| Native Name: |
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| Genre: | Historical drama | ||||||||
| Screenplay: | Du Jiafu Li Yibo Zhou Kai Zhu Xiaoping Ye Shisheng Liu Shusheng | ||||||||
| Director: | Wang Fulin (Head director) Zhang Shaolin (13 episodes) Shen Haofang (16 episodes) Sun Guangming (12 episodes) Zhang Zhongyi (15 episodes) Cai Xiaoqing (28 episodes) | ||||||||
| Starring: | Sun Yanjun Tang Guoqiang Bao Guo'an Wu Xiaodong Lu Shuming Li Jingfei Hong Yuzhou | ||||||||
| Theme Music Composer: | Gu Jianfen | ||||||||
| Open Theme: | Gungun Changjiang Dongshishui (滚滚长江东逝水) performed by Yang Hongji | ||||||||
| End Theme: | Lishi De Tiankong (历史的天空) performed by Mao Amin | ||||||||
| Composer: | Gu Jianfen Li Yiding Wang Xian | ||||||||
| Country: | China | ||||||||
| Language: | Mandarin | ||||||||
| Num Episodes: | 84 | ||||||||
| Executive Producer: | You Shijun Zhang Guangqian Shan Yusheng Zhang Jizhong Hao Heming | ||||||||
| Producer: | Wang Feng Ren Dahui Dai Linfeng Yang Weiguang Zhang Tianmin Yu Changhua Zhou Ming Liu Jinru | ||||||||
| Location: | Hebei Inner Mongolia Sichuan Ningxia Gansu Qinghai Tibet Jiangsu Hubei Yunnan | ||||||||
| Cinematography: | Chen Jun Wang Dianchen Liu Shuliang Bi Fujian Zhang Shaolin Zhao Xinchang Gu Qiming | ||||||||
| Runtime: | 45 minutes per episode | ||||||||
| Company: | CCTV | ||||||||
| Channel: | CCTV |
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a Chinese television series adapted from the classical 14th century novel of the same title by Luo Guanzhong. The series was produced by China Central Television (CCTV) and was first aired on the network in 1994. It spanned a total of 84 episodes, each approximately 45 minutes long. One of the most expensive television series produced at the time, the project cost 170 million yuan. It was completed over four years and involved over 400,000 cast and crew members, including divisions of the People's Liberation Army from the Beijing, Nanjing and Chengdu military regions. Some of the dialogue spoken by characters was adapted directly from the novel. Extensive battle scenes, such as the battles of Guandu, Red Cliffs and Xiaoting, were also live-acted.
The series is widely seen as among the best period dramas in China and appraised for capturing the grand scale of the novel's story, themes and characters while maintaining its artistic and historical value.[1] [2] The show has a 9.5 rating on Douban from over 89,030 reviews.
The series is divided into five parts and each part has a different executive producer and director(s).
| Rough translation of title (in English) | Original title (in Chinese) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 桃园三结义 | ||
| 2 | The Ten Attendants cause political turmoil | 十常侍乱政 | |
| 3 | Dong Zhuo takes control of the capital | 董卓霸京师 | |
| 4 | Cao Cao presents a sword | 孟德献刀 | |
| 5 | The three heroes fight Lü Bu | 三英战吕布 | |
| 6 | The Chain-links Strategy | 连环计 | |
| 7 | Fengyi Pavilion | 凤仪亭 | |
| 8 | Offering Xu Province thrice | 三让徐州 | |
| 9 | Sun Ce builds a dynasty | 孙策立业 | |
| 10 | Shooting an arrow through a halberd | 辕门射戟 | |
| 11 | Battle of Wancheng | 宛城之战 | |
| 12 | White Gate Tower (part 1) | 白门楼 (上) | |
| 13 | White Gate Tower (part 2) | 白门楼 (下) | |
| 14 | Discussing about heroes over drinks | 煮酒论英雄 | |
| 15 | Yuan Shao and Cao Cao mobilise their armies | 袁曹起兵 | |
| 16 | Guan Yu lists three conditions | 关羽约三事 | |
| 17 | Returning riches and a seal | 挂印封金 | |
| 18 | A lone journey over a thousand li | 千里走单骑 | |
| 19 | Reunion in Gucheng | 古城相会 | |
| 20 | Sun Ce's death | 孙策之死 | |
| 21 | Battle of Guandu (part 1) | 官渡之战 (上) | |
| 22 | Battle of Guandu (part 2) | 官渡之战 (下) | |
| 23 | Yuan Shao is defeated | 大破袁绍 |
| Rough translation of title (in English) | Original title (in Chinese) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Leaping across the Tan Stream on horseback | 跃马檀溪 | |
