The birth of a hero
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a novel written by Luo Guanzhong. As a literary art, it is inevitable that the novel has artistic processing. There must be a hero in the story. I said in my previous article "The Birth of Heroes" that heroes in literary works must meet several conditions in order to make readers remember them vividly and have endless aftertaste.
The first is the aesthetics of the gap. The hero begins at the last minute. One is a jujube seller, the other is a meat seller, and they were all cashed in at last. Now put aside is a routine of desperately fighting back, and Zhang Fei has successfully married Bai!
The second is the tragic ending. "I still miss Xiang Yu and refuse to cross Jiangdong." The hero's story is like the ups and downs of traditional opera music, and the tragic ending is like an amazing aria, which deeply moves readers and listeners and has a strong response! I can't extricate myself for a long time. Guan Yu is the most typical one. After the heroic creation, Luo Guanzhong naturally needs to enrich his IP, and his martial arts must be brave to meet the heroic image, that is, the legendary protagonist aura!
Restore history for analysis
Dating back to the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms were in turmoil, and the population of the Central Plains did not exist due to years of war.
To go down in history at that time, you must first have extraordinary luck. After all, it's good to be alive.
Secondly, it is more important to follow the right people and stand on the right team. This is also inseparable from luck! For example, Gao Shun, who is very capable, followed Lu Bu, who only loves beauty. Whose reason is this? .
Finally, the so-called overexertion and courage to lose are a bit like the current star hype. If you can fight again, if you are not a trustworthy leader, you can't fight again. In short, it is not the leader who says you have it, but the leader who says you don't.
Specific cases can refer to the flying generals Li Guang, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing in the period of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty. Are they really ranked by personal power or nepotism? Ask yourself and you will find the answer.
In the past, fighting was more about strength. In ancient times, Guan Yu was nine feet long, that is, less than two meters, or at least a big man over 1.9. Of course, he won't suffer when fighting with ordinary soldiers of 1.7 or 1.6, and he has great advantages. Lu Bu is ten feet long, definitely two meters long. He took a square painting halberd and tied it to his body like a telephone pole. This can understand why Guan Yu was a little timid when he picked on Lu Bu. Zhang Fei doesn't like Lu Bu. That's because he is bold, eight feet long, about 1.84. There is no mention of Zhang Liao's height in the Three Kingdoms, but I think he is definitely not the kind of person who fights on his own. He should be considered to have absolute martial arts. It can be explained that Lu Bu is the first of the eight masters, and Guan Yu also praised him. Zhang Fei also said that martial arts are not under you and me, so Zhang Liao still has two brushes. Generally speaking, in ancient times, either by strength or by martial arts. As early as the Three Kingdoms period, most generals were very strong, and people who knew a little martial arts were not excluded.
It is not known whether Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's kung fu is top-notch, but one thing is certain, that is, Guan Yu never sells dates and Zhang Fei never kills pigs. As for what they do, please break it down in detail below.
1, Guan Yu
When was Guan Yu born? There is no detailed explanation in history. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Yu was the savior of Hedong and the fugitive of Zhuo Jun. This sentence means that Guan Yu is from Hedong. "Desperate Zhuo Jun" means that he killed someone and finally fled to Zhuo Jun.
That is to say, Guan Yu went to Zhuo Jun because he killed someone, which means that Guan Yu had a bad family in his early years, otherwise he wouldn't have killed and fled, so he may have found a job to cover up his identity when he fled.
2. Zhang Fei
According to historical records, Zhang Fei was born as a "butcher". What I want to say here is that the word "butcher" in history does not mean that this person killed pigs, but that this person was not noble in his ancestors. Although the family is rich, it can only be said that it is a nouveau riche.
In the Han dynasty, people were very particular about a person's origin. Only those whose ancestors are officials and have aristocratic status can get the respect of the gentry, while those who have no aristocratic status on their ancestors or themselves are what we call nouveau riche today, and no matter how rich the gentry is, they are dismissive.
This is why Liu Bei felt honored when he gathered in Taoyuan. It is because Liu Bei is a descendant of the royal family. Although he is a mat manufacturer, his birthright is there. This is a serious Han dynasty imperial clan, and it is very noble. Naturally, Liu Bei will have the final say when it comes to big and small issues.
With my years of research, I finally solved the mystery. I will share my research results with you today.
Guan Gong's ferocity depends on the sharpness of his sabre!
