187 episodes
Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast Chinese Lore Podcasts
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4.9 • 12 Ratings
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A retelling of the classic Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms in a way that’s more accessible to a Western audience. See 3kingdomspodcast.com for more.
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Announcement: ”Investiture of the Gods” Launched
Hi everyone. I want to let you know that I have posted the first episodes of Investiture of the Gods on the Chinese Lore Podcast. If you are not yet subscribed to that show, go to chineselore.com. You will find links to the show on various podcast platforms and on YouTube, as well as links to find me on social media and to review and support the show. If you like the podcast, a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts would be much appreciated. As always, thanks for listening!
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Announcement: May 24 Live Interview
Hi everyone. I want to let you know that on May 24, I will be part of a panel of Asian podcasters on Podbean’s Storytelling Podcast Week Live show. It’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and this live show will be highlighting AAPI podcasters. We will be discussing our podcasts, the stories behind our stories, and our experiences as podcasters. I’m looking forward to it, and I hope you will tune in as well. The show will be live on May 24 at 3 p.m. eastern time. I have included the registration link with this announcement on my podcasts’ websites, outlawsofthemarsh.com and 3kingdomspodcast.com. See you there!
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Announcement: Interview on Asian Fantasy Fiction Podcast
Check out my recent conversation with Jeremy Bai, a translator and writer focusing on Chinese fantasy genres.
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Announcement: 2 Podcast Interviews
I recently did two interviews on other podcasts. The first is the Mandarin Slang Guide podcast, where we talked about some common Chinese expressions that had their roots in the characters and stories of the Three Kingdoms era. The second one is Journey to the West: The Podcast, where we had a long chat about classic Chinese novels and their cultural significance, including the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the Water Margin, and of course, Journey to the West. Have a listen, and also check out the other episodes on those podcasts, too. If you like what I'm doing, you might be interested in those shows as well.
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Announcement: Ask Me Anything on Dec. 16
If you have questions about the how's and why's of this podcast, or my thoughts on podcasting in general, post them at the Ask Me Anything hosted by WhatPods on December 16 at https://whatpods.com/show-development/ama/john-zhu.
Customer Reviews
Love this podcast
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (ROTK) is hands down one of the great stories of all time. In Chinese culture the story is iconic, and most Chinese have grown up with it either through exposure to the novel itself, or the plethora of movies, TV shows, and video games derived from it. But ROTK is much less known in the West than it deserves to be. One reason for that (apart from Chinese culture's generally low visibility), is that it's a really tough read. The cast of characters and constant stream of battles related are so complicated that keeping up with who's who and what's what is a major undertaking. In his ROTK Podcast, John Zhu sets out to make the story digestible to a Western audience, first by breaking it down into bite-sized chunks (there are some 123 episodes to date, and it's not done yet) and then by providing a blow-by-blow commentary about the story. John succeeds admirably at this and has really brought the story to life for me. Highly recommended. As an aside, I'm reading an English translation of ROTK concurrently with following the podcast, and can also recommend doing this if you want to get the best out of both.
Really good stuff
John takes us through an easy-to-digest English version of the Three Kingdoms story. The narration is very helpful; John provides additional context as to how to interpret various actions and words in the context of ancient China and explains the historical references made by the novel's characters. He likes to re-use phrases like "time and again" a bit too often, but that is barely a blemish in this excellent podcast. Through my journey of a few months leading to episode 106 (when I caught up with the podcast), I have found myself taking an interest in Chinese history, in the historical characters and how they influenced history. I intend to follow the podcast until the end and also check out more Chinese classics. This podcast has done much to stimulate my interest.