Translated into English for the first time here, the Sanguozhi pinghua (thirteenth century CE) provides a complete and fast-paced narrative account of the events of the period, from the beginning of the civil wars to the demise of the Three Kingdoms and the short-lived reunification of the realm by the Jin dynasty. Shorter, clearer, and more accessible to Western audiences than Luo Guanzhong's later, greatly expanded Romance (Sanguo yanyi)-and beautifully rendered in this edition by two modern-day masters of the art of Chinese literary translation-Records of the Three Kingdoms in Plain Language provides an ideal introduction to one of the foundational Chinese epic traditions.