Guan Xing was an official of Shu Han

Shu Han

Shu Han was one of the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period, after the fall of the Han Dynasty. The state was based on areas around Sichuan, which was then known as Shu...

 during the Three Kingdoms

Three Kingdoms

The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...

 era 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...

. He was the second 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 the younger brother of Guan Ping

Guan Ping

Guan Ping was the oldest son of the military general Guan Yu and older brother of Guan Xing. He served under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history...

. He succeeded his father when both Guan Yu and Guan Ping were captured and executed by forces of Eastern Wu

Eastern Wu

Eastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan region of China...

 at the invasion of Jing Province

Lü Meng's invasion of Jing Province

Lü Meng's invasion of Jing Province was a battle fought between the warlords Sun Quan and Liu Bei in 219 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Sun Quan's forces, led by Lü Meng, invaded Liu Bei's territory of Jing Province , which was defended by Guan Yu, and succeeded...

 in 219. Since his youth, Guan Xing had been favored by Zhuge Liang

Zhuge Liang

Zhuge Liang was a chancellor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era....

, chancellor of Shu Han. When he turned 19, he was given a military post but he died within years, due to an undocumented cause.

In fiction

In 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...

's 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...

, Guan Xing's character was given much more significance.

In Chapter 81, Guan Xing was said to have competed with Zhang Bao, son of Zhang Fei, over the commandership of the vanguard force to attack the state of Eastern Wu

Eastern Wu

Eastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan region of China...

 to avenge their fathers. 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...

, emperor of Shu, then bade them to swear to be brothers just as he did with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei many years ago. The newly sworn brothers, Zhang Bao a year elder, were then ordered to jointly aid Wu Ban

Wu Ban

Wu Ban, style name Yuanxiong , was a military general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. A relative of Wu Yi , Wu Ban at one time was a close servant under Liu Zhang. During the Battle of Xiaoting against Sun Quan, Wu Ban was tasked to lead the vanguard, winning many...

, who would lead the vanguard. Henceforth the brothers rarely appeared without each other.

In Chapter 83, Guan Xing successfully slew Pan Zhang

Pan Zhang

Pan Zhang was a military general of Eastern Wu during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. Although an active general with high rank, he was known to desire wealth and treasure, and to dress himself in a gaudy fashion...

, commander of the division that previously captured Guan Yu. It was written that Guan Yu's ghost had made Pan Zhang freeze in fear, allowing Guan Xing to slay him. In doing so, he retrieved his father's weapon, the Green Dragon Crescent Moon Sabre

Guan dao

A Guan Dao, Kwan Dao, or Kuan Tao is a type of Chinese pole weapon that is currently used in some forms of Chinese martial arts. In Chinese it is properly called a 偃月刀 yan yue dao , the name under which it always appears in texts from the Song to Qing dynasties such as the Wujing Zongyao and...

. Later, when Mi Fang

Mi Fang

Mi Fang was an official serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He was also the younger brother of Mi Zhu, who also served Liu Bei. In 219, Mi Fang surrendered to Sun Quan, directly resulting in the loss of Jing Province and the...

 and Fu Shiren, two former Shu officers who defected to Eastern Wu and ultimately caused the death of Guan Yu, surrendered to Liu Bei again, Liu Bei refused to forgive them and ordered Guan Xing to execute the pair before an altar dedicated to Guan Yu.

In Chapter 91, Guan Xing was appointed Commander of the Left Guard (帳前左護衛使) and titled Soaring Dragon General (龍驤將軍). He then followed Prime Minister Zhuge Liang on the Northern Expeditions against the rival state of Wei

Cao Wei

Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...

. He eventually died of sickness in Chapter 102.

Appointments and titles held

• Marquis of Hanshou (漢壽亭侯) - inherited by Guan Xing from his father Guan Yu
• Palace Attendant (侍中)
• Central Inspector of the Army (中監軍)