Evaluation of Guan Yu

The "Three Kingdoms: Biography of Guan, Zhang, Ma, Huang and Zhao" discusses Guan Yu and Zhang Fei: "Both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are known as enemies of ten thousand people and are tiger ministers in the world. Yu serves Duke Cao, and Fei expresses his righteousness. Yan also has the style of a scholar. However, Yu is strong and conceited, and he is violent and ungrateful. He is defeated by shortcomings, which is normal. "He also said: "Yu treats soldiers well but is proud of scholar-bureaucrats, but Fei loves and respects gentlemen but does not show mercy. Villain." Indeed.

In the 19th year of Jian'an (214), when Liu Bei captured Yizhou, he surrendered Ma Chao. After taking over Yizhou as a pastor, he worshiped Ma Chao as General Pingxi. Guan Yu was dissatisfied because Ma Chao was not an old friend, and he heard that Ma Chao was brave, so he wrote to Zhuge Liang and asked: "Who can compare superhuman talents to others?" Zhuge Liang knew what he meant, so he wrote back and said: "Meng Qi (Ma Chao, also known as Meng Qi) is a talented man in both civil and military affairs. He is a hero and a hero of his generation. He is a disciple of Ting Bu and Peng Yue. He should be associated with Yide." (Zhang Fei's courtesy name is Yide) They are fighting to be the first, but they are still not as good as Beard's peerless group." ("Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu, Biography of Guan Yu"). Guan Yu had a good beard, so Zhuge Liang called him Beautiful Beard Gong. Guan Yu was overjoyed and passed it around to his guests.

In July of the 24th year of Jian'an (219), Huang Zhong's formation killed Xia Houyuan, a famous general of Cao's army, and was promoted to the general of the Western Conquest for his merits. In the same year, Liu Bei ascended the throne as King of Hanzhong and appointed Guan Yu as the former general, Huang Zhong as the rear general, Zhang Fei as the right general, and Ma Chao as the left general. Zhuge Liang said that Liu Bei said: "The reputation of loyalty has never been the same as Guan and Ma's ethics, and now he has ordered them to be in the same rank. If Ma and Zhang are close, if they see their achievements in person, they can still be compared to them; if Guan and Zhang hear about them from afar, they will probably be displeased. "Isn't it impossible?" Liu Bei said: "I should explain it myself" ("Three Kingdoms·Shu·Huang Zhongzhuan"). He also sent Sima Feishi from the front of Yizhou to deliver seals and ribbons to Guan Yu.

When Guan Yu heard that Huang Zhong was on the same level as himself, he was furious and said: "A real man will not be on the same level as a veteran?" He refused to accept the appointment. Fei Shi said to Guan Yu: "My husband established a kingship for different reasons. In the past, Xiao (Xiao He) and Cao (Cao Shen) were close to Gao Zu (Liu Bang) when they were young, but Chen (Chen Ping) and Han Ming (Han Xin) died after their death. Lord, when it comes to the ranks, Han is the best. I have never heard of Xiao and Cao complaining about this. Now I think of Han Sheng for his temporary merits. But in terms of importance, I would rather be equal to the king and the king? The arms of a prince are like one body, and they share the same relationship, misfortunes and blessings. As a fool, it is not appropriate for a prince to care about the rank of his official title or the amount of his salary. , if so, we will return it, but if we cherish this move, we may regret it." ("Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu, Biography of Fei Shi")? Guan Yu was greatly enlightened and worshiped and received the seal ribbon.

Guan Yu's natural weakness of arrogance led to the Battle of Fancheng. From the beginning, his command was correct, which shocked China, to the end, he was deceived, the entire army was annihilated, and Jingzhou was carelessly lost, which ultimately led to the alliance of Sun and Liu. Disintegration, the lessons are painful. At the beginning, Cao Cao often warned Xia Houyuan: "When a general is timid, he should not rely only on courage. A general should take courage as his foundation and act with wisdom; but he knows that no matter how brave he is, a man is no match for his ears." ("Three Kingdoms, Book of Wei, Xia Houyuan") "), and ended up being played in the palm of his hand. Xia Houyuan finally died due to his bravery. This was the case for Xia Houyuan, as was the case for Guan Yu and Xiang Yu.

Guan Yu also has an excellent side to his character.

Guan Yu is loyal to Liu Bei and his group's interests. He and Liu Bei shared the joys and sorrows for many years, adhering to their faith and unswervingly. Even though Baima was captured and was in Cao's camp, he still did not forget his old kindness and finally returned to Liu Bei. His loyalty was unwavering.

Guan Yu was extremely brave and was the best in the entire army. Later novels include stories about him beheading Hua Xiong while warming wine, three heroes fighting Lu Bu, beheading chariots and armors, beheading Yanliang, punishing Wen Chou, sealing gold with seals, riding alone for thousands of miles, beheading six generals through five passes, Huarong Road, attending meetings alone, and floods. The Seventh Army, etc., although there are some deviations from historical facts, they also highlight his bravery and charm. As for bone scraping to cure poison, everyone knows it.

Guan Yu was shot by random arrows, which penetrated the other left arm. Although the wound was healed, the bones often ache in rainy weather. The doctor said: "The arrowhead is poisonous, and the poison has penetrated into the bone. It is necessary to break the arm and scrape the bone to remove the poison. Then the ear will be removed." Guan Yu stretched out his arm and asked the doctor to open the wound. At that time, Guan Yu was hosting a banquet for the generals. "The blood flowed from his arms and filled the dishes, while the feathers were cut and burned to drink wine, and he talked and laughed freely" ("Three Kingdoms·Shu·Guan Yu").

