Three Kingdoms Hero: Guan Yu

Author: Tian Xingjian
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features: There were no gods in the world to begin with; gods were all created by people. Broadly speaking, before the Song Dynasty, people merely regarded Guan Yu as a brave general and a tragic hero. However, after the Song Dynasty, under the influence of Neo-Confucianism, feudal rulers and scholars gradually deified and sanctified Guan Yu based on his loyalty to Liu Bei, aiming to promote feudal ethics. His status rose day by day, not only becoming a sage on par with Confucius but also ascending from a human ghost to a divine being, becoming the Divine Lord Guan. Emperors throughout the dynasties continuously bestowed upon him titles, the number of which was quite substantial. For instance, in the fifth year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, his title was a lengthy 26 characters: "Zhongyi Shenwu Lingyou Renyong Weixian Huguo Baomin Jingcheng Suiling Yizan Xuande Guansheng Dadi." This is a historical novel. Please note the solemn and serious "historical" in the title—it means this is not a "light-hearted adaptation" or "romance," but a "historical" novel. The author's purpose in writing this book is to use the perspective and methods of historical materialism to strip away the layers of paint—whether from "romances," operas, folk legends, or myths—that have been applied to Guan Yu, to remove the halo from his head, and to restore the true historical background of that era and Guan Yu's original historical identity. But it is, after all, an artistic work, a novel, and is different from historical works. Even within the bounds of historical facts and the historical context, there is some artistic embellishment, some exaggeration and re-creation. Of course, this can only be done within a certain range and to a certain extent, and it cannot deviate too far from the coordinate of "history." Therefore, in essence, this novel can still be considered a relatively rigorous "historical" novel. The "Notes on Reading History" at the end of the book provides and explanations for important historical facts, mainly intended for history enthusiasts, including those with a strong desire to know the truth and ask questions until they are fully satisfied. Its main functions are threefold: first, to correct the inaccuracies in "romances," operas, folk legends, and myths that contradict historical facts; second, to clarify the historical facts upon which the novel is based; and third, to help readers distinguish between the artistic embellishments in the novel and the historically documented facts. The current practice of restoring ancient buildings in the world is to make the repaired parts clearly distinguishable from the original, both supporting the entire structure and avoiding confusion between the real and the fake. This is also the painstaking effort behind writing the "Notes on Reading History." I hope readers will understand.
In the Guandi Temple, the magnificent main hall housed a towering seated statue of Guan Yu. The statue, adorned in imperial attire, wore a twelve-crested flat crown and a brocade dragon robe. His eyes were like peacocks' feathers, his brows like sleeping, his face flushed, and his five braids of long beard flowed over his chest. Above the statue hung two inscriptions: "Zhongyi Qianqi" (Loyalty and Righteousness Last Forever) and "Wansheng Renji" (The Ultimate Model for All People). In front of the statue stood an altar with offerings and burning incense candles, the hall filled with swirling smoke. On both sides were standing statues of Guan Ping and Zhou Cang. Guan Ping led the Red Horse, while Zhou Cang carried the Green Dragon Crescent Blade. The walls were adorned with murals depicting stories of Guan Yu: the Three Oaths in the Peach Garden, slaying Yan Liang, executing Wen Chou, handing over his robe to leave Cao Cao, passing the Five Passes, slaying the Six Generals, flooding the army with water, and ascending to heaven in Mач, etc. Tourists kept coming in to admire the hall. Among them was a professor in his sixties, accompanied by a dozen male and female college students, squeezed into the crowd.
A male student asked the professor, "Professor, Guan Yu was a great general during the Three Kingdoms period, but he was stubborn and reckless, brave but lacking in strategy. He wasn’t really a perfect figure—how did he become a god?"
The professor replied, "This is a complex question that can’t be explained in a few words. There were no gods in the world to begin with; gods were all created by people. Broadly speaking, before the Song Dynasty, people merely regarded Guan Yu as a brave general and a tragic hero. However, after the Song Dynasty, under the influence of Neo-Confucianism, feudal rulers and scholars gradually deified and sanctified Guan Yu based on his loyalty to Liu Bei, aiming to promote feudal ethics. His status rose day by day, not only becoming a sage on par with Confucius but also ascending from a human ghost to a divine being, becoming the Divine Lord Guan. Emperors throughout the dynasties continuously bestowed upon him titles, the number of which was quite substantial. For instance, in the fifth year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, his title was a lengthy 26 characters, which I can’t even remember."
He pulled out a small notebook from his pocket and flipped through it. "Oh, here it is! Listen: the 26 characters are ‘Zhongyi Shenwu Lingyou Renyong Weixian Huguo Baomin Jingcheng Suiling Yizan Xuande Guansheng Dadi.’ The grandeur of his title is astonishing. In folklore, there are many legends of Guan Gong’s divine interventions, such as him appearing in a dream or possessing others. Even activities like fortune-telling and divination often invoked the name of ‘Guan Gong’ or ‘Lord Guan.’ Before the liberation, there were many Guandi Temples across the country, and some people believed that the number of Guandi Temples accounted for the top spot among all temples."
As the professor spoke, some tourists gathered around to listen. A man wearing a flat cap chimed in, "Lord Guan was truly remarkable to begin with!" The professor smiled and asked, "What’s remarkable about him?"
The man pointed to the murals, "Didn’t it say there? Slaying Yan Liang, executing Wen Chou, protecting the two imperial concubines on a thousand-li journey alone, passing the Five Passes and slaying the Six Generals, meeting in the ancient city and slaying Cai Yang, flooding the enemy army with water."
Another tourist pointed at the man in the flat cap, "He’s an opera actor—he’s performed all the roles of Lord Guan."
The professor said, "The stories depicted in the murals are all from the ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms,’ not from historical records, and many of them lack historical basis. Today, we should promote science, break away from superstition, and discard any mysterious idol worship to restore Guan Yu’s original historical identity so that he can meet us as an ordinary person."
The students and tourists almost all said in unison, "Professor, then please tell us about the historical figure Guan Yu!"
The professor thought for a moment and said, "How can such a long story be told in this setting? Recently, I’ve written a historical novel called ‘Three Kingdoms Warrior—Guan Yu,’ which is about to be published. If you’re interested, you can read that book."
Then, with deep emotion, he added, "It’s a historical tragedy, a tragic story of human nature, of fate, of a hero’s downfall! When you open that novel, it’s like giving wings to memories, flying through a time tunnel to return to the era of 1,700 years ago, when heroes were made and destroyed amidst fierce competition and endless wars."