The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been.
If you can identify that quote you read too much. But you probably have a good baseline understanding of political philosophy (realism vs. idealism, etc). The quote is from Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, one of the four classic works in ancient Chinese literature, and probably the most popular today.
The Romance covers the late Han period, the collapse of the empire into chaos and warfare, the solidification of power around three separate kingdoms, and the final birthing of a new dynasty, the Jin. It's timelessness stems from its detailed accounting of the machinations and stratagems used by the various power players as they attempt to bring each other down. There is the good (Liu Bei), the bad (Cao Cao), and the ugly (Dong Zhuo?). But the good doesn't always win, and the bad is shown in a positive light when compared to the incapable. Even Cao Cao, the ultimate political realist, concerned only with his own advancement, is more admirable than Dong Zhuo or even Lu Bu, a fierce, but disloyal, warrior. Ultimately, the good must also be smart, and the evil must also be efficient, or else they will fail.
Who cares? Why am I writing about some obscure (in the western hemisphere) text?
Because it shows that it doesn't matter how just your cause is if your details are not rock solid.
Because Barack Obama has more donors than the entire Republican field.
Because Hillary is beating her Republican opponents in head to head races in the polls.
Because the monks have the passion, but the junta has the guns.
Who has better organization and loyalty? Who's gonna stay the course and win the fight?
My money's on Cao Cao.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
From thy post, it's obvious you have not yet completed your read of the historical text. Dong Zhuo is unimportant, easily taken down and burned in his own lard. The 3 great sub-kingdoms were shu-han (liu bei), wei (cao cao), and wu (sun quan).
In those times i guess, there is no bad or good. Liu Bei is viewed as the 'good' person for his humane approach, yet his inability to make decisions that goes against his principles brought about his downfall.
Cao Cao is historically seen as the big bad guy, but in truth, he stands firm on one and one belief only, 'better i wrong the world, lest the world wrongs me'. This, and his cunning yet acute decision making brought about his vast power, but also made many enemies of himself.
Sun Quan is a warlord with absolute control over the southlands. His men are loyal, well trained. His officers are brilliant and sound. Yet sun quan lacks ambition. He lived longer then the other 2 warlords, yet he has never gained an inch of land himself.
Ultimately, the Jin empire won...... and thus the sad 'romance'.
Post a Comment