The first poster of the Chinese animation "Martial Saint Guan Gong" will be released this summer

The Three Kingdoms-themed animated film "Guan Gong, the Martial Saint", directed by the famous Chinese comic master Cai Zhizhong, has officially released its first concept poster and is confirmed to be released during this summer vacation.

In the poster presented in traditional paper-cut form, Guan Gong, wearing armor, seems to have descended from the sky, holding a broadsword with great majesty, and his godly demeanor is moving.

It is reported that the film will not only tell the life of Guan Yu, the greatest hero in Chinese history, in a classic meticulous painting style, but will also reproduce the myth of Guan Yu's canonization and miracles in a fantastic form. As the first animated film in recent years with Guan Yu as the protagonist, the film is expected to be released in theaters across the country in the summer to meet the audience.

Guan Gong, the greatest figure in the universe, finally has an animated film

As a common idol of Chinese people all over the world, Guan Gong has been famous from ancient times to the present. He was conferred the title of Marquis in the Han Dynasty, King in the Song Dynasty, Emperor in the Ming Dynasty, and Saint in the Qing Dynasty. All dynasties in China would worship Guan Gong. Confucianism called him Saint, Buddhism called him Buddha, and Taoism called him Tianzun. All three major religious sects in China worship Guan Gong. His character traits of loyalty, righteousness, benevolence, and courage have also become a worthy belief in Chinese civilization. For a long time, the impression of Guan Yu has been active in the Chinese classic "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", and his image on the big screen has remained in historical blockbusters such as "Red Cliff" and "Guan Yunchang". As the first animated film with Guan Gong as the protagonist, "Martial Saint Guan Gong" is refreshing. In the form of Chinese comic animation, it fully portrays characters and restores historical scenes, revisiting classic historical passages such as the Three Brothers of Peach Garden, Warming up Hua Xiong, Passing Five Passes and Killing Six Generals, and Going to a Meeting with a Single Sword. It is reported that the myth and legend of Guan Gong appearing in the Song Dynasty hundreds of years after his death to save the people of the world has also been brought to the big screen in a fantasy form.

The national treasure-level comic master Cai Zhizhong spent 5 years drawing

"Martial Saint Guan Gong" was directed by the Chinese comic master Cai Zhizhong and took five years to produce. As a comic master with many works and achievements, Cai Zhizhong has multiple identities such as the Golden Horse Award for Best Animation Director, Eastern philosopher, Buddhist scholar, mathematician, physicist, and Asian Bridge Champion. His career is also full of legends.

It is reported that he decided to make painting his lifelong career when he was 4 and a half years old. He became a professional cartoonist at the age of 15. In 1981, when he was 33 years old, he set the highest box office record in Taiwan's film history at that time with the animated film "Colorful Cartoon Old Master Q", and won the Best Animation Award at the 18th Golden Horse Awards. He has also filmed popular classic animated films such as "Old Master Q" and "Ulongyuan". He has successively won many honors such as the Taiwan Top Ten Outstanding Youth Award, the Prince Claus Foundation Award of the Netherlands, and the "Golden Comic Award" Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1998, he published "Eastern Universe" and "Song of Time" and other "Universe Formula" physics monographs. Since 1983, he began to interpret Chinese thought and culture in the form of comics. More than 300 works such as "Zhuangzi Says", "Laozi Says", "Liezi Says", "Confucius Says", and "Zen Says" have been published in 49 countries and regions in multiple languages, with sales exceeding 40 million copies. He is known as the primary promoter of conveying Chinese culture and oriental thought to the world.

This film is also one of the major works launched by Cai Zhizhong since he was invited to settle in the Xixi Master Building in Hangzhou in 2009 and devoted himself to creation for 10 years. This time, the film crew also exposed several of the nearly 10,000 original hand-made drawings. The Three Kingdoms and Guan Gong painted by Cai Zhizhong are full of the charm and beauty of oriental traditions with just a few strokes.

"The Martial Saint Guan Gong" will be released nationwide in the summer of 2019.