Author: Tin-Kay Goh
Date: 06-14-04 07:20
Guan Yu (? - AD 219) was the leading Shu general and sworn blood brother of Liu Bei (AD 161-223) of Shu Kingdom. Guan Yu, upon his capture and execution by Sun Quan of Wu Kingdom, had his head sent to Cao Cao of Wei, in the hope of implicating Wei. Cao Cao apparently had a shock on seeing the head of the Shu general whom he respected and tried earlier to recruit to his own cause. Cao Cao had once interred him with Liu Bei's wife in a room, but he was an honorable man and stayed all night at the door reading his books.
Upon receipt of the head, the wily Cao Cao had a wooden body made as a complement for the head and paid the rites due to an honored enemy. The head and substituted body were then sent back to Shu Kingdom so that Liu Bei of Shu would vent his anger on the Wu Kingdom. This was exactly what happened. In spite of advice by Zhuge Liang not to rush into a revengeful punitive expedition, Liu Bei was emotionally insistent and consequently paid the price in failure, ultimately falling sick and dying at Baide Cheng (White Emperor City) at the Three Georges area. The Baide Cheng can still be visited along the Yangtze River, but I wonder whether the water level from the Three Gorges Dam will affect it soon. Guan Yu's head was buried at Loyang, where he had his temple.
What is fascinating is that Guan Yu is gnerally accepted as the God of War, but business people always have him as a protective symbol in their shops. Hence, he is now more a God of Business than a God of War. Guan Yu is looked upon as a man of loyalty and highest integrity. What is glorified in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong is not as correct in history as in Chen Shou's History of the Three KIngdoms.
|
|
The Asiawind forums are provided to you by
InTechTra Inc.