In the 19th year of Jian 'an (2 14), Liu Bei took Ma Chao in the process of seizing Yizhou, and after taking charge of Yizhou animal husbandry, he worshipped Ma Chao as the general of Pingxi. Guan Yu wrote to Zhuge Liang, because Ma Chao was not an old friend. Hearing that Ma Chao was brave, he asked, "Who can compare with people with super powers?" Knowing what it meant, Zhuge Liang wrote back and said, "Meng Qi (Ma Chao's word Meng Qi) is a hero all his life. His disciples (Ying Bu) and Peng () are not as good as Yi De (Zhang Fei's word Yi De). Guan Yu has a good beard, so Zhuge Liang called him a beard. Guan Yu's letter, joy, show it to the guests.
In the twenty-fourth year of Jian 'an (2 19), in July, Huang Zhong array beheaded Xia, a famous soldier, and was promoted to general of the Western Expedition. In the same year, Liu Bei was promoted to King Hanzhong, and Guan Yu was appointed as a former general, Huang Zhong as a post-general, Zhang Fei as a right general and Ma Chao as a left general. Zhuge Liang said that Liu Bei said: "The reputation of loyalty and righteousness has nothing to do with Guan and Ma Zhilun, and it is listed together today. The horse and Zhang are close at hand, and seeing is believing, which is still a metaphor; Guan Yao will be unhappy when he hears this. Are you okay? " Liu Bei said, "I want to solve it myself" (biography of the Three Kingdoms, Shu Shu and Huang Zhong). He also sent Sima Fei's poems to Guan Yu from Yizhou front.
Guan Yu heard that Huang Zhong was tied with himself. He was furious and said, "People with courage are not listed with veterans after all?" Refuse to accept the appointment. Fei said to Guan Yu, "The matter of establishing a king is different. Yesterday, Xiao (act the role of), Cao (act the role of) and Gao-zu (act the role of Liu Bang) were young and strong and evenly matched, while Chen () and Han Xin (act the role of) were left behind. As far as their class is concerned, Han is the best, but Xiao and Cao don't think so. Today, I admire Hanson's temporary achievements, but what is the importance of my intentions? And the king and the prince are still one arm, sharing weal and woe. Don't count ranks, foolish old man, count titles. Humble servant, title for life, especially Hou don't worship, so it is also, if not cherish this move, I'm afraid I will regret it (reflection Shu Shu Fei Shi Zhuan)? Guan Yu was impressed by this seal and admired it very much.
Guan Yu's arrogance and weakness led to the Battle of Fancheng. From the beginning, the correct command was a great shock to China, and finally he was deceived and completely annihilated, which eventually led to the collapse of the Sun-Liu Alliance. The lesson was painful. At the beginning, Cao Cao often warned Xia: "When you are timid, you should not rely on courage. Will be brave-oriented and act with wisdom; But the one who knows, one is the enemy's ear "("The Reflection of the Three Kingdoms Shu Wei Xia Hou Yuan "), eventually people played with it, and Xia finally died heroically, as did Xia, Guan Yu and Xiang Yu.
Guan Yu also has an excellent personality.
Guan Yu kept his promise, kept his word, and was infinitely loyal to the interests of Liu Bei and his group. He shared weal and woe with Liu Bei for many years, kept his faith and never changed his mind. Even though Baima was captured and in Cao Ying, he still remembered his old love and finally returned to Liu Bei. His loyalty and integrity were the same for a while.
Guan Yu's bravery is extraordinary, which is the highest in the whole army. In later novels, he wrote that Hua Xiong, Lu Bu, Che Zhou, Yan Liang and Wen Chou rode thousands of miles alone, went to the meeting with one knife and drove the seven armies. Although some of them go against historical facts, they also highlight his military courage and charm. As for curettage, it is well known.
Guan Yu was shot by random arrows and hit the other left arm. Although my back hurts, my bones often hurt when it rains. The doctor said: "Sagittarius is poisonous, poisonous to the bones." Treat the broken arm as a wound, scrape the bone to remove poison, and then cut the ear. " Guan Yu stretched out his arm to let the doctor cut the wound. At that time, Guan Yu was entertaining the generals, saying that "the blood on the arm was off the plate, the feathers were cut and the wine was roasted, and the jokes were like cucumbers" ("Three Kingdoms Shu Shu Guan Yu").
