The Ravages of Time
The Ravages of Time (火鳳燎原) is an on-going Chinese
manhua series re-telling the events in the semi-historical novel
Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The series is by
Chan Mou (陳某) from
Hong Kong, and currently consists of 182 chapters.
While most of the points of the plot remain the same (for instance, the outcome of each major battle follows that of the novel), the fine details are changed and largely dramatized. The series is concentrated largely on pyschology, mind games, strategies and tactics. Many characters, such as Liu Bei, Zhao Yun, Diao Chan and Lu Bu for instance, are also protrayed differently from the novel.
The series is currently serialized in Hong Kong,
Taiwan, and
Japan, while volumes are also published in
Korea,
Thailand,
Vietnam and
Singapore in their respective languages. It is one of the few Chinese manhua to enter the Japanese market.
The Ravages of Time re-tells the story of
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, showing the fortunes of
Liu Bei,
Cao Cao, the Sun Family and that of the Sima Family. The Sima Family was a successful and rich merchant family, led by the young
Sima Yi, who showed a flair for spotting profitable business venture at a young age. There was, however, a sinster side to the Sima Family as well. They controlled the Crippled Legion (殘兵), a group of mercenary assassins which was reputed to be infallible. The Sima Family used the services of the Crippled Legion to attain their objectives from time to time. The story actually began with the Crippled Legion attacking Xu Ling, a fictional advisor, to put a stop to Dong Zhou's plan of swallowing up the various merchant families.
Sima Yi was actually unwilling to be embroiled in the chaos around him, and all his actions were for the perservation of the Sima's status quo, but as the series go on, Sima Yi found himself being dragged further and further into the war, and eventually ended up under the control of
Cao Cao.
Sima Yi and his band of assassins were frequently the catalyst of many events in the book. They were involved in the downfall of
Dong Zhuo, confronted Cao Cao when the latter invaded Xu Zhou, defeated Lu Bu at the Battle of Puyang and more. Sima Yi's plot arc is a common thread which runs through the narrative.
Also, the story is also told from the point of view of the Eight Enigmas (八奇), a group of elite military-advisors trained by Water-Mirror (水鏡), also known as
Sima Hui. They consist of Yuan Fang (a fictional character),
Jia Xu,
Xun Yu,
Guo Jia,
Zhou Yu,
Pang Tong and
Zhuge Liang. It is not known who is the Eighth Enigma. Each of the advisor had their own motivations for following their ruler and chapters were devoted to revealing their backstory and intents.
The story of
The Ravages of Time revolves around the famous battles in the Three Kingdoms era, military doctrines, mind-games, ethics and philosophy.
Military Doctrines
The Ravages of Time usually interweave military doctrines into its story, showing how characters uses the same doctrine to attain victory over each other. Sometimes, a doctrine becomes the theme for the entire volume.
Morale
According to the manhua,
morale plays an important role as the backbone of the entire army. It is the will of the soldiers to fight, and without morale, an army cannot function. Hence, generals and advisors in the manhua seek ways, some orthodox, some unorthodox, to bloster morale.
Of particular interest is Water-Mirror's fictional
Discourse on Morale. It is an article on how to prevent morale from dissipating when facing a stronger enemy. Its main points are:
# If an enemy general attains victory early in the battle, brand him as being reckless.# If an enemy general still attains victory, rebuke your own advisors for reading the situation incorrectly.# If an enemy general always attains victory, brand him as one having courage but lacking in strategy (有勇无谋).
The phrase "having courage but lacking in strategy" has been attributed to
Lu Bu,
Yan Liang,
Wen Chou and
Zhang Fei.
Assassination
Assassination is considered as a valid tactic, after diplomacy and strategical ploys. A number of characters in the manhua are assassins, such as
Zhao Yun and
Dian Wei. Also, faking death and letting the opposition believes that the assassination attempt has succeeded has also been used as a tactic.
The Thought Process of the Eight Engimas
It has been hinted throughout the story that the Eight Engimas think differently from the conventional military advisor. Here are some instances when some insights are revealed about their thinking process.
# In chapter 102, Volume 13,
Chen Gong stated that the Engimas think of all enemy generals as a "God of War". "God of War" is a title attributed to
Lu Bu, a peerless general in the manhua. # In chapter 119, Volume 15, Chen Gong while confronting Sima Yi, said "A military advisor must not just consider the opponent's next step. He shall also have the foresight of a merchant".# However, in chapter 149, Volume 18, Zhou Yu said that the first step to comprehend the Eight Engimas's thinking process is to accquire what one needs according to the current situation.
Mind Games
Beside military tactics, characters in the manhua engaged in numerous misdirections and feints to confuse and befuddle their enemies, such as delibrately letting their enemy knows their next move in a battle, going along with an enemy's plan to gain certain advantages and more.
Ethics
A common recurring theme throughout the manhua is that of
ethics. It questions the conventional Chinese traditional thoughts on
loyalty and touches on the
utilitarian and the
moral rights models of ethics.
Two of the Eight Enigmas, Guo Jia and Jia Xu, as well as Sima Yi, believed that ending the fighting quickly was the best for the people (A form of
negative utilitarianism), regardless of the methods used or how many innocents had to die. As long as the civil war can be ended quickly, it is the best for all the people.
Zhuge Liang and Xun Yu opposed this line of thinking, maintaining the peace and order brought by adhering to the traditional teachings and through just and benevolent means last longer. The conflicts of this two belief system recurred throughout the manhua.
