Guan Ping was the oldest son of the military general Guan Yu

Guan Yu

Guan Yu was a general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han Dynasty of China. He played a significant role in the civil war that led to the collapse of the Han Dynasty and the establishment of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period, of which Liu Bei was the...

 and older brother of Guan Xing

Guan Xing

Guan Xing was an official of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He was the second son of the military general Guan Yu and the younger brother of Guan Ping. He succeeded his father when both Guan Yu and Guan Ping were captured and executed by forces of Eastern Wu at the...

. He served under the warlord Liu Bei

Liu Bei

Liu Bei , also known as Liu Xuande, was a warlord, military general and later the founding emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history...

 during the late Han Dynasty

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

 period of Chinese history

History of China

Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...

. Little about him could be found in historical records (not even his style name

Chinese style name

A Chinese style name, sometimes also known as a courtesy name , is a given name to be used later in life. After 20 years of age, the zì is assigned in place of one's given name as a symbol of adulthood and respect...

 was documented) except that he was captured along with his father west of Maicheng (麦城, southeast of present day Dangyang

Dangyang

Dangyang City , in Hubei Province, China, lies 70 km east of the Gezhouba Dam on the Yangtze River. During the Western Han Dynasty . Emperor Jing of Han established an administration in Dangyang on an area of 2000 km²...

, Hubei

Hubei

' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...

) by the forces of Sun Quan

Sun Quan

Sun Quan , son of Sun Jian, formally Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He ruled from 222 to 229 as King of Wu and from 229 to 252 as Emperor of Wu....

 in 220. Both were promptly executed. In the 14th century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a Chinese historical novel based on the events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, starting in 169 and ending with the reunification of the land in...

by Luo Guanzhong

Luo Guanzhong

Luo Ben , better known by his style name Luo Guanzhong , was a Chinese writer of the early Ming Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was also known as Huhai Sanren...

, Guan Ping was said to have been adopted by Guan Yu when he was seventeen (Chapter 28), as his true father requested to have him follow and assist the renowned general. Without a son then, Guan Yu took Guan Ping as his own.

Since the deification of Guan Yu in Sui Dynasty

Sui Dynasty

The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....

, Guan Ping along with Zhou Cang

Zhou Cang

Zhou Cang is a fictional character in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.-Biography:A strong warrior with a dark face and a wiry beard, Zhou became caught up in the Yellow Turban Rebellion and joined the rebels. It was during this time that he first met Guan Yu, who...

 (sometimes with Liao Hua

Liao Hua

Liao Hua , originally named Liao Chun , style name Yuanjian , was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history.-Biography:...

 as well) would often appear at the sides of this revered Chinese deity in statues placed in temples and shrines. In portraits, the trio would often appear together as well. Guan Ping's face is traditionally painted white, is a stark contrast to Zhou Cang's coal black complexion, while Guan Yu's tends to be shades of red.

Modern references

Guan Ping appears as a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors

Dynasty Warriors

is a series of tactical action video games created by Omega Force and Koei. The award-winning series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, based loosely around the Chinese classical novel of the same name. The first game titled Dynasty Warriors,...

and Warriors Orochi

Warriors Orochi

, is a PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 hack and slash video game developed by Koei and Omega Force. It is a crossover of two of Koei's popular video game series, Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors...

video game series.