Proceedings of the 2026 12th International Conference on Digital Humanities and Frontiers in Social Sciences (DHFSS 2026)

2026 12th International Conference on Digital Humanities and Frontiers in Social Sciences (DHFSS 2026)

📍Beijing, China🗓️ 29-31 May 2026
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The Evolving Representation of the Three Kingdoms Period and Its Leading Figures in Chinese History, Literature, and Popular Culture

Tracing Cao Cao’s Influence from Historical Record to Contemporary Media

Authors
Mingyi Ma1, *
1The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2050, Australia
*Corresponding author. Email: mima0230@uni.sydney.edu.au
Corresponding Author
Mingyi Ma
Available Online 7 September 2026.
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-611-6_114How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Popular Culture; Historical Memories; History Impact
Abstract

This paper examines the evolution of the images of key figures from the Three Kingdoms period across different historical documents, classical literature, and modern popular culture. Drawing upon historical texts such as the record San Guo Zhi三国志 and folk novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms三国演义, as well as numerous modern media resources including video games and online platforms, this study elucidates how these figures have been continuously reinterpreted to reflect the political, ideological, and cultural demands of different historical periods. Taking Cao Cao as an example, this article aims to clarify how the image of these famous historical figures has been reinterpreted over time. This is not only reflected in the tension and conflict between historical facts and literary creation, but also in the modern open interpretation method and the ability of contemporary readers to creatively interpret the image of Cao Cao. Research shows that the Three Kingdoms period still has a certain popular influence on modern society. Many outstanding figures during this period, especially Cao Cao, are still vivid and symbolic figures, becoming people’s carriers to discuss many issues such as power, legitimacy and morality.

Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2026 12th International Conference on Digital Humanities and Frontiers in Social Sciences (DHFSS 2026)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
7 September 2026
ISBN
978-2-38476-611-6
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-611-6_114How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Mingyi Ma
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/07
TI  - The Evolving Representation of the Three Kingdoms Period and Its Leading Figures in Chinese History, Literature, and Popular Culture
BT  - Proceedings of the 2026 12th International Conference on Digital Humanities and Frontiers in Social Sciences (DHFSS 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 1060
EP  - 1073
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-611-6_114
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-611-6_114
ID  - Ma2026
ER  -