The Ravages of Time
The Ravages of Time is an on-going Chinese manhua series re-telling the events in the Three Kingdoms Period of Chinese history, and the story revolves around the many exploits of the young Sima Yi. Both the art and the story are directed by the artist Chan Mou () from Hong Kong, and the series is currently ongoing.
The series is known for exercising a large degree of creativity with regards to several aspects and characters of the Three Kingdom's history. While the milestone events were left relatively untouched (e.g. outcomes of major battles, death of certain characters), many finer details were changed and largely dramatized. For example, Sima Yi is portrayed in the story to be much older than his historical counterpart. Other characters Liu Bei, Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei, Diao Chan and Lü Bu are also portrayed differently from historical accounts or popular conception.
The plot puts a good deal of focus on the politics and warfares of the Three Kingdoms Period, as such one of the main attraction of the series are the associated mind games, military strategies and tactics. However, Chan Mou also regularily zoom in on to the personal developments of the main protagonists, detailing their dynamic responses and attitudes to the events unfolding around them.
The Ravages of Time is currently serialized in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan, with compiled volumes published in Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore as well. It is one of the few Chinese manhua of its format to reach such an extensive foreign market.
