1. Guan Yu in the Song
Galway Traynor
University of Colorado-Boulder
AAR Rocky Mountain Regional Conference
March 2011
Mar

2. Song Dynasty (宋代)
• Reigns from 960-1279 CE
• Divided into Northern Song (北宋) and
Southern Song (南宋)
• Transitional period in Chinese history

3. Song Dynasty cont.
• Significant features
• Widespread printing
• Development of urban culture
• Rise of the merchant class
• Emergence of storytelling as a
profession

4. Guan Yu (關羽)
• Born mid 2nd century, died 220 CE
• Heroic general of the Eastern Han (東
漢 25-220 CE) and Three Kingdoms (
三國 220-280) period
• Central figure in later Chinese popular
culture

5. Guan Yu cont.
• Beginning in the Sui-Tang (隋唐, late
6th through the 7th centuries) is
worshipped as a deity
• By Southern Song (南宋 1127-1279),
gains in popularity
• In the Ming (明 1368-1644) and Qing (
清 1644-1912), becomes one of the
most significant deities in the Chinese
pantheon

6. Imagery of Guan Yu

7. Imagery of Guan Yu
• Red face

8. Imagery of Guan Yu
• Red face
• Long beard

9. Imagery of Guan Yu
• Red face
• Long beard
• Signature weapon

10. Imagery of Guan Yu
• Main symbols
• Red face
• Long beard
• Signature weapon
• Secondary symbols
• Attendants

11. Long beard
長/多鬚
• Attested to in Records of the Three
Kingdoms (三國志 early 4th cen)
• Already serves as an identifying
feature
• Shows some artistic variation in
representation, but always present

12. Red face
臉如重枣
• Traceable to Song storytelling
• Shows some variation in what color,
between ruddy red and purple
• Important feature in temple imagery
• Often is linked to a supernatural
origin

13. Signature weapon
青龍偃月刀
• Historically problematic to trace
• Highly significant in temples around
the world
• One of the most immediately
recognized of the symbols

14. Constant Symbols
• Used in storytelling to establish a
vision of a character
• Both his red face and signature
weapon qualify

15. The Temple of
Emperor Guan (關帝
廟)

16. Various temples to
Guan Yu

17. Popular literature-
Popular religion
• Evidence that the image of Guan Yu
from popular literature shapes his
image in religion
• Later significance of the signature
weapon
• The ubiquity of red facial coloring
• Stories chosen for murals

18. Popular literature-
Popular religion
• Popular literature helps to define the
space in which popular religion can
operate
• Benefit is that popular literature helps
to spread the religion
• In turn, religious sites provide a locale
for literary performance, and
increased popularity