An interesting addition to the Mong Kok occupation was a makeshift shrine to Lord Guan.
Like many of his fellow celestials in the Chinese folk religion pantheon, the redfaced Lord Guan was a real person. Guan Yu (AD160-AD220) was a senior military commander in the State of Shu during the Three Kingdoms Period. While his valour in battle is beyond doubt – multiple contemporary records corroborate his courage as a warrior – the jury is out on his other traits.
As a military leader, he had an inflated confidence in his own abilities and underestimated his foes to a point of recklessness. His arrogance also made enemies out of his colleagues and subordinates. These qualities led to his final defeat, which saw the Shu lose a significant portion of its territory to the State of Wu. Guan was captured and executed by a low-ranking Wu soldier.
The deification of such a flawed person over the centuries wasn’t just down to his lionisation in stories, traditional theatre and novels. The warrior has managed to embody the hopes and aspirations of soldiers, law-enforcers, gangsters, merchants and ordinary folk.
Different people identity with different facets of Lord Guan, much as the Occupy movement means different things to different people in Hong Kong.
