《三国演义》开篇第一行概括道：“话说天下大势，分久必合，合久必分。”；一百二十回末尾，故事又以颠倒说法的一行结束：“此所谓‘天下大势，合久必分，分久必合’者也”。照我看来，这就是《三国演义》的总主题。自然，还有一些分主题或深刻思想来支撑和说明总主题。据此，全书可分为三部分：第一部分由第一回至第三十五回组成，可用探本索源来概括，也就是说，汉朝是为什么和如何垮台的？正如文本所说：“推其致乱之由，殆始于桓、灵二帝。桓帝禁锢善类，崇信宦官。”“四方百姓，裹黄巾从张角反者四五十万。”（第一回）“昔黄巾造反，其原皆由十常侍卖官鬻爵，非亲不用，非仇不诛，以致天下大乱。”“十常侍既握重权，互相商议：但有不从己者，诛之。”“四方盗贼并起，侵掠州郡。其祸皆由十常侍卖官害民，欺君罔上。朝廷正人皆去，祸在目前矣！”“刘陶大呼：‘臣死不惜！可怜汉室天下，四百余年，到此一旦休矣！’”（第二回）十常被灭后，少帝被废，董卓所立陈留王刘协，“灵帝中子，即献帝也；时年九岁。董卓为相国，赞拜不名，入朝不趋，剑履上殿，威福莫比。”（第四回）后来，“曹孟德移驾幸许都”，“自此大权皆归于曹操：朝廷大务，先禀曹操，然后方奏天子（皇帝）。”（第十四回）至此，汉王朝已名存实亡，走完了其自毁的历程，至曹丕篡汉时，他才履行了个形式上的手续。第二部分由第三十六回至第一○四回组成，可用三国的兴亡来概括，也就是说，魏、蜀、吴三国是如何建立并维持下去的？又是如何消失的？理想的帝王、将相应有些什么品质？一般说来，建国者都尊重人才、求贤若渴，从而人才荟萃、人尽其才；他们都积极进取，百折不挠；他们都得民心，因而得天下。第三部分由第一○五回至第一二○回组成，可用三国灭亡、西晋一统来概括，也就是说，三国为什么会灭亡？西晋又是如何统一的？三国灭亡的根本原因正如汉王朝自毁的原因一样：建国者死后，他们的子孙作为皇帝，“溺于酒色，不理朝政”；“禁锢善类，崇信宦官”；昏庸无能，荒淫无道。唉，三国兴亡的循环圈是多么典型啊！那是中国历史上许多朝代兴亡循环圈中最值得我们深思的——如蜀汉王朝仅在第二代就亡了！
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ opening line is epitomized：“The empire， long divided，must unite； long united， must divide.”One hundred and twenty chapters later the story ends with the linereversed：“The empire， long united， must divide； long divided， must unite.”This is， to my thinking， thenovel’s general theme. Naturally， there are some sub-themes or profound ideas which are used to supportand interpret the general theme. Based on the general theme， the novel may be divided into three parts： Thefirst part is made up of Chapter 1 to Chapter 35. It may be epitomized in“probing the origins to find thesource”， that is to say， why and how does Han Dynasty fall？ It’s just as the text reads：“The cause of Han’sfall may be traced to the reigns of Xian’s two predecessors， Huan and Ling. Huan drove from office andpersecuted officials of integrity and ability， giving all his trust to his eunuchs.”“From the four corners ofthe realm the common folk， nearly half a million strong， bound their heads with Yellow Turbans and followedZhang Jiao in rebellion...”(Chapter 1)“Sale of office and rank by the Ten Eunuchs is the fundamentalcause of the recent uprisings. They have appointed only their own and punished only their enemies， and havethrown the realm into chaos in the process.”“At the court the Ten Eunuchs were using their great power todo away with anyone who went against them.”“Bandits and rebels rise everywhere， plundering provinceand district—all because of the sale of office and the abuse of the people by the Ten Eunuchs， who havewronged and deceived Your Majesty. All upright men have fled your service. Disaster looms.”“I care notfor my life，”cried Liu Tao，“but how my heart aches for empire of Han—on the verge of extinction afterfour hundred years！”(Chapter 2) After the Ten Eunuchs were killed and the Emperor Shao was deposed， thenew Emperor， prince of Chenliu， Liu Xie， was enthroned by Warlord Dong Zhuo.“He was the second sonof Emperor Ling， nine years old as Emperor Xian. Dong Zhuo became prime minister. But he did not use hisown name when saluting the sovereign nor comfort himself reverently by scurrying in his presence， nor didhe remove his boots and sword before the throne as required. The prestige and wealth he amassed raised himabove all.”