Otome History 102! Not nearly as many otome games set in ancient China, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it shows up more often. There’s SO MUCH history there. I’m still playing and loving Sangoku Rensenki, and Jyuuzaengi is coming up soon from Otomate, which is also set during the Three Kingdoms, not to mention all the Dynasty Warriors games (totally not otome, but still!). [Edit: I forgot S.Y.K., which is based on a story, Journey to the West, or Saiyuuki, set in the Tang dynasty, AD618-907.] Commenter Julia was nice enough to send me this awesome overview of this period of ancient Chinese history, known as the Three Kingdoms. It’s from roughly 184-280 AD, and is well-known in Asia partly because of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a hugely long, semi-historical piece of Chinese literature written in the 14th century. So here we go! From now on, this is verbatim from Julia, except for some ed. notes I put in parentheses.
Basic overview of the time period is that it’s the end of the Han Dynasty, a 400-year reign of awesome like the Roman Empire, and eunuchs and warlords have taken too much power from the throne, leaving the masses to be oppressed. The droughts and famines really aren’t helping. Suffering peasants join a former-official-turned-religious-zealot named Zhang Jue (often romanized as Zhang Jiao for some reason) and form the Yellow Turban Rebellion to take down the Han. Warlords assemble to repulse the movement, several (Cao Cao and Liu Bei are among the most important later) proving themselves capable and gaining official positions as rewards. The warlord Dong Zhuo is a jerk and decides to take the last Han Emperor and make him into a puppet ruler. The other generals assemble once again and try to take him down while carving out their own spheres of influence. Dong Zhuo eventually gets assassinated by Lu Bu, but the power of the dynasty has been irrevocably lost, and the empire devolves into a bunch of states ruled by warlords beating the crap out of each other, with three kingdoms eventually becoming the main contenders for the imperial throne.
Anyway, quick rundown of major players in otome games (there’s a ton of stuff so don’t worry too much about unfamiliar names and such; I am always willing to sperg more about the Three Kingdoms):
Okay, to fix any confusion, Sangokuren used the style names of all the characters (excepting the women, who probably had them but generally weren’t recorded). Style names (generally designated with 字, read azana) were given to adults when they came of age in China (not unlike something the Romans did, I think)(Ed. also the Japanese, after guys came of age (genpuku) they got a different name e.g. Oda Nobunaga’s childhood name was Kippoushi) and were used in public settings as signs of respect. Japan is weird about style names in their Sanguo stuff; when used in manga and games, they often take on a more private/affectionate nuance, so I’m not 100% sure about this. Buuut it’s not like historiocity is a big concern for this stuff… 
Cao Cao, styled Mengde (Moutoku) is the big badass of the Sanguo period. He was a brilliant politician, cunning strategist and gifted poet who knew how to surround himself with the best men available. He eventually gained and held sway over most of Northern Imperial China (much smaller than modern China but still pretty huge) as the leader of the kingdom of Wei. He was also kind of a huge jerk (for pragmatic reasons, but still), which gets played up in just about every media representation of him ever. (He is one of my very favorites. Even though I have like 20 favorites in the Sanguo period alone.)
Generals operating under him include his cousin Xiahou Dun, styled Yuanrang (Genjou, aka the guy they’re actually adding a “route” for in the PSP version because he is so awesome), best known for eating his own eye out of filial piety in operas/the novel, Xiahou Yuan (Dun’s agile archer cousin, featured in Jyuuzaengi), Xun Yu Wenruo (Bunjaku, who was one of Cao Cao’s most loyal and able administrators and secretly Miles Edgeworth if Sangokuren is to be believed [don't ask]), Zhang Liao Wenyuan (don’t think you’ll have to know it, but Bun’en), who almost captured Sun Quan singlehandedly at the battle of Hefei, and many, many more. The eventual patriarch of the victorious Sima clan, Sima Yi, worked under him and eventually usurped the throne from his descendents (who themselves had stolen it from the last of the Han).
