Gongjin's Campaign Memorials:Style Guide & How-to

Translating Chinese: which one to use?

Historians usually don't share each others translations in their Three Kingdoms related works. For example 三國 is translated by Rafe de Crespigny as 'Three Kingdoms' while Robert Joe Cutter translates it as 'Three States'. Though the latter is actually correct, (國 means either land, state or empire) the former is the more commonly accepted translation.

Here on Gongjin's Campaign Memorials we follow Rafe de Crespigny's translations.

Romanization

We use the Pinyin system.

However, there are different ways to write someones name in Pinyin; with or without tonemarks. Usually we go without tonemarks:

三國 in two different ways:
- Sanguo
- Sānguó

Sanguo is correct here.

呂布 in three different ways:
- Lu Bu
- Lü Bu
- Lǚ Bù

Here, Lü Bu is correct. Lu Bu is more commonly used in modern media, but gives a wrong impression of the sound of the name.

How-to: writing names

Chinese names can be very confusing to people new to the Three Kingdoms, or China in general. Western people who are not familiar with Chinese names may have difficulties remembering or distinguishing Chinese names. To make the wiki more accessible to "newbies" please write down the administrative division behind the name when talking about, for example, a county or commandery. This way people can clearly see what is what. Just some examples:

Luoyang city (important to write down "city", because there is also a county with the same name)
Longyou county
Wu commandery
Sili province

How-to: Referencing

At Gongjin's Campaign Memorials we use Chicago Manual of Style ('Chicago Style' for short, CMOS as abbreviation). It is most widely used in history and economics as well as some social sciences.

referencing of a book by a single author

<name of author>. <name of the book (in italics)>. <location of publication: publisher, year of publication>

example:

Cutter, Robert J. Empresses and Consorts. Hawaii: Hawai'i Press, 1996.

Referencing to a chapter or volume of a book

example:

de Crespigny, Rafe. "Zhongping 1" in Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling, 101-109. Melbourne: Australian University Press, 1989.

Citing text in a chapter or volume of a book

“<cited text>” <br> <author surname + give name>. "<name of chapter/volume>" in <name of book (italicize)>.

example:

“Liu Bei was twenty-eight when the outbreak of the Yellow Scarves called for soldiers.”
Luo Guanzhong. "chapter 1" in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Citing text in a chapter or volume of a translated book

“<cited text>” <br> <author surname + give name>. "<name of chapter/volume>" in <name of book (italicize)>, translated by <translator>. <location of publication: publisher, year of publication>

example:

“Liu Bei was twenty-eight when the outbreak of the Yellow Scarves called for soldiers.”
Luo Guanzhong. "chapter 1" in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, translated by Jack Johnson. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010.

Referencing to a Chinese work such as Sanguo zhi or Hou Han shu with citations.

“<cited text>” “<(translation (italicize)>”<br> <author surname + give name>. "<name of chapter/volume>" in <name of book (italicize)>.

example:

“惟頒撰《魏晉世語》” (“Nevertheless [Guo] Ban 頒 compiled 撰 Wei-Jin shiyu 魏晉世語”)
Chen Shou. "Book of Wei 4: Annals of Cao Fang" in Records of the Three Kingdoms, cited by Pei Songzhi.

Referencing to a dissertation

<author>. “<name of dissertation>”. PhD diss., <name of university>, <year>.

example:

Leban, Carl. “Ts'ao Ts'ao and the Rise of Wei: The Early Years” PhD diss., Columbia University, 1971.

References to a (biographical) dictionary

<the term>. <name of dictionary in italics> <(pages)>. <place published>:<publisher>
example:

"Zhu Jun 朱儁". A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (p. 1161-1163). Leiden: Brill.

Writing articles

In general, we try to keep our articles consistent in layout, for ease for the reader. This means each article on a certain subject (a person, a battle, etc) should follow the same structure (same headers), and there should be as little difference between each article within each category as possible.

Please refrain from indulging in edit wars (undoing an edit that was an undoing of your previous edit). Instead, contact the user on his or her talk page.
Be cautious when editing something to make it fit your personal preference only (a writing style, which image to use for the infobox, which images to use for the art preview, etc). If it's not wrong or incorrect, perhaps just accept it the way it is, or suggest a change on someone's talk page. Edits over preference can result in edit wars.

Articles on historical people

Try to apply no more than the following headers.
- Biography
- SGZ or HHS official biography translation (can be used more, if person has more than one official bio)
- Family
- See also
- Art gallery preview
- Notes
  - Fact vs. Fiction
  - References
- Sources

A maximum of one sub-page per article (which would be the Art Gallery page)
When using an infobox, use Template:Infobox char
Older artwork may be used for the image in the infobox. No videogame or other modern artwork.
Likewise, the header "Art gallery preview" also consists of only older artwork.
The Art gallery preview consists of a maximum of four images.

Example articles: the biography of Zhang Liang 張梁, Ding Yuan 丁原, He Jin 何進, Sima Shi 司馬師.

Articles on historical battles

Try to apply no more than the following headers.
- The Battle
- See also
- Art gallery preview
- Notes
  - Fact vs. Fiction
  - References
- Sources

The standard infobox is Template:Infobox battle
Older art or a map may be used for the image in the infobox. No videogame or other modern artwork.
Likewise, the header "Art gallery preview" also consists of only older artwork.
The Art gallery preview consists of a maximum of four images.

Example articles: Jiaozhi Rebellion, Struggle against The Regular Attendants

There may exist articles on this wiki that have escaped these guidelines. Sometimes larger articles are excused, or some have been overlooked. Please consult the main editor of the article before making a change.

Art galleries

Please copy the layout of an already existing Art gallery.