Xu’s impressive Guan Gong displays all the elegance and detail inherent in his signature style, but at a more appreciative scale. Posed in a heroic stance, with his signature Green Dragon Crescent Blade pole weapon lowered in one hand, the general’s robes seem to interact with the shift of weight to his right foot. His magnificent mountain pattern armour, complemented by swirling clouds and fearsome gargoyles, accentuates his resolute demeanour. The sculpture’s triple-tiered base is in pewter and natural-finish merbau. Guan Yu 關羽 served as a military general during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25CE – 220CE). A well-known historical figure and folk hero, he became a semi-fictional character in classical Chinese literature, and was eventually deified as Guan Gong (關公 Lord Guan). Chinese society reveres him as an upholder of good and defender of integrity, personifying loyalty, courage and righteousness.