The description of this period in the novel "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is even more exciting: "Tuo then cut open the skin and flesh with the knife until it reached the bone, which was already green; Tuo used the knife to scrape the bone, and there was a sound. , all the people we saw above and below the tent were drinking wine and eating meat, talking, laughing and playing chess, with no sign of pain at all.

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In order to consolidate their dominance, the feudal ruling classes of past dynasties regarded Guan Yu as the embodiment of “loyalty”. Emperor", and was finally revered as the "Martial Saint". During the Chen and Sui Dynasties, Buddhist disciples relied on Guan Yu to appear and built the Guan Temple in Dangyang for the first time. In the third year of Jianzhong of the Tang Dynasty (782), Guan Yu was listed as one of the sixty-four famous generals in ancient and modern times. After the Song Dynasty, Guan Yu was crowned "Martial Saint". After being unknown for 800 years, he was promoted to three levels by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty: first, he was named "Zhonghui Gong", and then "Zhonghui Gong". Chongning Zhenjun", he was also named "King Zhaolie Wu'an" and "Yiyong Wu'an King". Emperor Wenzong of the Yuan Dynasty named Guan Yu "King Zhuang Miao Yiyong Wu'an Xianling Yingji", and Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty named him "The Great Emperor of Demon-Suppressing in the Three Realms". "Tianzun Guan Shengdijun", and the temple of Guan Yu was named "Martial Temple", juxtaposed with the Confucian Temple and the Confucius Temple. The emperor of the Qing Dynasty flaunted Guan Yu as "the most popular person in the world" and named him "the god of loyalty, righteousness, martial arts, benevolence, bravery, showing the country, protecting the people, sincerity and appeasement" "Yi Zan Xuande Guansheng the Great" ("Qing History Manuscript·Rites and Music") built the Guandi Temple in Beijing, and also ordered the whole country to build Guan Gong temples and offer incense on time. The number of Wu Sheng Guan Gong temples far exceeds In the Qing Dynasty, there were 116 Guan temples in Beijing alone. Moreover, the scale of some Guan temples far exceeded those of Confucius. Some people say that Guan Gong is a kind of culture; It is said that Guan Gong is a spirit. Otherwise, why are there so many Guan Gong temples in China and even overseas?

Among all the Guan Gong temple buildings in China, there are five or six that are best preserved so far: Luoyang, Henan. Guanlin, Dangyang Guanling in Hubei, Guandi Temple in Jingzhou, Guandi Temple at Balingqiao in Xuchang, Henan, Guandi Temple in Changping, Guan Yu’s hometown in Shanxi, etc. The largest and most magnificent ones are located in Guan Yu’s hometown - Shanxi. The Guandi Temple in the west of Jiezhou City, Yuncheng City, is still the largest Guandi Temple in the country. It has more than 300 towers and pavilions and is one of the tourist attractions in Shanxi. The first is the Guan Temple.

In the history of the development of Chinese drama, there was a craze for "Three Kingdoms Opera", and many famous dramas have a considerable number of "Three Kingdoms Opera" and "Guan Gong Opera". Take Peking Opera as an example, there are 148 "Three Kingdoms Operas", and there are 20 plays about Guan Gong alone. Taking Puzhou Opera, Guan Yu's hometown, as an example, there are 88 "Three Kingdoms Operas" recorded, of which 18 are "Guan Gong Operas". . On the stage, Guan Gong appears as a perfect hero, with a jujube-like face, a flowing beard, and a majestic appearance. Even in "Zou Maicheng", his heroic character continues unabated.

For thousands of years, through the posthumous titles of rulers and descriptions in operas and literature, a person who is "loyal to the country, treats others with kindness, handles things with wisdom, makes friends with justice, and fights with courage" represents China. The perfect image of Guan Gong with the traditional virtues of the nation appeared in front of the world. He rose from "the great man of all times" to the "god among gods" and became the god of war, the god of wealth, the god of literature and the god of agriculture. The rulers and the common people, China, China and Japan overseas, are worshiped by both China and foreign countries, and admired by people from top to bottom.

It goes without saying that the feudal rulers of all dynasties respected Guan Yu. Even the peasant uprising leaders such as Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, and Hong Xiuquan also regarded Guan Yu as a hero.

Not only that, not only in China, but also in Japan, Southeast Asia and overseas Chinese, the worship of Guan Yu is also everlasting.

In Taiwan, which has a population of more than 20 million, there are as many as 8 million followers of Guan Gong. Almost every household has an incense burner, a memorial tablet, and a holy image for Guan Gong. The annual sales volume of Guan Gong portraits in Taiwan far exceeds that of Mazu, their most worshiped deity.

The "Longgang General Association" in the United States is a non-governmental organization with Guan Gong as its ancestor. It has more than 140 branches all over the world where Chinese people live.

Countries in South Asia competed to build temples to worship Guan Gong, and the most prosperous one was Thailand.

In Japan, there was a Guan Temple as early as the Qing Dynasty; a few years ago, a new Guan Temple was built, which is said to be the largest overseas construction.

Mr. Davidk Jordan (Chinese name: David Jiao), a professor at the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, San Diego, and a Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of Chicago, once said a very interesting thing; "I respect this great god of yours, he deserves Respected by all. His benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, and courage are still meaningful to this day. Benevolence is love, righteousness is credibility, wisdom is culture, and courage is not afraid of difficulties. If God’s people are like your Guan Gong, we will be respected. The world will become a better place.

"The words of this American scholar are quite insightful.

The loyalty, righteousness, trustworthiness, wisdom, benevolence and courage condensed in Guan Yu and suppressed by all generations contain the ethics of traditional Chinese culture , morality, and ideals, permeated with the essence of the Spring and Autumn Period of Confucianism, and the values ??of life that are consistent with the teachings of Buddhism and Taoism, are essentially the shining soul of China.