Romance of the Three Kingdoms is based upon events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era, starting in A.D. 168 and ending with the reunification of the land in 280. Acclaimed as one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, it is arguably the most widely read historical novel in late imperial and modern China.. Some say its literary influence in East Asia is comparable to that of the works of Shakespeare on English literature.