Why is Liu Bei the hero in Romance of the Three Kingdoms?

Описание: Why is Liu Bei the hero? He's not exactly a "good guy" compared to the other main players. Don't get me wrong. He's not a bad guy either, and ultimately that is why I think he gets the nod. He doesn't do the actual worst things, so by default, he's kind of the best.

It's a form of logic, and good enough for framing the Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel the way it i's framed. Feel free to agree/disagree and tell me why!

Transcript:
Why is Liu Bei the hero of Romance of the Three Kingdoms? He abandoned or betrayed no less than 5 lords, and befriended a local ruler only to steal his kingdom away. The book portrays him as a paragon of virtue, but his ruthless ambition puts him in league with his contemporaries.

So, why is he a good guy? Barring the ability to jump in a time machine and ask the author, we have to take an educated guess.

First, Liu Bei survived long enough to matter. Because of math, only and he two other rulers made it to the “Three Kingdoms” part.

One is Cao Cao, a man who kidnapped the true emperor to use as a human imperial stamp machine, massacred 100,000 civilians, and buried enemies alive. He’s also top dog, a villain for the good guy to overcome.

The other ruler was Sun Quan. Men flocked to him because he listened with an open mind and rewarded loyalty. He also survived 30 years beyond Cao Cao and Liu Bei. He’s a better protagonist save one single, monumental act.

You see, Sun Quan and Liu Bei were allies off and on from 208 to 219. In 219, Sun Quan betrayed Liu Bei while the latter attacked Cao Cao. In doing so, Sun Quan killed Liu Bei’s lead general - Guan Yu.

Guan Yu was a great warrior and general with an unbreakable loyalty to Liu Bei, a vicious streak that incited fear, and an amazing beard.
Around his death, spiritualism was on the rise in China, and soldiers started to imagine his ghost on the battlefield. Reinforcing this, the general of Sun Quan who orchestrated Guan Yu’s demise died of illness shortly after, an act some ascribed to Guan Yu’s ghost. This all led to small cults that venerated Guan Yu.

By the time Romance of the 3 Kingdoms was written in the 14th century, Guan Yu’s legacy had surpassed his contemporaries. Modern Chinese culture now reveres Guan Yu as a god of war. And Sun Quan killed him in an act of betrayal.

This betrayal and Cao Cao’s merciless streak, plus Liu Bei siding with the era’s most popular guy makes it clear to me why Liu Bei is the novel’s hero.

What do you think?


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