There are no immortals here, no monsters, and no wars won by simply counting on your fingers.
There are only eight living, breathing people
What Cao Cao thought about on his deathbed wasn’t the realm, but the everyday needs of a few women he loved;
Zhuge Liang admits he “went to Qishan six times and got nothing out of it.” He never borrowed the east wind, and never outsmarted anyone into their death;
Zhou Yu says the line “Since Yu was born, why was Liang born?” was made up by later generations. He and Kongming weren’t nearly so hostile;
Sima Yi became the ultimate winner by living by one word: wait. Wait for Cao Cao to die, wait for Cao Pi to die, wait for Zhuge Liang to die, and wait for Cao Shuang to make a mistake;
Liu Bei confesses: “I cried more than I laughed in this life, but after crying, I still had to get back on my feet”;
Guan Yu saved his final words for himself: “In this life, I lost because of one thing: pride”;
Pang Tong, wearing that ugly face of his, drank alone in Leiyang and said, “The story about the Phoenix Fledgling falling on a hillside was made up by later generations”;
Sun Quan says: “You all say I only know how to defend, but defending is much harder than attacking.”
This isn’t the Three Kingdoms you’ve read about. These are the heartfelt truths they never said aloud.
