The three brothers Liu, Guan, and Zhang ranked in order of force: Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Liu Bei. What about the cultural ranking?
Looking at the Three Brothers from Zhuge Liang's point of view
The three brothers fought from Jizhou to Xuzhou, from young to middle-aged, often giving people the feeling of being more than capable. What's the problem? The strategy is limited, in other words, the level of knowledge is limited.
It was not until Jingzhou met Zhuge Liang that they truly reached the peak of their careers. Not long after Zhuge Liang came out of the mountain, he knew the personalities of the three brothers very well. There are many descriptions in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Interested students can read them. However, this article only refers to history. Let’s take a look at what Zhuge Liang thinks of the three brothers.
After Liu Bei visited the thatched cottage three times to invite Kong Ming out, he often sighed and regretted seeing each other so late. However, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were very dissatisfied and often criticized Zhuge Liang. Liu Bei explained that he felt like a fish in water when meeting Kong Ming, and Guan and Zhang stopped complaining.
So why did the three brothers react so hugely when they met Zhuge Liang for the first time? In fact, this is easy to understand. If Zhuge Liang is compared to a teacher in a key middle school, the three brothers Liu, Guan, and Zhang are his students. After class, Liu Bei said that the teacher taught very well, but Guan and Zhang did not know what he meant.
The so-called scholar meets the soldier, there is no reason to explain. Judging solely from their acceptance of Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei's knowledge should be greater than that of Guan and Zhang.
So, what do Guan and Zhang think of Zhuge Liang?
It is recorded in "The Biography of Guan Yu in the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms" that when Guan Yu asked Zhuge Liang about Ma Chao's martial arts talents, Zhuge Liang replied: "Ma Chao is both civil and military, just like Ying Bu and Peng Yue in the early Han Dynasty, and Zhang They are equally matched, but not as outstanding as the beautiful bearded man."
Although Zhuge Liang deliberately wanted to cater to Guan Yu, he still revealed a message to people. In Zhuge Liang's eyes, Guan Yu's superiority over Ma Chao and Zhang Fei does not mean that he is superior in martial arts, but the key is his temperament. It is said that Guan Yu has poetry and calligraphy in his belly. It is precisely because Guan Yu has been reciting scriptures for many years that he can stand out among the generals.
As for Zhang Fei, although he spent more time with Zhuge Liang than Guan Yu, he didn’t leave any records. I’m afraid he didn’t have the same language!
Looking at the three brothers from Cao Cao's perspective
After Liu Bei lost Xuzhou, he once committed himself to Cao Cao, and Cao Cao's attitude towards the three brothers was also different.
Cao Cao's evaluation of Liu Bei hit the nail on the head: "The only heroes in the world are your envoys and Cao Er!" In Cao Cao's eyes, Liu Bei is the hero who can be compared with him. Although it is tentative, this evaluation is It comes from Cao Cao's heart. Cheng Yu and Guo Jia, the two most effective advisers under his command, also believed that Liu Bei was a hidden dragon in the abyss.
Although Cao Ying's evaluation of Guan and Zhang was that they were brave enough to be worthy of all men, Cao Cao's attitude towards them was completely different. Cao Cao cared deeply about Guan Yu. Even though he knew that Guan Yu was in Cao's camp and his heart was in the Han Dynasty, he was still willing to let him go. Doesn't Cao Cao have any strong generals? Of course not, our second brother Guan has the temperament of a Confucian general, and his understanding of righteousness makes Cao Cao feel that he is different.
Cao Cao also had no feelings for Zhang Fei. Perhaps he thought words could not communicate, so he gave up directly.
Cao Cao was a popular figure in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and he had high attainments in literature and calligraphy. Therefore, judging from his attitude towards the three brothers, the cultural ranking of the three is still Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei.
Judging from the personal study resumes of the three brothers
Liu Bei was originally the queen of King Jing of Zhongshan. His grandfather Liu Xiong promoted filial piety and incorruptibility. He was promoted to Fanling in Dongjun, and his father Liu Hong promoted filial piety and incorruptibility. It can be said that he was filial and honest. It is a scholarly family. After reaching the age of fifteen, he studied with Lu Zhi.
However, Liu Bei's academic level is average. For one thing, he has not liked studying since he was a child. He prefers BMWs, music, fashionable clothes, etc. Until now, he is almost considered a TFBOY who was delayed by the war.
In addition, although Lu Zhi was a great scholar in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Bei did not get his true biography. In 175 AD, Lu Zhi, the prefect of Jiujiang, went home due to illness, but was recalled to Luoyang at the end of the year. Liu Bei only studied with him that year. Therefore, the relationship between the two as master and apprentice only lasted a few months.
Although Guan Yu was not as noble as Liu Bei, his grandfather Guan Shen was a scholar. He loved to teach Guan Yu's father with the "Book of Changes" and "Spring and Autumn". As we all know, Guan Yu often read "Spring and Autumn" at night in his spare time. It turned out to be the influence of his family.
Looking at it this way, there is a reason why Guan Yu usually looks down on scholar-bureaucrats. His martial arts skills are similar to his, but his culture is not as high as his. Those who are more educated than him are not as good as him in martial arts. No wonder even Sun Quan, a marriage fanatic, wants to marry him.
There is no record of Zhang Fei’s origins. Perhaps we can get a glimpse of it from his experience in dealing with people. When Zhang Fei entered Xichuan, he captured Yan Yan. Yan Yan preferred to die rather than surrender, so Zhang Fei immediately released him. The so-called righteousness is mostly like slaughtering dogs.
In addition, Liu Ba is a learned and talented man and very famous, but he doesn't like to talk to Zhang Fei. Zhuge Liang advised him: "Although Zhang Fei is a martial artist, he admires you very much, so you should give him some face!" Liu Ba said: "When a man lives in the world, he should make friends with heroes from all over the world. How to deal with heroes from all over the world?" What did the soldiers say?"
When news of this incident reached Soochow, Sun Quan recognized Liu Ba very much: "If Liu Ba befriends Zhang Fei to please Liu Bei, how can he be called a scholar? ”
It can be seen that although Zhang Fei likes to make friends with high-ranking people, he seems not to be favored by civil servants. This may be related to his knowledge. As the saying goes, people with different Taoism do not seek each other.
Zhang Fei did one thing right
Although Zhang Fei is no match for Liu Bei in literature, he is no match for Guan Yu in martial arts. However, he had no intention of inserting willows into the shade. On the way out of Cao Ying, he picked up a girl who was collecting firewood. She was no ordinary person, she was the daughter of the Xiahou family. She later gave birth to two daughters for Zhang Fei, both of whom married Liu Chan and became queens. The concubine Zhang Shao relied on her connections to surrender to Wei and was granted the title of Marquis.
Conclusion
Nine times out of ten, life is unsatisfactory. He is not as good as Liu Bei in literature, cannot reach the heights of Liu Ba, is not as good as Guan Yu in martial arts, cannot defeat Lu Bu, and the frustrated Zhang Fei does one thing right. Everything will happen, and the descendants will have no worries from now on.