Guan Yu/關羽/關雲長
Guan Yu was a general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. He played a significant role in the civil war that led to the collapse of the Han Dynasty and the establishment of the Kingdom of Shu, of which Liu Bei was the first emperor.
As one of the best known Chinese historical figures throughout East Asia, Guan Yu’s true life stories have largely given way to fictionalized ones, mostly found in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms or passed down the generations, in which his deeds and moral qualities have been lionized.
Guan Yu was deified as early as the Sui Dynasty and is still being worshipped by Chinese people today, especially in southern China. He is respected as the epitome of loyalty and righteousness.
Physical appearance
Guan Yu is traditionally portrayed as a red-faced warrior with a long lush beard. While his beard was indeed mentioned in the Records of Three Kingdoms, the idea of his red face may have derived from a later description of him in Chapter One of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, where the following passage appears:
| “ | Liu Bei took a glance at the man, who stood at a height of nine chi, and had a two chilong beard; his face was of the color of a Zao, with red lips; his eyes were like that of a phoenix’s, and his eyebrows resembled silkworms. He had a dignified aura and looked quite majestic. |
” |
Life
Early life
Guan Yu was born in the county of Xie (解, a subdistrict of present day Yuncheng, Shanxi). No details of the time of his birth are found in historical records.
Guan Yu fled his hometown at the age of 23 after slaying a local bully named Lü Xiong (呂熊). Five years later, he arrived in Zhuo Commandery (涿郡, present day Zhuozhou, Hebei). He met Liu Bei, who was recruiting volunteers to form a civilian army to counter the Yellow Turbans Rebellion. Together with Zhang Fei, Guan Yu joined Liu Bei and participated actively in fighting the Yellow Turbans in northern China.
For his efforts in putting down the rebellion, Liu Bei was appointed as the Governor of Pingyuan County. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were also appointed as military officers serving under Liu. According to Records of Three Kingdoms, the relationship of the three men was described to be “as close as brothers”. They slept on the same bed and treated each other like brothers. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei followed Liu Bei most of the time wherever he went and protected him from danger regardless of how perilous the situation was.
Service under Cao Cao
In 200, the warlord Yuan Shao mustered an army of 100,000 in strength and started a campaign against Cao Cao which subsequently culminated in the Battle of Guandu. To ensure a safe crossing of the Yellow River, Yuan sent his general Yan Liang to attack Boma (northeast of present day Huaxian, Henan) as a diversionary tactic. As a counter-tactic, Cao Cao moved his main force westward towards Yan Ford along the River. Yuan Shao withdrew his troops from Baima and Cao Cao’s forces struck back eastward to relieve the siege on Baima. Guan Yu and Zhang Liao led the attack on Yuan Shao’s troops at Baima. Guan Yu slew Yan Liang in the battle and brought back Yan’s severed head.
Guan Yu was conferred the title of Marquis[of Han Shou (漢壽亭侯) by the Emperor Xian in recognition of his efforts. After that, Guan Yu left for Hebei to rejoin Liu Bei, who was currently in Yuan Shao’s camp. He did not take any of Cao Cao’s gifts with him and left behind a farewell letter. Some of Cao Cao’s subordinates wanted to pursue Guan Yu and bring him back but Cao Cao stopped them.
Defeat and death
In 219, Guan Yu attacked the nearby enemy city of Fancheng (樊城, present day Xiangfan, Hubei), which was guarded by Cao Ren, and besieged it. In autumn, heavy showers in the region caused the Han River next to the city to overflow. The flood destroyed reinforcements troops from Cao Cao led by Yu Jin and Pang De. Both Yu and Pang were captured by Guan Yu in battle. However, reinforcements led by Xu Huang managed to force Guan Yu’s troops to retreat.
At that time, Guan Yu realised that Eastern Wu had secretly formed an alliance with Cao Wei and attacked Jingzhou while he was attacking Fancheng. The commanders Mi Fang and Fu Shiren he left in charge of Jingzhou had surrendered to Eastern Wu. When Guan Yu’s troops received news that their families in Jingzhou had fallen into the control of Eastern Wu, some of them started deserting and returning to Jingzhou to reunite with their families.
