When was the Romance of the Three Kingdoms written?

Answer 1

The exact written time of this novel is still uncertain in Chinese literary circle, also there isn't an consensus on the estimated time interval. Despite continuous efforts devoted in researches, interference from several aspects which makes results less reliable. Two examples listed below to reflect some of the complications. * As we know, the author of this novel is Luo Guanzhong (罗贯中), he is not only a novelist but a dramatist as well. However, his occupation didn't respected by the upper class at that time, which largely determined his achievements weren't included in official history. To some extent, his life remains mysterious to readers and researchers, hence unofficial records and folklore become the only source of information, which are abundant but incongruous, filtration is needed before taken as reference. * Originally, this novel wasn't printed to the public but copied by handwriting and passed around literati. Because of the popularity in the small group, its text was frequently revised by both the author and other writers through perusal. Thus its copies became various, even had versions for public storytelling (a traditional profession). For research use, the original text should be recognized, which associated with a lot of work. Unfortunately, this question has regarded as a "century's subject". A recent finding provided here with regards to those experts, new evidence supports the novel written in mid-late Yan Dynasty (1271-1368 CE), one expert has even narrowed the time interval within 1323-1329 CE. After all, it's too early to make any assertions at present, the fact will eventually be revealed to readers one day in the near future.