I'm here to talk about the Guan Yu sculpture I saw the other day; a piece done in honor of the the real Chinese general serving under Liu Bei who played a pivotal part in the collapse of the Han Dynasty along with the establishment of the Shu Han Kingdom of China. Originally done in the 1490's, this ancient piece is currently on display in the Ackland Art Museum. This Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) treasure not only defines traditional Chinese military culture but also reflects the art culture of China as a whole. The piece has three distinct features that give the viewer insight into its cultural meaning: the different colors used on the body, the stance and texture of the general, and the clothing type chosen to represent who Guan Yu was.
Guan Yu was known for being a brilliant military man, and after his execution in 219 by his enemies he was immortalized in the first great Chinese historical novel, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He was immortalized in the same way a well-known statue immortalizes someone (whether it be Venus de Milo or Abraham Lincoln). That is why this statue means so much in its artistry: it paints a live picture of who he was and what he represented.
When colors are incorporated into a sculpture I feel it can either serve to add emotion lacking before or it can add emphasis onto parts more difficult to accentuate as meaningful parts, such as the hat being a slighter shade of green that the army wardrobe and the skin putting off a strong, golden hue. All the different colors used together in the sculpture give it the vintage feel of traditionalism and legend, while the tones of just gold give it a feeling of royalty while the pieces of green represent Ancient China's beliefs that green was the color of spring, balance wood (the material used for the piece), and the cardinal direction east, giving pride to the Eastern world for the works of this man.
The stance and texture of the sculpture have a lot to say in terms of power and position as well. Guan Yu stands from the chest down in a very traditional way, neither foot is pointing towards the thing he stares at and both legs run straight to the floor without bending, symbolizing his positivity in his balance. The upper body is modest yet unique, with the general's belly pointing outwards in disregard for manors, the hand placed back in typical East Asian fashion as if to say that this position is who he is, and the head glaring steadily and wisely at whatever the thing he stares at happens to be. In addition, the texture of the piece is balanced between smooth gold skin, the class of the garb he wears over his durable and tough military armor, and lastly the professionalism seen in the detailed pieces of leather on his shoes and belt and the real hair used on his face.
The clothing type is split between elite royalty and military prowess with a little hint of intellectualism. As the article describes, the robe is symbolic of the typical clothing of an official while the clothing we see underneath is clearly military combat armor and military boots. This alludes to the suggestion that he was both a highly valuable man in the elite class as well as a highly regarded man in the Chinese army. The other piece of clothing which gives us insight into his historical value is the hat on his head. The hat represents the cap of a scholar, which Guan Yu would have to be in order to have such mastery in the military: although, to include such a thing on a representation of whom Guan Yu was can lead us to believe he was very much smarter than the average man of military conquest.
As a whole, this sculpture might not be the most mind-blowing piece of art in terms of skill in my eyes, but just as our blog talks about, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the professionalism and meaning put into the piece definitely has more to be spoken of than if I had just passed this piece of fine Chinese art on a museum tour. In the end, Guan Yu is not someone who we can trust to be all the features listed, because after all, it is the victors who write the history books. We can, however, trust that this sculpture of him does to some degree give us Westerners perspective on just what the Eastern world admires: balance, intelligence, craft, valor, and grace.
Guan Yu. 1490s. Wood, lacquer and lacquer paste, polychrome and gold, leather and hair. The William A. Whitaker Foundation Art Fund, 95.2 Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill, NC.
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