三國演義

This year, a Chinese cable channel has started to air 三國 (Three Kingdoms), a TV series adaptation of the Chinese classic 三國演義 (Romance of the Three Kingdoms). The series, directed by Gao Xixi, was first released in May 2010.

I was awed at the first few episodes of the series. It seems like this is one of those lucky enough to have been allotted a huge sum what with beautiful graphics. It was a truly remarkable work, not to mention the choice of actors and actresses who took on their respective roles with such believable portrayal.

So lately I have been following this series. The benefits are numerous, not only do I get to know more about Chinese history, I also get to brush up on my Chinese. Mind though that the language used in 三國 is not the same as modern Chinese and there are a lot of things I do not comprehend, or am slow to grasp. But at least, getting exposed to Old Chinese make me understand more the Japanese language since the latter borrowed much from the former.

In line with my occupation with 三國, I have researched on other media adaptations of 三國演義. The only ones I have watched prior to my interest in the Chinese classic is Koutetsu Sangokushi and Ikki Tousen, both anime series which wove their own respective plots from the classic. And yes, 三國演義 is very popular even in Japan, so I guess I will be expecting myself to watch anime and read manga related to it.

And then there's this wonderful song used in the Japanese anime 三國誌 based on 三國演義 and which I found on Youtube:

And here is a more mellow and sadder version (or maybe it's because the video's old) which was actually used in the anime.