RirikaruKyoushu
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mingster: As I mentioned in my previous post, they are indeed different characters. Zhao Yun, one of the Tiger Generals, was on the side of Shu; Zhou Yu, on other hand, was a very important adviser to Sun Quan, who ruled Wu.
I disagree with your assessment of Liu Bei. He was charismatic—how else do you explain the many capable people who joined Shu? And can you honestly say that Cao Cao did not rely on others? If it were not for Cao Hong giving up his horse, Cao Cao might not even have lived to usurp the throne 207 AD.
Liu Bei of the two of them (that is, himself and Cao Cao) was, in my opinion, the more "human" of the two rulers: he had the sentimental advantage of wanting to continue the decaying Han dynasty. However, if anything negative about Liu Bei can be said, it is perhaps this leadership style was not fit to such an era of war and blooshed. That is to say, he was not ruthless enough to succeed, whereas Cao Cao was.
Cao Cao was the "bad guy" of the the novel; he was completely lacking in dé, 'Virtue", (which is ironic because early in the novel, I believe, it is mentioned that, at age 20, he was renowned for his xiào, “filialness”—a vital aspect of Confucian ideology.) In addition to his lack of dé, it could also be argued that he was a paranoid individual—how else can his unfounded accusation against Hua Tuo be explained (Chapter 78)?
To conclude, what I find to be unbelievable, mingster, is that Sun Quan was not destroyed long before Wu surrendered. After all, he was like the French of World War II—a weakling.
Now, Hal, to answer your first question, I think that such a “theory” has validity; however, I think one’s selection of a particular character may be linked to one’s persona. In other words, one’s selection of a character is not necessarily based on how they are, but how they want to be.
To answer your second question, one of my favourite events occurred in Chapter 38 when Zhuge Liang agreed to join Liu Bei. Some of the events that I hated in the book were: the death of Guan Yu; the death of Hua Tuo; and the usurpation of the throne by Cao Cao.
I have never heard of Zongheng xue or Kuei Ku Tzu.
- R.K.
Note: The tone markings on de and xiao (which is also translated "filial piety"—a rendering which I dislike because of its religious implications) indicate, respectively, the second and fourth tone of Modern Standard Mandarin.
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Religion is the Way of delusion.
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02-07-03 09:34 PM
... At time, I think Sima and Cao Cao were totally over-rated. It is pretty easy to move when one's has the "number" advantage. 
