W150xD40xH200mm, China
Characters from the Beijing Opera (which is a collection of legendary stories in itself) are made into toys. I suppose the its no difference now with Buzz Lightyear and the Woody action character, an hero friend you can keep in the pocket.
This is Guan Yu, the hot blooded general of Liu Bei in the Three Kingdoms era (200BC), the character is made popular by the historic novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” (published 1350) where he is described as 9 feet tall with a 2 feet long beard, a date colour face and red lips, eyes of a phoenix, silkworm like eyebrow and above all loyal and dignify.
Not only is he a favorite character for the kids, he can also liked by the adults, taking on the role as the God of Wealth. In praise for his loyalty, in Hong Kong Guan Yu is also worshiped by the police and Triads alike.
Mountain Folkcraft 