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| Guan Yu |
One of my favorite video games when I was younger was Dynasty Warriors. While the game is very hack-n-slash and action oriented, I remember really enjoying the plot and reading the stories of the famous characters and battles included in the game. This game was based on the famous Chinese 14th century-novel written by Luo Guanzhong called The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. This book is about the area of internal conflict in China after the fall of the Han Empire between 169 and 280 A.D. It is known for its heroic characters, political strategy and battlefield tactics. Many consider it to be a combination of both history and legend.
When I arrived in China, I noticed that one of the main characters, Guan Yu, is actually worshiped by some sects of Chinese religions as the God of War. In a Taoist temple at the Yu Yuan Garden, I watched people kneel down in prayer in front of a statue of Guan Yu, who, for the last 10 years, was nothing but a video game character to me. I bought a miniature statue of Guan Yu on his famous horse at the antique market in Shanghai. I was told by the vender that it would protect me. I have seen literally hundreds of other Guan Yu statues since I have been here.
I asked some of our student peers/guides if they had read Guanzhong's book. They all said yes. In fact, it's one of the four classical novels that all Chinese students have to read. According to Dr. Hua it's one of his boyhood favorites. He also pointed out that supposedly it's where Mao Zedong got all of his strategies. I downloaded the extremely lengthy book (estimated around 800,000 words) onto my iPad and am now about 20 chapters in. I'm thoroughly enjoying it. It's fast paced and fun to read and has some pretty powerful messages and Confucian sayings along the way. Unfortunately, the only relics from this era that I've seen were a few arrowheads and crossbow triggers at a museum in Xian. Later that day, Max and I stumbled into a toy store and saw some action figures of some of the characters from the book. I plan on finishing the book (I'll have plenty of time on the plane ride home) this summer. I also am continuing to look for souvenirs that relate to it. And - I was sure to buy the latest version of the game on eBay for when I return home.
One of the more famous lines from the book is right on the first page. It's very interesting to think about in regards to Chinese history and may even have some implications about China's current internal problems: It is a general truism of this world that anything long divided will surely unite, and anything long united will surely divide (話說天下大勢，分久必合，合久必分).
Justin Brandt, from Ft. Thomas, Ky., is a senior McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville and is currently studying in the People's Republic of China. He is majoring in political science and psychology.