Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast
A retelling of the classic Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms in a way that’s more accessible to a Western audience. See 3kingdomspodcast.com for more.
Episodes
Announcement: 10 Years of Podcasting
Announcement: ”Investiture of the Gods” Launched
Hi everyone. I want to let you know that I have posted the first episodes of Investiture of the Gods on the Chinese Lore Podcast. If you are not yet subscribed to that show, go to chineselore.com. You will find links to the show on various podcast platforms and on YouTube, as well as links to find me on social media and to review and support the show. If you like the podcast, a five-star rating on
Announcement: May 24 Live Interview
Hi everyone. I want to let you know that on May 24, I will be part of a panel of Asian podcasters on Podbean’s Storytelling Podcast Week Live show. It’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and this live show will be highlighting AAPI podcasters. We will be discussing our podcasts, the stories behind our stories, and our experiences as podcasters. I’m looking forward to it, and I ho
Announcement: Interview on Asian Fantasy Fiction Podcast
Check out my recent conversation with Jeremy Bai, a translator and writer focusing on Chinese fantasy genres.
Announcement: 2 Podcast Interviews
I recently did two interviews on other podcasts. The first is the Mandarin Slang Guide podcast, where we talked about some common Chinese expressions that had their roots in the characters and stories of the Three Kingdoms era. The second one is Journey to the West: The Podcast, where we had a long chat about classic Chinese novels and their cultural significance, including the Romance of the Thre
Announcement: Ask Me Anything on Dec. 16
If you have questions about the how's and why's of this podcast, or my thoughts on podcasting in general, post them at the Ask Me Anything hosted by WhatPods on December 16 at https://whatpods.com/show-development/ama/john-zhu.
Update: Videos on Three Kingdoms Warlords
I recently collaborated with the YouTube channel Invicta History on three videos about Three Kingdoms warlords. The videos were sponsored by Creative Assembly as part of the promotion for its new game Total War: Three Kingdoms. My role in the project was to provide research and record the narration for the videos. We covered Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao, and Liu Bei. It was a fun project. All three videos a
Update: Appearance on "Total War" Podcast
Back in February, I took part in a podcast conversation on the Invicta History YouTube channel with the host, Julien, and Peter Stewart, a writer from the team producing the coming “Total War: Three Kingdoms” game. We chatted for more than an hour, geeking out over the history of the Three Kingdoms period, the novel based on it, and how all of that is handled in the game. It was a fun conversation
Update: Water Margin Podcast Launch; Three Kingdoms Miscellany
An announcement about my new podcast project, and an update on a couple things I've been doing with the Three Kingdoms Podcast.
3 Kingdoms 154: Looking Back, Looking Ahead
A reflection on this four-year ride, and a glimpse of things to come.
3 Kingdoms Supplemental 020: Carousel of Characters
A rapid-fire look at a bunch of supporting players in the novel.
3 Kingdoms 153: Podcasts Under Heaven …
One hundred and fifty-three episodes later, we have finally reached the “long divided, must unite” part of the novel.
3 Kingdoms Supplemental 019: Food
A look at what they ate and drank during the Three Kingdoms era.
3 Kingdoms 152: Mutual Loathing and Admiration
While their respective states are sizing each other up for conquest, the Jin and Wu commanders at the borders are getting along famously.
3 Kingdoms 151: How Quickly They Forget
Sure I just lost my kingdom, but look at all the fun stuff they have in the Wei capital!
3 Kingdoms Supplemental 018: Sima Yi, Fact and Fiction
We look at the architect of the Sima clan's rise to power.
3 Kingdoms 150: Ulterior Motives
Everyone has a hidden agenda, except maybe for the guy suspected of hatching an insurrection. (Note: Special guest narrator this week)
3 Kingdoms 149: We Ain't No Fortunate Sons
A Shu commander tries to live up to his father's legacy, while a Shu prince refuses to follow his father's example.
3 Kingdoms Supplemental 017: Sun Quan, Fact and Fiction
A dive into the real life of the guy who ran the family business for 50-plus years.
3 Kingdoms 148: Ain't No Mountain High Enough
While Jiang Wei scrambles to mount a last-ditch defense, his old nemesis searches for a way to go around his roadblock.
3 Kingdoms Supplemental 016: Learning to Delegate
Meet two statesmen who really mastered the art of saying, "That's not in my job description."
3 Kingdoms 147: The Empire Strikes Back
Tired of Shu's perpetual encroachment on its borders, Wei decides to take the fight to its nemesis.
3 Kingdoms 146: Pyrrhic Victory
Jiang Wei finally gets the better of Deng Ai, but even that ends up backfiring.
