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Guan Yu (關羽; style name Changsheng 長生, Yunchang 雲長; d. 219 AD) was a military commander of Han Dynasty China. He fought in the civil wars at the end of the dynasty as one of the leading generals under the warlord Liu Bei. Historical information on Guan Yu, most of which is contained in Sanguo Zhi, have been clouded by popular conceptions of the man. Throughout Chinese history, his deeds and qualities have been successively exaggerated to the point that he has been canonised as the god Guan Gong. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in which Guan Yu features prominently, is probably the best known account of his life in China, Japan, Korea and around the world.
Guan Yu was born in Jie (解) county, near the bend of the Yellow River in what is now eastern Shaanxi province. Little is known about his family background. Possibly as a result of a local vendetta, he fled to the northern frontier town of Zhuo, where he joined Liu Bei, a local notable. He and Zhang Fei became Liu Bei's most trusted lieutenants, often serving in the capacity of bodyguards. The Sanguo Zhi says that Liu Bei "shared the same bed with the two and they treated one other with the kindness of brothers."
The first serious military action they saw was probably during the Yellow Turban RebellionThe Yellow Turban Rebellion ( simplified Chinese: , traditional Chinese: ) was an AD 184 peasant rebellion against Emperor Lingdi of the Han Dynasty of China. Called the yellow turbans or yellow scarves for the scarves they wore around their heads, the re in 184. By this time the command structure of Liu Bei's private army was already large enough for Guan to have his own troops (buqu 部曲). After the Yellow Turbans were defeated, Guan Yu accompanied Liu Bei to a number of minor assignments around north China before joining Gongsun ZanGongsun Zan ( gong1 sun1 zan4) was a warlord of northern China active toward the end of the second century AD. He was commander of a cavalry force and served on the northern and western frontiers of the Han Dynasty empire fighting against various non-Chin in 191. In 194 Liu Bei and his men were sent south to Xu province in aid of Tao QianTao Qian ( Chinese: , Wade-Giles: T'ao Ch'ien) ( 365- 427), also known as Tao Yunming (, T'ao Yuan-ming), was one of the most influential pre- Tang Dynasty Chinese poets. He came from a notable family which had descended into poverty; when young, he was t. He dominated the province for the rest of the decade, being allied firstly to Tao Qian, and after his death to Lü BuLu Bu ( 156- 198), courtesy name Fengxian, was one of the foremost warriors in Chinese history. He lived during the period of Three Kingdoms. Lu Bu was known as a master of horse riding, archery, and armed combat. He was handsome, tall and undefeated, bec, and finally to the great warlord Cao CaoCao Co (, pronounced "Tsao Tsao") ( 155- 220) was the self-appointed Imperial Secretarist of the Han Dynasty and the de facto ruler of Northern China (as the Kingdom of Wei) during the beginning of the period of Three Kingdoms. He was a brilliant ruler, s. In 199 Liu Bei turned on Cao Cao, and was quickly defeated by him. Guan Yu, then in control of the provincial capital Xiapi, surrendered.
He fought on Cao's side at the Battle of GuanduThe Battle of Guandu was a battle in Chinese history. It took place at the Yellow River in 200 AD. It was a crucial victory for the leader Cao Cao (155 AD 220 AD) in which he led a rebellion against Yuan Shao. He destroyed Yuan Shao's supplies and killed in 200, killing Yuan ShaoQing Dynasty edition of Romance of the Three Kingdoms''. Yuan Shao (; style name: Benchu ) was a major warlord of northern China during the chaotic civil war leading up to the fall of the Han Dynasty. Originally a member of the regular Han military bureau's general Yan LiangYan Liang was a general serving under Yuan Shao during the Eastern Han Dynasty period of ancient China. One of Yuan Shao's greatest military generals, Yan Liang was to be the first to face Cao Cao's army at the Battle of Guandu. Confident in being the bes in a much celebrated encounter. The Sanguo Zhi describes the scene in a few lines: "Guan Yu saw the standard on the chariot of Yan Liang. He urged his mount on, speared Liang in the ranks of the ten-thousand, and brought his head back. None of Yuan Shao's generals were a match for him and thus the siege of Baima was unravelled." Cao Cao was so pleased that he enfeoffed Guan Yu as Marquis of Hanshouting (漢壽亭侯). During this time Guan developed friendships with some of Cao Cao's commanders, including Zhang Liao and Xu Huang.
Nevertheless, he rejoined Liu Bei soon after Guandu, accompanying him to join Liu Biao in Jing province (modern Hubei and Hunan). When Cao Cao caught up with Liu again in 208, Guan Yu was given command of the Han River fleet and its 10,000 marines. Following the Battle of Red Cliffs, in which Cao was decisively defeated, Guan Yu was made Grand Administrator of Xiangyang (襄陽太守), with the title of General Who Purges Criminals (蕩寇將軍). His army was garrisoned north of the Yangzi River, possibly at Jiangling, to defend Liu Bei's northern border.
After Liu Bei left for Yi province (modern Sichuan) in 213, Guan Yu was confirmed as the most important of Liu's commanders by being given governance of Jing province. As governor, he saw Cao Cao in the north as the main enemy and rejected overtures from the neighbouring warlord Sun Quan. According to the Sanguo Zhi: "Sun Quan had sent an emissary to request marriage between his son and Guan Yu’s daughter. Guan Yu refused and cursed the emissary; Sun Quan was greatly angered." The province of Jing, supposedly "borrowed" by Liu Bei from Sun Quan in 210, was the source of much contention. Relations soon deteriorated between the two parties and by 219 commanders of the Sun group were actively hostile.
In that year, Guan Yu launched a major campaign against Cao Cao's positions on the Han River in the north. He completed surrounded Cao Ren at Fan and threatened Cao Cao's defense of the upper Huai River region. Guan then defeated a relief force sent by Cao Cao, capturing the veteran general Yu Jin and beheading Pang De. A rebellion against Cao Cao broke out at Luoyang and parts of northern Jing province. There was even talk at Cao Cao's court of evacuating the capital Xuchang. At this crucial time, Sun Quan intervened against Guan Yu. His commander Lü Meng made a daring raid on Jiangling, cutting Guan's line of supply. Two of Guan Yu's commanders charged to defend his base, Shi Ren and Mi Fang, defected. In the winter, Guan withdrew from Fan and attempted to break out from enemy encirclement to link up with Liu Bei in the west. In the last months of 219 he and his son Guan Ping were captured near Linju (臨沮) by Pan Zhang and executed.
Sun Quan sent Guan Yu’s head to Cao Cao, who buried it with the honours of a noble lord. Liu Bei attempted a campaign to recapture Jingzhou and avenge Guan Yu's death in 223, which culminated in his decisive defeat at the Battle of Yiling. Guan Yu's sons served as commanders in the state of the state of Shu-Han until its conquest by Wei in 263. According to the Record of Shu (蜀記), during the conquest, Guan Yu's entire household was massacred by Pang Hui , as revenge for the beheading of his father Pang De.