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Ancient Chinese fantasy steampunk martial arts disaster. When he's not slacking off and driving everyone nuts with his stupid antics, he's a capable general. Despite his prowess on the battlefield, his military talent (as well as his royal blood) has made the emperor suspicious and afraid of him, undermining him and the country, as a result. It's a mess. Shit happened to him when he was a small child, that took away most of his sight and hearing; there's magic medicine that can relieve the symptoms for a while, but it doesn't last that long and gives him debilitating, rip-roaring migraines as a side effect.

He's based on the real-life Song dynasty general Yue Fei:
"Yue Fei (March 24, 1103 – January 28, 1142), courtesy name Pengju, was a Chinese military general, calligrapher, and poet who lived during the Southern Song dynasty. He is best known for leading Southern Song forces in the wars in the 12th century between Southern Song and the Jurchen-ruled Jin dynasty in northern China before being put to death by the Southern Song government in 1142 under a concocted charge. Widely seen as a patriot and national folk hero in China, since his death Yue Fei has evolved into a paragon of loyalty in Chinese culture."

wikipedia link

Sha Po Lang itself is historical fiction, and is set approximately in the years 570-580. For an interesting historical analysis see here.

Surname: Gu
Given name: Yun
Courtesy name: Zi Xi
Titles: Marshal Gu, the Marquis of Order

Height: 5'9" (176 cm)
Age: 31
Build: slight but strong

Other: wears a monocle at times. Plays the flute really really badly.

opening page art credit: a_asi29 at twitter