Guan Yu refused and cursed the emissary Sun Quan was greatly angered." The province of Jing, supposedly "borrowed" by Liu Bei from Sun Quan in 210, was the source of much contention. According to the Sanguo Zhi: "Sun Quan had sent an emissary to request marriage between his son and Guan Yu’s daughter. As governor, he saw Cao Cao in the north as the main enemy and rejected overtures from the neighbouring warlord Sun Quan. His army was garrisoned north of the Yangtze River, possibly at Jiangling, to defend Liu Bei's northern border.Īfter Liu Bei left for Yi province (modern Sichuan) in 213, Guan Yu was confirmed as the most important of Liu's commanders by being given governance of Jing province. Following the Battle of Red Cliffs, in which Cao was decisively defeated, Guan Yu was made Grand Administrator of Xiangyang (襄陽太守), with the title of General Who Purges Criminals (蕩寇將軍). When Cao Cao caught up with Liu again in 208, Guan Yu was given command of the Han River fleet and its 10,000 marines. Nevertheless, he rejoined Liu Bei soon after Guandu, accompanying him to join Liu Biao in Jing province (modern Hubei and Hunan). During this time Guan developed friendships with some of Cao Cao's commanders, including Zhang Liao and Xu Huang. None of Yuan Shao's generals were a match for him and thus the siege of Baima was unravelled." Cao Cao was so pleased that he enfeoffed Guan Yu as Marquis of Hanshouting (漢壽亭侯). He urged his mount on, speared Liang in the ranks of the ten-thousand, and brought his head back. The Sanguo Zhi describes the scene in a few lines: "Guan Yu saw the standard on the chariot of Yan Liang. ![]() He fought on Cao's side at the Battle of Guandu in 200, killing Yuan Shao's general Yan Liang in a much celebrated encounter. Guan Yu, then in control of the provincial capital Xiapi, surrendered. In 199 Liu Bei turned on Cao Cao, and was quickly defeated by him. He dominated the province for the rest of the decade, being allied firstly to Tao Qian, and after his death to Lü Bu, and finally to the great warlord Cao Cao. In 194 Liu Bei and his men were sent south to Xu province in aid of Tao Qian. After the Yellow Turbans were defeated, Guan Yu accompanied Liu Bei to a number of minor assignments around north China before joining Gongsun Zan in 191. By this time the command structure of Liu Bei's private army was already large enough for Guan to have his own troops ( buqu 部曲). The first serious military action they saw was probably during the Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184. According to the legend, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei became sworn brothers under the blossoming peach garden, where Liu Bei was the eldest, Guan Yu the second and Zhang Fei the youngest.The Sanguo Zhi says that Liu Bei "shared the same bed with the two and they treated one other with the kindness of brothers." He and Zhang Fei became Liu Bei's most trusted lieutenants, often serving in the capacity of bodyguards. Possibly as a result of a local vendetta, he fled to the northern frontier town of Zhuo, where he joined Liu Bei, a local notable. Little is known about his family background. Guan Gong, known as Guan Yu, was born in Jie (解) county, near the bend of the Yellow River in what is now eastern Shaanxi province. He personifies honor, loyalty, integrity, justice, courage, and strength. ![]() He is more appropriately known as the Chinese "God of brotherhoods". It is a bit of a misconception to name him the God of War. ![]() This idea comes from the fact that Guan Gong is easily the most famous general from Chinese history. In the West, the few who know Guan Gong sometimes call him the Taoist "God of War". ![]() Guan Gong (關公), or Guan Di (關帝), is a Chinese god based on the historical Guan Yu, a third century military commander.
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