108 Facts About Zhuge Liang

Zhuge Liang is recognised as the most accomplished strategist of his era.

Zhuge Liang was critical of the Legalist thought of Shang Yang, and advocated benevolence and education as tenets of being a ruler.

Zhuge Liang compared himself with Guan Zhong, developing Shu's agriculture and industry to become a regional power.

Zhuge Liang attached great importance to the works of Shen Buhai and Han Fei, refusing to indulge local elites and adopting strict, but fair and clear laws.

The authoritative historical source on Zhuge Liang's life is his biography in Volume 35 of the Records of the Three Kingdoms, which was written by the historian Chen Shou in the third century.

Over time, Zhuge Liang's ancestors adopted Zhuge as their family name.

The Fengsu Tongyi recorded that Zhuge Liang's ancestor was Ge Ying, who served under Chen Sheng, a rebel leader who led the Dazexiang uprising against the Qin dynasty.

The earliest known ancestor of Zhuge Liang who bore the family name Zhuge was Zhuge Feng, a Western Han dynasty official who served as Colonel-Director of Retainers under Emperor Yuan.

Zhuge Liang had an elder brother, a younger brother, and two elder sisters.

In later sources, it is said that during the northern expedition, Zhuge Liang commanded the three armies with a white feather fan while wearing a headscarf made of kudzu cloth and riding on a plain chariot.

The Moss Roberts' translation of the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang's appearance is described as follows:.

The original Chinese text in the novel mentions that Zhuge Liang wore a guanjin and a hechang.

Zhuge Liang accompanied Zhuge Xuan to Yuzhang Commandery when the latter was appointed as the Commandery Administrator sometime in the mid-190s.

Zhuge Liang enjoyed reciting Liangfu Yin, a folk song popular in the area around his ancestral home in Shandong.

Zhuge Liang maintained close relations with well-known intellectuals such as Sima Hui, Pang Degong and Huang Chengyan.

Between the late 190s and early 200s, Zhuge Liang often studied and travelled with Xu Shu, Shi Guangyuan and Meng Gongwei.

Zhuge Liang often sat down with his arms around his knees, sighing to himself from time to time while in deep thought.

Zhuge Liang once told his three friends that they would become commandery administrators or provincial governors if they served in the government.

Chen Shou mentions the three visits in his biographical sketch of Zhuge Liang appended to the memoirs Chen Shou compiled.

Yuan Zhun's Yuanzi recorded that when Zhuge Liang was in Chaisang, Zhang Zhao recommended he switch allegiance from Liu Bei to Sun Quan, but Zhuge Liang refused.

Zhuge Liang ordered Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, Lu Su and others to lead 30,000 troops to join Liu Bei in resisting Cao Cao's invasion.

Whenever Liu Bei went on military campaigns, Zhuge Liang remained behind to guard Chengdu and ensured that the city was well-stocked with supplies and well-defended.

Zhuge Liang appointed Zhuge Liang as his Imperial Chancellor as follows:.

Zhuge Liang held the additional appointment of Lu Shangshu Shi, the Supervisor of the Imperial Secretariat, and had full acting imperial authority.

Chen Shou commented that Liu Bei wholeheartly trusted Zhuge Liang and was permitting him to assume leadership.

Later, Zhuge Liang assumed an additional appointment as Governor of Yi Province.

Zhuge Liang personally oversaw all state affairs and made the final call on all policy decisions.

When rebellions broke out in the Nanzhong region of southern Shu, Zhuge Liang did not immediately take military action to suppress the rebellions because he thought it was not appropriate to do so in light of the recent death of Liu Bei.

Zhuge Liang appointed large numbers of local elites as low level officials, improving relations between Liu Bei's conquest bureaucracy, local elites, and the people of Shu.

Zhuge Liang's downfall has served as a cautionary tale for generations.

Zhuge Liang raised hundreds of thousands of troops to save Zhang Zhuge Liang at Yanping, whose potence was shriveled and choices regrettable.

Zhuge Liang wanted to personally lead the Shu forces on a southern campaign to the Nanzhong region to suppress the rebellions which erupted in 223, as well as to pacify and gain the allegiance of the Nanman tribes living there.

Zhuge Liang argued that given Zhuge Liang's important status in Shu, he should not undertake such a risky venture.

However, Zhuge Liang insisted on personally leading the campaign as he was worried that none of the Shu generals was competent enough to deal with the rebels on his own.

Ma Su, an adviser under Zhuge Liang, suggested that rather than conventional warfare, they focus on psychological warfare, winning the hearts of the people in Nanzhong, so as to prevent rebellions from breaking out again.

Zhuge Liang knew that Meng Huo was a popular and respected figure in Nanzhong among the Nanman and local Han Chinese, so he decided to let Meng Huo live.

Zhuge Liang appointed locals such as Li Hui and Lu Kai to serve as the new commandery administrators, while the local leaders and tribal chiefs were allowed to continue governing their respective peoples and tribes.

