Luo Guanzhong Quotes

The world under heaven, after a long period of division, tends to unite; after a long period of union, tends to divide. This has been so since antiquity.

The empire long united must divide, long divided must unite; this is how it has always been.

Success is not worth rejoicing over, failure is not worth grieving over.

It is a general truism of this world that anything long divided will surely unite, and anything long united will surely divide.

To kill deliberately is very wrong,” said Chen Gong. “I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me,” was Cao Cao’s reply. Chen Gong could say nothing.

You may return and tell Sun Quan to wash his neck: the executioner is coming.

On and on the Great River rolls, racing east. Of proud and gallant heros its white-tops leave no trace, As right and wrong, pride and fall at once unreal Yet ever the green hill stay To blaze in the west-waning day...

He is a perfect genius, god and devil combined, the greatest marvel of the age.

The hound and hare were both so wearied that the peasant got them all.

From the days of old, those who walk in the way have replaced those who deviate therefrom; those who lack virtue have fallen before those who possess it. Can one escape fate?

Victory and defeat are but ordinary events in a soldier's career, and why should you give up?

The world under heaven, after a long period of division, tends to unite; after a long period of union, tends to divide.

滚滚长江东逝水，浪花淘尽英雄。是非成败转头空。 　　　　青山依旧在，几度夕阳红。白发渔樵江渚上，惯看秋月春风。

Better to wrong the world than have it wrong me!

话说天下大势，分久必合，合久必分

Solving this issue is as easy as turning over one's hand!

When all dreams wane, same are loss and gain

The arrow hit Xiahou Dun full in the left eye. He shrieked, and putting up his head, pulled out the arrow and with it the eye. “Essence of my father, blood of my mother, I cannot throw this away!” cried Xiahou Dun, and he put the eye into his mouth and swallowed it.

秋七月，有虹现于玉堂；五原山岸，尽皆崩裂。种种不祥，非止一端。

玄德曰：“屈身守分，以待天时，不可与命争也。”吕

孔明曰：“为将而不通天文，不识地利，不知奇门，不晓阴阳，不看阵图，不明兵势，是庸才也。亮于三日前已算定今日有大雾，因此敢任三日之限。公瑾教我十日完办，工匠料物，都不应手，将这一件风流罪过，明白要杀我。我命系于天，公瑾焉能害我哉！”鲁

宠之以位，位极则残；顺之以恩，恩竭则慢。所以致弊，实由于此。吾今威之以法，法行则知恩；限之以爵，爵加则知荣。恩荣并济，上下有节。为治之道，于斯著矣

话说天下大势，分久必合，合久必分。周末七国分争，并入于秦。及秦灭之后，楚、汉分争，又并入于汉。汉朝自高祖斩白蛇而起义，一统天下，后来光武中兴，传至献帝，遂分为三国。 推其致乱之由，殆始于桓、灵二帝。桓帝禁锢善类，崇信宦官。及桓帝崩，灵帝即位，大将军窦武、太傅陈蕃共相辅佐。时有宦官曹节等弄权，窦武、陈蕃谋诛之，机事不密，反为所害，中涓自此愈横。

云：掩目而捕燕雀，是自欺也，微

Just introduce a woman, conspiracies succeed; Of soldiers, or their weapons, there really is no need.

That must be Dong Zhuo!” cried Zhang Fei. “What’s the use of pursuing Lu Bu? Better seize the chief villain and so eradicate the evil by plucking up its roots.

让，呼为“阿父”。朝政日非，以致天下人心思乱，盗贼蜂起。 时巨鹿郡有兄弟三人，一名张角，一名张宝，一名张梁。那张角本是个不第秀才，因入山采药，遇一老人，碧眼童颜，手执藜杖，唤角至一洞中，以天书三卷授之，曰：“此名《太平要术》，汝得之，当代天宣化，普救世人；若萌异心，必获恶报。”角拜问姓名。老人曰：“吾乃南华老仙也。”言讫，化阵清风而去。角得此书，晓夜攻习，能呼风唤雨，

The roiling, restless fog is like chaos before a storm, swirling streaks resembling wintry clouds. Serpents lurking there can spread its pestilence, and evil spirits can havoc wreak, sending pain and woe to the world of men, and the storms of wind and sand that plague the border wastes. Common souls meeting it fall dead. Great men observe it and despair. Are we returning to the primal state that preceded form itself — to undivided Heaven and earth?

