Guan Yu

Guan Yu is one of Liu Bei's strongest generals in the novel. Together with Zhang Fei, he started following Liu Bei's leadership at a very early stage of Liu Bei's career, at which time the Han dynasty was experiencing the large-scale Yellow Turban Rebellion. He joined a militia that was led by Liu Bei, funded by local business groups in Zhuo County. He impressed Liu Bei at their first meet-up due to his physical strength and outgoing personality, and quickly formed a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and Zhang Fei.^[3] He rose from fighting Yellow Turbans, commanded Liu Bei's navy, conquered Changsha, governed Jing Province, expanded Shu Han's territory to Cao Wei-controlled Fancheng. Throughout his career, Guan Yu participated numerous battles against Cao Wei led by Cao Cao and Eastern Wu led by Sun Quan, and played a critical role in establishment of Shu Han. Due to the might of his arm and his chivalry, Guan Yu is divinized after his death, representing bravery, power, loyalty, righteousness, as well as brotherhood.

Zhang Fei

Zhang Fei is one of Liu Bei's strongest generals in the novel. Together with Guan Yu, he started following Liu Bei's leadership at a very early stage of Liu Bei's career, at which time Empire Han was experiencing the Yellow Turban Rebellion. He joined a militia that was led by Liu Bei, funded by local business groups in Zhuo County. He impressed Liu Bei at their first meet-up due to his physical strength and outgoing personality, and quickly formed a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and Guan Yu.^[4] He rose from fighting rebels in Yellow Turban Rebellion, conquered Ba Commandery, captured multiple cities cross in the area around present-day Sichuan and Chongqing, built a solid foundation for Liu Bei's establishment of Shu Han.

Huang Zhong

Prior to joining Liu Bei's force, Huang Zhong served under Han Xuan in the novel as an Associate General in Changsha. When Liu Bei delegated Guan Yu to conquer Changsha, Han Xuan somehow suspected that Huang Zhong was persuaded by Guan Yu to be a traitor despite Huang Zhong's fighting on the battlefield against Guan Yu, and arrested him for execution. Huang Zhong's fellow military comrades organized a revolution to save his life, killed Han Xuan, and surrendered to Guan Yu.^[5] After joining Shu Han, Huang Zhong defeated Xiahou Yuan of Cao Wei in the Battle of Mount Dingjun, and thus secured Shu Han's northern border.^[6]

Ma Chao

Ma Chao rose to fame when he led his father Ma Teng's army to fight barbarians in Liang Province. He was nicknamed "Ma Chao the Splendid" for his magnificent armor and grand skill as a warrior. In the novel, shortly after his family was murdered by Cao Cao, Ma Chao and his cousin Ma Dai joined Zhang Lu's force to revenge Cao Cao, and then joined Liu Bei's force following Zhang Lu's surrender to Cao Cao.^[7] As Ma Chao had established an extraordinary military achievements when he fought Qiang barbarians since his early years, he continued to be Liu Bei's mightiest general that protected Shu Han's northwestern border from Qiang barbarians.

Zhao Yun

Zhao Yun, also known as Zhao Zilong, fought together with Liu Bei as an ally during Liu Bei's early career, leaving a very close relationship with each other in the novel. Finally when Zhao Yun and Liu Bei met in Ye, Zhao Yun decided that he would follow Liu Bei's leadership for the rest of his life. During his career with Liu Bei's force, Zhao Yun protected Liu Bei's family, and saved Shu Han's crown prince Liu Shan from numerous battles. Zhao Yun's most legendary battle was to save Liu Shan, who was an infant at the time, from Cao Cao's encirclement. During the Battle of Changban, isolated by Cao Cao's army, Zhao Yun held Liu Shan in his armor, slew more than 70 enemy warriors alone, and escaped the scene without disturbing the infant's sleep.^[8] In Shu Han, Zhao Yun led Liu Bei's royal guards, ensured the safety of the royal family, and kept the capital city in peace.

"Five Tiger Generals" grouping as validation of historical accomplishments

Some historians that study the history of the Three Kingdoms periods argue that while Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong, Ma Chao and Zhao Yun were appointed to the similar military rankings and were listed in the same volume in the historical texts, their military achievements are significantly differed, and people referring those five generals as "Five Tiger Generals" presume that they share the same accomplishments. Kaiyu Luo of Sichuan University argues that while Guan Yu had led armies of over 200,000 soldiers to expand Shu Han's territory, Zhao Yun had never stepped out of Shu Han's capital city in his military career:^[9] it does not make sense to presume Guan Yu and Zhao Yun had the same level of achievements or to group them together under one "Five Tiger Generals" ranking.

Researchers who support this grouping pointed out that Zhao Yun's core responsibility was to ensure the safety of Shu Han's central government, and historically this role could only be assigned to the most reliable commander. It is important to raise the awareness that protecting the kingdom is the same important as expanding territory, and it is reasonable for Chen Shou to list Zhao Yun in the same volume of Guan Yu, and for people to refer both Zhao Yun and Guan Yu as members of "Five Tiger Generals".^[10]