Throughout Guan Gong's life, there has never been a record of using bows and arrows. It can be seen that Guan Gong is not good at or even can't use bows and arrows. Bow and arrow, this thing, must be practiced from an early age, accumulated over time, in order to be superb. In ancient martial arts, bows and arrows rank first among the 18th grade weapons. To learn martial arts, you must practice bow and arrow. Guan Gong doesn't know how to bow and arrow, which means that he became a monk halfway, taught himself, and never studied martial arts systematically. Then why is he so good? Mainly rely on horses to sharpen their knives, and don't miss the woodcutter!
There are only two situations when Guan Yu fights with others. One is to do it quickly, but if two or three people join together, the enemy will be beheaded. One is the partial victory or defeat in dozens of rounds of war.
According to our analysis, Guan Gong is particularly good at observing and applying the principle of physical light reflection. Specially made a dragon crescent moon blade, like a big mirror. When he chickened out, Guan Yu waved the blade and reflected the sunlight to the enemy's face. Just when the enemy closed his eyes under the strong light, Guan Yu urged his horse to gallop, rushed to the enemy in an instant and harvested his head with one knife. This shows how important it is to learn some physics! Later, there was a red hare, which was even worse.
Guan Yu used this trick in an instant, and Hua Xiong was chopped by warm wine, and Wen Chou was punished by Yan Liang. Great powers are invincible.
But everything has two sides. Although this move is fierce, it also has defects, that is, it can't be used on cloudy days and it is difficult to exert its power at night. Therefore, Guan Yu seldom fought the midnight oil, and he even fought the midnight oil after five passes, which was also carried out under the cover of torches. As for cloudy days, Guan Gong often fought dozens of battles with enemy generals, such as Huang Zhong, Pound and Huang Xu. It can be said that the reason for losing Maicheng is that there are many rainy days in the south!
There are successes and failures.
Zhang Fei is magnificent, thanks to the leopard head and leopard eyes!
Zhang Fei was born as a butcher, killing pigs and sheep every day. Naturally, he learned to use a knife with one hand, and his whole body was full of strength. This is a high-intensity martial art that has been exercised in labor practice, which is much more powerful than those who show their hands and feet. But that is not the point. The key is Zhang Fei's appearance, leopard head and eyes.
Scary. number
With a head like a leopard and eyes like lanterns, anyone who touches this thing will be startled. It happened that Zhang Fei would roar like a lion, always yelling, and he liked to fight the midnight oil. It is conceivable that in the dark night, such a leopard head suddenly jumped out and stared at a man-eating eye, scaring him out of his wits. Suddenly, yell at him again, and he will turn his back in fear!
Zhang Guan and his wife, generals of two worlds, have the courage to be improper. The above words are pure nonsense, just to laugh it off, not to blame you.
This is Shourenjun who came uninvited.
First of all, we can't act according to romance. Secondly, even in the romance, there are several points that tell us that Zhang Fei and Guan Yu are definitely not ordinary civilians.
The first point is the weapon in Zhang Fei's hand, Zhang Ba snake spear, Zhang Ba snake spear. You can understand him as a variant.
However, it is not for ordinary people to play. It's expensive and the technology is complicated. Dry it with thin bamboo sticks, then stick it dry, then wrap it horizontally with hemp rope, paint it with raw lacquer and wrap it with kudzu cloth. This process will last for several years, and the scrap rate is extremely high. His expenses are generally beyond the reach of small rich families. The method is also difficult to practice, and it is impossible to do it for more than ten years.
It can be said that if Zhang Fei kills pigs, how can he get the money and energy to practice the method well?
And Guan Yu. According to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Yu used a dragon crescent moon blade, but it was used to practice martial arts and fight for strength. Really more than 80 kilograms, can't go to the battlefield. Cao Cao gave Guan Yu a robe when he sent him away, and Guan Yu picked it up. Abstract is one of the methods. You can do what the dragon crescent moon blade can do, and you can do what the dragon crescent moon blade can't do, so Shou Renjun thinks Guan Yu is also useful.
Therefore, Shou believes that from the details of the romance, Guan Yu may be the rich man in Hedong, and at worst, the big landlord. Zhang Fei's family may be a big businessman in Zhuo Jun. There are abundant financial resources in the family, and there are far-sighted elders who know that the world is not good and have cultivated Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's civil and military skills since childhood.
The Three Kingdoms says that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are ten thousand enemies. The so-called enemy of ten thousand people is the existence of fighting like a god in the art of war, not that you can cut ten thousand people by yourself.
