Guan Gong

關公

Red-faced god of loyalty and righteousness, guardian of merchants and scholars

Guan Gong (關公) was Guan Yu, a general of the Three Kingdoms era who died in 220 CE and whose loyalty became legendary. He was raised to godhood in 1594, under the Ming, and the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms helped shape his image. Taoists honour him as Guan Di or Guan Shengdijun, Chinese Buddhists as the Sangharama Bodhisattva (伽藍菩薩), and folk temples welcome him too.

Devotees turn to him for loyalty and righteousness (忠義), for protection, and for steadiness in work and study. Merchants and scholars count him as their patron, and he is also honoured as a god of wealth. He is venerated in temples and shrines, and Hong Kong police stations have kept Guan Di shrines since 1931.

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How to recognise Guan Gong

Red faceA deep red face is his key mark and shows a loyal heart; it is never pale and never another colour.
Long black beardA full beard reaching the chest earns him the title Lord of the Magnificent Beard, and he is often shown stroking or holding its end.
Green robeA green robe is his colour, worn over armour that may show at the shoulders and chest.
Green Dragon Crescent BladeThe 青龍偃月刀 (guandao) is a long pole topped with a broad, curved, single-edged blade, held by or standing beside him in his martial (武身) form.
Spring and Autumn AnnalsIn his civil (文身) form he sits reading the Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋), often by lamplight.
CompanionsHe may be flanked by his son Guan Ping, fair-faced and holding a wrapped seal, and by Zhou Cang, dark-faced and holding the guandao; both are shown smaller than Guan Gong.
Dignified bearingHe appears stern and calm, seated on a throne or standing, and some images show a warrior helmet.

Names and titles

The Martial SaintWu Sheng, ranked alongside Confucius, the Saint of Culture
Lord of the Magnificent BeardMei Ran Gong, honouring his famous long beard
Paragon of LoyaltyHe became the model of loyalty and righteousness
Guardian of the TempleAs Sangharama Bodhisattva he guards Buddhist temples and the Dharma
Reading the Spring and Autumn AnnalsHis devotion to study of the classic Annals