So ended the division of land into three kingdoms, which were reunited into one empire under the rule of Sima Yan of the Jin Dinasty. This is what is meant by "Unity succeeds division and division follows unity. One is bound to be replaced by the other after a long span of time. This is the way of things in the world

Suddenly there appeared a general, with a small following, who cried out, “Cai Mao and Zhang Yun are two traitors. The princely Liu Bei is a most upright man and has come here to preserve his people. Why do you repulse him?” All looked at this man. He was of middle height, with a face dark brown as a ripe date. He was from Yiyang and named Wei Yan.

Hu’s heart clanged like fifteen buckets in a single well.

第一

仓廪

微子去殷，韩信归汉也。

左右曰：“可逐一点对姓名，收而杀之。”操曰：“当绍之强，孤亦不能自保，况他人乎？”遂命尽焚之，更不再问。

丕初生时，有云气一片，其色青紫，圆如车盖，覆于其室，终日不散。有望气者，密谓操曰：“此天子气也。

袁将军外宽而内忌，不念忠诚。若胜而喜，犹能赦我；今战败则羞，吾不望生矣。

不可。刘备先从吕布，后事曹操，近投袁绍，皆不克终，足可见其为人。今若纳之，曹操必加兵于我，枉动干戈。

此人姓于，名吉，寓居东方，往来吴会，普施符水，救人万病，无有不验。当世呼为神仙，未可轻渎。

胸怀韬略，腹隐机谋。

大喜，令

有女长成，却于溪中沐浴，男女自相混淆，任其自配，父母不禁，名为“学艺”。

吾观颜良，如插标卖首耳！

一日，到一家投宿，其家一少年出拜，问其姓名，乃猎户刘安也。当下刘安闻豫州牧至，欲寻野味供食，一时不能得，乃杀其妻以食之。玄值曰：“此何肉也？”安曰：“乃狼肉也。”玄德不疑，乃饱食了一顿，天晚就宿。至晓将去，往后院取马，忽见一妇人杀于厨下，臂上肉已都割去。玄德惊问，方知昨夜食者，乃其妻之肉也。玄德不胜伤感，洒泪上马。

Unity succeeds division and division follows unity. One is bound to be replaced by the other after a long span of time. This is the way with things in the world.

運籌決算有神功，二虎還須遜一龍。初出便能垂偉績，自應分鼎在孤窮。 Though fierce as tigers soldiers be, Battles are won by strategy. A hero comes; he gains renown, Already destined for a crown.

今绍有十败，公有十胜，绍兵虽盛，不足惧也：绍繁礼多仪，公体任自然，此道胜也；绍以逆动，公以顺率，此义胜也；桓、灵以来，政失于宽，绍以宽济，公以猛纠，此治胜也；绍外宽内忌，所任多亲戚，公外简内明，用人惟才，此度胜也；绍多谋少决，公得策辄行，此谋胜也；绍专收名誉，公以至诚待人，此德胜也；绍恤近忽远，公虑无不周，此仁胜也；绍听谗惑乱，公浸润不行，此明胜也；绍是非混淆，公法度严明，此文胜也；绍好为虚势，不知兵要，公以少克众，用兵如神，此武胜也。

The phoenix winging on the air Will choose no tree Except the wu. The scholar keeping to his lair Will have no lord Except the true. Oh, let me till these furrowed fields, By this sweet home That I call mine. In books and song I place my dreams And wait the time The fates assign.

