Tell me about Zhang Fei in the Three Kingdoms.

Zhang Fei, a man with a virtue (in fact, it should be a virtue), is a distinguished gentleman, the eldest of the three brothers in Taoyuan, and one of the founding fathers of the Han Shu regime. However, compared with other protagonists and other backbones of Liu Bei Group, Zhang Fei undoubtedly received much less attention. After all, except for his high martial arts and bravery, he is not outstanding in other aspects: he has no appeal from his eldest brother, no relevant fame and position, no mind of Prime Minister Zhuge, and a calm and cautious character. Even in terms of appearance, it is not as good as Ma Jin Chao, "a beast with a lion's helmet and a white robe". On the other hand, he always plays the most mindless and troublesome role in Liu Bei Group. All kinds of disappointments that Liu Bei experienced in the first half of his life and missed opportunities again and again were almost all related to his hot temper to some extent, and even his final death was caused by his own personality defects. For these reasons, it is not surprising that Zhang Fei is ignored by readers.

However, such a brainless, reckless and grumpy Zhang Fei has an unprecedented popularity among the people. It is said that Zhang Fei is often the center of the whole story in the folk stories about the Three Kingdoms from the Song Dynasty to the first year. Among the dozens of Yuan Zaju Three Kingdoms dramas handed down from generation to generation, Zhang Fei is the protagonist, accounting for almost half. In the story of the Three Kingdoms, Zhang Fei is the most active figure in the first half. Among the figures in the Three Kingdoms, the legends related to him are the most: Zhang Fei examines melons, Zhang Fei solve riddles on the lanterns, and Zhang Fei solves crimes at night ... There are also the most common sayings related to him: Zhang Fei wears needles, Zhang Fei eats bean sprouts, and Zhang Fei embroiders ... Even the diets related to him are the most: Zhang Fei beef, Zhang Fei steamed bread, and Zhang Fei dried beans ... These are unimaginable to any other figure in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. They are too far away to live in novels; And Zhang Fei is very close to us, as if he were beside us.

Comparing Guan Yu, who is also famous, we can see that people have different attitudes towards them. In history, the gatekeeper is often compared with Zhang because they all have extraordinary military courage. Zhang Fei's name was even ranked before Guan Yu, but since the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, their status has gradually changed. Guan Yu was constantly promoted by the ruling class and eventually became an emperor and a saint, but Zhang Fei kept standing still. He has always belonged to civilians. Although people admire and love him, he is far from giving in. In everyone's mind, he is only a famous military commander at most. Guan Yu is a myth, and Zhang Fei is just a legend.

Why do people treat them so differently? The primary reason is of course that Zhang Fei is simpler than Guan Yu. Although he has some calculations, although he may not be much worse than his second brother in loyalty and righteousness, although Yan Yan's actions show that he is quite sophisticated, although he is an accomplished painter and calligrapher in the official history ... On the whole, Zhang Fei is one of the most simple characters in the novel. In his world, there is only absolute black and white, no moderate gray, his eyes can't get into any sand, and his heart is secret. His rough appearance, thunderous roar and heavy snake spear in his hand ... every detail of his appearance is an interpretation of this bravery; His generosity, his frankness, his recklessness, his bad temper, his hatred of evil ... everything else in his character also stems from this bravery. If Liu Bei is a benevolent, Guan Yu is a saint, Zhuge Liang is a wise man, Cao Cao is the king, and Sima Yi is the final winner, then Zhang Fei is a brave man through and through. The eyes of the masses are discerning, of course, their minds are always simple, so Zhang Fei, who has a simple plastic surgery, is certainly easier to understand and accept than Guan Yu, who is complicated.

The deeper reason is that Zhang Fei has more folk color and street flavor than Guan Yu, and is closer to the civilian hero in the eyes of the grassroots. If we position ourselves according to the temperament of these two people, Guan Yu is undoubtedly Confucian, while Zhang Fei is closer to chivalry. Of course, he is not a chivalrous man in later martial arts novels. He is not a romantic scholar swordsman like Liang Yusheng's Andy and Jin Shiyi, nor a chivalrous man like Jin Yong's Guo Jing and Xiao Feng, nor an eccentric prodigal son like Gu Long's Lu Xiaofeng and Li Xunhuan. The gestures of these characters have been carefully carved and scrutinized by the author. They are all too delicate, as delicate as pieces of jade. Even the roughest Xiao Feng can't completely get rid of this speculation.

And Zhang Fei was not created by Luo Guanzhong alone. Long before The Romance of the Three Kingdoms was published, his image was generally shaped by the word of mouth of countless people. What Luo Guanzhong himself has done is just carving out a few rays of brilliance on this stone-like rough jade. Therefore, Zhang Fei has always been an original chivalrous man, rough, simple, wild, rough and even a little fierce, like the dead in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, like the legendary tramp in the Tang Dynasty, like Lu in the Water Margin, shining with realism from head to toe: he comes from the land of Yanzhao, generous and sad; He used to be a butcher hiding in the city; He is addicted to alcohol, even because he is drunk; He has always called himself "an"; He opened his mouth, not shouting, laughing or crying ... He didn't have the handsome appearance of "silver saddle shining on a white horse, whispering like a meteor", but he also had the generosity of "persuading Zhu Hai to persuade Hou Ying"; He may not have the martial arts of "killing one person in ten steps, leaving a mark in a thousand miles", but he also has the spirit of "three cups of promises, five mountains are light". As Sima Qian said, he really keeps his promise, and his actions will definitely have results. He promised to be sincere, not to love his body, and went to the plight of scholars.