Hu Jinding
| Hu Jinding | |
|---|---|
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Spouse | Guan Yu |
| Children | Guan Suo (son) |
| Origin | Hua Guan Suo Zhuan (花關索傳) |
Hu Jinding (Chinese: 胡金定; pinyin: Hú Jīndìng) is a character in Chinese folklore and regional opera, best known as the wife of the revered Three Kingdoms general Guan Yu and the mother of his fictional son, Guan Suo (Hua Guansuo). She does not appear in the historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms or the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Instead, she originates in later folk traditions, most notably the 15th-century chantefable (說唱詞話) The Story of Hua Guansuo (花關索傳), which was discovered in a Ming dynasty tomb in 1967.
Origins
[edit]Hu Jinding's story originates in the folk narrative Hua Guan Suo Zhuan. According to this tradition, when Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei swore the Oath of the Peach Garden, they believed that their families might interfere with their loyalty to one another and their goal of restoring the Han dynasty. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei therefore agreed to kill each other's families. Guan Yu went to Zhang Fei's home and killed his household. When Zhang Fei arrived at Guan Yu's home, he found Guan Yu's wife, Hu Jinding, heavily pregnant. Unable to kill her unborn child, he spared her on the condition that she flee and never reveal the child's true parentage.[1][2]
Following her escape, Hu Jinding returned to her native village, which is variously identified in different versions of the story as the Suo family village or the home of a family surnamed Suo. There she gave birth to a son and raised him in secret. In some versions, the boy later learned martial arts from a Daoist master named Hua Yue (花岳). When he came of age, Hu Jinding revealed his true parentage. He then took the name Hua Guansuo (花關索), combining Hua from his master, Suo from the family or village that sheltered him, and Guan from his father's surname.[3] This revelation begins the events of the Hua Guan Suo Zhuan, in which Hua Guansuo sets out to find his father and later joins the Shu Han forces.
In historical records
[edit]Historical sources indicate that Guan Yu was married, but they do not record his wife's name. In 1680, during the Qing dynasty, Wang Zhudan, the governor of Xiezhou, erected the Stele of Marquis Guan's Ancestral Tomb (关侯祖墓碑记). The inscription states that Guan Yu married a woman surnamed Hu (胡氏). According to a local account, Wang Zhudan based the inscription on an ancient tomb brick that had been discovered by a local scholar after the scholar reportedly dreamed about it. The stele gives only her surname as Hu, while local tradition identifies her as Hu Yue (胡玥).[4]
The third-century Records of the Three Kingdoms (三國志) does not give the name or background of Guan Yu's wife. A more direct reference to Guan Yu's marriage appears in the Records of Shu (蜀記) by Wang Yin, preserved as an annotation by Pei Songzhi in the Records of the Three Kingdoms. The account states that in 198, during the Battle of Xiapi, Guan Yu asked Cao Cao for permission to marry Lady Du, the wife of Qin Yilu, after the capture of Xiapi. Guan Yu reportedly explained his request by saying, "My wife has no son" (妻無子).[5]
The Records of the Three Kingdoms also records that the families of Guan Yu's officers were captured when Sun Quan's forces under Lü Meng occupied Jing Province in 219. Lü Meng ordered that the families be treated well, apparently to weaken the morale of Guan Yu's troops.[6]
A separate account in the Records of the Three Kingdoms states that Sun Quan sent an envoy to propose a marriage between his son and Guan Yu's daughter. Guan Yu rejected the proposal. The account therefore indicates that Guan Yu had a daughter, although it does not give her name.[7]
Scholarly interpretation
[edit]Because official historical texts provide no details about Guan Yu's wife, her character was entirely constructed by regional folklore, resulting in two primary identities: the resilient mother Hu Jinding (胡金定) from Ming dynasty chantefables, and the compassionate physician Lady Hu Yue (胡玥娘娘) from Shanxi regional lore.[8]