(Chapter 4) Afterwards“Cao Cao Moves the Emperor to Xuchang”.“Power was concentratedin Cao Cao’s hands to such a degree that all important issues at court were first proposed by petition to himand then presented to the Son of Heaven (Emperor)”. (Chapter 14) Up to that time the Han Dynasty hada mere nominal existence and finished its self-destroying course. But it was not until Cao Pi usurped thethrone of Han that he went through the ceremonial procedure. The second part consists of Chapter 36 toChapter 104. It may be summarized in a phrase“the rise and fall of the Three Kingdoms”， i. e. how are theThree Kingdoms—Wei， Shu and Wu established and maintained？ And how do they disappear？ What arethe qualities of an ideal emperor， an ideal general and an ideal minister？ Generally speaking， the dynasticfounders respect talented people and thirst after talents. Consequently they have a galaxy of talented peopleand give full scope to the talents. They keep forging ahead energetically and never yield in spite of reverses.
They win men’s hearts and deserve to rule. The third part includes Chapter 105 to Chapter 120. It may besummed up in two phrases“the Three Kingdoms’ disappearance”and“the reunification of the Jin”， i.e.
Why do the Three Kingdoms disappear？ How is the empire reunited by the Jin？ The essential reasons ofThree Kingdoms’ disappearance are just the same of the Han Dynasty’ self-destruction： After the dynasticfounders died， their descendants as the emperors“indulged in vice and luxury and neglected the businessof the court”，“drove from office and persecuted officials of integrity and ability， giving all his trust tohis eunuchs”， and always were fatuous and incompetent， profligate and devoid of principles. Ay， what atypical“dynastic cycle”the Three Kingdoms’ or Three Dynasties’ rise-and-fall-cycle is！ It is the mostvaluable one among many“dynasties’ rise-and-fall-circles”which are worth our while to think over—forinstance， the Shu-Han Dynasty disappeared when the Second Emperor was still on the throne.
晋朝重新统一，花费了司马氏三代人的惨淡经营。他们为建立晋朝经历了千辛万苦。
司马懿军功卓着，声威大震，增强了势力，聚集了很多人才，因而他敢于发动军事政变。
“魏主曹芳封司马懿为丞相，加九锡。懿固辞不肯受。芳不准，令父子三人同领国事。”从此，“魏主政归司马氏”。（第一○七回）司马懿死后，魏主曹芳封司马懿长子司马师为大将军，总领尚书机密大事，次子司马昭为骠骑上将军（第一○八回）。两年后，司马师废曹芳，立曹髦为新君。“假大将军司马师黄钺，入朝不趋，奏事不名，带剑上殿。”（第一○九回）司马师于正元二年二月（公元255年）死于眼瘤后，其弟司马昭继其兄掌大权，军政大小事情，皆归于昭（第一一○回）。是年六月（公元260年），“司马昭立常道乡公曹璜为帝，改元景元元年。璜改名曹奂，字景明。——乃武帝曹操之孙，燕王曹宇之子也。——奂封昭为相国、晋公”。（第一一四回）“朝中大臣因昭收川有功，遂尊之为王，表奏魏主曹奂。时奂名为天子，实不能主张，政皆由司马氏，不敢不从，遂封晋公司马昭为晋王……昭遂立长子司马炎为世子。”司马昭于公元265年死于中风。“是日，司马炎即晋王位……谥父为文王。”“司马炎，人物魁伟，立发垂地，两手过膝，聪明英武，胆量过人。”，具有帝王形象和素质。公元265年的一天，司马炎带剑入宫，直入后宫问魏帝曹奂：“魏之天下，谁之力之？”奂曰：“皆晋王父祖之赐耳。”炎笑曰：“吾观陛下，文不能论道，武不能经邦。何不让有才德者主也？”奂大惊，口噤不能言。傍有黄门侍郎张节大喝曰：“晋王之言差矣！昔日魏武祖皇帝，东荡西除，南征北讨，非容易得此天下；今天子有德无罪，何故让与人耶？”炎大怒曰：“此社稷乃大汉之社稷也。曹操挟天子以令诸侯，自立魏王，篡夺汉室。吾祖父三世辅魏，得天下者，非曹氏之能，实司马氏之力也：四海咸知。吾今日岂不堪绍魏之天下乎？”节又曰：“欲行此事，是篡国之贼也！”炎大怒曰：“吾与汉家报仇，有何不可！”叱武士将张节乱瓜打死于殿下。奂泣泪跪告。炎起身下殿而去。奂谓贾充、裴秀曰：“事已急矣，如之奈何？”充曰：“天数尽矣，陛下不可逆天，当照汉献帝故事，重修受禅坛，具大礼，禅位与晋王：上合天心，下顺民情，陛下可保无虞矣。”奂从之，遂令贾充筑受禅坛。以十二月甲子日（公元265年），奂亲捧传国玺，立于坛上，大会文武。请晋王司马炎登坛，授与大礼（第一一九回）。真是“魏吞汉室晋吞曹”，晋的榜样是曹操。从上述解释和《三国演义》的文本引语我们不仅领会到了司马氏是为何及如何正如曹氏一样篡夺王位的，而且领悟到三国是为何及如何被司马氏统一的，甚至还能理解朝代兴亡循环圈是为何及如何重复多次地出现。我们总算理解了《三国演义》的主题对我们的重要性。
The reunification of the realm of the Jin Dynasty took Sima-Three-generations’ great pains to carryon their work under difficult circumstances. They experienced all kinds of hardships to found their owndynasty. Sima Yi performed outstanding exploits and gained great fame and high prestige. Consequently hestrengthened his forces and gathered many talented people. That was why he dared to stage a coup d’etat.“Theruler of Wei， Cao Fang， appointed Sima Yi as his prime minister， conferring upon him the Nine Dignities.
Sima Yi protested strenuously， but Cao Fang prevailed， requiring Sima Yi and his two sons to manage jointlythe affairs of state.”From then on“Wei’s rule was transferred to the house of Sima.(Chapter 107)”AfterSima Yi passed away， the Wei ruler Cao Fang， appointed Sima Yi’s elder son Sima Shi his regent-marshaland authorized him to supervise the Secretariat’s most sensitive decisions； Sima Yi’s second son Sima Zhaowas made superior general of the Flying Cavalry. (Chapter 108) Two years later Sima Shi deposed Cao Fangand established Cao Mao as the new sovereign.“The golden battle-axe of supreme military authority wasplaced in the hands of Regent-Marshal Sima Shi. He was permitted to walk into the palace without hasteningand bending over， to petition the Emperor without using his given name， and to ascend the throne hallwearing a sword. (Chapter 109) After Sima Shi died of the tumor on his eye in the second month of the secondyear of Zheng Yuan (A.D. 255)， his younger brother Sima Zhao inherited his brother’s power. Thereafter， allgovernmental and military matters were decided by Sima Zhao (Chapter 110). In the sixth month of the year，Sima Zhao established Cao Huang， the lord of Changdao Village， as emperor and changed the reign to JingYuan，‘Spectacular Origin，’year 1(A.D. 260). Cao Huang’s name was changed to Cao Huan (Jingming). Hewas the grandson of the Martial Emperor Cao Cao， and the son of Cao Yu， prince of Yan. Cao Huan honoredSima Zhao as prime minister and lord patriarch of Jin (Chapter 114).“At the Wei court the great vassalspetitioned the ruler Cao Huan to honor Sima Zhao as king in recognition of his achievement in conqueringthe Plain. Huan， Son of Heaven in name alone， had no influence at all and dared not oppose Sima Zhao，who held all power of decision. Huan therefore confer Sima Zhao， lord patriarch of Jin， as king of Jin... SimaZhao established his elder son Sima Yan as heir-son. Sima Zhao died of a severe stroke in A.D. 265.“Thatday Sima Yan assumed the position of king of Jin... Sima Yan’s father， Zhao， was posthumously titled KingWen.”“Sima Yan was a man of imposing stature， with hair so long that it touched the ground and armsso long that they hung below his knees. He was a man of quick mind and a brilliant warrior of surpassingcourage”. He had an emperor’s image and qualities. One day in A.D. 265 Sima Yan took his sword andentered the palace and went directly to the rear chamber and asked Cao Huan， ruler of Wei，“Whose effortshave maintained the empire for Wei？”“We owe everything to the father and grandfather of the king ofJin，”Cao Huan responded. With a smile Sima Yan went on，“In my judgment Your Majesty has provenill informed as to the true way of government and is unable to defend the kingdom militarily. Should you notstep aside for a ruler with the necessary talent and virtue？”Cao Huan was dumbfounded. Beside him wasZhang Jie， a courtier from the Inner Bureau， who shouted，“The king of Jin speaks false！ Our Martil AncestorCao Cao led sweeping conquests in the four directions； it was no easy task for him to win the empire. Thepresent Son of Heaven has his virtue and is guilty of no crime. Why should he yield his reign？”Wrathfully，Sima Yan responded，“The dynastic altars belong to the great Han. Cao Cao coerced the Son of Heaven as ameans to control the lords of the realm. He made himself king of Wei， then he usurped the house of Han itself.
My father and his father before him guided and supported the Wei dynasty， which possessed the empire bythe strength of the house of Sima， not of Cao—as the world well knows. Why should I not inherit the reign ofWei？”Zhang Jie retorted，“If you carry it through， it will be treason by usurpation！”Sima Yan exploded inanger.“I am avenging the house of Han，”he cried.“Is something wrong with that？”So saying， Sima Yanordered his guards to beat Zhang Jie to death in the throne hall with the golden ceremonial mace. Cao Huankneeled and pleaded desperately， but Sima Yan rose and left the throne hall. Cao Huan said to Jia Chong andPei Xiu，“We have reached the crisis. What is to be done？”Jia Chong responded，“The Heavenly-ordainedtime has expired. Your Majesty should not defy Heaven， but rather follow the precedent of Emperor Xian andhave another Altar for the Acceptance of the Abdication erected for the transfer of the imperial seal to theking of Jin with dull ceremonial splendor. Such an act would coincide with the wish of Heaven and conformto the people’s mood while ensuring Your Majesty’s security and peace of mind.”Cao Huan accepted thisadvice and ordered Jia Chong to construct the altar. On the first cyclical day in the twelfth month (A.D. 265)Cao Huan， the seal of state held high in both hands， ascended the altar in front of a grand congregation of civiland military officials. Next， Sima Yan， king of Jin， was requested to ascend the altar and accept the abdication(Chapter119) It’s true that“Wei swallowed Han， and then Jin swallowed Wei；”“Jin’s model was Cao Cao，king of Wei.”From what is explained and quoted from the text of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms wecan see not only why and how the Simas usurped the throne just as the Caos did but also why and how theThree Kingdoms were reunited by the Simas， and furthermore we can understand why and how the dynasticcycles would be repeatedly made many times. Now we’ve also understood how important the theme of theRomance of the Three Kingdoms to all of us readers.
《三国演义》在艺术上取得了很大的成就，主要表现在以下几个方面：
The great artistic excellences of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms lie in the following：
一、比较恰当地处理了历史与文学之间的关系。小说写的是三国时期的历史，但作者既没有照抄历史，也没有任意夸饰历史，而是根据一定的历史观念、道德观念和美学理想对历史进行艺术创造，使小说不仅反映了历史的真实风貌，又具有文学的形象性、生动性与可读性，描绘出一幅波澜壮阔的历史画卷。
Firstly， the relationship between history and literature is properly treated. Though the novel covers ahistory of the Three Kingdoms Period， the author does not copy or exaggerate the historical figures and events，but artistically recreates them according to the given historical concept， ethics and aesthetics， thus making thenovel true to the historical reality on the one hand and vivid， graphic and readable on the other. A magnificentscroll of history unrolls itself in front of us.
二、塑造出了一批性格鲜明的历史人物形象。像刘备的仁德忠厚，诸葛亮的足智多谋，曹操的奸诈雄豪，关羽的忠义勇武，张飞的鲁莽粗豪，周瑜的心胸狭窄，司马懿的老奸巨猾等。作者在描写人物时，特别善于抓住一个人物的主要性格特征加以突出、渲染、夸张，使人物具有一定的“类”的意义，成为某一类人的代表，如诸葛亮是智慧人物的典型，曹操是奸诈人物的典型，关羽是忠义人物的典型等。
Secondly， a group of historical characters are portrayed of their distinctive personalities. For instance，Liu Bei the benevolent， honest and kind-hearted； Zhuge Liang the wise and resourceful； Cao Cao the craftyand powerful； Guan Yu the loyal and heroic； Zhang Fei the impetuous and forthright； Zhou Yu the narrow-minded and Sima Yi the tricky and deceptive. In his characterizations the author resorts to embellishment andexaggerations to emphasize the major aspects of their personalities and makes his characters into“types”，which represent different sorts of people. For instance， Zhuge Liang is typical of the wise， Cao Cao of thetreacherous and Guan Yü of the loyal.
三、小说采用浅显的文言，明快流畅、雅俗共赏；笔法富于变化，对比映衬，旁冗侧出，波澜曲折，摇曳多姿。
Thirdly， the plain and the smooth ancient Chinese in which novel is written， plus the diversified forms ofexpression and figure of speech， had made it accessible to both the refined and popular tastes.
四、小说以错综复杂的事件完整严密、人物组织各种各样和错落有致的结构为特色，生动地描绘出一幅三国时期百年历史的连续画景。
Fourthly， the novel features a diverse range of characters and events presented in a well-knit structure.
It vividly portrays a panorama of 100 years of the Three Kingdoms period.
五、小说采用了各种写作策略和技巧，特别是对照和比较应用得最为广泛。例如刘备与曹操的对照，正如刘备所说：“今与吾水火相敌者，曹操也。操以急，吾以宽；操以暴，吾以仁；操以谲，吾以忠：每于操相反，事乃可成。”（第六十回）他们间的比较不仅是言语行为而且还包括思想理念和性格特征——刘备爱哭而曹操爱笑。诸葛亮与司马懿的对照也很突出：诸葛亮忠，司马懿奸；诸葛亮为公，司马懿为私；诸葛亮仁义，司马懿残忍等等。
再如结义的兄弟关系，是一种带有下层社会色彩的兄弟平等友爱的关系，其团结是建立在“义”的原则上的。这种结义兄弟关系与亲生兄弟关系间的比较发人深省。刘备、关羽和张飞，“虽然异姓，既结为兄弟，则同心协力，救困扶危；上报国家，下安黎庶；不求同年同月同日生，只愿同年同月同日死。”（第一回）并且实际上他们履行了自己的誓言。袁谭与袁尚，都是袁绍之子，为争冀州，兄弟开战，最终，袁谭在与曹军战斗中被杀，而袁尚被辽东太守公孙康谋杀。（第三十二至三十三回）刘琦与刘琮，都是刘表之子，为争权而斗。尽管刘琮被立为荆州之王，却被曹操令于禁所杀（第四十一回）；曹丕篡位后逼死其弟曹熊，又逼其弟曹植：“七步成章，吾犹以为迟。汝能应声而作诗一首否？”于是才有“煮豆燃豆萁，豆在釜中泣，本是同根生，相煎何太急！”（第七十九回）的不朽诗句。刘备“家贫，贩履织席为业”（第一回），自称是“孝景皇帝阁下玄孙”，也就是第十九代玄孙，太远房了！一个非常非常远房的远亲与一个十分亲密的嫡亲如荆州刺史刘表或益州牧刘焉及其子刘璋等之间是多么鲜明的对比啊！何谓忠孝也？
Fifthly， all kinds of writing strategies and techniques are employed in the Romance of the ThreeKingdoms， especially contrast and comparison are most extensively used. For example， the Liu Bei-CaoCao contrast， just as Liu Bei says，“The man who is my antithesis， who struggles against me as fire againstwater， is Cao Cao. Where his means are hasty， mine are temperate； where his are violent， mine are humane；where his are cunning， mine are truehearted. By maintaining my opposition to Cao Cao， my cause maysucceed.”(Chapter 60) The comparison between Liu Bei and Cao Cao includes not only their speechesand behaviour but also their thinking and concepts and characteristics—Liu Bei’s characteristic gesture isweeping while Cao Cao’s characteristic gesture is a laugh or a smile. The Zhuge Liang-Sima Yi contrast isvery outstanding： Zhuge Liang loyal， Sima Yi treacherous； Zhuge Liang public-spiritied， Sima Yi selfish；Zhuge Liang humane， Sima Yi cruel； etc. Another example， the sworn brothers’ brotherhood is a kind ofegalitarian fraternity with an“underworld”tinge. Its solidarity is based on the principle of“honor (yi)”.
The comparison between the sworn brothers’ brotherhood and the blood brothers’ brotherhood gives abundantfood for speculation. Liu Bei， Guan Yu and Zhang Fei，“though of separate ancestry， join in brotherhoodhere， combining strength and purpose， to relieve the present crisis. We will perform our duty to the Emperorand protect the common folk of the land. We dare not hop to be together always but hereby vow to die theselfsame day.”(Chapter 1) And in fact， they have all fulfilled their pledge. Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang， bothof them are Yuan Shao’s sons， struggle for Jizhou， finally， Yuan Tan is killed in the battle with Cao’s armywhile Yuan Shang is murdered by Gongsun Kang， governor o Liaodong. (Chapter 32 to Chapter 33) Liu Qiand Liu Zong， both are Liu Biao’s sons， fight for power. Although Liu Zong is set as ruler of Jingzhou， he iskilled by Yu Jin who is under Cao Cao’s order (Chapter 41). After his usurpation， Cao Pi hounds his youngerbrother Cao Xiong to death. He also oppresses his another younger brother Cao Zhi by saying：“Sevenpaces takes some time. Can you create a poem on a moment’s notice？”That’s why is written the immortalpoem“Beans simmer on a beanstalk flame\/ From inside the pot expressed their ire：‘Alive we sprouted on asingle root—\/ What’s your rush to cook us on the fire？’(Chapter 79)”Liu Bei is“so poor that he has to sellsandals and weave mats to live”(Chapter 1). He claims to be“a descendant of Emperor Jing of the FormerHan”， i.e. the nineteenth generation descendant， too， too remote！ What a striking contrast between a very，very remote descendant and a very close paternal relation， such as Imperial Inspector Liu Biao or Protector ofYizhou Liu Yan and his son Liu Zhang， etc. What do fidelity and filial piety mean after all？
六、小说对战争的描写是极其成功的，把一幕幕惊心动魄的战场、瞬息万变的形势，描述得非常鲜活、生动。它写了大小几十次战役，上百个战斗场面，这些战役与战斗各有特点，很少雷同。在写战争时，作者着重写战争双方的斗智过程，写军事统帅运筹帷幄之中，决胜千里之外的谋略，突出战争智慧。比如写赤壁之战，就主要写了诸葛亮、周瑜、曹操三人之间的斗智，写了诸葛亮舌战群儒、草船借箭、借东风、群英会蒋干中计、黄盖的苦肉计、庞统的连环计、周瑜的火烧战船等。计谋多变，花样百出，令人目不暇接。