In 227, Zhuge Liang ordered troops from throughout Shu to mobilise and assemble in Hanzhong Commandery in preparation for a large-scale military campaign against Cao Wei.

Zhuge Liang had given them command of the weaker soldiers while he led the better troops to attack Mount Qi.

Zhuge Liang executed Ma Su for disobeying orders and to appease public anger.

Zhuge Liang wrote a memorial to Liu Shan, taking full responsibility for the Shu defeats at Jieting and Ji Valley, acknowledging his mistakes and failure in judgment, and requesting to be demoted by three grades as punishment.

Between late spring and early winter of 228, Zhuge Liang directed his efforts towards reorganising the Shu military, strengthening discipline, and training the troops in preparation for another campaign.

Zhuge Liang first ordered his troops to surround Chencang, then sent Jin Xiang, an old friend of Hao Zhao, to persuade Hao Zhao to surrender.

Zhuge Liang retreated when he heard that Zhuge Liang had led a Shu army to Jianwei.

When Zhuge Liang returned from the campaign, Liu Shan issued an imperial decree to congratulate him on his successes in defeating Wang Shuang during the second Northern Expedition and capturing Wudu and Yinping commanderies during the third Northern Expedition.

Zhuge Liang restored Zhuge Liang to the position of Imperial Chancellor.

When he heard of Wei recent movements, Zhuge Liang urged Li Yan to lead 20,000 troops to Hanzhong Commandery to defend against the Wei invasion which he reluctantly accepted after much persuasion.

Zhuge Liang allowed Wei Yan to lead troops behind the ennemy lines towards Yangxi to encourage the Qiang people to join Shu Han against Wei.

In 230, Zhuge Liang launched the fourth Northern Expedition and attacked Mount Qi again.

Zhuge Liang used the wooden ox, a mechanical device he invented, to transport food supplies to the frontline.

At Mount Qi, Zhuge Liang managed to convince Kebineng, a Xianbei tribal leader, to support Shu in the war against Wei.

Zhuge Liang then left Fei Yao and Dai Ling with 4,000 troops to guard Shanggui County, while he led the others to Mount Qi to help Jia Si and Wei Ping.

Zhuge Liang defeated Guo Huai, Fei Yao and Dai Ling in battle and ordered his troops to collect the harvest in Shanggui County.

Zhuge Liang encountered Sima Yi at Hanyang to the east of Shanggui County, but they did not engage in battle: Zhuge Liang ordered his troops to make use of the terrain and get into defensive positions; Sima Yi ordered his troops to get into formation, while sending Niu Jin to lead a lightly armed cavalry detachment to Mount Qi.

Zhuge Liang forbid his troops from taking the civilians' crops.

Zhuge Liang knew that Sima Yi was pretending to be angry because he wanted to show the Wei soldiers that he would not put up with Zhuge Liang's taunting, and to ensure that his men were ready for battle.

The messenger said that Zhuge Liang consumed three to four sheng of grain a day and that he micromanaged almost everything, except trivial issues like punishments for minor offences.

The reason why said that Zhuge Liang died in a valley was because the Shu army only released news of Zhuge Liang's death after they entered the valley.

When Sima Yi heard from civilians that Zhuge Liang had died from illness and the Shu army had burnt down their camp and retreated, he led his troops in pursuit and caught up with them.

Zhuge Liang once wrote a memorial to Liu Shan as follows and kept his promise until his death:.

Zhuge Liang ordered his troops to refrain from farming and logging anywhere near Zhuge Liang's tomb at Mount Dingjun.

Zhuge Liang surmised that Sun Sheng and Xi Zuochi probably omitted the anecdotes in their writings because they, like him, found the anecdotes unreliable and questionable.

Zhuge Liang further pointed out that the government lacked popular support and political legitimacy at the time because some people saw Liu Bei as a foreign invader who occupied Yi Province by military force.

Fa Zheng then urged Zhuge Liang to relax the laws and give the people some "breathing space".

Zhuge Liang blamed Liu Yan's 'soft' rule and Liu Zhang's incompetence for allowing corruption and decadence to become deeply entrenched in Yi Province.

Zhuge Liang argued that the best way to set things right was to restore law and order and to regulate the distribution of honours and privileges among the population.

Second, as Zhuge Liang is known for being a respectful, humble and faithful subject, it seemed totally out of place for him to advocate such a policy and make such a crude response to Fa Zheng.

Third, good governance, which Zhuge Liang is known for, is not normally associated with harsh laws.

Zhuge Liang started analysing the situation in Cao Cao's domain and presented ideas to Liu Bei on how to attack it.

Just then, Zhuge Liang came into the meeting room and caused the assassin to panic.

Zhuge Liang noticed the assassin's facial expression and found him suspicious.

Guo Chong's third anecdote concerns Zhuge Liang's alleged use of the Empty Fort Strategy against Sima Yi at Yangping.

