Kuan U (กวนอู)

Thai-Chinese name for Guan Yu (关羽) (AD 160–219), the Tiger General of Shu (fig.) and blood brother of Liu Bei (fig.), the warlord under whom he served during the late Eastern Han Dynasty, as well as of General Zhang Fei (fig.), with whom he accompanied Liu Bei on most of his early exploits. He was a fearsome fighter, yet famous for his virtuousness and loyalty, a brave and faithful warrior in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Kuan U is posthumously worshipped as the deity who teaches righteousness and is traditionally portrayed as a warrior with a long lush beard and a dark red face, or shades thereof. In ngiw, Chinese opera, the colour red represents loyalty and righteousness. He is often depicted holding the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, a type of traditional Chinese weapon, called kuandao and which consists of a heavy blade on a long  ̶ usually wooden ̶  pole. He is also frequently portrayed with this long weapon in combat atop his horse known in Thai as Sek Tao (เซ็กเธาว์), a name that derives from the pronunciation of its Chinese name Chi Tu (赤兔) in the Chinese Southern Min dialect and which means ‘Red Hare’ (fig.). Kuan U has a black-faced, fierce looking aide-de-camp, who often bears his kuandao battle blade and is known as warlord Chou Tsang (fig.), as well as an adapted son, who is named Kuan Ping (fig.). In 219 AD Kuan U was captured along with his son west of Mai Cheng, by forces of the Kingdom of Wu and both were promptly executed. Since the deification of Kuan U in the Sui Dynasty, statues of his son and aide-de-camp often appear alongside that of his own. In iconography, Kuan Ping's face is traditionally painted whitish or pink, that of Chou Tsang black. Kuan U is also known as a Cai Shen, that is the Chinese warrior god of wealth, and in Buddhism he is identified with the bodhisattva Sangharama (fig.), the guardian of the dharma. Besides this, he is also called Kuan Ti, Kwan Tai, Kwan Dai, Kuan Kung, Wu Ti, Mo Dai, Guan Di, Guan Gong, Kuan Yu, Kwan Yu, or Quan Yu. If portrayed stroking his beard with one hand and holding a book in the other, the General is known as Mei Ran Gong (美髯公) , which freely translates as ‘Lord with the Beautiful Beard’ (fig.). See also lian pu. See also TRAVEL PICTURES and WATCH VIDEO (1) and (2). 回