| 25 | Liu Bei seeks the virtuous | 刘备求贤 | |
| 26 | Turning back to recommend Zhuge Liang | 回马荐诸葛 | |
| 27 | Three visits to the thatched cottage | 三顾茅庐 | |
| 28 | The inferno at Bowang Slope | 火烧博望坡 | |
| 29 | Assisting the people across the river | 携民渡江 | |
| 30 | Arguing with the Confucian scholars | 舌战群儒 | |
| 31 | Cleverly instigating Zhou Yu | 智激周瑜 | |
| 32 | Zhou Yu's plan goes to waste | 周瑜空设计 | |
| 33 | The Heroes' Gathering | 群英会 | |
| 34 | Borrowing arrows with straw boats | 草船借箭 | |
| 35 | The Self-torture Ruse | 苦肉计 | |
| 36 | Pang Tong presents the Chain-links Strategy | 庞统献连环 | |
| 37 | Thrusting a spear and composing a poem | 横槊赋诗 | |
| 38 | Zhuge Liang prays for the wind | 诸葛祭风 | |
| 39 | Burning of the Red Cliffs | 火烧赤壁 | |
| 40 | Seizing Nan Commandery by wit | 智取南郡 | |
| 41 | Conquering the four commanderies | 力夺四郡 | |
| 42 | The Beauty Scheme | 美人计 | |
| 43 | Ganlu Temple | 甘露寺 | |
| 44 | Return to Jing Province | 回荆州 | |
| 45 | Zhou Yu is infuriated thrice | 三气周瑜 | |
| 46 | The Crouching Dragon attends a funeral | 卧龙吊孝 | |
| 47 | Slicing off beard and discarding robe | 割须弃袍 |
| Rough translation of title (in English) | Original title (in Chinese) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 48 | Zhang Song presents a map | 张松献图 | |
| 49 | Liu Bei enters Sichuan | 刘备入川 | |
| 50 | The Phoenix falls at a slope | 凤雏落坡 | |
| 51 | Righteously releasing Yan Yan | 义释严颜 | |
| 52 | Conquering western Sichuan | 夺战西川 | |
| 53 | Attending a banquet alone and armed with only a blade | 单刀赴会 | |
| 54 | Battle of Hefei | 合肥会战 | |
| 55 | Contention for the succession | 立嗣之争 | |
| 56 | Mount Dingjun | 定军山 | |
| 57 | Strategic capture of Hanzhong | 巧取汉中 | |
| 58 | Drowning the seven armies | 水淹七军 | |
| 59 | Leaving Maicheng | 走麦城 | |
| 60 | Cao Cao's death | 曹操之死 | |
| 61 | Cao Pi usurps the Han throne | 曹丕篡汉 | |
| 62 | Campaign against Wu | 兴兵伐吴 | |
| 63 | Burning of the linked camps | 火烧连营 | |
| 64 | Calmly holding off five enemy forces | 安居平五路 |
| Rough translation of title (in English) | Original title (in Chinese) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | Troops cross the Lu River | 兵渡泸水 | |
| 66 | Seeking a path out in dire straits | 绝路问津 | |
| 67 | Meng Huo is captured seven times | 七擒孟获 | |
| 68 | Northern Expedition | 出师北伐 | |
| 69 | Winning over Jiang Wei | 收姜维 | |
| 70 | Sima Yi returns | 司马复出 | |
| 71 | Empty Fort Strategy | 空城退敌 | |
| 72 | Sima Yi obtains a seal | 司马取印 | |
| 73 | Battle of wits at Mount Qi | 祁山斗智 | |
| 74 | Zhuge Liang disguises himself as a god | 诸葛妆神 | |
| 75 | Six campaigns on Mount Qi | 六出祁山 | |
| 76 | The fire is extinguished in Shangfang Valley | 火熄上方谷 | |
| 77 | Autumn winds on the Wuzhang Plains | 秋风五丈原 |
| Rough translation of title (in English) | Original title (in Chinese) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 78 | Feigning illness to trick Cao Shuang | 诈病赚曹爽 | |
| 79 | Conflict in the Wu palace | 吴宫干戈 | |
| 80 | Siege of Mount Tielong | 兵困铁笼山 | |
| 81 | Sima Zhao commits regicide | 司马昭弑君 | |
| 82 | Nine campaigns on the Central Plains | 九伐中原 | |
| 83 | Stealth march to Yinping | 偷渡阴平 | |
| 84 | Three united under Jin | 三分归晋 |
Due to the time taken to complete the project (four years), there were numerous instances of (1) multiple actors portraying the same character or (2) the same actor taking on multiple roles. An example of case (1) was the character Zhang Liao, who was portrayed by Xu Shaohua in episode 12, Zhang Yakun in episode 39, and Wang Weiguo in episode 54. Chen Zhihui was an extreme example of case (2) because he took on four roles – three as generals from Wei, Shu and Wu (Xu Chu, Liao Hua and Taishi Ci) and one as minor warlord Bao Xin. Two other prominent examples of case (2) were Wu Xiaodong and Hong Yuzhou – the former portrayed Sun Jian in episode 5 and Sun Quan from episode 30 onwards; the latter portrayed a young Yuan Shao in episode 5 and Zhou Yu from episode 9 onwards.
