Historical Validity
It is highly questionable whether Guan Yu actually wielded the Green Dragon or whether it was merely part of the myths surrounding him, valid historical text from his time period made no mention of him or anyone wielding a similar weapon. Because the guandao was known not to be widely used until the Song Dynasty, there is some doubt as to whether the guandao existed during Guan Yu's time. The guandao may not have been very widely-used because it was both difficult to wield, because of its heavy weight (Guan Yu, reportedly, was able to wield it with much agility with just one hand, while most people would have trouble using it effectively even with both hands) - however, this may be due to the legend of the weight surrounding the blade - whereas in reality, it was much lighter.
According to Romance of the Three Kingdoms/Chapter 1, the Green Dragon Crescent Blade was said to weigh 82 catties. During the Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms periods, one catty was approximately 220 grams, so 82 catties would have been approximately 18.04 kilograms (~39.7782 pounds).zh:度量衡 A weapon weighing about 100 pounds (~48 kilograms) purported to be the Green Dragon Crescent Blade is on display at the Purple Cloud Temple in China today.
Read more about this topic: Green Dragon Crescent Blade
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