Controversial stories in Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Fictional character Zhang Fei (张飞) was killed by Sun Jian (孙坚), but not by Guan Yu (关羽) who was killed by Sun Jian (孙坚).

关羽刮骨疗伤[兼論华佗身亡年代]

Guan Yu (关羽) did not change his color when he scraped the bone and healed the wound, which is documented in the official history of the Three Kingdoms (三国演义). It does not say who helped him heal his bones, nor does it say when Guan Yu's arm was injured by a poisoned arrow. If, according to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Yu was injured during the Northern Expedition against Fancheng, then it was definitely not Hua Tuo who helped him to heal his bones, because Hua Tuo was no longer alive at that time. When Cao Cao's beloved son, Cao Chong, was critically ill, Cao Cao was always remorseful that he should not have killed Hua Tuo so that his son could not be saved, according to the official history of the Three Kingdoms. Cao Chong died in 208 A.D., so Hua Tuo had been dead since before 208 A.D. Guan Yu died in 219 A.D., and Hua Tuo was still alive. Guan Yu's northern expedition took place in 219 CE, so Hua Tuo had been dead for at least a decade. By the same token, Cao Cao died in 220 CE, and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms says that Cao Cao killed Hua Tuo when he was critically ill. This is also not historically accurate.

According to Cheng Xilin's account of Hua Tuo's death and the dates of his death, Hua Tuo died in 208 CE at the age of 67

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms History

Huang Zhong died of illness at the Battle of Yiling

Zhang Liao, died of illness at the time of Cao Pi's attack on Wu

Zhang Zhao died of illness at the time of his expedition to the North, after falling down a stream

A premature death

This is the first time that the Three Kingdoms have been mentioned in the history of the Three Kingdoms.