Liu Bei Xuande (Gentoku) kind of came out of nowhere as the leader of a volunteer army against the Yellow Turban rebels. He claimed to be a descendent of a Former Han prince, and thus tried to restore the Han throne, eventually founding the southwestern empire of Shu-Han around what is now Sichuan. His particularly Chinese sense of honor and humanity (meaning these virtues don’t necessarily match up with modern Western interpretations of the words) are played up in media to contrast with the “wicked” Cao Cao. (One of his most popular scenes is when he actually takes his people with him by their request while being chased out of his domain by Cao Cao.) He’s also often presented as kind of a naïve dweeby coward, but historically was pretty damn savvy. He got married off to Sun Ren (aka Sun Shang Xiang) as part of a political ploy, but they split up when tensions between Wu and Shu got too strong.
In operas and the in novel, Liu Bei swore brotherhood with Guan Yu Yunchang (Unchou) and Zhang Fei Yide (Yokutoku), both of whom were supposedly warriors worth a thousand men. Guan Yu was known for his long, beautiful beard (Cao Cao seriously gives him a beard bag in the novel) and is often depicted with a guandao (the big blade-onna-stick) and the horse Red Hare. He actually ended up becoming by far the most popular of the brotherhood, and is now one of the most worshipped gods in China.
Zhang Fei got drunk a lot, was really strong, and that’s pretty much all you need to know. Oh, and in the novel, he held off thousands of soldiers at Changban Bridge so his brother could high-tail it away from Cao Cao. (I like him okay, but he was seriously as dumb as a brick at times.)(Ed. Figures he’s one of my favourites, I tend to love strong dumb guys in otome games)
Zhao Yun Zilong (Shiryuu) operated under both Yuan Shao (I think) and Gongsun Zan (both of whom were warlords eventually defeated before the three main kingdoms were established) before pledging himself to Liu Bei’s cause. He was pretty boss in both the novels and history, being both a scary competent tactician and an excellent warrior.
The most amazingly overpowered character in games tends to be Zhuge Liang Kongming (Koumei), who supposedly agreed to join Liu Bei after the latter visited him three times and turned Liu Bei into a viable contender. Great strategist (sadly a bit overrated in general) but where he really shone was in domestic administration. Also had a pretty awesome wife by all accounts (Lady Huang was so smart she apparently made cooking robots and stuff), so I like him a lot.
Wu is my least favorite kingdom, so I can’t give you much info on them that isn’t laced with “and I hate this guy so much because blah blah blah.” (For me, Shu will always be the best kingdom, followed closely by Wei, so Wu is my default bad guy.) The ruler Sun Quan Zhongmou (Chuubou) was the little brother of the man who actually founded Wu, and Zhou Yu Gongjin (Koukin) was a brilliant strategist who gets character-assassinated in the novel (which I find pretty hilarious but your mileage may vary). Zhou Yu is always popular because he was historically known to be very attractive, but he’s no Sima Yi or Kongming because he’s dead by age 35. Lu Su was the best character not named Lu Meng and I almost wish he had a real route.
Unaffiliated people you may see: Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were warlords (either brothers or cousins) who wanted the imperial throne for themselves. Lu Bu Fengxian was a Zhang-Fei-esque asshole who betrayed everyone he ever served but was such a badass warrior that nobody could call him out on it. Dong Zhuo was a tyrant who was later betrayed by Lu Bu and totally deserved it. Diao Chan as far as we know didn’t actually exist, but in the novel managed to move Lu Bu to betray Dong Zhuo.
For what it’s worth: Guan Yu and Cao Cao have an interesting relationship (no not like that… okay maybe) in the novel, meaning that there is fodder galore there for Jyuuzaengi. Actually, they chose the capturables really well, since they all have some interaction with Guan Yu in the novel. (I’m especially looking forward to Zhang Liao’s route since he was a certified badass. Though maybe not as much now that I know he’s played by Yusa Kouji… D:)(Ed. Hey now, I love Yusa Kouji! Mostly because of Guido in Lucian Bee’s.)
Thanks so much Julia for this, it makes me love Sangoku even more, and I’m looking forward to Jyuuzaengi! Yay historical games!
