The document provides background information on a group project for a Culture and Civilization class. The project requires students to examine similarities and differences between Eastern and Western civilizations by researching the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history. The group researched characters and plots from the Three Kingdoms story and Three Kingdoms movie to develop a script for a short dramatization. They summarized their research, outlined a storyline, and included the script and descriptions of costumes and props for key characters like Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhu Ge Liang, Sun Quan, Cao Cao, and Zhou Yu.

1. School of Architecture, Building and Design
Foundation in Natural Built and Environment
Culture & Civilization FDES 0815
Project 2 Project Runway
Messages from The Past
Group members: 1. Kelvin Yong Chen Yin (0316050)
2. Liew Jee Ying (0317174)
3. Liong Shun Qi (0315942)
4. Sherny Liong Xin Yie (0316600)
5. Yvonne Chin Yun Miin (0315662)
Movie Title: Three Kingdoms
Lecturer: Normah Sulaiman

3. Contents
Assignment Brief 4
Research: 5
 Movie
 Characters
Summary:
 Research 8
 Sketch 8-9
Script of Sketch 10
Costume and Props Designs 13

4. Assignment Brief
“The history of drama stretches back to some of mankind’s earliest
civilizations. It’s always fun to learn the history of a play that you’re watching. You
could be seeing something that people have enjoyed for hundreds or thousands
of years. Drama as we know it got its start back in ancient Greece. Many of the
plays written during the Classical period, from 525 B.C. to 385 B.C., are still
performed today”
Cheever, J. 2001.
Project Runway: Messages from the Past, is a second project of Culture and
Civilization (C&C) that requires students to examine similarities and differences
between Eastern and Western civilizations. As the learning outcome, students are
able to recall the development of Eastern and Western human civilizations in the
past as well as the present. Students are also able to to demonstrate good
documentation and presentation skills.
The tasks of this assignment requires student to do research and analyze the
specific given timeline of the movie through different sources. Elements such as
the architecture, social strata, culture and style are to be researched and included
in the timeline. Next, prepare a visual timeline with the researches that have been
conducted. Select the most important plot from the timeline for the performance.
The materials gathered are to assist students for the group and individual
outcome.

5. Research
Three Kingdoms is a trio of warring, Chinese states that followed the demise of
the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. – A.D. 220). In A.D. 25, after a brief period of
disruption, the great Han empire had been reconstructed as the Eastern Han.
However, by the end of the 2nd
century, the Eastern Han empire dispersed into
chaos. Its last emperor had become a mere puppet, and finally he ceded the
throne to Cao Pi, the son of his generalissimo and protector, Cao Cao. Thus,
began the Wei kingdom (220–266), but its effective influence was restricted to
northern China. Two other Han generals shortly installed themselves as emperors
and took over regions of western and southern China. The Shu-Han empire
(221–264) was proclaimed by Liu Bei in what is now Sichuan province, and the
Wu empire (222–280) was declared south of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) by
Sun Quan at Jianye (present-day Nanjing). The sinicizing of the southern regions
by the Wu was an important contribution to the future of China, and Nanjing was
to become a future Chinese capital for more than two centuries.
The Wei conquered the Shu-Han in 264, but two years later Si Ma Yan (known
posthumously as Wu Di), one of the Wei generals, took over the throne and
proclaimed the Jin Dynasty. In 280, the Jin conquered the Wu and reunited the
country, but the dynasty soon fell apart, and the country broke down into chaos.
The Three Kingdoms survived for too short a period to contribute much to the arts
in any conventional sense, although during their time the use of clay puppets to
act out dramas did arise. But the period is important to the arts as subject matter.
This short and bloody era of warfare and political intrigue was one of the most
interesting and romantic in China’s long history, and, ever since, it has been a
favourite subject of historical fiction and other art forms. One of the most
celebrated examples is the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Three Kingdoms. (2014). In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/593791/Three-Kingdoms

6. Movie
Originally a 95 episodes television series, the producer compiled them into a
movie, Three Kingdoms. It is a Chinese movie based on the events in the late
Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. The plot is based on the
famous Luo Guangzhong’s classical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the
historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms, and other related stories.
Another movie we took as reference was the Ultimate Three Kingdoms, a
Taiwanese television drama that uses actions, comedy and romance as the genre.
Plot taken from the movies:
 The three Sworn Brothers
 Murder of Guan Yu
 Zhu Ge Liang’s arrow borrowing tactic
 Battle to divide respective kingdoms
Characters
Liu Bei: Born in Zhou County. Descendant of Emperor Jing. Grew up in a poor
family. Father died when he was still a kid. To survive, he helped his
mother to sell shoes and straw-woven mats. Ambitious since childhood:
desired to become an emperor. At the age of 14, Liu Bei, sponsored by a
more affluent relative who recognised his potential in leadership, went to
study under the tutelage of Lu Zhi (a prominent scholar and, at the time,
former Administrator of JiuJiang). There he met and befriended Gongshun
Zan, who would become a prominent warlord in northern China later. The
adolescent Liu Bei was said to be unenthusiastic in studying and
displayed interest in hunting, music and dressing. Concise in speech,
calm in demeanour, and kind to his friends, Liu Bei was well liked by his
contemporaries.

