Firstly, the historical accounts of his actions vary somewhat as his popular portrayal is very influenced by Luo Guanzhong's 14th century novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Certain physical characteristics which we use today include his depiction as having a red face, long beard, and green robe (which all come from this text). RotTK also describes his face being the colour of a Zao (紅棗), however this also most likely a representation of the the Chinese operatic tradition, where a red face denotes righteousness.

In terms of what I can gather about his life, he was born very near the end of the latter Han Dynasty (後漢) and rose to military success under the command of under Liu Bei (劉備) fighting against the 'Yellow Turban Rebelion'. The legends of bravery and virtue in Guan Yu's life are typified by the various campaigns he fought during the 'Three Kingdoms' period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. I found one accound of how he was defeated (and killed) particularly noteworthy. After his army's central territory of Jiangling (in Hubei) was captured, his opposing general (Lü Meng, 呂蒙, fighting for Sun Quan 孫權) held the familed of Guan's forces hostage. Guan Yu is said to have informed his troops, and given them the oppotunity to desert (returning home rather than staying to fight and risk having Lu Meng's soldiers kill their relatives back in Jiangling). It was this supposedly this act of mercy that ultimately cost him his life, as with most of his army gone he was encircled, captured, and executed soon after while trying to rejoin Liu Bei's main army.

Although regarded with a mystical reverance, Guan Yu was awarded various postumous titles by following kindoms and dynastic houses. He was deified by the the Sui Dynasty nearly 400 years after his death, and subsiquent dynasties awarded him additional titles including that of prince by the first Song Dynasty (it was during this time that he was also recognised as a saint in Taoism), and prince again in the following Mongol Yuan Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty (大明國) continued this as he was further elevated to the title of 'Saintly Emperor who subdues demons of the three worlds and whose awe spreads far and moves heaven' (三界伏魔大神威遠震天尊關聖帝君). These acolades culminated in Qing Dynasty, where his honorific title was expanded to spread over 24 characters (仁勇威顯護國保民精誠綏靖翊贊宣德忠義神武關聖大帝, if you're interested).

As with all history, it's often difficult to establish the 'truth' from the varying perspectives people outline. Likewise with someone like Guan Yu, it is often difficult to examine due to the legendary cultural status the figure has in Chinese history. Still, I found it quite interesting to research him as a noteworth figure in Tao. I should also ad that what i've writen here is only a fraction of the information available, and my sources --in this case-- were internet based (so you get great Chinese names), however I'm still sceptical about the use of the internet for academic purposes.

I hope this can be of some interest to our group. By the way, a special thanks to Bernard for his live translation of the Taiwanese talk the other week; it looked to be very difficult material.

Samual Ritchie