Many tales about him were passed down in the form of folk culture instead of textual works. In the 14th-century historical novel
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Suo was described as a capable warrior, and was involved in
Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign against the
Nanman. Guan Suo is described to be very popular among the girls because of his handsome appearance. In a
Chinese opera play,
Guan Suo Play (關索戲), he was described as a man "seven
chi tall, with a face like a peach blossom" (身長七尺，面似桃花). In some stories, he has many wives. The first is called
Bao Sanniang, followed by Wang Linggong's (王令公) two daughters Wang Yue (王悦) and Wang Tao (王桃), and the fourth one is Huaman (花鬘), a fictional daughter of
Meng Huo. In folk tales, Guan Suo has another name – "Hua Guan Suo" (花關索), which literally means "Flower Guan Suo". It is said that Guan Suo used this name before he met his father Guan Yu. "Hua" was the family name of his martial arts master Hua Yue (花月/花岳) in Banshidong (班石洞), Mount Qiuqu (丘衢山). Sources such as
Genealogy of the Guan Family (關氏家譜),
Guang Yi Si Dian (廣義祀典) and ''
Kaozheng on the
Holy Emperor's Genealogy'' (聖帝世系考證) claim that Guan Suo's
courtesy name was
Weizhi (維之). ==In popular culture==