Zhuge Liang
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An artist's impression of Zhuge Liang holding his trademark feather fan. |
Zhuge Liang (
181 -
234) was one of the greatest strategists of post-
Han China, as well as a statesman, engineer, scholar, and legendary inventor of
baozi .
Zhuge is an uncommon two-character compound
family name.
*
Wade-Giles: Chu-ko Liang
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Wade-Giles: K`ung-ming
Other names
*Crouching Dragon
Xiansheng 臥龍先"
*The Crouching or Sleeping Dragon 臥龍 (Taoist name)
*Hidden Dragon 伏龍
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Wade-Giles: Wo-lung Hsien-sheng
Zhuge Liang was born in
Yangdu County in
Langya Commandery, at present-day
Yishui County,
Shandong Province. He was the second of three brothers and orphaned early; his mother died when he was nine, and his father when he was twelve. His uncle raised him and his siblings. When
Cao Cao invaded Shandong in
195, his family was forced to flee south, and his uncle soon died of illness.
Although both his sisters married into important families with numerous connections in the area, for ten years he resided in
Longzhong Commandery (in present-day
Hubei province) with his elder brother
Zhuge Jin (who later served the Wu Kingdom) in a simple peasant life - farming by day and studying by night. He got to know a group of friends among the intellectuals of the area. His reputation soon grew, and he was named the Crouching (or Sleeping) Dragon, wise among his peers in many areas. At the meantime, he married the daughter of another renowned scholar
Huang Chengyan. His wife's name is rumored to be
Huang Yueying. The Huang Family was also connected to several other well established clans in the region.
The
warlord Liu Bei harbored in the neighboring city
Xiangyang under his distant relative and the governor of the Jing
Region,
Liu Biao. Legends recounted that Zhuge Liang joined
Liu Bei in
207 only after Liu visited him in person three times. In reality, one of Zhuge Liang's works accounted for three visits. Zhuge Liang soon presented his famous
Longzhong Plan before Liu, and he travelled in person to the
Kingdom of Wu and formed an alliance with its ruler
Sun Quan. His elder brother
Zhuge Jin served as a high official in Sun's administration.
In the
Battle of Red Cliffs of
208, allied armies of
Liu Bei and
Sun Quan defeated
Cao Cao, thus enabling
Liu Bei to establish his own territories. It is popular mythos that Zhuge Liang called forth a southeastern wind to sweep
Huang Gai's fire-attack throughout Cao Cao's ships, however, in reality it was the Wu general
Zhou Yu who masterminded the fire attack. In folklore, the wind is attributed to either Zhuge Liang's magic or his ability to predict the weather.
The union with Sun Quan broke down when
Guan Yu retaliated on the
Kingdom of Wu in
219 after the surprise attack of
Lü Meng.
Guan Yu was defeated and decapitated.
Liu Bei, infuriated with the execution of his longtime comrade, ignored all arguments of his well-meaning subjects and turned on the
Kingdom of Wu, leading a huge army to seek revenge. He was defeated in the ensuing
Battle of Yiling by
Lu Xun and died in a lone fortress of "Baidi Cheng" (literary meaning: "the White Emperor Fortress") after a hasty and humiliating retreat to his own borders. After the death of Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang became the
chancellor under
Liu Shan,
Liu Bei's son, and renewed the alliance with Sun Quan.
Zhuge Liang felt that in order to march North he would first have to unify Shu completely. If he fought against the North while the Nanman people rebelled, then the Nanman people would march further and perhaps even press into areas surrounding the capital. So rather than embarking on a Northern Campaign, Zhuge Liang led an army to pacify the south first.
Ma Su (Ma Liang's brother) proposed the plan that Zhuge Liang should work toward getting the rebels to join him rather than killing all of them and he took this plan. Zhuge Liang defeated the rebel leader,
Meng Huo, seven different times, but released him each time, in order to achieve his genuine surrender.
During this campaign he got sick from the poison marshes in the area (according to the novel). Luckily, he was healed to good health, but possibly the effects of this sickness continued to ail him later, during the Northern Expeditions.
Finally, Meng Huo and his wife Zou Rong, who was said to be a decendent of the fire goddess, agreed to join Zhuge Liang in a genuine acquiescence, and thus Zhuge Liang appointed Meng Huo governor of the region, so he could govern it as he already had, keeping the populace content, and keeping Southern Shu border secure to allow for the future Northern Expeditions. Zhuge Liang obtained resources from the South, and after this, Zhuge Liang made his moves North.
Zhuge Liang persuaded
Jiang Wei, a general of
Kingdom of Wei, to defect to the
Kingdom of Shu during his first Northern Expedition. Jiang would become one of the prominent Shu generals, and inheritor of Zhuge Liang's battle strategies. Jiang Wei continued to carry on Zhuge Liang's ideals and fight for the
Kingdom of Shu after Zhuge Liang's death in
234.
In Zhuge Liang's later years, he launched expeditions against the
Wei five times, but all except one failed, usually because his food supplies ran out, rather than failure on the battlefield. His only permanent gain was the addition of the Wudu and Yin Ping prefectures as well as relocating Wei citizens to Shu on occasion.
On the fifth expedition, he died of overwork and illness in an army camp in
Battle of Wuzhang Plain. (The novel
Romance of the Three Kingdoms related a story of Zhuge Liang passing "The 24 Volumes on Military Strategy" (兵法二十四篇) to Jiang Wei at the eve of his death.) At Zhuge's recommendation, Liu Shan commissioned
Jiang Wan to succeed him as regent. According to the novel, Zhuge Liang attempted to extend his lifespan by twelve years, but failed when the ceremony was disturbed near the end when Wei Yan rushed in, announcing the arrival of the Wei army.
