Shu Warrior
Guan Yu, the Saint of War
關羽died 2205 star
In short
Guan Yu (died 220) was a general who followed Liu Bei for more than thirty years. Captured by Cao Cao in 200, he killed the enemy commander Yan Liang in front of two armies and then went back to Liu Bei. In 219, from Jing Province, he flooded seven armies at Fancheng and frightened Cao Cao into talk of moving the capital. Sun Quan's army took Jing behind him and executed him. China later made him a god.
| Lived | died 220 |
|---|---|
| Name in Chinese | 關羽 |
| Courtesy name | Yunchang |
| Served | Liu Bei |
The history
Guan Yu was from Xie county in Hedong. He fled his home for a reason the history does not give, came to Zhuo commandery, and joined Liu Bei there around 184 with Zhang Fei. The three slept in one room. In public the two stood behind Liu Bei all day and followed him through every danger.
In 200 Cao Cao took Xu Province and captured Guan Yu. He treated him generously and made him a general. Guan Yu told Zhang Liao that he knew Cao Cao’s kindness, that he had sworn to die with Liu Bei, and that he would leave once he had repaid the debt. At Boma he saw the standard of Yuan Shao’s general Yan Liang, rode through the enemy to it, killed him, and brought back the head. Then he sealed up every gift, left a letter, and went. Cao Cao forbade pursuit: each man serves his own lord.
Liu Bei left him to hold Jing Province when he went west. In 219 Guan Yu attacked Cao Ren at Fancheng. The Han River flooded in autumn, seven armies under Yu Jin were drowned or taken, and Pang De was captured and killed. The history says his name shook the whole of China.
It was the high point. Lu Meng and Lu Xun of Wu took his base at Jiangling without a fight and treated his soldiers’ families well, and his army went home. He was caught and executed in the winter.
He was brave and proud. He was good to his soldiers and scornful of the gentry, and the officers he had insulted were the ones who opened the gates.
The novel
Romance of the Three Kingdoms gives him the Peach Garden oath, the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, the slaying of six officers at five passes, and the release of Cao Cao at Huarong. It also keeps one thing from the record: the surgeon cutting poison from the bone of his arm while he ate and talked.
Guan Yu in the game
In Warlords of the Three Kingdoms Guan Yu is the Saint of War: a 5 star warriorof Shu. The game's line for him: “He cut down Yan Liang amid ten thousand men at Baima, and later ages raised temples to him as a god of war.”
| Kingdom | Shu |
|---|---|
| Role | Warrior |
| Rarity | 5 star |
| Base attack and defense | 57 and 47 |
| Where from | Summoned at the Imperial Summon, for Jade. The odds are shown before every summon. |
A warlord sworn to Shu fields him 10% stronger, as every General of their own Kingdom. Wei, Shu or Wu has what the choice changes.
Green Dragon Crescent Blade is his signature: holding it raises his attack and defense by 20%.
Five star is where he starts. Duplicates become shards, shards add stars, and each star adds a tenth to both numbers.
Questions
Why is Guan Yu worshipped as a god?
For loyalty. He left Cao Cao's honors to return to a lord who had nothing, and later ages made that the pattern of keeping faith. Emperors raised his rank for a thousand years, to Emperor Guan in the Ming. He is honored in temples, and by police and traders alike.
How did Guan Yu die?
In the winter of 219 to 220. While he besieged Fancheng, Lu Meng of Wu took Jing Province behind him. His army melted away, he was caught near Maicheng, and Sun Quan's officers beheaded him with his son Guan Ping.
Did Guan Yu really use the Green Dragon Crescent Blade?
That is the novel's. The weapon is a type from centuries later. The history says only that he speared Yan Liang in the middle of his army and cut off his head.
Was the Oath of the Peach Garden real?
The oath is the novel's scene. The history says that Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei shared one bed and were as close as brothers, and that the two stood guard behind Liu Bei all day.
How do you get Guan Yu in Warlords of the Three Kingdoms?
Summoned at the Imperial Summon, for Jade. The odds are shown before every summon.
Sources
The history follows Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms, written in the third century, with Pei Songzhi's annotations of the fifth, and Fan Ye's Book of the Later Han for the years before the Han court fell apart. What the page calls the novel is Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, of the fourteenth century. Where the two disagree, the page says which is speaking. For more on him, see Guan Yu on Wikipedia.
Written by Gitkonek Studio, .
Keep reading
- Zhao Yun, the Dragon of ChangshanAt Changban he carried Liu Bei's infant son through Cao Cao's whole army and out the other side.
- Zhuge Liang, the Sleeping DragonLiu Bei called at his cottage three times, and was given the Longzhong Plan and the next twenty-seven years.
- Huang Zhong, the Veteran of DingjunPast sixty when he cut down Xiahou Yuan at Dingjun Mountain, he took it as proof that he was not yet old.
- Liu Bei, the Imperial UncleA sandal seller of royal descent who lost nearly every battle he fought and still founded an empire.
- Ma Chao, the SplendidAt Tong Pass he chased Cao Cao so hard that the chancellor cut off his own beard to pass unrecognized.