Fighting depends on the quality, formation and equipment of soldiers, on the general's command and ability to use troops, not on how high your general's personal martial arts are. No matter how high your martial arts are, if you let 10 thousand people stand there and let you chop, they will all be chopped into pieces. Even the leading soldier from the front line was surrounded by a pile of Qin Bing protectors to protect him from knives and arrows. A general doesn't need much personal martial arts, so Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are also the kind of people who are familiar with the art of war. In ancient times, the literacy rate was pitifully low. Generally, people who kill pigs and sell wine and guard hospitals have good cultural literacy, let alone contact with the art of war.
Also, the most important thing for a general is actual combat experience, otherwise it is an armchair strategist. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei fought for more than ten years before they became famous. This battle experience, large and small, became the basis for their future fame.
Also, Yuan Shu is the person who has the highest evaluation of Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Liu Bei in The Romance. Yuan Shu appraised them for killing pigs and selling wine, guarding the house and making seats and selling shoes. Even Yuan Shao is just a domestic slave in his eyes. He is a deep-rooted Hong Miao IV Sangong. At that time, I'm afraid only Hongnong Yang Can compared his position.
In other words, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are the best military commanders in the romance of the Three Kingdoms. After becoming sworn brothers with Liu Bei, he helped his brother carry the guy and went to the farmland.
It seems full of pride, but it seems that something is wrong.
Future generations have doubts about his kung fu? One of them was born to buy dates and the other to kill pigs, but where did they learn their martial arts? Why did such a man who can fight go early?
Later generations' explanation of their martial arts is also unreasonable, which can be said to be nonsense, but it is also very interesting.
Zhang Fei used it to kill pigs in famous works. We all know that killing pigs in ancient times was not as time-saving and labor-saving as in modern times.
We have all seen the killing of pigs. The killing of pigs is not cut with a knife, but stabbed in, so the role of a knife is equivalent to a weapon similar to a spear.
After the pig was slaughtered, it was necessary to shave, and to remove all the good hair was to fill the pig's stomach with air, but in ancient times, there were no machines or tools to inflate it.
So Zhang Fei blew with his mouth, which also exercised his strong vital capacity and laid the foundation for his long-term battle on the battlefield.
Zhang Fei, well, at least it is manual work, which is not something that ordinary people can do.
Guan Yu's is even more nonsense.
Guan Yu picked dates in the jujube garden. Jujube trees are generally taller than people.
There was no advanced jujube picking tool in ancient times, so I knocked the jujube down with a stick.
Of course, if you want to finish the work quickly, you definitely need to keep beating fast. Therefore, in this process, Guan Yu trained a set of very lasting arm strength and strength for more than 20 years, so he was locked in the later battlefield and won every battle.
So don't worry about where Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's martial arts come from.
People come from a noble family, and some professors, after many wars in the later period, naturally have high martial arts. Those who didn't get stronger are all dead, and you won't know their names.
Let's just say that in 2007 or 2008, the scaffolding of LNG cabin was being packed on the dock of Shanghai Hudong Shipyard. At that time, some scaffolding needed on-site rectification. When I first got there, there was no cart to change oxygen and carbon dioxide. When I went to the ventilation room, there was a macho man with one shoulder against it. The oxygen bottle is slightly lighter, about 70 kg, and the carbon dioxide bottle is heavier, about 8.90 kg. I didn't hit it when I lifted it. He kept walking for about 400 meters ... I talked to him when I took the workers to dinner after work. He said that he knew he was very strong, and he didn't dare to fight at ordinary times for fear of hitting others. He once overturned four or five students at school alone ... this kind of person is born with great strength, not divine power, but he has weapons in his hand, which is different. In ancient times, he could be the first of a hundred people or the first of a thousand people.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are selling dates to kill pigs. Indeed, neither official history, unofficial history nor romance novels said that they were apprentices of teachers. However, both of them are famous soldiers of the Three Kingdoms with high martial arts and "ten thousand enemies", and they are genius figures. However, genius also needs a process of growth.
There is a famous saying in Wulin, what is it called "four or two to dial a thousand pounds"? What is the result? The so-called master, in front of a master with high martial arts, fell down in one round. It seems that we have been cheated for many years. Of course, it's not that this sentence is completely wrong, but it's really too difficult to master the skill of forty or twenty kilograms. It is estimated that it will take less than 200 years to learn. If there is no disparity in strength between the two, it is more reliable to say that one of the more skilled people is more likely to win.