His name is synonymous with wisdom in
Chinese. He was believed to be the inventor of the
landmine and a mysterious automatic transportation device (initially used for grain described as a "
wooden ox and floating horse" (木牛流馬), which is sometimes identified with the wheelbarrow. Although he is often credited with the invention of the
repeating crossbow which is named after him, called Zhuge Nu, this type of semi-automatic crossbow is actually an improved version of a model that first appeared during the Warring States Period (though there is debate whether the original warring states bow was semi-automatic, or rather shot multiple bolts at once). Nevertheless, Zhuge's version could shoot further and faster. He is also credited for constructing the mysterious
Stone Sentinel Maze, an array of stone piles that is said to produce supernatural phenomenon, located near
Baidicheng. An early type of
hot air balloon used for military signalling is also named after him called "Kongming Deng" or Kongming Lantern("明燈).
Some books rumored to be written by Zhuge Liang can be found today, for example the
Thirty-six Strategies of Zhuge Liang, and
Mastering the Art of War are two that are generally available. Supposedly, his mastery of infantry and cavalry formation tactics based upon the Taoist
I-Ching were unrivaled.
He is also the subject of many Chinese literary works. A poem by
Du Fu, one of the most prolific
poets from the
Tang Dynasty, was written in remembrance of Zhuge Liang:
蜀相 （also 武侯祠 ）
>丞相祠堂何處尋？
錦官城外柏森森。
映階碧草自春色，
"葉黃鸝空好音。
三顧頻煩天下計，
兩朝開濟老臣心。
出師未捷身先死，
長使英雄淚滿襟。
|THE TEMPLE OF THE PREMIER OF SHU
:Where to seek the temple of the noble Premier?
:In the deep pine forest beside the City of Silk,
:Where the green grass of spring cover the steps,
:And songbirds chirp happily between the leaves.
:Triple summons weighted by affairs of the State
:To two generations he served with his true heart,
:To die before completing a lifetime of achievement,
:Always have heroes weep on their fleece ever since.
Bai Chongxi, a
military leader of the
Republic of China and
warlord from
Guangxi province, earned the laudatory nickname "Little Zhuge" due to his tactical decisions in the
Second Sino-Japanese War during the
World War II.
Zhuge Liang married Huang (Personal name unknown, but some people misunderstood her name as 黄月英 - Huang Yueying), daughter of the scholar Huang Chenyan, in 197 (when he was seventeen years old). According to legend, Miss Huang was considered a plain and self-effacing girl, but also very intelligent and wise. Many of the rumours of her plainness were self-distributed, to discourage any suitors who would judge her on her looks. Zhuge Liang was the only one able to see through her ruse and come to woo her for her wisdom.
Remarkably enough, it appears that Zhuge had no other wives or concubines even after he became prime minister of Shu Han, even though powerful men of the time were generally
polygamists. Together, Zhuge and his wife had a son, Zhuge Zhan (諸葛瞻), who served Shu Han until his death in battle in defending the empire.
Both Zhuge Liang and Lady Huang died at
The Battle of Wuzhangyuan in 234 AD. Commanding the Shu Han army in an invasion of Cao Wei, Zhuge Liang fell sick during the battle and died, causing the forces he led to retreat. The Cao Wei general,
Sima Yi, pursued, but when confronted with a soldier dressed as Zhuge Liang, told his forces to turn and flee. As a result, Shu Han won the engagement and
Jiang Wei took command of the victorious army, but Shu was ultimately defeated. Lady Huang died after the battle was over, however, as though following her husband. With her last words, she told her son
Zhuge Zhan to 'be filial and have piety'.
Zhuge Liang is also a playable character in the popular Dynasty Warriors series. He is considered the main strategist for the dynasty
Shu, under
Liu Bei. In Dynasty Warriors 3, he is simply unlocked by beating the Story mode with 2 Shu officers. In Dynasty Warriors 4, he is unlocked once the player reaches Chapter Three of the Musou Mode. In Dynasty Warriors 5, he is once again unlocked by beating the game with 2 or more Shu characters. In all three games, he appears in a similar appearance: White Shroud, Jade Green Headpiece, White War Fan. The white fans which he wields are thought to be accurate, as Zhuge Liang was known to carry such fans. His moveset reflects that which is assumed about him and his nature: Because Zhuge Liang was the Prime Minister of the Shu Dynasty, and the main strategist, he didn't do much fighting. However, his intelligence and ability to make things happen was almost mystical in nature, and thus, his moves reflect magic in certain points (IE. In DW5, His charge moves emit green lasers, that defeat the enemy.) His stats also reflect his historical description as his Health, Attack and Defense are lower, while his Musou attack is rather high. In appearance, and stats, and even weapon, he is remarkably similar to Wei Dynasty's
Sima Yi, their main strategist.
Zhuge Liang is also present in Kessen 1, and Kessen 2 for the Playstation 2. He is also included in the games Romance of the Three Kingdoms 1 - 9, First on Nintendo, then Super Nintendo, then Playstation, and most recently, Playstation 2. The part he plays is exactly the same as in Dynasty Warriors: The Prime Minister/Main Strategist for Shu.
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Three KingdomsRomance of the Three KingdomsChronicles of the Three Kingdoms