7. Guan Yu: Red-faced warrior with a very long beard. He looked quite majestic and
had a dignified aura. Red-faced signifies loyalty and righteousness.
Special weapon: Green Cresent Dragon Blade (Guan Dao).
Zhang Fei: Barbaric. Alcoholic. Hot-headed. Loyal and formidable. Special
weapon: long steel spear / long serpent spear.
Zhu Ge Liang: Chancellor of the state Shu-Han. Recognised as the greatest and
most accomplished strategist. Often depicted of wearing a robe
and holding a hand fan of crane feathers. Also an accomplished
scholar and inventor. Nickname: “Wolong” (“Sleeping Dragon”)
Cao Cao: Cruel and merciless tyrant. But praised as a brilliant ruler and military
genius. Treated his subordinates like his family. Skilled in poetry and
martial arts. Wrote many war journals.
Sun Quan: Born in 182, while his father Sun Jian was still a general of the Han
Dynasty. Became the charge of his brother Sun Ce after his father’s
death in 191. Served his brother during the conquests of the southern
Yangtze River. He was made a county magistrate in 196. Continued ti
rise through the ranks as his brother gave him more and more
important tasks at the age of 14. Descendant of Sun Wu, a militarist in
the Sring and Autumn Period and the author of The Art of War.
Zhou Yu: Rival of Zhu Ge Liang. Strong physique and handsome looking.
Magnanimous and generous. Very experienced in music.

8. Summary
Research
Every group member did a research on their own characters background and
special abilities that brings a ring to their characters. Other than that, we
discussed together about the story of the Three Kingdoms and decided to take out
some important plots out of the Three Kingdoms because it consists of many
stories which are also interesting. In the end, we decided to use the scene where
Guan Yu was murdered by a subordinate of Sun Quan, the arrow-borrowing tactic
of Zhu Ge Liang and the Battle of Three Kingdoms Division. Hoping to amuse our
audience, we included action with the mixture of comedy in our drama.
Storyline Sketch
We have roughly sketched out a storyline for our drama before we start to
write our script for our play.

10. Script
Scene 1 - Sworn Brothers
Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei stand together and gaze at the surroundings in
front of them.
Liu Bei, Guan Yu & Zhang Fei: (swear together) We are not born on the same
year, same month and same day, but we will die
together on the same year, same
month and same day!
(Three of them hold up a cup together high up to the sky)
(Three of them drink up from the cup)
(After that, they walk off from the place and suddenly stops)
Guan Yu: So who will be the eldest among us three?
Zhang Fei: (steps out, speaks confidently) I will be the one!
Liu Bei: Why don’t we arrange it by our birth year?
Zhang Fei: (quickly speaks) I am 97!
Liu Bei: (smiles) But I am 95!
Zhang Fei: (feels down but still having hope) Then I will be the second eldest.

11. Guan Yu: (looks at Zhang Fei and smiles) I am 96.
(Zhang Fei childishly gets bad-tempered and throws the cup on the floor)
Zhang Fei: (SHOUTS) I WANT TO BE THE ELDEST! (storms off)
Scene 2 - Murder of Guan Yu
(After a battle between Cao Cao and Liu Bei with Sun Quan, Sun Quan walks with
Guan Yu for some R&R in a coffee shop.)
(Guan Yu puts his blade aside)
Sun Quan: (acts tired) Wow, that was tough. I am so tired right now.
Guan Yu: (looks at Sun Quan) Didn’t you workout often?
Sun Quan: No. That is why I need someone like you in my army.
Guan Yu: No! I will never betray Liu Bei. (walks over to order something)
Sun Quan: This is what you get! (stabs Guan Yu to death from behind)
(Guan Yu slowly falls onto the floor and dies.)
(Sun Quan then takes Guan Yu’s blade and leaves.)

12. Scene 3 - Arrow Borrowing
(Zhu Ge Liang and Zhou Yu sit down together and bet between each other, in
three days Zhu Ge Liang must have collected arrows from Cao Cao)
(Shadow puppet)
(Zhu Ge Liang passes some of the arrows to Zhou Yu as prove. Zhou Yu is
shocked.)
Scene 4 - Three Kingdoms Divided
(Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan look at the map on the table)
Cao Cao: So how are we going to divide our kingdom?
Sun Quan: Why don’t we tear the map together and see which part of the land we
get?
Liu Bei: Good idea!
(Three of them tears the map aggresively.)
(The three kingdoms are divided.)
-The end-

13. Costumes and Props Design
Liu Bei Guan Yu Zhang Fei
Zhu Ge Liang Sun Quan Cao Cao
Zhou Yu