3 Kingdoms 145: Even More Chaos at Court
Discord between lord and vassal simmers in the court of Shu, while things boil over in the court of Wei.
3 Kingdoms 144: Chaos at Court
While the Shu and Wei continue to slug it out in the West, the kingdom of Wu deals with internal unrest at the highest level.
3 Kingdoms 143: How the Southeast Was Won, Again
Sima Zhao takes the emperor on a buddy road trip to put down another insurgence in a particularly troublesome part of the kingdom.
3 Kingdoms 142: Mildly Wild West
Oh look: Another Northern campaign by the kingdom of Shu. Yawn.
3 Kingdoms Supplemental 015: Zhuge Liang, Fact and Fiction
We say so long to the novel's pivotal player and wonder if he was really the genius the book made him out to be.
3 Kingdoms 141: I Would Give My Left Eye for Google Maps!
A couple generals down South stir up trouble for Sima Shi. Now if only their forces knew the way to his camp ....
3 Kingdoms 140: A Familiar Script
Jiang Wei's Northern invasion meets the same fate as Zhuge Liang's, while Sima Shi borrows a few pages from Cao Cao's playbook for how to deal with imperial puppets who don't know their place.
3 Kingdoms 139: Chaos in the South
Things go well for the kingdom of Wu and its political leader ... until they bite off more than they can chew.
3 Kingdoms 138: North by Northwest
Aided by an unexpected defection, Jiang Wei restarts the Northern campaigns by setting his sights first on the Northwest.
3 Kingdoms 137: Coups Are Back in Vogue
It's been a while since someone made a play to seize power from within. That changes this week.
3 Kingdoms 136: King in the North
A new threat emerges on Wei's northeastern borders, and he is just as bad at battle strategy as Jon Snow.
3 Kingdoms 135: Pursuit of Immortality
While Zhuge Liang sails off into eternal fame, the Wei emperor Cao Rui goes in search of eternal youth.
3 Kingdoms 134: The Shu Hits the Fan
The death of its indispensable man is just the start of the Riverlands' troubles.
3 Kingdoms 133: When It Rains ...
A stunning turn of events in the showdown between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi.
3 Kingdoms 132: Intellectual Property Theft Does Not Pay
Again and again, Sima Yi is made to rue the day he stole Zhuge Liang's invention.
3 Kingdoms Supplemental 014: It's Just A Flesh Wound
We delve into the story of the one-armed assassin and the guy who kicked his butt AFTER being assassinated.
3 Kingdoms 131: Wooden Oxens, Gliding Horses, and Copycats
Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi match wits over the latest in wheelbarro
3 Kingdoms 130: Goin' Down the Only Road I've Ever Known
After another promising Northern campaign gets short-circuited, Zhuge Liang prays to his former lord for the strength to carry on, because he's made up his mind and he ain't wasting no more time.
3 Kingdoms 129: You Called Me Back for This?!!
Just as he was getting into a groove, Zhuge Liang is rudely interrupted in the field by an urgent dispatch from his emperor.
3 Kingdoms Supplemental 013: Getting Sneaky
A brief explanation of the story behind the most famous secret crossing in Chinese history.
3 Kingdoms 128: Smackdowns and Smack Talk
You've seen Zhuge Liang kill someone with just his tongue. Now watch him kill someone with the written word.
3 Kingdoms 127: A Familiar Script
Zhuge Liang's third Northern expedition gets off to a promising start, but what else is new?
3 Kingdoms 126: Putting the "Three" in Three Kingdoms
Did you know that we had actually been rolling with just two official kingdoms all this time? Well, Sun Quan will fix that this week.
3 Kingdoms 125: Smoke and Mirrors
Zhuge Liang toys with Cao Zhen time and again on his second Northern expedition.
3 Kingdoms Supplemental 012: Liu Bei, Fact and Fiction
We delve into the life and career of the real Liu Bei to see if he is really as virtuous as the novel made him out to be (spoiler alert: No one can be as virtuous as the novel made Liu Bei out to be).
3 Kingdoms 124: Losing An Arm and A Pillar
Zhuge Liang prepares to take another shot at Wei, but one old friend will not be joining him.
3 Kingdoms 123: The Price of Ignoring Good Advice
While Zhuge Liang picks up the pieces after his aborted Northern campaign, a Wei commander falls for a trick from the South.
3 Kingdoms 122: If You Know that I Know that You Know that I'm Bluffing ...
When his campaign takes a drastic turn for the worse, Zhuge Liang is forced to resort to a desperate gamble.
3 Kingdoms 121: The Worst-Kept Secret
Meng Da totally misses the point of a SECRET rebellion. Can Zhuge Liang's advice help him pull it off anyway?
