Five Tiger Generals

Five Tiger Generals is the poly ship between Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong, Ma Chao and Zhao Yun from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms fandom.

Canon
"Five Tiger Generals" is a term used broadly in Chinese Literature, however the most popular rendition of the term is used in the context of Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The term refers to Five Generals, usually the top five in power. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are Liu Bei's sworn brothers. Zhao Yun met Liu Bei when he was working with Gongsun Zan and joined Liu Bei after finding out Gongsun Zan was weak and without power. Huang Zhong used to work for Han Xuan and only came under Liu Bei's rule after Han Xuan was killed by Wei Yan. Ma Chao was once a significant power and threat to Liu Bei, but once his lord doubted Ma Chao's intentions, he came to Liu Bei seeking a better lord to serve under.

Liu Bei initially appointed Guan Yu as General Who Destroys Rebels and Lord of Hanshou, Zhang Fei as General Who Subdues Rebels and Lord of Xin, Huang Zhong as General Who Conquers the West, Ma Chao as General Who Pacifies the West, and Zhao Yun General Who Guards the West. Liu Bei only promoted them to "Five Tiger Generals" later. Liu Bei has a close relationship with each of the Five Tiger Generals, however they do not interact much themselves. Of course, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun are the exceptions to this, as they are known to be close friends. Guan Yu also recruited Huang Zhong, and they are known to have a mentor-student relationship.

However, after Liu Bei's death, all but two of the Five Tiger Generals died. Ma Chao and Zhao Yun were the youngest of the generals, so naturally they survived. Guan Yu died at the hands of Sun Quan. As he was the first to die, his death heavily impacted the remaining generals. Zhang Fei died avenging his elder brother's death; Huang Zhong died as a result of Liu Bei's negligence due to his grief for Guan Yu. Ma Chao's death was not recorded in the book, while Zhao Yun died of old age. All of the Tiger Generals impacted Shu Han greatly, and their deaths contributed to the state of later Shu Han.

Fanon
is not a popular poly ship in the fandom (as the fandom is incredibly small anyways). However, many people still ship them as friends. Some people also ship them as family. Sometimes this ship is also portrayed with Liu Bei, making it more of his harem. This is because the age gap between Huang Zhong and the younger generals, like Ma Chao, is speculated to be ~20 years. More popular ships for each of these characters include YunLiang and LiuGuanZhang. There are no fanfictions on A03.

Fandom
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