Guan Yu in the Song

Galway TraynorUniversity of Colorado-Boulder

AAR Rocky Mountain Regional Conference March 2011

Mar

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

Song Dynasty cont.

• Significant features• Widespread printing • Development of urban culture• Rise of the merchant class• Emergence of storytelling as a

profession

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

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

Imagery of Guan Yu

Imagery of Guan Yu

• Red face

Imagery of Guan Yu

• Red face• Long beard

Imagery of Guan Yu

• Red face • Long beard• Signature weapon

Imagery of Guan Yu

• Main symbols• Red face• Long beard• Signature weapon

• Secondary symbols• Attendants

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

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

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

Constant Symbols

• Used in storytelling to establish a vision of a character• Both his red face and signature

weapon qualify

The Temple of Emperor Guan ( 關帝廟 )

Various temples to Guan Yu

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

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