Meet the Person #
Guan Yu's biography records that he and Zhang Fei protected Liu Bei and separately commanded his troops; the three were close. He was once captured by Cao Cao, later killed Yan Liang in the fighting at Baima, and nonetheless returned to Liu Bei.
After Liu Bei entered Yi Province, Guan Yu took responsibility for military affairs in Jing Province, negotiating and clashing with both Cao Cao's and Sun Quan's forces. His historical military career, fictional heroic image, and later religious veneration cannot be merged into one body of biographical evidence.
Approximate sequence, not a timeline drawn to scale.
Limits of the Evidence #
The historical records give his courtesy name as Yunchang; separate comparison pages address the fictional nature of killing Hua Xiong over warmed wine and the Peach Garden ceremony.
People and Relationships #
- Liu BeiGuan Yu → Liu Bei: subordinate generalSanguozhi, Volume 36, Guan–Zhang–Ma–Huang–Zhao Biographies ↗
Related Deeds and Periods
Followed and served alongside him; affection like that between brothers.
- Zhang FeiGuan Yu — Zhang Fei: colleaguesSanguozhi, Volume 36, Guan–Zhang–Ma–Huang–Zhao Biographies ↗
Related Deeds and Periods
Both followed Liu Bei; Zhang Fei treated Guan Yu as an elder brother (Biography of Zhang Fei).
- Cao CaoGuan Yu → Cao Cao: former subordinate generalSanguozhi, Volume 36, Guan–Zhang–Ma–Huang–Zhao Biographies ↗
Related Deeds and Periods
Treated generously after capture; Guan Yu eventually returned to Liu Bei.
- Zhang LiaoZhang Liao — Guan Yu: colleaguesSanguozhi, Volume 36, Guan–Zhang–Ma–Huang–Zhao Biographies ↗
Related Deeds and Periods
Cao Cao ordered both to serve as the vanguard against Yan Liang.
- Zhuge LiangGuan Yu — Zhuge Liang: colleaguesSanguozhi, Volume 36, Guan–Zhang–Ma–Huang–Zhao Biographies ↗
Related Deeds and Periods
Asked by letter about Ma Chao's abilities.
Related Historical Events (Not Personal Relationships) #
- Yan LiangMain text of Sanguozhi, Volume 36, Biography of Guan Yu: at Baima, Guan Yu struck down and beheaded Yan Liang; this is not taken from Romance of the Three Kingdoms.Sanguozhi, Volume 36, Guan–Zhang–Ma–Huang–Zhao Biographies ↗
- Lu SuConfrontation and talks at Yiyang: negotiations over Jing Province, not a permanent friend-or-enemy relationship.Sanguozhi, Volume 54, Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and Lü Meng Biographies ↗
- Lü MengWhile Guan Yu attacked Fan: Lü Meng seized his rear bases at Gong'an and Nan Commandery.Sanguozhi, Volume 54, Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and Lü Meng Biographies ↗
In This Book #
Specific chapters in which each figure appears will be cross-checked after QA of Shiji Sanguo's final manuscript; they are not filled in ahead of time.
Cite This Page
Shiji Sanguo website, “Guan Yu,” data version 2026-09-29.13, updated 2026-09-29.
https://shijisanguo.com/ai/people/guan-yu/
When citing a specific claim, also identify its original source, whether it comes from the main text or a quoted annotation, and your access date. The # beside each section heading links to that passage. This site's synthesis is not the original text of an ancient work.