Liu Bei (161-June 10, 223), also known as Emperor Zhaolie of the Han Dynasty (reigned 221-223), also named Xuande, lived in Zhuoxian County, Zhuojun, Youzhou (now Hebei Province) at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. A native of Zhuozhou City, Jiangxi Province, he was the founding emperor and statesman of the Shu Han Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period after Liu Sheng, King Jing of Zhongshan in the Western Han Dynasty. Historians often call him the first master.
Liu Bei worshiped Lu Zhi as his disciple when he was young, and later participated in activities such as suppressing the Yellow Turban Uprising and the crusade against Dong Zhuo. Due to his limited strength, Liu Bei suffered repeated defeats in the melee between princes, so he successively relied on Gongsun Zan, Tao Qian, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, Liu Biao and many other princes.
However, because he always adhered to the code of conduct of persuading people with virtue, he was respected by celebrities at home and abroad. Even Tao Qian, Liu Biao, etc. gave up letting their sons inherit the foundation, but chose to transfer their territories to Xuzhou and Jingzhou were given to Liu Bei.
Through unremitting efforts, Liu Bei successively captured Jingzhou and Yizhou after the Battle of Chibi and established the Shu Han regime. Later, because Guan Yu was killed by Soochow, Liu Bei refused to listen to the dissuasion of his officials and insisted on launching a war against Wu. As a result, he was defeated in Yiling and finally died of illness in Baidi City in the third year of Zhangwu (223 years) at the age of sixty-three. Years old, his posthumous title was Emperor Zhaolie, and his temple name was Liezu, who was buried in Huiling.
Liu Bei was generous, knowledgeable, and unyielding. His act of entrusting the country to Zhuge Liang before his death was praised by Chen Shou as a great success in ancient and modern times. Many literary and artistic works in later generations also featured Liu Bei as the protagonist. The Wuhou Temple in Chengdu is commemorated by the Zhaolie Temple.
Extended information:
Due to the widespread circulation and huge influence of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" among the people, the true images of some historical figures have been subverted by literary works, and Liu Bei is one of them.
The author of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" transferred several events in history that reflected Liu Bei's bloodiness and bravery to Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, and also included two beautiful battles that Liu Bei personally commanded to completely defeat Cao Cao's group. Remembered in the name of Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei was portrayed as a loyal elder who loved to cry, depended on others in all matters, and had a gentle personality but not enough masculinity.
People have great misunderstandings about Liu Bei's true image. Through Chen Shou's "Three Kingdoms", we can see that the real Liu Bei in history was a heroic figure with great personality, bloodiness and military strategy.
"Three Kingdoms·Book of Shu·Biography of the First Master" records that although Liu Bei had royal blood, he experienced the tragedy of his family's decline and the loss of his father when he was young. When he was a child, he was forced to live with his mother. "Trading shoes and weaving mats as a profession" is the beginning of the hardships of life. This period of adversity forced by life sharpened Liu Bei's determination and created his character of being kind to others.
Liu Bei’s mother is a very knowledgeable person. Even though she is poor, she still wants to send Liu Bei to study. When Liu Bei was fifteen years old, he, Gongsun Zan, and Liu Deran studied under the famous scholar Lu Zhi, the prefect of Jiujiang. The young Liu Bei's extraordinary behavior and social insights greatly impressed his father, Liu Deran, who was from the same clan.
At that time, Liu Deran's father had to give Liu Bei a share every time he paid for his son's study. The two received the same treatment, so that Deran's mother inevitably complained, but Deran's father said, "There are people in my sect who This person is very human." It seems that the spiritual temperament displayed by this late Shu Han lord in his youth was extraordinary.
Lu Zhi was a very knowledgeable Confucian scholar with both civil and military skills. Liu Bei naturally gained a lot of knowledge by joining his disciples. After studying under Lu Zhi, Liu Bei was unemployed for a period of time. His hometown, Zhuojun, Hebei Province, was a place with extensive connections and a large floating population. During this period, young Liu Bei liked to socialize.
Because Liu Bei was personally taught by the famous scholar Lu Zhi, he gained a lot of knowledge including a grasp of the world situation at that time. In addition, he likes to make friends with the world's heroes and has an approachable spiritual temperament, which makes him extremely popular. Well, many young people often surround him.
Among these young people were Guan Yu, who was angry at the local bullies and fled abroad, Zhang Fei, who was bold and wealthy as a butcher, and Jian Jian, who was humorous, good at debating, and straightforward. Yong.
Two big businessmen in Zhongshan, Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang, have been engaged in horse trading for a long time. Their wealth has reached thousands of gold, and they often travel to Zhuojun.
When the two first met Liu Bei, they felt that he was a little different. He had long hands that could hang down past his knees. He had big ears. He didn't speak much. When he spoke, his tone was calm. They said without a doubt that he was the great-great-grandson of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty and Zhongshan Jing. After the king talked more deeply, he felt that he had an ambition to take the world as his own responsibility. The two of them "seeed each other differently, but they gave him more money and wealth."
It can be seen that Liu Bei's inner spiritual temperament and personality strength impressed the two wealthy businessmen who had seen the world, so they gave Liu Bei a lot of money without hesitation to fund his great undertakings. Judging from some historical data, Liu Bei used the sponsorship of these two wealthy businessmen to establish his first private armed force. This army later conquered the Yellow Turbans and conquered the South and the North, becoming the original force for Liu Bei's career to become bigger and stronger.
People's Daily Online - The real Liu Bei in history: full of charm and strategy
Baidu Encyclopedia - Liu Bei