There are thousands of historical figures who put righteousness first, why is Guan Yu the most popular in the jade carving industry?

There are many themes about figures in jade carvings, including graceful ladies, talented scholars, immortals with magical powers, etc. However, the most popular and widely recognized noble figure in the jade carving industry is Guan Gong.

Be brave and always uphold righteousness, and always think about repaying kindness.

His majesty is as great as the sun and the moon, and his reputation shakes the universe.

Loyalty and bravery are the highest in the Three Kingdoms, and the divine strategy captures the Seven Tun.

To this day, the military pays tribute to the heroic souls.

From a real historical perspective, what people praised most about Guan Yu was his bravery and loyalty, which made him very popular among the people. After his death, the people respectfully called him "Guan Gong". Mao Zonggang, a famous literary critic in the Qing Dynasty, said in "How to Read Romance of the Three Kingdoms": "I think there are three wonders in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which can be called three unique features. Zhuge Kongming is one unique feature, Guan Yu is another unique feature, and Cao Cao is also another unique feature." The unique feature of Guan Yu is "loyalty".

In order to set up a model of loyalty and righteousness, successive dynasties after the Three Kingdoms regarded Guan Yu as the embodiment of loyalty and righteousness, and used Guan Yu's heroic deeds as a model of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. After going through a process of posthumous titles from "Marquis to King, from King to Emperor, from Emperor to Saint, and from Saint to Heaven", Guan Yu was finally "deified" and reached a status on par with the sage Confucius. To this day, Guan Gong's lofty qualities of loyalty, righteousness, justice and devotion are still revered by Chinese people around the world.

In Southeast Asia, countries such as Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and even in Chinese areas of the United States and the United Kingdom, the belief in Guan Gong is also quite popular. There are many overseas Chinese doing business abroad, so Guan Gong, the God of Wealth and War, is also worshipped. Guan Gong can be said to be the most influential folk god. There are far fewer "Confucius Temples" and "Wen Temples" than "Guan Temples" and "Martial Temples". This created a grand situation where temples were spread all over the world and incense filled the world.

Apart from these additional deifications and beliefs, Guan Yu does have a personal charm that makes people compelled. A few years ago, a foreigner was deeply traumatized after reading about Guan Yu's death in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He wrote down his feelings of grief and collapse over the hero's fall in a reading note and posted it on the Internet. Chinese people used it as a joke and laughed at it for a long time. But it must be said that if one were to choose a jade carving theme that could be appreciated by people from ancient times to the present, both at home and abroad, then Guan Gong must be on the list.

It is not only because Guan Gong's image is widely spread, but most importantly, the qualities and spirit he conveys can indirectly convey the Chinese nation's ideology, culture and spiritual outlook. Ancient sages said that jade has five virtues: "benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, courage, and purity" and a gentleman compares his virtues to jade. Only when a person possesses these noble qualities of jade can he become a gentleman and achieve the highest realm of human beings. Guan Gong adhered to "righteousness" and "loyalty" throughout his life. He was "the most extraordinary general throughout history" who combined loyalty, righteousness, bravery and martial arts. He was also the ideal personality incarnation that highly conformed to the "Five Virtues of Jade". Therefore, the jade carving industry prefers the historical figure "Guan Gong", which can be said to be what people want!

fcgc66

fcpf18