A strong warrior with a dark face and a wiry beard, Zhou Cang gets caught up in the Yellow Turban Rebellion towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty and joins the rebels.

However, after the rebellion is crushed by Han imperial forces, Zhou Cang becomes a renegade bandit.

He inhabits Mount Woniu with another former Yellow Turban rebel, Pei Yuanshao, and becomes known as a warrior of great strength and skill.

A skilled boatman, his talents are critical in Guan Yu's naval assault during the Battle of Fancheng.

Zhou Cang sometimes appears as a door god partnered with Guan Yu in Chinese and Taoist temples.