Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang (ⓘ) (181 – September or October 234), also commonly known by his courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman, strategist, and engineer who lived through the end of the Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220) and the early Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. During the Three Kingdoms period, he served as the Imperial Chancellor (or Prime Minister) of the state of Shu Han (221–263) from its founding in 221 and later as regent from 223 until his death in September or October 234.
Zhuge Liang | |
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| 諸葛亮 | |
An illustration of Zhuge Liang | |
| Imperial Chancellor of Shu Han | |
| In office 229 – September or October 234 | |
| In office May 221 – 228 | |
| Monarch | Liu Bei / Liu Shan |
| General of the Right | |
| In office 228–229 | |
| Monarch | Liu Shan |
| Governor of Yi Province | |
| In office 223 – September or October 234 | |
| Monarch | Liu Shan |
| Succeeded by | Jiang Wan (as Inspector) |
| Colonel-Director of Retainers | |
| In office 221 – September or October 234 | |
| Monarch | Liu Bei / Liu Shan |
| Preceded by | Zhang Fei |
| Deputy Head of the Secretariat | |
| In office 221 – September or October 234 | |
| Monarch | Liu Bei / Liu Shan |
| Succeeded by | Jiang Wan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 181 Yinan County, Shandong |
| Died | September or October 234 (aged 53) Wuzhang Plains, Shaanxi |
| Resting place | Mount Dingjun, Shaanxi |
| Spouse | Lady Huang |
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| Children |
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| Parent |
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| Occupation | Statesman, military leader, scholar, inventor |
| Courtesy name | Kongming (孔明) |
| Posthumous name | Marquis Zhongwu (忠武侯) |
| Peerage | Marquis of Wu District (武鄉侯) |
| Nickname(s) | "Sleeping Dragon" (臥龍 / 伏龍) |
| Zhuge Liang | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 諸葛亮 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 诸葛亮 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Kongming (courtesy name) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 孔明 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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He is recognised as the most accomplished strategist of his era. His reputation as an intelligent and learned scholar grew even while he was living in relative seclusion, earning him the nickname "Wolong" or "Fulong" (both meaning "Reposing Dragon").
Zhuge Liang was Legalist in his methods, but also Confucian oriented, as Zhuge Liang was critical of the Legalist thought of Shang Yang and advocated benevolence and education as tenets of being a ruler. He compared himself with Guan Zhong, developing Shu's agriculture and industry to become a regional power. He 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. In remembrance of his governance, local people maintained shrines to him for ages.
Zhuge is an uncommon two-character Chinese compound family name. In 760, when Emperor Suzong of the Tang dynasty built a temple to honour Jiang Ziya, he had sculptures of ten famous historical military generals and strategists placed in the temple flanking Jiang Ziya's statue: Zhuge Liang, Bai Qi, Han Xin, Li Jing, Li Shiji, Zhang Liang, Tian Rangju, Sun Tzu, Wu Qi, and Yue Yi.