The great historical epic “The Three Kingdoms” tops the list of the “Four Classic Novels,” the most famous Chinese works of the 14th–18th centuries. In China, this is perhaps the most popular and beloved book, but in the West, “The Three Kingdoms” is still considered the most popular Chinese novel. It depicts events dating back to the 3rd century AD, when China broke up into three independent kingdoms that were continuously at war with each other. However, it is a stretch to call the novel “historical”: rather, it is an incredible interweaving of many plots (the reader will find here descriptions of military battles, intrigues, struggles for power, love affairs and much more), where historical authenticity is combined with the myths and legends of Ancient China. In this edition, the text is printed from a two-volume edition published by the State Publishing House of Fiction in 1954, and is accompanied by commentaries and classic illustrations by Chinese artists.