Guan Yu (160 – 219) was a military general under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period in ancient China. He played a significant role in the civil war that led to the collapse of the Han Dynasty and the establishment of the Kingdom of Shu, of which Liu Bei was the first emperor. One of the best known Chinese historical figures throughout East Asia, Guan Yu's true life stories have largely given way to semi-fictional ones, mostly found in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms or passed down the generations as folklore, in which his deeds and moral qualities have been much exaggerated. (source: Wikipedia). [others appellations]: 關公 ; 關羽 ; 關聖帝君 ; 關帝爺