IncenseTeaRice wineFruitThe first cup pouredA written oath burnedRed candles
Invocation Approach
Tone
Upright formal brotherly
Address
Lord GuanGuan GongGuansheng DijunMartial Sage
Relationship
An oath sworn before a witness who keeps his word
Warning
He witnesses oaths and does not forget them
Resonance
Those who swear brotherhood soldiers police merchants who keep their word
Symbols
Green dragon crescent bladeRed hare horseThe zuozhuanLong beardRed facePeach garden oathSeal of hanshou
Mythology Summary
Guan Yu (d. 220 CE) was a general of Shu Han whose career is recorded in Chen Shou's Sanguozhi; his defeat and execution by Sun Quan's forces made him a martyr of loyalty, and the state cult grew from the Tang through the Ming, when the Wanli emperor granted him an imperial title in 1594, and the Qing, which made him the Martial Sage (Wusheng) to pair with Confucius. The Tiantai patriarch Zhiyi is credited with converting him into a protector of the Dharma, and Buddhist temples venerate him as the Sangharama bodhisattva. Popular religion knows him as Guan Gong, the red-faced god of oaths, war and just gain.
Modern Practice
His altar is the one where an oath is actually made: incense, a cup of wine, and a written statement of what is being promised, often burned. Merchants, police, soldiers and sworn brotherhoods all keep him, and he is asked to witness rather than to grant.