The earliest record that Zhang Fei had a beard and was different from ordinary people's beard was not the official history, but a popular literary form in Sui and Tang Dynasties, called water puppet show. Zhang Fei's puppet image is a beard across his face, which makes children feel funny when they see it. Li Shangyin vividly recorded this scene with poems: "Or teasing Zhang or laughing at Deng Ai to eat".
According to the latest investigation, especially the cultural relics unearthed in Sichuan, Zhang Fei is probably a handsome man with a good face and a healthy spirit. For example, Zhang Fei in some statues in the Three Kingdoms period did not even have a beard, and his face was like a full moon and his expression was gentle, which was by no means the brave image of Zhang Fei in the Romance. Moreover, Zhang Fei in history is a minor celebrity in Hebei, with a high cultural quality. He has two women who are the queens of Shu Han, and his appearance is not bad.
Deng Tuo, a famous scholar, also wrote an article about Zhang Fei's paintings and calligraphy. According to legend, the famous calligraphy "Ma" was written by Zhang Fei, with 22 characters. The pen is full of vigor and vitality, which fully shows his personality and style. It is a rare calligraphy work.
There is also a saying that textual research and genetics are almost integrated. It is said that Zhang Feishan knows calligraphy and painting, and his lifelong hobby is painting beauty. This is based on the statement that the cliff stone carvings in the northeast of Quxian County, Sichuan Province are suspected to be the handwriting of Zhang Fei, and that "Zhang Fei, a native of Zhuozhou, is good at painting beauties" in the paintings of past dynasties in the Qing Dynasty. From this, it can be inferred that Zhang Fei is a man with both civil and military skills and a good artistic aesthetic. How can such a person be a black face? In addition, it is pointed out that Zhang Fei's two daughters have successively become the queens of the late Liu Chan. In feudal times, if you were not an extremely beautiful woman, you would not be a queen. If Zhang Fei looks like a leopard with eyes, I'm afraid his daughter's charming face will not be much better.