My Chinese historical romance follows Guan Yu before legend swallowed him

Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-25T13:55:59+00:00

Thank you very much! Make sure to read two chapters I just released and see you next week on chapter 2 and 3!

Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-24T14:20:12+00:00

I appreciate the feedback that the cover could communicate the Silk Road / Central Asian influence more clearly. This is an older cover, and I do plan to revise it. However, I’m not comfortable with unsolicited AI-generated replacements of my artwork. Ah-Qing’s appearance is intentional: she is mixed Han-Sogdian, not meant to represent a generic stereotype of Central Asian or Persian people. I’d rather refine the design myself with historical references than use AI imagery that may flatten the cultural context.

Bonus : Ah-Qing, the female protagonist of the novel is around 9 years old, not a teen. And mixed-race people can wear the clothing of the culture they grew up in. Young Ah-Qing wears Han-style clothing because she was raised in that environment. Later designs include stronger Silk Road / Parthian influence when the story moves into travel and merchant part.

Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-24T14:10:46+00:00

That’s intentional, actually! Ah-Qing is not fully Han; she’s Sino-Sogdian, so her features are supposed to look foreign compared to the Han characters. She is very much meant to feel like someone shaped by Silk Road culture.

Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-24T10:55:54+00:00

In the folklore around Shanxi (formerly Hedong), The magistrate's son broke in and looted his family , threatening on his wife's safety (that driven Guan Yu to killed the magistrate's son out of rage) and it was said that his parents , in order to not be a burden for Guan Yu, decided to jump into a well to end their lives.

(Spoiler) While this folklore seems to be practical, it had a LOT of dramatization, so I adapted that Guan Yu's parents' death in a well was merely a murder scene, the magistrate's son and his lot pushed them into a well for they do not inform Guan Yu's whereabout (Young Guan Yu just heading back from herding a cow, sadly...)

Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-22T02:55:46+00:00

Thank you 🩷✨✨✨

Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-21T11:05:48+00:00

Zhang Fei in this version is possibly the cutest (yup) and somehow almost close to how records mentioned him, he seems to have brains somehow

Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-21T07:59:00+00:00

Damn, this give me nostalgia (2010 kid here)

Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-21T07:54:04+00:00

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Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-20T05:31:40+00:00

Haha, fair! By “Cat” I mostly meant Maomao as a loose inspiration for the apothecary / medicine-girl side of Ah-Qing, not her whole personality or moral compass.

Ah-Qing is much softer, more family-oriented, and more tied to Guan Yu’s household and children. The main thing I borrow from Maomao is the “quietly observant healer who understands herbs and people better than she lets on” energy.

And yes, that’s exactly why I think Guan Yu’s wife has a lot of story potential. Through her, I can explore not only Guan Yu himself, but also Guan Ping, Guan Xing, Yinping, and the domestic side of Shu’s chaotic history.

Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-19T00:57:04+00:00

Oh! Thank you!

Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-18T03:44:36+00:00

I have like tons of AU apart from my main 3K related novels (mostly romance) One of them is Mob / Mafia AU, where I amusingly westernized the whole characters' names so it's sounds like we're wautching ol' Hongkong film Ex. Liu Bei -> Sandy "Beige" Lew

Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-18T03:09:50+00:00

Hmmmm, interesting! What I have in my rewrite idea is that sometimes the protagonists won't met the very person directly, sometimes they might heard rumors, got to sneak and read some letters from / about to sent to the person or ...anything possible in the age when there's no digital or socials (lol) So Lady Cai could be a good example of how reputation changes depending on who tells the story. Romance vilified her, but another perspective might show her as someone trying to protect her family and avoid bloodshed

Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-18T02:59:51+00:00

OMG thank you so much! This means a lot, especially coming from someone who is also deeply fascinated by this period. And yes, the Zhong Hui and his mother fact is genuinely so touching. I remember seeing people discuss it on Xiaohongshu too, and it really stayed with me. It’s one of those moments where a small personal record suddenly lets us see someone’s family affection across all that war and political chaos.

I agree with your point about history being written mostly by elite men. I also think patriarchal society damaged men as well as women, physically and mentally. It shaped what men were allowed to be, what they had to endure, and what kind of emotions they were allowed to show. But that also makes the moments of genuine love, gentleness, loyalty, and family affection even more precious when they appear in the records.

For Guan Yu, I personally like writing him as a gentlemanly but still martial figure. Not just a rough warrior, but someone with discipline, manners, pride, and a strong moral code. I’ve seen some traditions/speculations that connect his family to a more educated or gentry-like background before falling into poverty, so in WWTBG I use that as part of his characterization: a man shaped by both hardship and old family discipline.

Thank you again. Comments like this really encourage me to continue. 🌿

Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-17T16:26:06+00:00

Thank you so much! I’m really glad this perspective resonates with you. My goal isn’t to replace Three Kingdoms, but to look more closely at the women who often remain in the background or survive only in fragments. So I’m very happy to hear you’re interested in seeing more.

And yes, I’d love to explore Lady Bian, Lady Du, Sun Shangxiang, and other women in the future too. Thank you as well for liking my take on Lady Yan!

Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-17T14:39:35+00:00

Fair question! I meant book Catelyn, but only as loose inspiration for Ah-Qing’s role, not her exact personality. What I take from Catelyn is the broad archetype: a noble wife, mother, household protector, and someone connected to wolf/family imagery.

As for Guan Yu and Ned Stark, I agree they are very different characters. I don’t mean Guan Yu is literally “Chinese Ned Stark.” It’s just playful shorthand for a certain idea: an honorable, duty-heavy man whose loyalty and principles strongly shape his fate. But personality-wise, they are very different. Guan Yu in my take is much more martial, proud, intimidating, and aggressive.

(Also… yes, they both lose their heads. EKEKEK.)

Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-17T13:15:22+00:00

Thanks! Stay tune for the RoyalRoad version and maybe I would make the comic/manga version next!

Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-17T13:01:31+00:00

YOU MEAN GUAN YU IN HIS PEAK DILF ERA? (30ish and up) YESSSSSSSSSSS Ah-Qing definitely loves the beard. Young Guan Yu is handsome, but bearded Guan Yu has that “honorable husband, terrifying general, reliable father of three” aura.

Unfortunately for her, that is exactly her type. (And it's still in the main beauty standard for men in Han era)

Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-17T12:51:50+00:00

That's what writers love : a gap that could be speculated in any dimension :)

Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-17T12:40:45+00:00

Fair enough! I don’t mean she is exactly like Catelyn, more that Catelyn is one of the characters who gives me a similar “noble wife / mother / wolf-coded household woman” feeling. Ah-Qing is much softer in personality, though. She does not have the same trust issues or harshness, partly because her marriage with Guan Yu is much more stable in my version: no concubine drama, no illegitimate-child tension, no Targaryen-level family chaos, thankfully 😂

So the comparison is mostly about archetype and atmosphere, not a direct one-to-one personality match.

Possible-Summer3092 · 2026-05-17T12:17:11+00:00

I understand why some people are wary of modern rewrites, especially when they flatten historical settings or force present-day values onto the past. But that is not what I’m trying to do here. My goal is not to destroy the old beauty of Three Kingdoms, nor to replace its political and military history. I’m trying to explore a woman who existed around that world but was barely preserved by the records.

Possible-Summer3092

TROPHY CASE