关羽为什么成了关公？
How Did Guan Yu Become Lord Guan?
Page 1
一场打散了朋友的战争
A Battle Separates Two Friends
大约一千八百年前，中国正陷在一场很长的战争中。Guān Yǔ · 三国时期的将领，后来成为忠义的著名象征。跟随Liú Bèi · 三国时期蜀汉的建立者。四处征战。他们一起走过许多危险，关羽也答应会一直帮助刘备。后来，一场战斗把他们冲散了：刘备逃走，关羽却被另一支军队抓住。这支军队的首领叫Cáo Cāo · 东汉末年的政治家、军事家和诗人。，他也是刘备的对手。关羽、刘备和曹操也都是《三国演义》故事里的重要人物。
关羽不知道刘备去了哪里，也不知道他们还能不能再见面。
Nearly 1,800 years ago, China was in the middle of a long war, with different leaders fighting for control. Guān Yǔ · 关羽 · A Three Kingdoms general later remembered as a powerful symbol of loyalty. traveled and fought beside Liú Bèi · 刘备 · The founder of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period.. They had faced many dangers together, and Guan Yu had promised to stand by him. Then one battle separated them: Liu Bei escaped, but Guan Yu was captured by another army led by Cáo Cāo · 曹操 · A powerful leader, commander, and poet at the end of the Eastern Han dynasty., one of Liu Bei’s enemies. Guan Yu, Liu Bei, and Cao Cao are also central figures in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Guan Yu did not know where Liu Bei had gone—or whether they would ever meet again.
Page 2
曹操希望关羽留下
Cao Cao Wants Guan Yu to Stay
曹操知道关羽勇敢又能干，很想把他留下。他没有把关羽关进牢里，反而送给他礼物，还让他在自己的军队里做将军。可是，礼物越多，关羽心里的选择就越难。他感激曹操的好意，却没有忘记自己对刘备的承诺。
“曹操对我很好，”关羽解释说，“我一定会报答他。但是我答应过刘备，不能因为曹操送我很多礼物就不回去了。”
Cao Cao knew that Guan Yu was brave and skilled, and he wanted Guan Yu to stay. He did not throw him into prison. Instead, he gave Guan Yu gifts and made him a general in his army. The more Cao Cao gave him, the harder Guan Yu’s choice became. He was thankful for Cao Cao’s kindness, but he had not forgotten his promise to Liu Bei.
“Cao Cao has treated me well,” Guan Yu explained. “I will repay his kindness. But I gave my word to Liu Bei, and I will not break it just because Cao Cao gave me many gifts.”
Page 3
先报恩，再出发
First Repay the Kindness, Then Go
不久，曹操的军队遇到了一位厉害的敌将。关羽冲入战场，打败了对方，帮助曹操赢下了这场战斗。关羽觉得，自己已经报答了曹操。他把收到的礼物好好封起来，留下一封告别信，然后出发去找刘备。
离开并不容易。关羽必须放下将军的职位和曹操送给他的一切，却不知道刘备究竟在哪里。
Before long, Cao Cao’s army faced a powerful enemy general. Guan Yu charged into battle, defeated him, and helped Cao Cao win. Guan Yu believed he had now repaid Cao Cao’s kindness. He carefully sealed up the gifts he had received, left a farewell letter, and set out to find Liu Bei.
Leaving was not easy. Guan Yu had to give up an important position and everything Cao Cao had given him. He did not even know exactly where Liu Bei was.
Page 4
“不要追他”
“Do Not Chase Him”
曹操的部下发现关羽走了，立刻准备去追。曹操却拦住了他们：“不要追他，他只是选择了自己要跟随的人。”
曹操当然希望关羽留下。不过，他虽然失去了一位勇猛的将军，还是敬重关羽愿意守住承诺。最后，关羽找到了刘备，又和他并肩作战。
When Cao Cao’s men discovered that Guan Yu had left, they prepared to chase him. Cao Cao stopped them. “Do not chase him,” he said. “He has chosen the leader he will follow.”
Cao Cao still wished Guan Yu had stayed. He was losing a brave general, but he respected Guan Yu for keeping his word. In the end, Guan Yu found Liu Bei and fought beside him again.
Page 5
故事里的关羽有了一张红脸
Guan Yu Gets His Famous Red Face
The Lord Guan people recognize today has a red face, a long beard, a green robe, and a great blade.
许多年以后，人们在小说、说书场和戏台上讲起关羽。讲故事的人让他的冒险更长、更惊险；演员给他画上一张鲜红的脸，又配上长胡子、绿袍和一把大刀。观众一看就知道：“关羽来了！”
历史上的关羽究竟长什么样，我们并不知道。红脸和绿袍是后来故事和戏剧里的形象。在中国戏曲里，红脸常常让人想到勇敢和忠诚。
关羽去世以后，人们也开始把他当作一位保护大家的神，尊敬地称他为“关公”，意思是“关老爷”。有些地方还为他建起了庙。
Many years later, people told Guan Yu’s story in books, at storytelling shows, and onstage. Storytellers made his adventures longer and more exciting. Actors painted his face bright red and gave him a long beard, a green robe, and a great blade. The audience could tell at once: Guan Yu had arrived.
We do not know exactly what the real Guan Yu looked like. The red face and green robe belong to later stories and plays. In Chinese opera, a red face often suggests courage and loyalty.
After Guan Yu died, people also began to honor him as a god who could protect them. They respectfully called him Guan Gong, or Lord Guan, and built temples for him in many places.
Page 6
为什么商店里也有关公？
Why Is Lord Guan in Some Shops?
Some shops keep a small Lord Guan shrine because he is linked with keeping one's word.
后来，有些商人也开始供奉关公。做生意常常要靠约定：什么时候交货，要付多少钱，借走的东西什么时候归还。如果说话不算数，生意很快就做不下去了。
关羽接受了曹操的好意，也想办法报答他，却没有为了更多礼物忘记原来的承诺。商人敬重的正是这种“说到做到”。
所以，同一个红脸关公既会站在大庙里，也会出现在小商店的柜台后面。不管在哪里，人们都会想起那个在守住承诺很难的时候，仍然说到做到的关羽。
In later times, some merchants began to honor Lord Guan too. Business often depends on promises: when goods will arrive, how much someone will pay, or when something borrowed will be returned. If no one keeps their word, business soon falls apart.
Guan Yu accepted Cao Cao’s kindness and found a way to repay it, but he did not forget an earlier promise just because more gifts were offered. Merchants admired that kind of trust.
That is why the same red-faced Lord Guan can stand in a large temple or in a small shrine behind a shop counter. In either place, people remember someone who kept his word when keeping it was hard.