page_title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms
section_title: Death of Guan Yu
hierarchical_section_title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms / Plot / Death of Guan Yu
caption_attribution_description: English: Shadow Puppets. Qing Dynasty or later. Sichuan Provincial Museum, Chengdu These elaborate shadow puppets are made of delicately cut and painted, thin, translucent leather hides. According to the museum label, they were used for a particular kind of shadow-puppet show that originated in Chengdu during the Qianlong period (1736-1795) of the Qing dynasty.
context_page_description: Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 169 AD and ending with the reunification of the land in 280.
  The story – part historical, part legend, and part mythical – romanticises and dramatises the lives of feudal lords and their retainers, who tried to replace the dwindling Han dynasty or restore it. While the novel follows hundreds of characters, the focus is mainly on the three power blocs that emerged from the remnants of the Han dynasty, and would eventually form the three states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The novel deals with the plots, personal and military battles, intrigues, and struggles of these states to achieve dominance for almost 100 years.
  Romance of the Three Kingdoms is acclaimed as one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature; it has a total of 800,000 words and nearly a thousand dramatic characters in 120 chapters.
context_section_description: Meanwhile, Sun Quan plotted to take Jing Province after growing tired of Liu Bei's repeated refusals to hand over the province. He secretly made peace and allied with Cao Cao against Liu Bei. While Guan Yu, who guarded Liu Bei's territories in Jing Province, was away attacking Cao Ren at the Battle of Fancheng, Sun Quan sent his general Lü Meng to launch a stealth invasion on Jing Province. Guan Yu was unable to capture Fancheng so he retreated, but was caught off guard by Lü Meng and had already lost Jing Province before he knew it. With his army's morale falling and the troops gradually deserting, Guan Yu and his remaining men withdrew to Maicheng, where they were surrounded by Sun Quan's forces. In desperation, Guan Yu attempted to break out of the siege but failed and was captured in an ambush. Sun Quan had him executed after he refused to surrender.
  Shortly after Guan Yu's death, Cao Cao died of a brain tumour in Luoyang. His son and successor, Cao Pi, forced Emperor Xian to abdicate the throne to him and established the state of Cao Wei to replace the Han dynasty. About a year later, Liu Bei declared himself emperor and founded the state of Shu Han as a continuation of the Han dynasty. While Liu Bei was planning to avenge Guan Yu, Zhang Fei was assassinated in his sleep by his subordinates.
caption: Shadow puppets in the Sichuan Provincial Museum depicting Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.
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