Chinese
Nine Tripod Cauldrons
九鼎
The legitimacy to rule all under heaven. They rest with dynasties of virtue.
VesselFirst recorded c. 400 BCE
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Photograph: A nineteenth-century Jingdezhen porcelain figure of Guan Yu. Dressed in green armor and robes, Guan Yu sits stroking his long beard with one hand.
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2,250 × 3,000 PX2250×3000
ArchiveChinese · Weapon
Green Dragon Crescent Blade
青龍偃月刀
A great blade weighing 82 catties, also called “Cold Beauty.”
- Owner
- Guan Yu
- Maker
- Unknown
- First record
- Luo Guanzhong, Romance of the Three Kingdoms1522
- Gallery
- Chinese
Notes on the photograph 3
Story
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei swear brotherhood in a peach garden and then each prepare weapons. Guan Yu made the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, weighing 82 catties. Its edge was shaped like a reclining crescent moon and carved with a dragon.
With this blade Guan Yu cut down Dong Zhuo's fierce general Hua Xiong before his wine could cool, and felled Yuan Shao's generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou. Leaving Cao Cao to return to Liu Bei, he killed six generals at five passes.
The historical Records of the Three Kingdoms does not say Guan Yu used such a blade. It became his symbol through storytellers of the Song and Yuan. Today it stands beside him in temples dedicated to Guan Yu.
The object in the photo
The photograph shows Figure of Guan Yu, a guardian deity(China, 19th century), a real museum object that evokes the legendary artifact.
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