Best English translation of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms?

[[*UNITY*]_ james]

Hey! Pretty much what the title says - I thought it would be a neat way to get myself hyped for this game. Don't mind too much if its abridged too, although not to an extent where too much of the narrative is cut out obviously.

[Sanji Himura]

There are three translations that are of any merit. There is the C. H. Brewitt-Taylor translation. It doesn't really hold up well compared to the Moss Roberts and the Yu Sumei translations. If you can, I would find a copy of the novel with the modern names, or otherwise you will be reading Cao Cao as Tsao Tsao.

Most define the Moss Roberts as definitative ROTK translation, HOWEVER, I do encourage you to read the Yu Sumei translation as it is designed to be read as "Living Literature".

However, the Moss Roberts and the Yu Sumei translations MUST be found in parts. The Roberts translation is usually found in two parts, while the Yu Sumei translation is found in three parts.

[AlwaystheMage]

You can read the full novel (Brewitt-Taylor) online but with names edited to more conventional ones like Cao Cao.

http://www.eze33.com/war/sanguo/sanguo.htm

[[*UNITY*]_ james]

Thanks for the suggestions! But I would like to hear more before coming to a final decision. Any thoughts on the Martin Palmer translation (Penguin Books)?

[Remosu37]

I've never read Romance of the Three Kingdoms in English (I read it in my native Japanese), but this podcast was pretty excellent:

http://www.3kingdomspodcast.com/subscribe-podcast/list-of-all-episodes/

I think CA also recommended it at some point, but it covers the entire novel in good detail. The narrator is only so-so at first, but he improves a lot by the middle of the series. I actually listen to it during downtime at work, and it's pretty entertaining.

[Sanji Himura]

Originally posted by *UNITY*_ james:

Thanks for the suggestions! But I would like to hear more before coming to a final decision. Any thoughts on the Martin Palmer translation (Penguin Books)?

I have yet to read it personally, but I may order it on my next pay check.

[[VM]_MorS_{CN}]

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