"Zilong is full of guts. "This is the praise of Liu Bei, the founding emperor of the Shu Han Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms, to Zhao Yunzhi.
In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", generals often report to their homes when they clash, which is intended to make the opponent remember his prestige, and if he wins, he will be famous; At the same time, it is also used to deter the opponent, if the opponent has heard of their own prestige, it may be able to receive unexpected effects. Zhang Fei used this method to deter Cao Cao, and when he reported his name, Cao Cao recalled Guan Yu's words in the past - Zhang Fei had the courage to take the enemy's head in the midst of ten thousand troops, which made Cao Cao fearful. This is the power of self-reporting.
As for Zhao Yun, he called himself "Changshan Zhao Zilong". And Zhang Fei called himself "Yanren Zhang Yide". If this law is followed, Guan Yu may be called "Hedong Guan Yunchang". However, we don't seem to hear much of it. So, in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", what does Guan Yu usually call himself when he fights?
In fact, Guan Yu's self-proclaimed names are different on different occasions and times. Counting them down, there are four kinds of self-proclaims.
First, "I". This is a more common self-title, which means "I". This is Guan Yu's self-proclaimed name when he first saw Liu Bei and Zhang Fei. At that time, Guan Yu was still a fugitive and did not dare to show off his name blatantly, so he honestly reported his family.
Second, "young generals". During the battle of Bishui Pass, the princes were helpless in front of Huaxiong, and no one dared to fight. At this time, Guan Yu stepped forward. The book recorded: "Before the words were finished, the next step shouted: 'The young general is willing to behead Huaxiong and dedicate it to the tent!'" When everyone looked at it, they saw that his body was nine feet long, his hair was two feet long, his eyes were red, his eyebrows were lying silkworms, his face was like a heavy jujube, and his voice was like a giant bell, standing in front of the tent. At this time, Guan Yu was not yet famous, including the entire Liu Bei Group, which was still in its infancy, so Guan Yu did not have a prominent name. In the face of the princes whose status is higher than his own, Guan Yu can only humbly call himself a young general.
Third, "so" and "guan". Since the battle of Bishui Pass, Guan Yu Wenjiu beheaded Huaxiong, and beheaded Yan Liang and Zhu Wenchou, and its prestige has resounded all over the world. At this time, when Guan Yu faced the enemy, he often used "so-and-so" or "guan" as his self-title. So why didn't he take a resounding name like Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei?
For Zhao Yun, the name of "Changshan Zhao Zilong" is also out of helplessness. Although Zhao Yun has experienced several major battles, such as a draw with Wen Chou in the Battle of Panhe, a draw with Xu Chu in the Battle of Qishan, and a defeat of Gao Ran, and defeat of Zhang He, his reputation has always been limited to a small area and is not widely known. For example, Cao Cao, although he confronted Zhao Yun several times, still did not know his true face. In order to be widely known, Zhao Yun had to adopt the self-proclaimed method of "Changshan Zhao Zilong", which is a place name and a name, in order to gain momentum.
After the Battle of Changbanpo, Zhao Yun has become famous all over the world, so in most cases he no longer uses the name of "Changshan Zhao Zilong", but directly calls himself Zhao Yun. Because everyone is already familiar with the name of Zhao Yun.
As for Zhang Fei, the self-proclaimed name of "Yanren Zhang Yide" is quite similar to Zhao Yun, and it is also for the same reason. In order to ask others to know himself, Zhang Fei adopted this registration method. Although Zhang Fei had already followed Liu Bei on the battlefield, his fame never reached its peak. He needed the name "Yanren Zhang Yide" to deepen the impression of others in his heart. However, after the Battle of Nagasaka Bridge, Zhang Fei was also famous all over the world, so he no longer used this name, so it was rare to see Zhang Fei calling himself "Yanren Zhang Yide" after that.
In the same way, since Wenjiu killed Huaxiong, Guan Yu has become famous all over the world, and there is no need to use the combination of place name and name. He usually uses the self-addressed name "so-and-so" or "guan-so" to show his modesty. In fact, if Guan Yu fails to make a name for himself early, he may also adopt the name of "Hedong Guan Yunchang" in the fierce battle state of Changbanpo.
Fourth, "Hanshou Pavilion Marquis."
During the surrender of Cao Cao, Guan Yu was appreciated by Cao Cao for helping Cao Cao kill Yuan Shao's generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou. In recognition of Guan Yu's merits, Cao Cao asked the imperial court to crown Guan Yu as the Marquis of Hanshou Pavilion. Since then, "Hanshou Pavilion Marquis" has also become one of Guan Yu's self-titles. Guan Yu was loyal to the Han family, so he cherished the title of "Hanshou Pavilion Marquis" given by Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty. Whenever he went on an expedition, he would always order his subordinates to embroider the seven characters of "Hanshou Pavilion Hou Guan Yunchang" on the banner to show his glory and loyalty. When Guan Yu left Cao Cao, although he left the seal of "Hanshou Pavilion Marquis" in the mansion and returned it to Cao Cao, saying that he did not accept Cao Cao's kindness and did not take away the gifts, however, in the later actual battles, Guan Yu often used the title of "Hanshou Pavilion Hou Guan Mou" or "Hanshou Pavilion Hou Guan Yunchang" when he called himself, which showed that he had a deep love for this name given by the real emperor. Although he did not keep the seal of the Marquis of Hanshou Ting, in the subsequent battles, he repeatedly used the title of "Marquis of Hanshou Ting" to show his majesty.
In the historical masterpiece "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", we have witnessed the unique self-proclaimed names of many heroic generals. Zhao Yun called himself "Changshan Zhao Zilong", and Zhang Fei proudly called "Yanren Zhang Yide". However, Guan Yu did not choose "Hedong Guan Yunchang" as his self-title, and his self-proclaimed way is different, there are four main ways. When he was humble and a common man, he humbly called himself "I" like everyone else. As he rose to prominence in the army, he began to call himself a "junior general", showing his fledgling bravery and self-confidence. When his fame spread all over the world, he became more low-key, calling himself "so-and-so" or "guan", showing a humble and introverted demeanor. And when he was rewarded by Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, he often called himself "Marquis of Hanshou Pavilion", which was not only an affirmation of his identity, but also a respect and cherishment of the emperor's gifts.