3 Kingdoms 120: The Enemy Within
While the Wei forces have their hands full with Zhuge Liang along the border, a new threat lurks deep inside their territory
3 Kingdoms 119: Gluttons for Punishment
Wei forces sent to stop Zhuge Liang first try to out-talk him, and then try again to outsmart him.
3 Kingdoms 118: Yes, Let's Try to Outsmart Zhuge Liang
Matching wits with Zhuge Liang sounds like a horrible idea, but that won't stop multiple Wei officers from trying.
3 Kingdoms 117: Go North, Old Man
Zhuge Liang sends a 70-something general and a tax collector to lead the way for his Northern expedition.
3 Kingdoms Supplemental 011: Zhang Fei, Fact and Fiction
We dive into the differences between the fictional and real-life Zhang Fei and ask, "Who really whipped that corrupt bribe-seeking government official?"
3 Kingdoms 116: Haute Cuisine with Zhuge Liang
How do you appease the angry souls of the damned? Feed them buns that look like human heads and tell them death is no escape from imperial subjugation, apparently.
3 Kingdoms 115: Stop ... Being ... So ... Nice!
After a couple more displays of over-the-top kindness, imperial subjugation is starting to look kind of decent after all for Meng Huo.
3 Kingdoms 114: Homewreckers
Zhuge Liang strolls into Meng Huo's house and makes himself at home.
3 Kingdoms 113: So What Doesn't Kill You Around Here?
Zhuge Liang's army marches deeper into the heart of darkness and forgets to read the part in the travel guide about bringing bottled water.
3 Kingdoms 112: Gift-Wrapped Victories
Zhuge Liang catches Meng Huo twice more with hardly any effort.
3 Kingdoms 111: Catch and Release
Zhuge Liang continues his campaign to win not only battles, but also barbarian hearts and minds.
3 Kingdoms 110: That Was Easy
Zhuge Liang barely breaks a sweat while cruising through level 1 of his Southwestern quest.
3 Kingdoms 109: Troublesome Neighbors
While Shu and Wu become best buds again, trouble pops up from the North and the Southwest.
3 Kingdoms 108: Battle of the Nerds
An episode that starts with five armies bearing down on Shu somehow ends with nothing more than a showdown between pedants at a banquet.
3 Kingdoms Supplemental 010: Cao Cao, Fact and Fiction
A huge episode where we bid farewell to our favorite villain by delving into his real-life counterpart's life, career, and legacy.
3 Kingdoms 107: Doleful, Doh-ful, and Du Fu
Liu Bei gets sad, Cao Pi botches an invasion, and we read a poem by one of China's greatest poets.
3 Kingdoms 106: Do I Smell Smoke?
The tide of battle -- and history -- turns in the span of one night.
3 Kingdoms 105: Can't Get No Respect
In his most desperate hour, Sun Quan puts his faith in Lu Xun, but will his officers obey orders from a man they see as a pedant and a coward?
3 Kingdoms 104: Out with the Old, In with the New
Liu Bei's team of old warhorses takes another hit, but two young stallions are waiting in the wings. This episode is brought to you by special guest Kaiser Kuo, host of the Sinica Podcast.
3 Kingdoms 103: See, What Happened Was ...
With Liu Bei bearing down on them, the Southlands try to tell him that they didn't really mean to kill Guan Yu; it was all a simple misunderstanding. We swear!
3 Kingdoms 102: Oh Great, Who Died Now?
No, not him, too!! Another major character bites the dust.
3 Kingdoms 101: The Most Boring Episode
You would think the end of a 400-year dynasty would have more action than this, but it's all just decrees, counter-decrees, speeches, humble brags, and an unusually strong gust of wind.
3 Kingdoms 100: Cao Zhi and the Beanstalk
Cao Cao's third son finds out what passes for brotherly love in his family.
3 Kingdoms 099: Tears for a Villain
Cao Cao grapples with mortality and legacy.
3 Kingdoms Supplemental 009: Guan Yu, Fact and Fiction
We bid farewell to the Lord of the Beautiful Beard and talk about that time when Cao Cao stole the woman Guan Yu was going to steal from someone else.
3 Kingdoms 098: Back from the Dead
Guan Yu's ghost finds inner peace ... and then starts killing and spooking people.
3 Kingdoms 097: War of Attrition
Defeated and leaking troops by the minute, Guan Yu makes a desperate dash for safety.
3 Kingdoms 096: Sneak Attacks
While Guan Yu is busy fighting Cao Cao's forces, Lü Meng and Dongwu try to catch him unawares.