So there is another sentence that is more reliable, called "one wins ten". As long as you are strong enough, regardless of your opponent's kung fu and skills, grab it and hammer hard. Therefore, in many history books, the famous men who can personally charge the battle are mostly tall and strong people with extraordinary brawn.
There is no doubt that Zhang Fei and Guan Yu are both people with extraordinary strength, high martial arts and high understanding. With this, in the era of cold weapons, it can already be counted as a leader. After the two defected to Liu Bei, they will certainly train, which is inevitable for the generals, and there will be opportunities for training and improvement. Apart from weapons, this is the most important difference between the civilian army and the regular army. In particular, Zhang Guan's combat capability has been continuously improved, and it is not surprising that it has become more and more skilled after actual combat. Just like playing a game. Some people have the best guidance, but no one has guidance. Some games will be familiar to you if you play them too much, so you can understand them personally.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei not only practice martial arts, but also study. Zhang Fei, in particular, likes to mix with talented people and literati very much. Guan Yu's supercilious appearance should be cultured, and there is a folk saying that Guan Yu reads the Spring and Autumn Period at night. Learning with questions is the best way to learn, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei grew up from practice, so Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's ability to "be enemies" should be cultivated from this. What's more, most ancient generals had aides to help them make suggestions, but these effective aides were drowned in the long river of history and left no names. This is the legendary "theory with practice". No matter in theory or practice, it is difficult to become a top figure.
In fact, it has been clearly written in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The dragon crescent moon blade made by Guan Yu weighs 82 Jin, but Zhang Fei's Zhang Ba snake spear is not much lighter, and its strength is infinite. Just, why do two people make a knife and use a gun? Open your imagination and let's talk.
Speaking of Guan Yu, because he killed a bully in his hometown, he fled to Zhuoxian to avoid disaster and made a living by selling dates. But buying dates requires money, and Guan Yu has a problem eating. How can there be extra money to buy dates? However, they were bullied by landlords in Zaoyuan, and they were not sure to take credit for Guan Yu in all aspects. Guan Yu's temper came. When he saw me in trouble, he bullied me and gave you something good at night.
Late at night, outside the jujube garden, a big man, holding a pole more than two feet high, quietly touched into the jujube garden. I saw the man waving a pole and aiming at the jujube tree from top to bottom. Trees full of bright red dates fell to the ground. The big fellow picked up the dates and put a big bag full. I was just about to lift my feet to leave when I heard someone talking in the distance. Guan Yu used his quick wits to put a long pole and a bag of jujube flat beside the tree, and jumped onto the jujube tree with a whoosh. But the sound didn't go long, and I was anxious to pee. Sir Zhong's face flushed in the tree, and he became a color with countless dates.
Once, twice, three times ... Guan Yu's business is very good, and he goes to the jujube garden more and more times. Mr. Zhong's face is getting redder and redder, and finally he becomes "like a heavy jujube". Most importantly, Guan Yu's swing skills are becoming more and more skillful, just like dancing a broadsword, chopping left and right, waving up and down. So after meeting Liu Bei, I forged a dragon crescent moon blade without hesitation. I chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop.
As for Zhang Fei, his family has a peach garden (fortunately, Sir Zhong doesn't sell peaches), a butcher shop and, most importantly, a big slaughterhouse that can kill thousands of pigs every day. It is often said that "there are different ways to kill a pig and poke its ass". Third master doesn't care about these. Anyway, he has the strength to pull one end, grab it and press it directly. Poop-poop is just poking. Who cares? With Zhang Fei's proficiency, do you think there is justice if you don't poke it with a snake spear? Zhang Fei's spear skill is absolutely high.
More importantly, every time Third Master kills a pig, the pig will make an earth-shattering cry. Third Master was even more fierce. He roared and knocked the pig out directly. This kind of stunt, the third master will not use it easily, and its lethality is too great. Only the first world war in Changbanpo, Zhang Fei's three roars shocked Cao Jun and directly scared Xiahou Jie to death.
Therefore, the martial arts of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei actually come from their own production and life. This is what everyone likes to see, "the master is among the people."
In fact, this is not difficult to understand. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Yu was described as nine feet long. In terms of his present figure, Guan Yu is 2.08 meters tall. In the face of absolute power, everything is in vain. Guan Yu is a fugitive from Zhuojun County. He has been on the run for several years, seen everything and contacted everyone. Experienced, knowledgeable and strong, it seems that Guan Yu's ability is really different.