Zhuge Liang noted that the first Northern Expedition was an overall failure so the "successes" mentioned in this anecdote neither made sense nor were worthy of compliments.

Zhuge Liang then ordered Sima Yi and Zhang Zhuge Liang to lead 300,000 elite Wei soldiers from Yong and Liang provinces on a covert operation deep into Shu territory and launch a stealth attack on Jiange, a strategic mountain pass.

Around the time, Zhuge Liang had set up a rotating shift system, in which at any time 20 percent of his troops would be stationed at Mount Qi, while the remaining 80 percent would remain behind.

Zhuge Liang won the battle because he successfully gained the trust of the Shu soldiers.

Zhuge Liang found the part about the rotating shift system untrue because it was impossible for a Shu expeditionary force to enter Wei territory and remain there for so long, much less set up a rotating shift system.

Zhuge Liang married the daughter of Huang Chengyan, a reclusive scholar living south of the Han River.

Zhuge Liang granted Zhuge Liang the title "Marquis of Wu District" and created an office for him as a Chancellor.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang made it clear that the core value of his policy was to stabilize and improve the life of the people.

Zhuge Liang purged corrupt officials, reduced taxes, and restricted the aristocracy's abuse of power against the common people.

Liu Bei, following the proposal of Zhuge Liang, created specialized bureaus for managing salt and steel manufacture, initially directed by Wang Lian and Zhang Yi, respectively.

Fu Yuan, a well-known local metalsmith, was appointed to a role in metallurgy research by Zhuge Liang, and managed to improve the techniques in crafting steel weapons for the Shu Han army.

When establishing themselves in the Yi Province, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, following the advice of Liu Ba, enacted successful monetary reforms.

Zhuge Liang strongly supported the rule of law in Shu Han.

Yi Zhongtian commented that "Rule of Laws" together with "Nominal rule of the Monarch and direct rule of the Chancellor" are two important legacies of Zhuge Liang which were unfortunately forgotten by many people.

Zhuge Liang was willing to punish high-ranked magistrates such as Li Yan, his own close associates such as Ma Su, and even willing to demote himself to keep legal order.

Zhuge Liang promoted moral conduct and himself led a strict and stoic life as a model.

Zhuge Liang did not own excessive assets, refrained from luxurious spending, and relied mainly on government salary.

Zhuge Liang greatly appreciated talent, hence he paid strong attention to education in order to cultivate and recruit more talented magistrates for the Shu Han government.

Zhuge Liang established the position Aide of Learning Encouragement, held by many prominent local intelligentsia such as Qiao Zhou, who held this post for a very long time and was very influential.

Later Zhuge Liang established a Great Education Residence, a training facility using Confucian literature as textbooks.

Zhuge Liang created many "reading book residences" both in Chengdu and in his encampments during the northern expeditions; such facilities functioned as places where talented people could be discovered and recruited.

Zhuge Liang established "Discussion Bureau" mechanism to gather all the discussions of a certain policy, encourage magistrates to accept the criticisms of their subordinates, and utilize the talents of all employees to reach the best decision.

Zhuge Liang adopted a meritocratic promotion system, promoting and assessing people based on deeds and ability rather than fame or background.

Zhuge Liang was believed to be the inventor of the Chinese steamed bun, the land mine and a mysterious but efficient automatic transportation device referred to as the "wooden ox and flowing horse", which is sometimes identified with the wheelbarrow.

Nevertheless, Zhuge Liang's improved model could shoot farther and faster.

Zhuge Liang is credited with constructing the Stone Sentinel Maze, an array of stone piles that is said to produce supernatural phenomena, near Baidicheng.

Some books popularly attributed to Zhuge Liang can be found today, for example the Thirty-Six Stratagems and Mastering the Art of War.

In Chinese culture, the question is largely irrelevant, as Zhuge Liang is an archetypal mastermind whose stratagems continue to influence Chinese society.

In Moss Roberts's translation of the novel, Zhuge Liang's appearance is described as follows:.

When Zhuge Liang fell critically ill during the Battle of Wuzhang Plains, he attempted a ritual to extend his lifespan by twelve years.

Zhuge Liang is sometimes venerated as a door god at Chinese and Taoist temples, usually in partnership with Sima Yi of Wei.

Zhuge Liang is often depicted wearing a Daoist robe and holding a hand fan made of crane feathers.

Zhuge Liang appears as a playable character in various video games based on the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, most notably Koei Tecmo's Dynasty Warriors series, Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, Warriors Orochi series, Dynasty Tactics series, Kessen II and Sangokushi Koumeiden.

Zhuge Liang is featured in the Qun Xiong Zheng Ba and Ao Shi Tian Xia sets of the collectible card game Generals Order.

Zhuge Liang is a main character in the card game Legends of the Three Kingdoms.

The young Zhuge Liang is a member of the League of Infinity in the superhero pastiche Supreme by Alan Moore.