Sixthly， the novel gives an extremely successfully deion of warfare. It presents heart-quaking battlesettings and describes constantly changing situations very lively and vividly. It involves scores of campaignsgreat or small and a hundred or so battles， all of which have their own features without any repetition. But inthe deions of warfare the author lays emphasis on a battle of wits by the belligerent parties， the well-planned strategies of the military leaders who come out victorious on the battleground as well as the wisdomof warfare. For example， the Battle of the Red Cliff is mainly about a battle of wits among Zhuge Liang， ZhouYü and Cao Cao， including Zhuge Liang’s debate with the southern officials， Cao Cao’s arrows borrowedby Zhuge Liang through a ruse， the east wind supplicated by Zhuge Liang， a trap sprung by Jiang Gan at thecongregation of heroes， a ruse of flogging Huang Gai， a set of interlocking stratagems by Pong Tong and thefire unleashed to Cao Cao’s warships by Zhou Yü， to name just a few.
在叙述那些惊心动魄的历史时刻的过程中，《三国演义》对谋略的描写堪称一绝。书中的文韬武略层出不穷，令人惊叹，使这部小说堪称我国古代的一部智慧书。这些谋略将历史呈现为一个文武英雄斗智斗勇的舞台，让读者对历史上的英雄产生了无限神往。据说明末农民起义者还曾将它作为军事教科书使用，也据说在战争年代许多军事指挥员、士兵，甚至民兵把它作为军事教科书使用。在平时，一代又一代的政治家和战略家都把《三国演义》中的政治和军事谋划、策略用作参考，很多读者都把其中的一些人物作为崇拜偶像并学习他们的言论和行为，向他们学习如何做人、如何处事。不同的人都可从小说中受到不同的经验，获得不同的教益。《三国演义》卓越的文学成就使它深深地影响着东西方社会的各个阶层的人们，它也使三国热一阵高过一阵。
In the process of reproducing heart-stirring historical moments， the deions of military strategiescan be counted as the pinnacle of its kind. Innumerable tales of astonishing military expertise make thenovel the embodiment of the ancient wisdom of the Chinese people， placing history on a stage where civiland military heroes overcome their adversaries with both strength and craft， and leaving readers with raptadmiration for the historical heroes. It is said that insurgent peasants at the end of the Ming Dynasty used thisnovel as a military textbook. It is also said that many military commanders， soldiers， even militiamen used thenovel as a military textbook as well during the war years. In peaceful years the political and military intriguesand maneuvers in the novel can serve as reference for generations of statesmen and strategists. Many readerstake some characters in the novel as their worshipping images and learn their speeches and behaviours，learning from them how to be a man and how to deal with affairs. Different people can derive differentnourishment and receive different experiences and lessons from The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Theprominent literary achievements of the novel make its influence deeply on people from all walks of life in botheastern and western society. It also makes one fever on The Romance of the Three Kingdoms higher than theother. In recent years， the fever on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ Culture is spread all over the world.
