Posting Guidelines and FAQ for SGYYS--Please read!

[Cao Zhi]

Lady Wu Edit: This is now the official general information thread for SGYYS. It has two parts: Cao Zhi's "Posting Guidelines" and my FAQ.

The SGYYS, like the other forums in the Academy Garden, is a mature place where one can discuss scholarly topics and receive feedback. It is a place where one must scrupulously observe the rules so a scholastic enviornment can be preserved. To that end, posters will observe the following guidelines before posting:

Proper attention to the Forum Rules regarding spam, flames, and trolling will be scrupulously observed.

Use your heads and follow the same format in posting that you would in preparing a formal paper for a professor or teacher. Mistakes are fine and are to be expected from time to time. But a dilligent effort at using the shift key and proper punctuation will be expected. Proper use of spelling and grammar will hold you in a much higher stead than will 'chat room talk'. This is a mature forum, therefore your posts must also be mature. Any instances of 'chat-room talk' will be squashed without question.

Please post in the proper forum. Discussions on Koei games must be made in their own respective forums.

Before you post, please make an attempt to see if your topic already exists. This can be done with a brief search or with a glance into the Index of Common Threads. New users are also encouraged to browse through the first four or five pages of the Symposium and to reply to some topics in order to get a feel for what has already been posted and what is currently being discussed before they start new threads of their own.

When posting, please describe your topic as accurately as you can in the title.

When posting your topic, give a background. This is so that people will have a good idea of what it is you are speaking and it will provide insight as to what you want answered or discussed.

If you need assistance or have a question, feel free to ask. This thread exists for brief questions.

Enjoy yourselves while you are here. Learn some new things, and challenge your mind!

[Lady Wu]

Lady Wu Edit: I have consolidated the FAQ thread with this one

What are these abbreviations that people throw around?
RTK = Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a classic Chinese novel on which the Koei game series of the same name as well as the Dynasty Warrior series are based.
SGYY = Sanguo Yanyi, the Chinese name of the novel known as Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
SGZ = Sanguo Zhi, or, Records of the Three States (or Records of the Three Kingdoms), the official history of the Three Kingdoms era. It was compiled by Chen Shou (AD 233-297) of the Jin dynasty.
HHS = Hou Han Shu, or, History of the Later Han. Authored by Fan Ye (AD 398-445 ), it is the official historical record of the Eastern Han dynasty.
ZZTJ = Zi Zhi Tongjian, or, Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Governing, penned by Sima Guang (1019-1086) of the Song dynasty.

LGZ = Luo Guanzhong, author of SGYY/RTK.
PSZ = Pei Songzhi (AD 372-451), who was commissioned to provide annotations and supplementary information to Chen Shou's SGZ. Pei quoted extensively from various sources, many of which are now lost.

SoSZ = Scholars of Shenzhou, the excellent forum where you are right now!
KMA = Kongming's Archives

What on earth is Shenzhou?
Shen means "spirit, magic, godly", and zhou means "land". The term Shenzhou is used as an affectionate term meaning "China". Usage of this word dates back to as early as the Warring States Period (403-221BC).

Where can I find an English translation of the SGYY novel?
See here

Where can I find an English translation of SGZ?
There isn't one (published, anyway), unfortunately. Empresses and Consorts contains the translation of all the SGZ biographies of, well, empresses and consorts of the Three Kingdoms era.

Various RTK enthusiasts have translated portrions of SGZ. Some of them can be found here. Check also the Links section of KMA. Note that these are all amateur translations and KMA does not vouch for their accuracy or completeness. When in doubt, contact the translator for clarification.

I can read (Classical) Chinese; where do I find online copies of those historical sources?
Mega Zarak/Great Deer has an excellent list here

I want to help with translating SGZ. How easy would it be to do it using Altavista Babelfish?
You may want to drown yourself before attempting such a thing. Babelfish results of SGZ tend to be painfully nonsensical.

Not to sound snobbish, but in addition to being written in a form of Chinese that is no longer spoken, SGZ contains a good deal of textual problems. Pei Songzhi unfortunately did not provide very detailed notes on phrases with obscure meaning or ambiguity. I would recommend arming yourself with a good sense of Classical Chinese grammar and a dictionary that covers archaic terms before starting, and when possible consult Chinese scholarship on the subject. 盧弼's 三國志集解and 山東教育出版社's 三國志辭典 are very good books to have at hand (they may be found in larger universities), and I would also recommend looking at annotations and translations by 繆鉞 or 方北辰.

I heard that the way they pronounce the names in Dynasty Warriors is wrong. How do I find out the real way of pronouncing the Chinese names?
This thread has some good information in it; see Starscream's post on page 6 in particular. You may also post your own pronunciation questions there.

Why is everyone saying that so-and-so didn't exist?
If that character's name doesn't show up in known historical sources, it is generally agreed that we cannot take him/her to have existed. See this thread.

What is the difference between "novel" and "history"?
The novel SGYY has been claimed to be "7 parts fact, 3 parts fiction". Luo Guanzhong did not set out to write a history book, but rather a historical novel on everyone's favourite historical period, incorporating stories from legends and popular literature of his time. Unfortunately, many of everyone's favorite parts of the novel are not found in the historical records. These include Guan Yu's heroic exploits at the five Passes, most of the events surrounding the Battle of Chibi (the Battle of Chibi itself, though, is real), and almost everything in relation to Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign. The novel also distorts the character of several officers for artistic effects, so don't be surprised when you see people say things like "Zhou Yu was not a jealous man in history". See this thread for more information.

Why is my thread being locked?
Moderators lock a thread for three main reasons:
1. A similar discussion already exists—it would be more fun for everyone if you bring your opinion to that discussion. Feel free to revive old threads.
2. Your question is already answered in another thread, or can be easily answered in another thread.
3. The content of the post is inappropriate for this forum.

It's nothing personal (usually ).

How come the officers have so many different names? Whats' the deal with "Zhuge Liang" and "Kongming"? What on earth is a style name?
Traditionally, Chinese people have both a given name and a "style name", which is a name used by friends and peers to show respect or friendliness. In the case of the great Shu strategist/politician, "Zhuge" is his family name, "Liang" is his given name, and "Kongming" is his style. I have written a guide to names and naming conventions of the Three Kingdoms era; it can be found here. Suggestions and questions can be posted in that thread.

[Lady Wu]

The threads "Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms" and "Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms 2" have been moved to the SGYYS Archives.