The 3 Kingdoms era is one of the most exciting eras in Chinese history. Great generals and scholars have risen during the fall of the latter Han dynasty. Ambitious warlords such as Cao Cao (Ts'ao Ts'ao) and Dong Zhou fought to unite China. This shrine is dedicated to perhaps what I think is the most noble team between the 3 Kingdoms.

Liu Bei
Liu Bei is the leader of the Shu-Han kingdom. Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei swore under a peach tree to fight for the restoration of the Han Dynasty. This oath became known as the "Peach Tree Oath". Liu Bei had the qualities for leadership, but because he lacked a homebase and a tactician, he served under other rulers such as Gongsun Zan and Liu Biao. But that all changed one day, when under the recommendation of Xu Shu, Liu visited the thatched hut of Zhuge Liang, who pledged his loyalty to Liu Bei.

Guan Yu
Guan Yu is probably the most respected and famous fighter in the 3 Kingdoms era. Guan Yu, along with Zhang Fei and Liu Bei, are sworn 'brothers' who promised to restore the fallen Han dynasty. Said to carry a 100-pound sword, he was respected by many of the rulers. A story tells us of Guan Yu's heroism. One day, Cao Cao wanted to be rid of a menace named Hua Xiong. He then recruited Guan Yu, and even gave Guan a cup of hot wine to rouse his spirits. But Guan refused, and tore off to the challenge. A while later, Guan returned with the head of Hua Xiong, and the wine was still warm!

Zhang Fei
Zhang Fei, known for his short temper, is also feared for his ferocity in battle. One of the stories tell of Zhang Fei riding up to the Changpan bridge. Alone, he faced Cao Cao's army, where he shouted, "I am Zhang Fei of Yen. Is there a single one of you who dares meet my wrath?". Cao Cao's army stood in stunned silence, and when one of his officers fell off his horse, this broke Cao's morale and he and his army retreated.

As with all great kingdoms, the Shu-Han kingdom has a number of valiant and intellectual generals. They are...

Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang is known as the "Hidden Dragon". While other intellectuals predicted that 2 kingdoms will emerge, Zhuge predicted that 3 will arise, the north, south, and west. He was only 29 when he joined Liu Bei's army with the recommendation of Xu Shu. Zhuge is known to be an intellectual man, and was so trusted by Liu Bei that Liu told him that if ever Liu Chan cannot do his duties as a ruler, to take the throne for himself.

Zhao Yun
Zhao Yun is one of the most valiant generals during the 3 Kingdoms. Twice Zhao Yun rescued Liu Chan, Liu Bei's son, from danger. Not only is Zhao Yun adept in the arts of war, he is also virtuous. Another occasion tells us that one day Zhuge Liang decided to reward Zhao for his efforts in fighting for the kingdom. Instead, Zhao refused, telling Liang that it would be better if he kept the provisions for winter, when it will be most needed.

Pang Tong
Pang Tong was another smart general in the service of Shu. He was known as the Pheonix Fledgling, and assisted Liu Bei in his efforts. During the battle of Red Wall, Pang Tong was still in the service of Wei. Pang Tong advised Cao Cao to chain-link his ships to help maneuver against the river. Cao agreed, and during the battle, Huang Gai set Cao's ships ablaze. Cao Cao was defeated, and afterwards Pang Tong joined Liu Bei.

Xu Shu
Xu Shu was yet another intelligent general in the service of Shu and was devoted to Liu Bei. One day, Cao Cao decided to lure Xu Shu by sending a messenger telling Xu that his mother was ill. Sensing trouble, Xu Shu told Liu Bei to seek the help of either Pang Tong or Zhuge Liang. When Xu Shu arrived in Wei, Cao Cao captured him and forced Xu to serve under him. But since Xu was still loyal to Liu Bei, during the battle of Red Wall, when he saw through the chain-link scheme, he didn't tell Cao Cao about it.

Huang Zhong
Huang Zhong served Liu Biao, then Han Xuan, then finally served under Liu Bei. He was skillful in shooting the bow. A story tells us about his confrontation with Guan Yu. Once, Huang Zhong fell off his horse, and Guan Yu let him escape. In their next meeting, Huang was ordered to shoot and kill Guan Yu, but he didn't obey. He was sentenced to death, when Wei Yan, a general devoted to Liu Bei, intervened.

History tells us of these great generals, forever immortalized in the classic book "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Not only is there the noble forces of Liu Bei, but also the Kingdoms of Cao Cao of Wei, and Sun Quan of Wu. The book tells us about the heroic feats and skills of these generals of a bygone era, and also their lives, the kingdoms, and the pain (and death) they have gone through. Guan Yu, is now known to the chinese as Guandi, the chinese god of war. Zhuge Liang is now revered as a Confucian saint. And the story of the 3 Kingdoms have been re-enacted in plays and even a TV series.

I learned of the 3 kingdoms through Koei's Romance of the 3 Kingdoms series of strategy games. For background info on the characters and the era in general, I've researched through many sources, looking through from the game manual (which contained real info), encyclopedias, books such as the Tao Te Ching and a nice book I picked up entitled Songs of the Immortals, a compilation of chinese poetry (translated, of course). All the pictures I've used in this shrine are taken from screen shots of Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms 3 game for the PC. Thank you for visiting my shrine, and I hope you learned something interesting in your visit here!

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