Sorted by role in alphabetical order
The music for the series was composed by Gu Jianfen and Li Yiding (李一丁).
| Track title | Credits | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 滚滚长江东逝水 (translation: The Billowing Yangtze River Flows East) | Lyrics by Yang Shen; performed by Yang Hongji | The opening theme song and the ending theme song of episode 84. | |
| 2 | 这一拜 (translation: This Oath) | Played during the Peach Garden Oath scene in episode 1 and during the three brothers' reunion scene in episode 19 and the ending theme song of episode 19. | ||
| 3 | 烈火雄风 (translation: Raging Fire and Majestic Wind) | Lyrics by Wang Jian; performed by Lü Jianhong | Played during Lü Bu's riding scene in episode 3. | |
| 4 | 貂蝉已随清风去 (translation: Diaochan Has Gone with the Wind) | Lyrics by Wang Jian; performed by Wan Shanhong | Played during the last scene showing Diaochan's departure in episode 7 and the ending theme song of episode 7. | |
| 5 | 淯水吟 (translation: Ode to the Yu River) | Lyrics by Wang Jian; performed by Mao Amin | Played during the Battle of Wancheng scene in episode 11 and when Cao Cao mourns those who died at Wancheng in episode 12. | |
| 6 | 明主求贤兮却不知吾 (translation: The Wise Ruler Seeks Talents But Knows Me Not) | Lyrics by Luo Guanzhong | Played during the scene where Liu Bei meets Xu Shu in episode 25. | |
| 7 | 壮士功名尚未成 (translation: A Hero Has Yet to Achieve Glory) | Lyrics by Zhu Xiaoping | Played during the scene showing Zhuge Liang's friends singing in episode 26. | |
| 8 | 谁肯论英雄 (translation: Who Would Talk About Heroes) | Lyrics by Zhu Xiaoping | Played during the scene showing Zhuge Liang's friends singing in episode 26. | |
| 9 | 一夜北风寨 (translation: A Night in the Northern Wind Fort) | Lyrics by Luo Guanzhong | Played during Huang Chengyan's scene in episode 27. | |
| 10 | 有为歌 (translation: A Promising Song) | Lyrics by Wang Jian; performed by Dai Jianming | Played during Zhuge Liang's scene in episode 27. | |
| 11 | 民得平安天下安 (translation: The World is Peaceful When the People Are at Peace) | Lyrics by Wang Jian; performed by Cui Jinghao | Played during the scene showing Liu Bei crossing the river with civilians in episode 29. | |
| 12 | 当阳常志此心丹 (translation: A Heart of Courage in Dangyang) | Lyrics by Wang Jian; performed by Cui Jinghao | Played during Zhao Yun's heroics scene in episode 30. | |
| 13 | 豹头环眼好兄弟 (translation: The Good Brother with a Leopard's Head and Big Round Eyes) | Lyrics by Wang Jian; performed by Yin Xiangjie | Played during Zhang Fei's scene in episode 30. | |
| 14 | 丈夫歌 (translation: A Song for Men) | Lyrics by Luo Guanzhong; performed by Lü Jianhong | Played during Zhou Yu's dance scene in episode 33. | |
| 15 | 短歌行 (translation: A Short Song) | Lyrics by Cao Cao; performed by Yang Hongji | Played during Cao Cao's poem recitation scene in episode 37. | |
| 16 | 子夜四时歌 (translation: The Midnight Song) | Lyrics adapted from a Southern Dynasties era poem; performed in a Wu accent | Played during Liu Bei and Lady Sun's wedding scene in episode 43. | |
| 17 | 江上行 (translation: Sail Along the River) | Lyrics by Wang Jian; performed by Cui Jinghao | Played during the scene showing Guan Yu's arrival by boat in episode 53. | |
| 18 | 七步诗 (translation: The Seven Steps Poem) | Lyrics by Cao Zhi; performed by Liu Huan | Played during Cao Zhi's poem recitation scene in episode 61. | |
| 19 | 哭诸葛 (translation: Crying Zhuge) | Lyrics by Wang Jian; performed by Liu Huan | Played during Zhuge Liang's funeral scene in episode 77. | |
| 20 | 历史的天空 (translation: The Sky of History) | The ending theme song of Episode 1 to Episode 6 and Episode 8 to Episode 18 and Episode 20 to Episode 83. |