Hometown seeks new honor for revered general

The Xiezhou Guandi Ancestral Temple is part of the architectural complex, which is now applying to be named a world culture heritage.Photo Provided to China Daily

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He was not the smartest military man of his time, but Guan Yu (AD 160-219) has a legacy of loyalty, integrity, mercy and bravery - as depicted in China's classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms - that has earned him deity status in Chinese traditional culture. Now, experts are seeking UNESCO Cultural Heritage status for an architectural complex of Guan Yu, the much-admired general in the Three Kingdom Period (AD 220-280) also reverently known to Chinese as Guan Gong (Lord Guan).

The architectural complex, which includes the remains of Xiezhou Guandi Ancestral Temple, Changping Guandi Temple and Changping Guan Gong Ancestral Grave, are located in Guan's hometown in Yuncheng, Shanxi province.

"The worship of Guan reflects people's pursuit of loyalty, righteousness, happiness and wealth," says Jia Dezhang, the deputy director of the Cultural Relics Management Station of the Xiezhou Temple.

While Guan lacked the genius of his compatriot military adviser Zhuge Liang, whose name has become a synonym with cleverness, Guan played a significant role serving the warlord Liu Bei in the civil war that led to the collapse of the Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 220). The Kingdom of Shu (AD 221-263) was then established, with Liu Bei as the first emperor.

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong centuries later, Guan is portrayed as a red-faced warrior with a long, lush beard. His weapon resembles a halberd and was said to weigh 41 kilograms.