China copies pretty much everything else out there, so it only stood to reason they’d eventually get around to doing their own Transformer. Unlike most other Chinese knock-offs, though, this one’s pretty damn impressive.
This is an amazing transformer statue from the graduation exhibition at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in China. It is 9.4 meters tall, and weights 4 tons. Bi Heng, the author from the Department of Sculpture, has spent 300,000 RMB (about 43,000 US dollars) on it.
The transformer shows the look of Guan Yu, a respectable general well known for his great kungfu, courage and loyalty in Chinese history. Bi Heng used the components from a Jiefang brand vehicle, which is a 25-year old military truck used widely by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
As for the weapon, he’s not meant to resemble any Transformer in particular, as he’s modelled after Guan Yu, an ancient Chinese general.
As one of the best known Chinese historical figures throughout East Asia, Guan Yu’s true life stories have largely given way to fictionalized ones, mostly found in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms or passed down the generations, in which his deeds and moral qualities have been lionized.
Guan Yu is respected as the epitome of loyalty and righteousness. Guan Yu was deified as early as the Sui Dynasty and is still worshipped by some Chinese people today, especially in southern China and Hong Kong and their descendants overseas. He is a figure in Chinese folk religion, popular Confucianism, Daoism, and Chinese Buddhism, and small shrines to Guan Yu are almost ubiquitous in traditional Chinese shops and restaurants.
Though he looks more like Scourge to me… To mark the occasion, this great little promo video has been released, which even though it’s only 1:20 long is still a lot more entertaining than Transformers 2.
Check out the video here
-Kotaku
