Liu Bei went to Xu Province, killed its Inspector (刺史) Che Zhou (車冑), and seized control of the province. About a year later, in 199, Liu Bei and his followers escaped from Xu on the pretext of helping Cao Cao lead an army to attack Yuan Shu. Liu Bei and his men followed Cao Cao back to the imperial capital Xu (許 present-day Xuchang, Henan) after their victory over Lü Bu at the Battle of Xiapi in 198. They followed him on his exploits and protected him from danger. ![]() Zhang Fei and Guan Yu also stood guard beside Liu Bei when he sat down at meetings. The three of them shared a brotherly-like relationship, to the point of sharing the same room. When Liu Bei was appointed as the Chancellor (相) of Pingyuan (平原), Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were appointed as "Majors of Separate Command" (别部司马) and they commanded detachments of soldiers under Liu. When the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in the 180s, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei joined a volunteer militia formed by Liu Bei, and they assisted a Colonel (校尉) Zou Jing in suppressing the revolt. ![]() He fled from his hometown after committing a serious crime and arrived in Zhuo commandery (涿郡 present-day Zhuozhou, Hebei). He was very interested in the Zuo Zhuan and could fluently recite lines from the book. Guan Yu was a native of Xie (解), Hedong (河東郡), which is in present-day Yuncheng, Shanxi. He traditionally dons a green robe over his body armour, as depicted in illustrations of Romance of the Three Kingdoms.Ī statue of Guan Yu in Zhuge Liang's temple in Chengdu, Sichuan. A wooden replica can be found today in the Emperor Guan Temple in Xiezhou County, Shanxi. Supposedly, Guan Yu's weapon was a guan dao named Green Dragon Crescent Blade, which resembled a halberd and was said to weigh 82 catties (about 18.25 kg or 40 lbs). He had a dignified aura and looked quite majestic.Īlternatively, the idea of his red face could have been borrowed from opera representation, where red faces depict loyalty and righteousness. Xuande took a glance at the man, who stood at a height of nine chi, and had a two chi long beard his face was of the colour of a zao, with red lips his eyes were like that of a phoenix's, and his eyebrows resembled silkworms. The idea of his red face may have derived from a later description of him in the first chapter of the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, where the following passage appears: Traditionally, he is portrayed as a red-faced warrior with a long lush beard. No descriptions of Guan Yu's physical appearance exist in historical records, but his beard was mentioned in the Sanguozhi. Some alternative texts used in the annotations to Guan Yu's biography include: Shu Ji ( Records of Shu), by Wang Yin Wei Shu ( Book of Wei), by Wang Shen, Xun Yi and Ruan Ji Jiang Biao Zhuan, by Yu Pu Fu Zi, by Fu Xuan Dianlue, by Yu Huan Wu Li ( History of Wu), by Hu Chong Chronicles of Huayang, by Chang Qu. During the fifth century, Pei Songzhi annotated the Sanguozhi by incorporating information from other sources to Chen Shou's original work and adding his personal commentary. ![]() The authoritative historical source on Guan Yu's life is the Records of the Three Kingdoms ( Sanguozhi), written by Chen Shou in the third century CE. His hometown Yuncheng has also named its airport after him. He is often reverently called Guan Gong (Lord Guan) and Guan Di (Emperor Guan). He is a figure in Chinese folk religion, popular Confucianism, Taoism, and Chinese Buddhism, and small shrines to Guan are almost ubiquitous in traditional Chinese shops and restaurants. Guan was deified as early as the Sui Dynasty and is still worshipped by many Chinese people today, especially in southern China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and among many overseas Chinese communities. ![]() Guan is respected as an epitome of loyalty and righteousness. Īs one of the best known Chinese historical figures throughout East Asia, Guan's true life stories have largely given way to fictionalised ones, most of which are found in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms or passed down the generations, in which his deeds and moral qualities have been lionised. He played a significant role in the civil war that led to the collapse of the Han Dynasty and the establishment of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period, of which Liu Bei was the first emperor. Guan Yu (died 219), Yunchang, was a general serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han Dynasty of China. This is a Chinese name the family name is Guan.
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