ISSN : 1229-9618(Print)
ISSN : 2671-7506(Online)
ISSN : 2671-7506(Online)
Chinese Studies Vol.54 pp.153-174
DOI : https://doi.org/10.14378/KACS.2016.54.54.8
DOI : https://doi.org/10.14378/KACS.2016.54.54.8
A Study of Reasons for Lv Bu's Betrayal
Abstract
This paper examines how the old story of Lv Bu's murder of his stepfathers had been transformed from The Records of Three Kingdoms to Popular stories of the Three Kingdoms and to Romance of the Three Kingdoms. These three books describe the relationship between Lv Bu and Ding Yuan and Lv Bu and Dong Zhuo as well as how Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo were murdered by Lv Bu differently and they suggest different reasons that why Lv Bu betrayed them.
The historical book of The Records of Three Kingdoms reads that Lv Bu is "brave but lacks wisdom and tricks" and fails to judge situations correctly and recognize a right lord. In other words, his lack of wisdom seems to make him become a betrayer.
Popular stories of the Three Kingdoms published in the era of the Yuan Dynasty added a fictitious story to Lv Bu's betrayal to make up a new story. The book says that Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo pushed Lv Bu to the extreme so hard that Lv Bu couldn't help but kill them. In this sense, it will be absurd to consider Lv Bu's murder as a betrayal. However, Popular stories of the Three Kingdoms depicts Lv Bu negatively and it doesn't particularly highlight his motivation for the murder.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms describes Lv Bu as a person who is too proud of himself and strongly desires to be recognized by others. The book reads that Lv Bu's criteria for whether to act or not is whether the action will satisfy his narcissism. According to the book, Lv Bu betrayed Lv Bu and Lv Bu by killing them when they suppressed his narcissism. He didn't feel guilty at all when he continued to betray his stepfathers because he is a self-righteous narcissist who makes decisions only for the sake of himself.
After all, popularity and influence of Romance of the Three Kingdoms makes Lv Bu remembered forever as 'a servant who has three different family names' and 'a betrayer who never feels remorse' without excuse.
The historical book of The Records of Three Kingdoms reads that Lv Bu is "brave but lacks wisdom and tricks" and fails to judge situations correctly and recognize a right lord. In other words, his lack of wisdom seems to make him become a betrayer.
Popular stories of the Three Kingdoms published in the era of the Yuan Dynasty added a fictitious story to Lv Bu's betrayal to make up a new story. The book says that Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo pushed Lv Bu to the extreme so hard that Lv Bu couldn't help but kill them. In this sense, it will be absurd to consider Lv Bu's murder as a betrayal. However, Popular stories of the Three Kingdoms depicts Lv Bu negatively and it doesn't particularly highlight his motivation for the murder.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms describes Lv Bu as a person who is too proud of himself and strongly desires to be recognized by others. The book reads that Lv Bu's criteria for whether to act or not is whether the action will satisfy his narcissism. According to the book, Lv Bu betrayed Lv Bu and Lv Bu by killing them when they suppressed his narcissism. He didn't feel guilty at all when he continued to betray his stepfathers because he is a self-righteous narcissist who makes decisions only for the sake of himself.
After all, popularity and influence of Romance of the Three Kingdoms makes Lv Bu remembered forever as 'a servant who has three different family names' and 'a betrayer who never feels remorse' without excuse.