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The world of The Twelve Kingdoms seems quite rich, with a complicated history
of the kingdoms, and a backstory of major world events and people. What I'm
wondering is, **are the Twelve Kingdoms based on historical kingdoms, or just
created from whole cloth?**


CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-27T00:33:20.987
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2013-05-30T08:14:41.510
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the-twelve-kingdoms
Do the various kingdoms in The Twelve Kingdoms have historical basis?


_Twelve kingdoms_ possibly derives some loose inspiration from the Wei, Shu,
and Wu Chinese kingdoms of the 3rd century CE which are popularly referred to
as the _[Three Kingdoms](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Kingdoms)_.

> The Three Kingdoms (AD 220–280) were Wei (魏), Shu (蜀), and Wu (吳). The Three
> Kingdoms period, part of the Six Dynasties period, followed the loss of de
> facto power of the Han Dynasty emperors. In a strict academic sense, it
> refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 AD
> and the conquest of the state of Wu by the Jin Dynasty in 280.

The story of the three kingdoms was romanticised and immortalised in the 14th
century by Luo Guanzhong as [The Romance of the Three
Kingdoms](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_of_the_Three_Kingdoms).

> Romance of the Three Kingdoms is acclaimed as one of the **Four Great
> Classical Novels of Chinese literature** ; it has a total of 800,000 words
> and nearly a thousand dramatic characters (mostly historical) in 120
> chapters. The novel is among the **most beloved works of literature in East
> Asia** , and its literary influence in the region has been compared to that
> of the works of Shakespeare on English literature. It is arguably the most
> widely read historical novel in late imperial and modern China.

The novel is well known throughout China, Korea, and Japan. I am unfamiliar
with the story to comment on any similarities in plot or structure. But as a
guess, I'd say that beyond the fact that the societies in Twelve Kingdoms are
similar to feudal Japan/China, there are no major similarities.

There are, however, some obvious Buddhist influences. For example, the very
geography of the Twelve Kingdoms is shaped like a lotus with a harmonious,
magical centre (the yellow "sea") which has huge mountain ranges. There are
also eight petals for the eight inner kingdoms with their eight kings.

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/NNBCTm.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/NNBCT.jpg)

The lotus in Buddhism ([and other religions out of
India](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padma_%28attribute%29)) is representative
of the [Eight Fold Path](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_Eightfold_Path),
and various other interpretations involving the number eight (directions,
etc.). Buddha sits in the centre and holds things together. There's also a
[Mount Meru](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Meru) in the centre which
serves as the world's axis.

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/yDqvu.jpg)

I'm not entirely sure how the four outer kingdoms fit in, going by the above
image, there probably is some exotic symbolism for the corners.

Some Eastern animal symbolism which has crept into Buddhism is also present in
Juuni Kokuki. For example, all life is hatched from _ranka_ , eggs which grow
on trees. Compare this with the following image of Buddha being hatched from a
"cosmic egg":

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/rC2En.jpg)

FWIW, Korean history has its own [Three
Kingdoms](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Kingdoms_of_Korea).


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