Taiwanese scholar Lin Cuifeng argues that the deification of Lady Hu is often understood within Chinese folk religion in terms of the balance of Yin and Yang. In this interpretation, Guan Yu is associated with masculine, martial qualities linked to Yang, while Lady Hu is associated with feminine qualities linked to Yin, including compassion, healing, and domestic protection. Lin also interprets Lady Hu's modern veneration as being associated with changing gender dynamics. She cites the establishment of a dedicated "Lady Hall" at the Jiaoxi Xietian Temple in Taiwan in 2016 as an example of what she describes as "gender equality consciousness within the divine realm". According to Lin, the hall was intended to provide female worshippers with a female deity to whom they could pray and speak about personal concerns, functioning as a symbolic "mother's house" (娘家).[8]
Deification and modern worship
[edit]Veneration in Mainland China
[edit]Hu Jinding is identified in some traditions with Lady Hu Yue (胡玥娘娘), also known as Lady Guan (關夫人). According to one account, the character Hu Jinding from Ming dynasty chantefables was later associated with the worship of Guan Yu's wife.[9]
Some accounts trace the worship of Guan Yu's wife to the Ming and Qing dynasties and give her honorific titles such as Empress of Nine Spirits (九靈皇后). Temples associated with Guan Yu, including sites in Yuncheng, Shanxi, and the Guanlin Temple in Luoyang, contain shrines dedicated to his wife.[10]
In Yuncheng, Shanxi, the Changping Guan Emperor Family Temple (常平關帝家廟), traditionally associated with Guan Yu's former residence, has a "Niangniang Hall" (娘娘殿) behind the main hall. The nearby Xiezhou Guan Emperor Ancestral Temple also has a shrine known as the "Hu Gong Shrine" (胡公祠).[11]
According to local tradition in Yuncheng, after Guan Yu became a fugitive for killing a local tyrant, Lady Hu fled with her infant son into the Zhongtiao Mountains. She is said to have survived by collecting medicinal herbs and treating local villagers. The tradition associates her with healing and traditional Chinese medicine. A herbal medicine fair was held annually in Xiezhou on the third day of the third lunar month, and worshippers also visited her shrine during the fair.[11]
In Luoyang, the Guanlin Temple (洛陽關林), traditionally regarded as the burial place of Guan Yu's head, contains a "Holy Mother Hall" (聖母殿), which was rebuilt in 1592 during the reign of the Wanli Emperor. The hall is also known locally as the "Hundred Illnesses Niangniang Hall" (百病娘娘殿). It contains a statue of Lady Hu, with statues of her sons Guan Ping and Guan Xing and her daughter Guan Yinping beside her.[11]
Veneration in Taiwan
[edit]In contemporary Taiwanese folk religion, Guan Yu's wife is worshipped as Hu Yue Niangniang (胡玥娘娘). She is associated with prayers for health, childbirth, and family matters. Jiaoxi Xietian Temple (礁溪協天廟) in Yilan County has a "Lady Hall" (夫人殿) dedicated to her, which contains a white marble statue. According to the temple's tradition, the hall provides a place where women can pray to a female deity about family, health, and other personal matters.[10][12][13]
In June 2024, Hu Yue attracted public attention during a controversy over a proposed "spirit marriage" (合婚) between Guan Yu and the sea goddess Mazu at a private shrine in Tainan. The proposal was criticized by some religious groups and online commentators, who argued that it conflicted with the traditional belief that Hu Yue was Guan Yu's wife.[10][14]
In popular culture
[edit]On 29 October 2021, the "Tianxia Yunchang — Guan Gong Culture Exhibition" opened at the Shanxi Museum, where a Ming dynasty (Wanli period) bronze seated statue of Guan Niangniang (Guan Yu's wife) was publicly exhibited for the first time.[15]
Hu Jinding rarely appears in mainstream television adaptations of the Three Kingdoms period, but she is a recurring character in regional Chinese opera, particularly Sichuan opera (川劇) and Peking opera (京劇), in plays depicting the origins of Hua Guansuo.
