Download - AAR 2011-Guan Yu Presentation
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