When describing this passage in the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it is even more wonderful: "The knife cuts the meat to the bone, and the bone is blue; Scraping bones with a knife, hearing voices, and everything seen on the account was covered with shame. Drinking and eating meat, laughing and playing chess, there is no pain. "
In order to consolidate its ruling position, the feudal ruling class of past dynasties regarded Guan Yu as the embodiment of loyalty and righteousness, and Guan Yu's status was getting higher and higher, from "being crowned king" to "being proclaimed emperor" and finally being honored as "warrior sage". During the period of Chen Sui, the Buddha took the lead in building a temple in Dangyang under the guise of Guan Yu. In the third year of Tang Jianzhong (782), Guan Yu was listed as one of the 64 famous generals in ancient and modern times, and was put into the Wu Temple to enjoy Jiang Taigong. After the Song Dynasty, Guan Yu was crowned as a "warrior sage". Guan Yu, who has been unknown for 800 years, was promoted by Song Huizong to three levels: first, he was named "Zhong Gong", then "Zhong Ning Zhenjun", and then he was named "King Zhaolie Wu 'an" and "King Wu Yong 'an". Yuan Wenzong named Guan Yu "the king of Miao Zhuang Yi Wu 'an, showing his spirit to help Britain", and Ming Shenzong named him "the Great Demon of the Three Realms is far away in Megatronus, Guan Sheng Di", and named Guan Yu Temple as "Wu Temple", which was juxtaposed with Confucian Temple and Confucius Temple. The Qing emperor flaunted Guan Yu as "the best in the world" and named him "loyal, benevolent, brave, protecting the country and the people, sincere appeasement, righteous praise, Xuande, Guan Sheng the Great" ("Rites and Music in Qing Dynasty"), and built Guandi Temple in Beijing, ordered the whole country to build Guandi Temple and offer sacrifices to incense on time. The number of Guan Gong temples in Vu Thang far exceeds that of Confucius temples in Wensheng. In the Qing Dynasty, there were 1 16 temples in Beijing alone. And some closed temples are much larger than Confucius temples. Some people say that Guan Yu is a culture; Some people say that Guan Gong is a kind of spirit. Otherwise, why are there so many temples for Guan Gong in China and overseas?
Of all the Guandi Temple buildings in China, five or six are best preserved so far: Guanlin in Luoyang, Henan, Guanling in Dangyang, Hubei, Guandi Temple in Jingzhou, Guandi Temple in Baling Bridge in Xuchang, Henan, Guandi Temple in Changping, Shanxi, Guan Yu's hometown, etc. One of the largest and most magnificent is Guandi Temple, located in Guan Yu's hometown, west of Jiezhou, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province. The largest Guandi Temple in China is still preserved. There are more than 300 pavilions in the temple, which is one of the tourist attractions in Shanxi. It can be called the first temple in the world.
In the historical process of China's drama development, there has been an upsurge of "Three Kingdoms Drama", and there are quite a number of "Three Kingdoms Drama" and "Guan Gong Drama" in many famous dramas. Take Beijing Opera as an example. There are 148 "Three Kingdoms Plays", and there are only 20 about Guan Gong. Take Zhou Pu Bangzi, Guan Yu's hometown, as an example. There are 88 recorded "Three Kingdoms Dramas", of which "Guan Gong Dramas" is 18. On the stage, Guan Gong's image is a perfect hero, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, long beard and hale and hearty spirit. Even in Walking in Maicheng, his heroic qualities are still increasing.
For thousands of years, Guan Yu, a perfect image representing the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, has appeared in front of the world after being sealed by rulers of past dynasties and described in operas and literature. "Serve the country faithfully, be kind to others, act with wisdom, make friends with righteousness, and fight with courage." He rose from "an outstanding person in the world" to "a god among gods" and became a god of war, a god of wealth, a god of literature and a god of agriculture. He is an all-powerful god, serving the rulers and people of past dynasties, serving China and Japan overseas, serving China and foreign countries and worshiping each other from top to bottom.
Needless to say, the feudal rulers of past dynasties revered Guan Yu, and even Li Zicheng, Zhang, Hong Xiuquan and other peasant uprising leaders worshipped Guan Yu as a hero.
Moreover, in China, Japan, Southeast Asia and overseas Chinese, the worship of Guan Yu is still vivid.
In Taiwan Province Province, with a population of more than 20 million, there are as many as 8 million followers of Guan Gong, and almost every household has set up incense tables, set up memorial tablets and hung icons for Guan Gong. The annual sales volume of Guan Gong's portraits in Taiwan Province Province far exceeds their most revered god Mazu.
The American "Longgang General Association" is a non-governmental organization, whose ancestor is Guan Yu, and there are more than 140 branches all over the world where Chinese live.
Countries in South Asia are competing to build temples to worship Guan Gong, and Thailand is the most prosperous.
In Japan, there was Guandi Temple as early as the Qing Dynasty. A new Guandi Temple was built a few years ago, which is said to be the largest Guandi Temple overseas.
Mr. David Jordan, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, San Diego and a doctor of anthropology at the University of Chicago, once said a very interesting sentence. "I respect you the great god, he deserves the respect of everyone. His benevolence, righteousness, wisdom and courage are still meaningful until now. Benevolence is love, righteousness is credibility, wisdom is culture, and courage is not afraid of difficulties. If all God's people are like you Guan Gong, our world will be a better place. " The American scholar's words are quite insightful.
Loyalty, faithfulness, wisdom, benevolence and courage, which are condensed on Guan Yu and suppressed by the past dynasties, contain the ethics and ideals of China traditional culture, and permeate the essence of Confucianism in the Spring and Autumn Period. The life values of the confluence of Buddhism and Taoism are essentially the soul of China shining like the sun and the moon.