Guan Yu’s face is red

Guan Yu (born ? – died 220), native of Van Truong, born in Yuncheng, Shanxi province, northern China today. He is one of the best known Chinese historical figures in East Asia, his image was novelized in Luo Guanzhong’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms and later depicted in various forms. art forms such as drama, cheo, tuong, film…

Guan Yu described as having a face as red as gac, phoenix eyes with silkworm eyebrows, a beard two meters long, holding a Thanh Long Yen Nguyet sword in his hand, riding on a red horse, a majestic appearance, a chivalrous temperament, a righteous man, and a fighting strength. fight strong against thousands of people.

Around this deified historical figure, there are many mysterious and interesting stories, in which it is impossible not to tell about Quan Van Truong’s red face. There are many interesting anecdotes about the origin of his red skin.

According to folklore, Quan Vu’s bright red skin is associated with the blood of chickens. During one time being hunted by an army officer, Quan Van Truong escaped to the mountains. Here, a painting girl sitting in front of the embroidery house suddenly saw the hero in trouble, and hurriedly told him to go to bed to pretend to be sick. The girl killed a rooster, smeared blood all over Guan Yu’s face, and then cut her hair and tied it around his mouth.

Luu Be, Quan Van Truong and Truong Phi made a brotherhood at the peach garden.

The officer chased after the place, saw someone lying on the bed, so he opened the blanket to see, sure it was not. Because the person they were looking for had fair skin, but not red, with a long beard and a feverish appearance. Thinking for a moment, the officer left. Thanks to that, Quan Cong escaped the accident. From then on, his skin kept turning a strange red, and the hair of the mountain girl became his beard.

In folklore, there is another interesting anecdote. When being hunted, Quan Van Truong ran to the riverbank and met an old woman. Seeing his heroic figure, the old woman said: “Hey boy, hit your own nose”. Hearing that, Quan Cong punched his nose hard with his fist, causing blood to pool on his face, and because of that, his skin was dyed red.

Next, he quickly cut the hair stuck around his mouth, turning into a majestic red-faced long-bearded macho, thus escaping death. Quan Van Truong thanked the quick-witted old woman and then ran towards Trac Chau. Folks also rumored that the old woman was none other than Guan Yin Bodhisattva transformed into.

There is also the notion that Quan Van Truong is not a mortal. He is the reincarnated Dragon King. Legend has it that Giai Chau, the hometown of Quan Cong, has a large salt lake. There is a meditation temple by the lakeside. The old monk here loves to play chess. Everyone who passed by happily played chess with the monk, even staying for a pure vegetarian meal. Later, a great man came here for many months to play chess with the old monk.

One day, the old monk lost three consecutive games. At that time, the area of ​​Giai Chau had not had a drop of rain for many months, the fields were dry, the people were hungry, and they were wilting. The Venerable Master, out of compassion for all peoples, was heavy-hearted. The great man heard the story and said: “I am the Dragon King. The Jade Emperor does not allow me to make rain in this area. I can’t help but give in.”

Hearing that, the old monk begged with all his might. The Dragon King was moved with compassion and said, “Okay, I will go back to the sky to make rain. But I have a request. Wait until the rain stops, please bring a large bucket to the lakeside, when the water is red. Then scoop it into a bucket and bring it back to the temple.” Saying that, the husband disappeared.

Sure enough, the rain poured down all over the area, making people and things seem to be revived. The old monk did not forget the benefactor’s advice, so he brought a large bucket to the lake, filled with water that was still red. 108 days later, in the bucket of water suddenly emerged a rosy boy, that was later Guan Gong.

The baby is actually the Dragon King, after disobeying the orders of heaven to rain all over the region of Giai Chau, was punished. The red water in the lake bed is his blood. When brought to the temple for storage, a new form of Long Vuong was created, which is Quan Cong. From the moment he was born, his face was flushed red.

According to another explanation, the image of Quan Cong was built thanks to the imagination of feudal writers. They base themselves on folk legends and “color” the face of this hero with red. Typically, the character Quan Van Truong in the Three Kingdoms interprets the meaning of La Quan Trung.

Up to now, the truth about Quan Cong’s skin color has not been answered accurately, but posterity always considers it as the color representing the unyielding spirit, the will to fight proudly; his integrity and heroic nature. That red color also contains a deep cultural meaning of the Chinese people.

From ancient times, people all think that things with red color are mystical and have the potential of superhuman energy. Therefore, the red-faced Guan Gong represents his majesty and defense, making all evil invulnerable. Even in the ancient feudal society, the emperor wore a royal robe, but most of the objects in the palace were red: red carpets, red lanterns…

Chinese dynasties canonized Quan Van Truong as a saint

Almost all have an altar of Quan Cong with a majestic statue holding a sword and riding a horse. This again has clear origins from the Qing Dynasty.

Legend has it that, when Emperor Qianlong first ascended the throne, he heard a clicking sound behind him, like someone was wearing slippers, but when he turned around, he couldn’t see anyone. Once he turned his head like that, Qian Long asked: “Who still follows me like that?”. Immediately there was a reply: “It’s the second brother Quan Van Truong”.

Emperor Qianlong of Dai Qing.

Also during Qian Long’s reign, it was rumored that Guan Yu himself appeared to help the Qing army win the war, causing Qing soldiers to hang his picture in the barracks, and wear his statue as a talisman. Therefore, the Qing Dynasty named him Trung Nghia Than Vo Linh Huu Nhan Dung Uy Hien Quan Thanh Dai De, and at the same time honored him as Vo Thanh, which is equal to the title of Van Thanh of Confucius.

The Chinese feudal dynasties also repeatedly praised and bestowed beautiful words for Guan Yu, the Ming king considered him the guardian deity of the country. Right from the Tang Dynasty, he was worshiped in a martial arts temple, next to the famous Zhou Dynasty general, Khuong Tu Nha. Not only that, the image of Guan Yu is also widely worshiped in Tibetan Buddhism in the region of Tibet. He was posthumously named Gia Kham, the protector of the law, Quan Van Truong.

Besides, Quan Vu is also worshiped by the people as a guardian deity. He is also the only person to be consecrated as a god by both Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.

Video: Quan Vu slashes Thai Duong.