Guan Yu’s army fell in numbers significantly after several of his troops deserted. Guan attempted to retreat to Bashu in the west but was surrounded and besieged by Eastern Wu forces at Maicheng (麥城, southeast of present day Dangyang, Hubei). Guan Yu attempted to break out of the encirclement together with his son Guan Ping and subordinate Zhao Lei but failed. They were captured in Zhang Town (east of modern day Yuan’an County, Hubei) and executed by Eastern Wu forces after refusing to surrender. Sun Quan sent Guan Yu’s severed head to Cao Cao, who performed the proper funeral rites and buried Guan Yu’s severed head with full honours. Guan Yu was granted the posthumous title of Marquis of Zhuangmou (壯繆侯).
Crossing Five Passes and Slaying Six Generals
Moral of Guan Yu’s Riding Alone for Thousands of
Miles (千里走單騎) in the Summer Palace
In Chapter 26, Guan Yu finally received news that Liu Bei was alive and currently in Yuan Shao’s camp. Guan decided to leave Cao Cao together with Liu Bei’s wives to rejoin Liu Bei. Guan Yu attempted to bid Cao Cao farewell in person before his departure but Cao Cao did not give him the chance to do so. Frustrated, Guan Yu eventually wrote a farewell letter to Cao Cao and left. He took with him none of the luxuries and gifts Cao Cao gave him, except the Red Hare. He even gave up his title as Marquis of Han Shou by leaving behind his official seal. Cao Cao’s subordinates felt that Guan Yu behaved far too rudely and arrogantly by leaving without bidding farewell and wanted to pursue him and bring him back. However, Cao Cao knew that no one could stop the determined Guan Yu and he gave orders for the officials along the way to give passage to Guan Yu.
Guan Yu rode beside the carriage carrying his sisters-in-law and escorted them safely all the way. The first pass they reached was Dongling Pass (東嶺關, south of present day Dengfeng, Henan). The guarding officer Kong Xiu refused to allow Guan Yu passage as Guan did not have any official permits with him. Infuriated, Guan Yu killed Kong Xiu and forced his way through the pass.
They reached the city of Luoyang next. The Governor Han Fu led 1,000 men to blockade Guan Yu’s passage. Han’s subordinate Meng Tan challenged Guan Yu to a duel but was sliced into two by Guan. While Guan was fighting with Meng, Han Fu secretly took aim and fired an arrow at Guan Yu. The arrow hit Guan Yu’s arm and wounded him, but Guan Yu drew the arrow from the wound and proceeded to kill Han Fu next. The shocked soldiers immediately gave way and they passed through safely.
Guan Yu’s party arrived at Sishui Pass (汜水關, north of present day Xingyang, Henan). The guarding officer Bian Xi received Guan Yu’s party with a warm welcome and invited Guan to a feast at the temple outside the Pass. In fact, Bian Xi had ordered 200 of his men to lie in ambush inside the temple and kill Guan Yu later. Fortunately, one of the monks called Pujing, who was also from Guan Yu’s hometown, hinted to Guan Yu of the hidden danger. The ambush failed and Guan Yu killed Bian Xi and passed through Sishui Pass.
The Governor of Xingyang, Wang Zhi, adopted a similar scheme to kill Guan Yu. Like Bian Xi, he pretended to be welcoming towards Guan Yu and led Guan Yu’s party to a courier station for them to settle in for the night. After that, Wang ordered his subordinate Hu Ban to lead 1,000 men to surround the station secretly and set fire to it in the middle of the night. Curious to know how the famous Guan Yu looked like, Hu Ban stole a glance at Guan Yu. Guan noticed Hu Ban and invited him into the room. Guan Yu had met Hu’s father earlier and carried a letter with him. He gave the letter to Hu Ban and Hu decided to help Guan Yu after reading his father’s letter. Hu Ban revealed Wang Zhi’s evil plot and opened the city gates secretly for Guan Yu and his party to leave. Wang Zhi caught up a while later but Guan Yu turned back and killed him.
Guan Yu’s party finally arrived at a ferry crossing on the southern bank of the Yellow River. Qin Qi, the officer in charge, refused to allow Guan Yu to cross the river and was killed by an angered Guan Yu. Guan Yu and his party then crossed the river safely and entered Yuan Shao’s domain. However, they soon realised that Liu Bei was no longer in Yuan’s territory and had left for Runan. Guan Yu and his party then made their long journey back and were finally reunited with Liu Bei and Zhang Fei at Gucheng.
Guan Yu in modern Life
Guan Yu in Dynasty 5
Guan Yu in Dynasty Warrior Multiraid