Let me talk about Zhang Fei again. In ancient times, he was poor in literature and rich in arms. Zhang Fei is 1.84 meters tall, which is the tallest among ancient people. He is delicious and delicious every day, which most people can't afford. It is this kind of life that makes Zhang Fei strong.
Because two people climbed up from the bottom bit by bit, and all wars, big and small, were fought in person. These were experiences. It is also in this groping that I have developed my excellent kung fu.
Guan Yu sells dates and Zhang Fei kills pigs. This is the job that Luo Guanzhong found for them, in order to get close to Liu Bei, the eldest brother who sells straw sandals. Their occupations are not recorded in official history. Guan Yu committed a crime in his hometown of Yuncheng and fled to Zhuo Jun. Zhang Fei only said that he was from Zhuo Jun County, and his occupation was unknown. Most of them were unemployed youths.
Therefore, a fugitive and an unemployed youth may not have a chance to learn from their teachers. But strangely, these two men later became top experts and were called "enemies of ten thousand people". Why? I think the reasons are as follows:
First, it has something to do with their native place.
Why is it related to the place of origin? Now when it comes to drinking, our first thoughts are Inner Mongolia and Shandong. When it comes to being able to fight, I think of the three northeastern provinces, which shows that the region has a great influence on people.
The same was true at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Guan Yu is a soldier in Hedong and Zhang Fei is from Youzhou. Cao Zhi wrote in "White Horse" that "the white horse is decorated with gold and flies in the northwest. I want to ask whose family I am. I am a ranger. " At that time, when talking about Bing people and Youzhou people, the first impression was that they could fight.
Because Bingzhou and Youzhou were the border counties of the Central Plains Dynasty, they were neighbors of nomadic people in the north for a long time, and wars often broke out. Therefore, in order to adapt to this living environment, people in this place have a tradition of practicing martial arts and strengthening their bodies since ancient times, including Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Many brave soldiers in the Three Kingdoms period came from these two areas.
From Bingzhou: Lu Bu, Zhang Liao, Huang Xu, Guo Huai, Zhao Hao, Tomb, etc. Youzhou people: Zhao Yun, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He, Cheng Pu, Gongsun Zan, etc.
In addition, Guan Yu is still a fugitive, and it is estimated that he has committed a murder. You can kill people without martial arts?
Second, it is related to the social atmosphere at that time.
In the Han dynasty, the Han people were martial, unlike the women's guns now. When we look through the historical records of the Han Dynasty, there is a word that appears frequently, and that is Ranger (Ren Xia).
What is a ranger? Rangers refer to a common ethos and a special group in Han Dynasty. They either help the weak with wealth or fight bravely with martial arts. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the wind of ranger prevailed in all social strata. For example, powerful people such as Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, local tyrants such as Lu Su, even poor aristocrats such as Liu Bei, poor children such as Xu Shu and Jiang Yang thieves such as Gan Ning are all chivalrous men.
If you want to be a ranger, you can't do it without knowing martial arts. In order to survive in troubled times, local tyrants like Lu Su never forget to "learn fencing, riding and shooting" every day. Although Liu Bei is a self-employed, he likes to make friends with all kinds of heroes when he was young, and he is naturally chivalrous. And Liu Bei met Guan Yu and Zhang Fei because of the ranger.
Before the Yellow turban insurrectionary, Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang, businessmen from Youzhou, saw that Liu Bei was a talented person in Zhuo Jun, so they invested a lot of money. With this money, Liu Bei recruited troops in Zhuo Jun, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei should also be enlisted at this time. Liu Bei is good at knowing people. When he joined the army, he knew at a glance that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were not ordinary people and took them with him. "Grandfather met his disciples in the village, and Yu and Zhang Fei defended them."
Third, it is related to the quality of two people.
The above two points are objective reasons, and the reason why they are so powerful still has a lot to do with their own quality.
1, good foundation. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are both eight-foot men with great strength and good physique, which are prerequisites for superb martial arts.
2. Have courage. There is no doubt that both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei have extraordinary courage. For example, when Guan Yu beheaded Yan Liang, he rode alone and dared to stab Yan Liang with a weapon. Zhang Fei dared to face Cao Cao's pursuers with twenty men at Dangyang Bridge. Who can match this courage?
3. Experienced. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei followed Liu Bei to the battlefield early. Although they have fought many defeats before, they have climbed out of the dead pile and accumulated rich practical experience, which is a good experience for their growth.