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Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms

Summary

The Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms (simplified Chinese: 东周列国志; traditional Chinese: 東周列國志; pinyin: Dōngzhōu Lièguó Zhì) is a Chinese historical novel in 108 chapters written by Feng Menglong in the late Ming dynasty. Set in the Eastern Zhou dynasty, the novel starts from the Chinese kingdom beginning to break apart into smaller states and ends with the first unification of the land accomplished by Qin Shi Huang.

Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms
Illustration from a printed edition of the novel
AuthorFeng Menglong
Original title東周列國志
CountryChina
LanguageChinese
SubjectAncient China
GenreFictionalized history
Media typePrint
Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese東周列國志
Simplified Chinese东周列国志
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabetĐông Chu liệt quốc chí
Chữ Hán東周列國志
Korean name
Hangul동주열국지
Hanja東周列國志
Japanese name
Kanji東周列国志
Hiraganaとうしゅうれっこくし

It is one of the best-known historical novels regarding ancient China.[1] The novel based its sources from classic texts such as the Zuo Tradition and the Records of the Grand Historian and some of the sacred classic books of China such as the Book of Rites and the Classic of Poetry.


  • Pages from a printed edition of the novel Chronicles of the East Zhou Kingdoms
    Pages from a printed edition of the novel Chronicles of the East Zhou Kingdoms
  • Pages from a printed edition of the novel Chronicles of the East Zhou Kingdoms
    Pages from a printed edition of the novel Chronicles of the East Zhou Kingdoms
  • Pages from a printed edition of the novel Chronicles of the East Zhou Kingdoms
    Pages from a printed edition of the novel Chronicles of the East Zhou Kingdoms

Translations edit

The novel has been translated into several languages, including Korean, Thai and Vietnamese. The Korean version was done in 2003.[2] The Thai version was done in 1819 by a committee of senior public officers at the behest of King Rama II.[3] The Vietnamese version was done in 1933 by Nguyễn Đỗ Mục.[4]

Erik Honobe has translated the first ten chapters into English (The Rise of Lord Zhuang of Zheng, ISBN 978-962-7255-48-2). Some chapters can be viewed on the website of Renditions: Chapter 1 and Chapter 5.

Olivia Milburn translated 17 out of the original 108 chapters into English. This translation was published as an abridged version of the novel in 2022 (Kingdoms in Peril: A Novel of the Ancient Chinese World at War, ISBN 9780520380516).[5]In 2023, the fully-translated version was published in four volumes.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ Li, Wai-Yee (2010). "Full-Length Vernacular Fiction". In Mair, Victor H. (ed.). The Columbia History of Chinese Literature. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 625. ISBN 978-0-231-10984-0.
  2. ^ "최이산씨, 원전 "열국지" 완역" (in Korean). kihoilbo. 2003-11-18. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  3. ^ Bayan Imsamran (n.d.). "War Strategics in Liadkok" (PDF). Surat Thani Rajabhat University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (in Thai). 15 (1).
  4. ^ "Nguyễn Đỗ Mục" (in Vietnamese). daitudien. n.d. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  5. ^ Chaffetz, David (2022-03-14). "Two New Translations of Feng Menglong's Classic "Chronicles"". Asian Review of Books. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  6. ^ "New Book Announcement: "Kingdoms in Peril, Volumes 1-4" by Feng Menglong, translated by Olivia Milburn". Asian Review of Books. 2023-10-09. Retrieved 2024-04-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)