Guandi

Guan Yu
A portrait of Guan Yu in the Sancai Tuhui
General of Liu Bei
Born	(Unknown)
Died	220
Names
Traditional Chinese	關羽
Simplified Chinese	关羽
Pinyin	Guān Yǔ
Wade–Giles	Kuan1 Yu3
Courtesy name	Yunchang (simplified Chinese: 云长; traditional Chinese: 雲長; pinyin: Yúncháng)
Posthumous name	Marquis Zhuangmou (壮缪侯; 壯繆侯; Zhuàngmóu Hóu)
Buddhist name	Sangharama Bodhisattva (伽蓝菩萨; 伽藍菩薩; Qiélán Púsà)
Deity name	Guān Dì (关帝; 關帝; "Divus Guan") Guān Gōng (关公; 關公; "Lord Guan") Guān Shèng Dì Jūn (关圣帝君; 關聖帝君; "Holy Ruler Deity Guan")
Other names	Guān Èr Yé (关二爷; 關二爺; "Lord Guan the Second") Kwan Yee Gor (关二哥; 關二哥; Guān Èr Gē; Gwaan1 Ji6 Go1; "Lord Guan the Second Brother") Měi Rán Gōng (美髯公; "Lord of the Magnificent Beard") Chángshēng (长生; 長生) Shòucháng (寿长; 壽長)
^1 See General worship for more posthumous titles.

Guan Yu
"Guan Yu" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese	關羽
Simplified Chinese	关羽
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Guān Yǔ Bopomofo ㄍㄨㄢ   ㄩˇ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Guan Yeu Wade–Giles Kuan1 Yü3 IPA [kwán ỳ] Wu Suzhounese Kue Yû Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Gwāan Yúh Jyutping Gwaan1 Jyu5 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Koan Ú Tâi-lô Kuan Ú

Guan Yu (died 220 CE),courtesy name Yunchang, was a general serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He played a significant role in the events that led to the collapse of the dynasty and the establishment of the state of Shu Han – founded by Liu Bei – in the Three Kingdoms period. After Liu Bei gained control of Yi Province in 214, Guan Yu remained in Jing Province to govern and defend the area for about seven years. In 219, while he was away fighting Cao Cao's forces at the Battle of Fancheng, Liu Bei's ally Sun Quan broke the Sun–Liu alliance and sent his general Lü Meng to invade and conquer Liu Bei's territories in Jing Province in a stealth operation. By the time Guan Yu found out about the loss of Jing Province after his defeat at Fancheng, it was too late. He was subsequently captured in an ambush by Sun Quan's forces and executed.

As one of the best known Chinese historical figures throughout East Asia, Guan Yu's true life stories have largely given way to fictionalised ones, most of which are found in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms or passed down the generations, in which his deeds and moral qualities have been lionised. Guan Yu is respected as an epitome of loyalty and righteousness. He is portrayed as having a red face.

Guan Yu was deified as early as the Sui dynasty and is still worshipped by many Chinese people today in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and among many overseas Chinese communities. In religious devotion he is reverentially called the "Divus Guan" (Guāndì) or "Lord Guan" (Guāngōng). He is a deity worshipped in Chinese folk religion, popular Confucianism, Taoism, and Chinese Buddhism, and small shrines to him are almost ubiquitous in traditional Chinese shops and restaurants. His hometown Yuncheng has also named its airport after him.