Luo Ben (c. 1330–1400, Luo Guanzhong. Encyclopædia Britannica or c.1280–1360), better known by his courtesy name Guanzhong (Mandarin pronunciation: ), was a Chinese novelist who lived during the Ming dynasty. He is also known by his pseudonym Huhai Sanren ().Luo Guanzhong (2000). Sanguo yanyi: Three Kingdoms, 三國演義 Romance. Translated by Moss Roberts. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, P31. Luo Guanzhong is credited with writing Romance of the Three Kingdoms, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.
According to Meng Fanren (孟繁仁), Luo Guanzhong can be identified in the pedigree of the Luo family, and Taiyuan is most likely his hometown. But, his name is not in this pedigree, and some people believe that pedigree of the Luo Family can't prove that Luo Guanzhong is the author of Three Kingdoms. Some people doubt that If Luo Ben came from Taiyuan, why he had intimate knowledge of people's lives in Shandong, and he had taken all his time and energy to write about them, and not about people in Taiyuan. Some people believe that the source of Taiyuan statement, which was written by Jia Zhongming (賈仲明), is most likely wrong in handwritten copy. According to recent research, there were two people named Luo Guanzhong during this time (陈辽,Chen Liao): one was a drama artist who came from Taiyuan, and the other was the author of the novel who came from Dongping.
Recent research has suggested that his date of birth was between 1315 and 1318.Ouyang Jian, referenced in Roberts 1991, pg. 938 But other sources state it was nearer to 1330.
The Three Sui Quash the Demons' Revolt (平妖傳) is a shenmo story attributed to Luo with 20 chapters, developed from the original pieces of storytelling based on a rebellion at the end of the Northern Song, and later expanded by Feng Menglong (馮夢龍) into 40 chapters. Can Tang Wudai Shi Yanzhuan (殘唐五代史演義傳) is a chronicle of the end of the Tang dynasty and the following Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, a compilation of storytelling pieces based on the rebellion of Zhu Wen.
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