Guan Gong met his death at Mai Cheng

[CHUNG Yoon-Ngan <chungyn@mozart.collective.com.au>]

  The famous general Guan Gong met his death at Mai Cheng.

     The Han Dynasty collapsed in 220AD and the land was divided into
three Kingdoms by three most powerful generals of the former Han Dynasty. 
Cao Cao, the son of an adopted eunch, established his kingdom called 
Wei4 (220AD to 265AD) in the North. Sun Quan in the region of the lower
Yangtze and the South proclaimed the formation of his kingdom as the
Kingdom of Wu (229AD to 280AD). Liu Bei established the Shu Han Kingdom
(221AD to 263AD) in Sichuan, the Western part of China.

   The duration of incessant civil wars among the Three Kingdoms lasted 
for about 45 years. This period from 220AD to 265AD was called The Three 
Kingdoms Period by the historians.

Liu Bei was a general under the commamnd of Cao Cao, the Prime Minister 
of the central government of the Han Court. He was frustrated for being 
pushed around by Cao Cao. So he left Cao Cao and joined up with Liu Biao 
another general who was in control of the central region of the Yangtze 
River. Liu Bei became the new ruler of that region after the death of Liu 
Biao.  

   Planning to establish his own Kingdom, Liu Bei needed help from capable 
personnels. He found a kindred spirit in the two generals of Guan Gong
or Guan Yun and Zhang Fei. The three of them became sworn brothers with
Liu Bei as the elder brother, Guan Gong the second and Zhang Fei the
younger brother. 

   In 219AD Guan Gong, the great general and the army under his command 
were surrounded in a walled city called Mai (present day Mai Cheng in Dang 
Yang Xian in Hubei province) by the army of Wu. They were being besieged
for many months. He sent messengers to Liu Bei for help. The replied he 
received was a old saying,

   "A bucket of water cannot extinguish the burning of firewoods 
    in a cart."

   An advisor from the Wu army arrived at Mai Cheng trying to talk Guan 
Gong into surrendering to Wu. Guan Gong could not do so as he was the
sworn brother of Liu Bei and was staunchly loyal to him. 

   By now all the provisions in the city were exhausted. There were only 
about 300 Han soldiers left in the city and Guan Gong was contemplating of
abandoning the city of Mai. In the tenth moon of 219AD he, his son Guan
Ping and about 200 men broke through the cordoned. They were fleeing
westward. They were ambushed in a little hill about 20 lis west of Mai
city. The Wu troops destroyed the escapees. Guan Gong and his son Guan
Ping were captured by the Wu troops.
 
   They were executed by the order of the ruler of Wu, Sun Quan.
Guan Gong was 58 years old when he died.

Generations later people erected temples all over the land in honour of
his loyalty, righteousness and brotherhood. The temples were/are called
Guan Di Miao.

Chapters 76 and 77 from the book entitled,

San Guo Yan Yi "The Romance Of Three Kingdoms"

CHUNG Yoon-Ngan.  chungyn@mozart.collective.com.au