Source item
Open original source ↗“The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus has it always been.” https://t.co/x2T86cpPQo
Famous opening line of Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong.
Describes events all the way back in 220-280 AD. First printed 1522, with the Mao Lun / Mao Zonggang edition appearing in 1679.
So, it describes a recurring historical pattern.
Well, continental Europe has broken up and reunified several times, or at least large swaths of it have.
Roman Empire
Charlemagne
Holy Roman Empire
Napoleonic Empire
Western and Soviet Blocs
European Union
3 segments
Segment 1 · characters 0–114 · Original segment ↗
Segment 2 · characters 116–365 · Original segment ↗
Segment 3 · characters 367–573 · Original segment ↗
Quoted context
These are the quoted author’s words.
@balajis No fractured empire has ever reunited except for china. China has done it multiple times.
realkdi ↗