- In the 1998 Hong Kong time-travel comedy film Timeless Romance (超时空要爱), Hu Jinding is portrayed in a comedic, gender-reversed (反串) performance by veteran male actor Spencer Lam (林尚義). In the film's absurdist plot, modern-day characters are transported back to the Three Kingdoms era, with Lam's character assuming the identity of Guan Yu's wife.[16]
- In modern video gaming, she is featured as a playable character in Sega's arcade collectible card game Sangokushi Taisen, where she is depicted as a fiercely protective mother, paying homage to her origins in Ming dynasty folklore.[17]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ King, Gail Oman (1989). The Story of Hua Guan Suo. Center for Asian Studies, Arizona State University. ISBN 978-0-939252-20-6.
- ↑ "《花关索传》：古墓中发现的三国平行爽文" [Hua Guan Suo Zhuan: The parallel 'satisfying' Three Kingdoms text discovered in an ancient tomb] (in Chinese). China Writer Network (中国作家网). 2024-03-18.
- ↑ McLaren, Anne E. (1985). "Chantefables and the Textual Evolution of the San-kuo-chih yen-i". T'oung Pao. 71 (4/5): 159–226.
- ↑ Sun Kun (2021-01-18). "西校尉营关夫人殿" [The Guan Madam Hall of West Xiaowei Camp] (PDF) (in Chinese). Taiyuan Evening News. Retrieved 2026-07-06.
解州州守王朱旦于康熙十九年（1680年），依此"一梦一砖"写下了《关侯祖墓碑记》。该碑记载："侯长娶胡氏..." 当地传说，关夫人名胡玥。 (In 1680, Xiezhou governor Wang Zhudan wrote the 'Stele of Marquis Guan's Ancestral Tomb' based on 'one dream and one brick.' The stele records: 'The Marquis married Lady Hu...' Local legends say Guan's wife was named Hu Yue.)
- ↑ Chen Shou (陳壽). "Volume 36: Biography of Guan Yu (卷三十六 關羽傳)". In Pei Songzhi (裴松之) (ed.). Records of the Three Kingdoms (三國志) (in Chinese).
- ↑ Chen Shou. "Volume 54: Biography of Lü Meng (卷五十四 呂蒙傳)". Records of the Three Kingdoms (in Chinese).
- ↑ Chen Shou. "Volume 36: Biography of Guan Yu (卷三十六 關羽傳)". Records of the Three Kingdoms (in Chinese).
- 1 2 Lin, Cuifeng (2018). "關公夫人神格初考" [A Preliminary Study on the Apotheosis of Guan Gong's Wife]. Tunghai University Library Journal (in Chinese) (26): 26–33.
- ↑ 玄門真宗, 張貼者：. "【玄門真宗】關夫人 - 醫藥與賜子之神". Xuanmen Zhenzong (in Chinese).
- 1 2 3 "關公「合婚」媽祖被罵娶細姨！正宮「胡玥娘娘」意外曝光台灣也有道場" [Guan Gong 'marrying' Mazu criticized as taking a concubine! Primary wife 'Lady Hu Yue' unexpectedly exposed] (in Chinese). Sanlih E-Television. 2024-06-09. Retrieved 2026-07-05.
- 1 2 3 "山西运城：关夫人胡玥娘娘的故事" (in Chinese). World Guan Gong Culture Network (世界关公文化网). Retrieved 2026-07-06.
- ↑ "全台唯一祭祀關公夫人 求子求健康". Yahoo News (in Chinese). 1 May 2016.
- ↑ "神界「男女平權」 礁溪協天廟設關夫人殿 - 生活 - 自由時報電子報". news.ltn.com.tw (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 29 March 2016.
- ↑ "關公、媽祖合婚挨批「太亂來」 正妻胡玥娘娘金尊曝". Yahoo News (in Chinese). 10 June 2024.
- ↑ Hu Jian (2021-10-29). "距今700余年关公卧像首次展出百余件关公文物诠释"忠信义勇"" [Over 700-year-old bronze reclining Guan Gong statue exhibited for the first time; over 100 artifacts explain "loyalty, trust, righteousness, and courage"] (in Chinese). Guizhou Radio and Television / Dongjing News.
- ↑ "Timeless Romance (1998)". Hong Kong Movie DataBase (HKMDB). Retrieved 2026-07-06.
- ↑ "2018年3月のお知らせ (March 2018 Announcements)" (in Japanese). Sega Sangokushi Taisen Official Website. 2018-03-30.