Sanguo zhi pinghua

Sānguó zhì pínghuà 三國志平話 ("A storytelling of the Records of the Three Kingdoms") is a fictionalized account of the Records of the Three Kingdoms. The word pinghua 平話 refers to storytelling as a form of art. It's a bit like Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in several ways, and because it actually pre-dates Romance, it may have been an important form of inspiration for Romance. Evidence of this are the many fictional stories that are present in identical or near-identical form in both works.

The Sanguo zhi pinghua was released from 1321-1323. An earlier edition was released in 1294 under the title Sanfen shilüe 三分事略 ("A Short Account of the Tripartation").

List of fictional characters exclusive to Sanguo zhi pinghua

 * Main article: List of fictional people of the Three Kingdoms