• The world under heaven, after a long period of division, tends to unite; after a long period of union, tends to divide. This has been so since antiquity.

    Luo Guanzhong: The world under heaven, after a long period of division, tends to unite; after a long period of union, tends to divide. This has been so since antiquity.
    "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Book by Luo Guanzhong (Chapter 1, opening lines), 14th century.