The Legendary Imperial Seal

Romance, Chapters 5-7

I enjoyed a lot of the episodes in these chapters. I’m hoping that I’ll continue to like the book as much as I have so far! In this part, the structure and tone felt like reading the Iliad (or a more extended narrative of the Trojan War). Chapter 5 especially felt like this: there are a lot of battles, many heroes are killed, and it ends with a drawn battle between Lu Bu and all three of the Peach Garden Oath brothers.

Sun Qian has the best scenes in Chapters 6 and 7. In Chapter 6, one of his men discovers the Imperial seal. It has its own legends. It brings Sun Qian no joy, almost as if it were cursed. It is found in the bottom of a pool on a dead woman, which reminded me of how Déagol found the One Ring in the Lord of the Rings. Sun Qian’s refusal to give up the seal causes another battle (it’s not the only cause of this battle; he has other grievances. In an earlier episode, his allies refused to help him because they were afraid he would get too much glory. Sun Qian is sympathetic). At Sun Qian’s battle in Chapter 7, there is the famous “borrowing 100,000 arrows” episode. It looks like he will overcome his enemies, but alas, he is killed. His son, Sun Ce, barely escapes. Sun Qian’s death feels like the first tragic end in the book. I’m sure there will be more.

We’ve rounded out many more of the Magic cards in these chapters: Cao Ren and Xiahoue Dun appear in Chapter 5, Yua Zhao (Zilong) is in Chapter 7, along with Sun Qian’s children: Sun Ce, Lady Sun, and Sun Quan (the latter two only briefly). Two other story elements have cards: Imperial Seal and Borrowing 100,000 Arrows. These are well chosen to represent as cards. I found them to be memorable within the novel.