Your rival has ten weak points, whereas you have ten strong ones. Although his army is large, it is not irresistible. “Yuan Shao is too caught up in ceremony and show while you, on the other hand, are more practical. He is often antagonistic and tends to force things, whereas you are more conciliatory and try to guide things to their proper courses, giving you the advantage of popular support. His extravagance hinders his administrative ability while your better efficiency is a great contribution to the government, granting you the edge of a well-structured and stable administration. On the outside he is very kind and giving but on the inside he is grudging and suspicious. You are just the opposite, appearing very exacting but actually very understanding of your followers’ strengths and weaknesses. This grants you the benefit of tolerance. He lacks commitment where you are unfaltering in your decisions, promptly acting on your plans with full faith that they will succeed. This shows an advantage in strategy and decisiveness. He believes a man is only as good as his reputation, which contrasts with you, who looks beyond this to see what kind of person they really are. This demonstrates that you are a better judge of moral character. He only pays attention to those followers close to him, while your vision is all-encompassing. This shows your superior supervision. He is easily misled by poor advice, whereas you maintain sound judgment even if beset by evil council. This is a sign of your independence of thought. He does not always know what is right and wrong but you have an unwavering sense of justice. This shows how you excel in discipline. He has a massive army, but the men are poorly trained and not ready for war. Your army, though much smaller, is far superior and well provisioned, giving you the edge in planning and logistics, allowing you to execute effectively. With your ten superiorities you will have no difficulty in subduing Yuan Shao.

That you cannot distinguish between the able and the incompetent shows that your eyes are corrupt. Your failure to chant the Odes and the Documents shows that your mouth is corrupt. Your rejection of loyal advice shows that your ears are corrupt. Your ignorance of past and present shows that your whole being is corrupt. Your conflicts with the lords of the realm show that your stomach is corrupt. Your dream of usurpation shows that your mind is corrupt. To make a renowned scholar like me serve as drum master is a poor imitation of the tricks of such villains of old as Yang Huo who slighted Confucius, or Zang Cang who tried to ruin Mencius. Do you think you can hold men in such contempt and still become the leader of the lords of the realm?

The old woman’s face was wreathed in smiles.

Truly, flowers open, only to be blown down by the wind.

When I tell you you’ll fart and pee in your pants with terror.

既生瑜，何生亮！

Heaven has abandoned us. But you, the tool of his crime, will assuredly perish!" Thereupon Li Ru grew more angry, laid hands on the Empress and threw her out of the window.

You’re talking farts, not words!

羊质虎皮功不就，凤毛鸡胆事难成。

I have gone hunting in this wood. Only instead of slaying a horse, I have killed a dear.

Cao Cao was still laughing and talking when they all heard a raven cawing as it flew southward. "Why does the raven cry in the night?" Cao asked. Those around him replied, "It supposes the brilliance of the moon to be the dawn. That is why it has left its tree and cries." Cao laughed again. Already drunk, he set his spear in the prow of the boat and offered wine to the river.

What will befall us if you follow the counsel of cowards now, at the very moment we must rely on you—as if you were the great Mount Tai itself—to preserve the house of Sun?

A dead Zhuge scares away a living Zhongda.

You are able enough to rule the world, but wicked enough to disturb it.

玄德

曹操

I have received the command from Heaven: May my time be always long and prosperous.

Unity succeeds division and division follows unity. One is bound to be replaced by the other after a long span of time. This is the way with things in the world. At the end of the Zhou Dynasty* the empire was divided into seven competing principalities, warring against one another till finally they were united by Qin.† When Qin had fulfilled its destiny, there arose Chu‡ and Han§ to contend for the reign, and ultimately it was Han that united the country.

I have gone hunting in this wood. Only instead of slaying a horse, I have killed a deer.

Han Fu replied, “I used to be a subordinate under the Yuan family and I know I’m not as capable as Yuan Shao. The ancients practiced yielding to the sage. Why are you all so jealous?” Geng Wu sighed, “Jizhou is lost!” When the news got out, a large number of his men left their posts and the city.

According to the Afterword of Moss Roberts, Mao edited the novel written by Luo Guanzhong and annotated by Li Zhi: "Mao changed, added, and deleted sometimes whole scenes, sometimes only a few words or phrases... Mao's tendency to remove lines in praise of Cao Cao's advisers and commanders... should be mentioned.

Don’t be angry. Since he talks big he must be valiant.

Our country would indeed be fortunate if you wouldn’t object to suffering some bodily injuries to achieve our purpose.