2.4主要人物的人生（经验教训）
2.4 Major Characters’ Lives (Experiences and Lessons)
刘辩——汉少帝：“中平六年（公元189年）夏四月，灵帝病笃，召大将军何进入宫，商议后事。那何进起身屠家；因妹入宫为贵人，生皇子辩，遂立为皇后，进由是得权重任。
帝又宠幸王美人，生皇子协。何后嫉妒，鸩杀王美人。皇子协养于董太后宫中。董太后乃灵帝之母。……董太后尝劝帝立皇子协为太子。帝亦偏爱协，欲立之。当时病笃，中常侍蹇硕奏曰：‘若欲立协，必先诛何进，以绝后患。’帝然其说，因宣进入宫。进至宫门，司马潘隐谓进曰：‘不可入宫。蹇硕欲谋杀公。’进大惊，急归私宅，召诸大臣，欲尽诛宦官。……正踌躇间，潘隐至，言：‘帝已崩。今蹇硕与十常商议，秘不发丧，矫诏宣何国舅入宫，欲绝后患，册立皇子协为帝。’说未了，使命至，宣进速入，以定后事。操曰：‘今日之计，先宜正君位，然后图贼。’进曰：‘谁敢与吾正君讨贼？’一人挺身出曰：‘愿借精兵五千，斩关入内，册立新君，尽诛阉竖，扫清朝廷，以安天下！’进视之，乃司徒袁逢之子，袁隗之侄：名绍，字本初，现为司隶校尉。何进大喜，遂点御林军五千。绍全身披挂。何进引何罥、荀攸、郑泰等大臣三十余员，相继而入，就灵帝柩前，扶立太子辩即皇帝位。”（第二回）Liu Bian—Han Emperor Shao： In the fourth month of the sixth year of the Zhong Ping reign (a.d. 189)，Emperor Ling fell gravely ill and called for Regent He Jin to make plans for the succession. He Jin was froma butcher’s family and had attained his powerful position only through the influence of his younger sister，Lady He， a royal concubine who on giving birth to a son Bian， had become Empress He. Emperor Ling hada second favorite， Lady Wang. Lady Wang too bore a son， and Empress He out of jealousy poisoned her. Thechild， Xie， was raised in the palace of the Emperor’s mother， Dong.... In the matter of Ling’s heir apparent，Queen Mother Dong urged the Emperor to name Xie， son of the murdered concubine Wang， over Bian， sonof Empress He. The Emperor himself was disposed to make this change as he was partial to Prince Xie. AsEmperor Ling’s end drew near， the eunuch Jian Shuo advised him，“If it is Your Majesty’s wish that PrinceXie， not Prince Bian， follow you on the throne， first get rid of Regent He Jin， Bian’s uncle， to forestall counter-measures.”Emperor Ling took his advice and commanded He Jin to appear. He Jin arrived at the palacegate but there was warned by the commanding officer， Pan Yin， not to enter because Jian Shuo meant to killhim. He Jin fled to his quarters and summoned the ministers and high officials to consider executing all theeunuchs.... The problem was still under discussion when commanding officer Pan Yin brought the news of theEmperor’s demise.“Jian Shuo and the eunuchs，”he informed He Jin，“plan to keep the death secret. Theyhave forged a decree summoning you to the palace and expect to have their way by eliminating you beforedeclaring Prince Xie emperor.”The group had not yet reached a decision when the court’s messenger camecommanding He Jin’s immediate appearance to resolve all pending issues.“Today before all else we mustrectify the succession，”cried Cao Cao.“then we can take care of the traitors.”“Who will join me，”askedHe Jin，“in supporting the legitimate heir， Prince Bian， and bringing the traitors to justice？”“Give mefive thousand crack troops，”one official spoke up，“and I will march into the palace， enthrone the rightfulemperor， destroy the eunuchs， and purge the court， thus restoring peace in the land.”He Jin eyed thespeaker. It was Yuan Shao (styled Benchu)， son of former Minister of the Interior Yuan Feng， nephew of YuanWei； at the time Shao was commnader of the Capital Districts. He Jin， gratified by the offer， assigned fivethousand of his Royal Guard to Yuan Shao’s command. Yuan Shao girded himself for battle. With He Jin inthe lead， He Yu， Xun You， Zheng Tai， and some thirty other high officials filed into the palace. There beforethe coffin of Emperor Ling they placed He Jin’s nephew， Prince Bian， on the throne as Ling’s successor，Emperor Shao.”(Chapter 2)“
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