Zhuge Liang () (181 – September or October 234),[a] also commonly known by his courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman, strategist, and inventor 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.[1]
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 "Sleeping Dragon").
Zhuge Liang was Legalist in his methods,[2] but also Confucian oriented,[3] as Zhuge Liang was critical of the Legalist thought of Shang Yang[4] and advocated benevolence and education as tenets of being a ruler.[5] He compared himself with Guan Zhong,[2] developing Shu's agriculture and industry to become a regional power.[6] He attached great importance to the works of Shen Buhai and Han Fei,[3] 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.[7]
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.[8]
The authoritative historical source on Zhuge Liang's life is his biography in Volume 35 of the Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi), which was written by the historian Chen Shou (233–297) in the third century. Chen Shou had worked in the historical offices of the Shu Han government, and had previously collated Zhuge Liang's writings into an anthology.[Sanguozhi 1] The scope of this collection may have been limited to official government documents.[9]: 113
In the fifth century, the Liu Song dynasty historian Pei Songzhi (372–451) annotated the Sanguozhi by incorporating information from other sources to Chen Shou's original work and adding his personal commentary. Some alternative texts used in the annotations to the Sanguozhi include: