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Liú Bèi () (161 – 223), courtesy name Xuándé(玄徳), was a powerful warlord and the founding emperor of the Kingdom of Shu during the Three Kingdoms era in ancient China. Having risen up from the commoner class, he was initially a small player in the massive civil war leading up to the collapse of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In 214, using strategy of his chief advisor Zhuge Liang, Liú Bèi conquered Yizhou (益州, present day Sichuan and Guizhou) and at last established the foundation for his kingdom. In 221, Liú Bèi declared himself emperor in an effort to carry on the lineage of the Han Dynasty. He was succeeded by Liú Shan, who eventually surrendered to the Kingdom of Wei in 263.
In the 14th century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, Liú Bèi was portrayed as a virtuous and charismatic man who rose from a humble straw weaver to the emperor. His many experiences were dramatized or exaggerated by the author to advocate the Confucian set of moral values, such as loyalty and compassion. However, it is this novelized character of Liú Bèi that had become much more commonly known in folklore, opera and other art forms.
Life
Early life
Born in the prefecture of Zhuo (涿, present day Zhuozhou, Hebei), Liú Bèi was a descendant of Liú Sheng, one of the sons of Emperor Jing. However, after generations Liú Bèi was no longer closely related to the ruling family of the Han Dynasty. He lost his father when he was still a child and, together with his mother, sold shoes and straw-woven mats for a living. At fourteen, Liú Bèi was sent to study under Lu Zhi, a scholar and governor of Jiujiang. There he met and befriended Gongsun Zan, who was also a pupil of Lu Zhi and later became a warlord in northern China.The teenage Liú Bèi was unenthusiastic in studying but interested in hunting, music and elaborate clothings. His arms were said to be so long that they reach beneath his knees and his ears so huge that he could see them himself. Few of words and calm in demeanor, Liú Bèi was well-liked among his contemporaries. Two horse merchants were so impressed with him that they gave him a large amount of money, with which Liú Bèi gathered a band of followers, including Guan Yu(関羽) and Zhang Fei(張飛), who later became his sworn brothers and two of the most prominent generals of the Kingdom of Shu(蜀).
Beginning of civil war
In 184, the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out. Liú Bèi and his followers joined the regional government's force and scored several victories against the rebels. In 192, after suffering a defeat, Liú Bèi traveled north to seek a position under Gongsun Zan, who placed him on the border with rival warlord Yuan Shao. For his subsequent military successes Liú Bèi was made governor of Pingyuan (平原).In 194, when Cao Cao launched a campaign against Tao Qian (陶謙), governor of Xuzhou (徐州, present day northern Jiangsu), Liú Bèi went to the rescue of the latter. Before any major confrontation was made, however, Cao Cao was forced to retreat to his own base in Yanzhou (兗州, present day western Shandong) as Lü Bu had occupied much of the region with the help of several defectors. However, Liú Bèi did not return to Gongsun Zan but stayed on in Xuzhou, where Tao Qian placed him in command of 4,000 troops. When Tao Qian died of sickness shortly afterwards, he passed on the governorship of Xuzhou to Liú Bèi, rather than his own sons.
On the other hand, Lü Bu was eventually defeated and, thinking that by forcing Cao Cao's retreat he had done Xuzhou a favor, he headed for Xiapi to seek refuge under Liú Bèi. However, while Liú Bèi was away defending his territory against Yuan Shu, Lü Bu took over Xiapi, captured Liú Bèi's family and declared himself the governor of Xuzhou. When Liú Bèi returned, he garrisoned his troops in Xiaopei (小沛, present day Pei County, Jiangsu) and made peace with Lü Bu, whereupon his family was returned. However, Lü Bu grew wary of Liú Bèi as the force of the latter expanded. Finally, in 198, he attacked Liú Bèi in Xiaopei. The defeated Liú Bèi sought help from Cao Cao, who personally led an army into Xuzhou and defeated Lü Bu for good. Liú Bèi then followed Cao Cao back to the new capital Xuchang.
At this time, Emperor Xian, who had been held under the power of Cao Cao, secretly wrote a decree on a belt ordering the elimination of Cao Cao. The emperor then passed the belt to his uncle, General of Chariots and Cavalry Dong Cheng. Dong Cheng then started plotting the assassination with Liú Bèi and a few other colleagues. Before the act could be carried out, however, Liú Bèi was sent out with Zhu Ling (朱靈) to intercept Yuan Shu, who was traveling north to reconcile with his cousin (or half-brother, depending on sources) Yuan Shao. Liú Bèi took the opportunity to kill Che Wei (車冑), governor of Xuzhou, and retake the region. In 200, Dong Cheng's plot leaked and the conspirators were promptly executed.
In the same year, after an initial attack led by Liu Dai (劉岱) and Wang Zhong (王忠) failed, Cao Cao personally led an attack against Liú Bèi and defeated the latter. He also captured Liú Bèi's family and right arm, Guan Yu. Liú Bèi fled north to Yuan Shao, who was at that time amassing troops on the northern shore of the Yellow River and ready for a major confrontation with Cao Cao. Seeing initial setbacks Yuan Shao suffered, Liú Bèi was unwilling to stay. He persuaded Yuan Shao to allow him to lead a force to travel south to make an alliance with Liu Biao, governor of Jingzhou (荆州, present day Hubei and Hunan). However, Yuan Shao was soon routed at the Battle of Guandu. Liú Bèi then switched allegiance and sought a position under Liu Biao.
Settling down in Jingzhou
Jingzhou was a rich region full of talented men. Many of them, including the great strategist Zhuge Liang(諸葛亮), came to Liu Bei during this time. Liu Biao soon grew wary of Liú Bèi and sent him to Bowang (博望) to defend against forces of Cao Cao. In 205, Cao Cao led his force deep into the north against the Wuhuan minority tribe. Liú Bèi urged Liu Biao to grasp the opportunity to attack Xuchang but the indecisive Liu Biao delayed and lost the initiative. In the next year, Cao Cao had returned victorious and began a massive campaign south to take Jingzhou. At this time, Liu Biao died of sickness, leaving his legacy to his youngest son Liu Cong (劉琮), who promptly surrendered. Leading a huge throng of commoners, Liú Bèi then trudged south to unite with Liu Biao's eldest son Liu Qi (劉琦) in Jiangling.Wary of the ample supply of military equipment in Jiangling, Cao Cao left behind bulky supplies and forced march his army in an effort to catch up with Liú Bèi. At Xiangyang, Cao Cao learnt that Liu Bei had already passed through. With 5,000 elite horsemen, Cao Cao sped up his pursuit and finally caught up with Liu Bei at Changban (長阪, northeast of present day Dangyang County, Hubei). Though many of his troops and baggages were captured, Liú Bèi managed to escape to Jiangxia (江夏, present day Wuchang, Wuhan, Hubei), where he met Liu Qi.
Liú Bèi then sent Zhuge Liang as an envoy to Sun Quan, a powerful warlord occupying southeastern China, to seek alliance. Sun Quan deployed Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu and a large fleet to assist Liú Bèi. He even married his younger sister to Liú Bèi to fortify the alliance. However, this marriage was meant to be a ploy to trick Liú Bèi to get into his territory and then kill him secretly. Zhuge Liang realised this plot, and instead of persuading Liú Bèi not to go, he advised him to continue to southeastern China to marry Sun Quan's sister. When Sun Quan's small contingent of soldiers prepared to kill Liú Bèi, Liú Bèi had his men play loud marriage tunes, which caused the surrounding villagers to come out and look at them arriving. Thus, Sun Quan could not kill Liú Bèi secretly, and abandoned the plan.
In the winter of 208, forces of Cao Cao and the alliance clashed on the Yangtze River west of Wuchang. The conflict, known as the Battle of Red Cliffs, ended with the complete victory by the alliance. As his army was further plagued by epidemic, Cao Cao had no choice but to withdraw. Liu Qi soon died of sickness and Liú Bèi took over control of southern Jingzhou.
Entry into Yizhou
In 211, Liu Zhang, governor of Yizhou (益州, present day Sichuan and Chongqing), heard that Cao Cao planned to attack Zhang Lu in Hanzhong. As Hanzhong provided an excellent platform for further incursion into Yizhou, Liu Zhang wished to make alliance with Liú Bèi and have the latter conquer Hanzhong before Cao Cao did. Liú Bèi accepted the offer and, leaving Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang behind to defend Jingzhou, he led a force westwards to Jiameng (葭萌, southwest of present day Guangyuan, Sichuan). As his ulterior motive was to take over Yizhou, Liú Bèi did not attack Hanzhong right away but instead began to build personal network in the region.In the next year, Liú Bèi received a distress call from Sun Quan, who was under attack by Cao Cao. He then requested 10,000 troops and funds from Liu Zhang to heed the call but the latter only granted him 4,000 troops and half of the funds he asked for. While Liú Bèi was back in Jingzhou, Liu Zhang discovered that his advisor Zhang Song (張松) had been keeping secret correspondence with Liu Bei due to Zhang Song brother betraying him out of jealous. Finally wary of Liu Bei's motives, Liu Zhang ordered that Liú Bèi be refused entry via all passes leading to the heart of Yizhou.
The infuriated Liú Bèi then launched a two-year campaign against Liu Zhang and by 214 had defeated the latter. Hearing that Liú Bèi had taken Yizhou, Sun Quan then requested that Jingzhou be returned to himis no record of a agreement to return it made before hand that has been recorded but Liú Bèi refused. Sun Quan then sent Lü Meng to conquer the commanderies of Changsha, Lingling (零陵, present day Yongzhou, Hunan) and Guiyang (桂陽) in 215. Meanwhile, Cao Cao had conquered Hanzhong. Liú Bèi had no choice but to make a pact with Sun Quan to divide southern Jingzhou into western and eastern halves to be shared between the two.
| Summary of major events | |
|---|---|
| 161 | Born in present day Zhuozhou, Hebei. |
| 184 | Fought Yellow Turban Rebellion in central China. |
| 194 | Took over governorship of Xuzhou |
| 198 | Defeated by Lü Bu. Allied with Cao Cao. |
| 200 | Defeated by Cao Cao. Escaped to Yuan Shao. Joined Liu Biao. |
| 208 | Allied with Sun Quan and won the Battle of Red Cliffs. Took over Jingzhou. |
| 215 | Defeated Liu Zhang and took over Yizhou. |
| 219 | Conquered Hanzhong. Declared self King of Hanzhong. |
| 221 | Declared self emperor. |
| 221 | Lost the Battle of Yiling against Sun Quan's forces. |
| 222 | Died in Baidi. |
Kingdom of Shu
Henceforth, Liú Bèi began a long and tedious campaign to take Hanzhong. It was not until 219 when he succeeded. Liú Bèi then declared himself King of Hanzhong, though he was still based in Chengdu, leaving Wei Yan to guard the strategic city against Cao Cao's forces. In the same year, forces of Sun Quan led by Lü Meng captured Guan Yu, who was promptly executed, and conquered Jingzhou. A year later, Cao Cao died and his successor Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian to abdicate. Cao Pi then declared himself emperor of the Kingdom of Wei. Upon hearing the rumor that Emperor Xian had been murdered, Liú Bèi also declared himself emperor of the Kingdom of Shu so as to carry on the lineage of Han Dynasty.In 221, Liú Bèi made Liu Shan the heir apparent. In autumn, he personally led a force against Sun Quan. After initial victories, Liú Bèi was eventually defeated by Lu Xun at Xiaoting (猇亭, north of present day Yidu, Hubei) in the Battle of Yiling in 222. In winter, the two parties made peace again. Liú Bèi returned to Baidi and died from complications of dysentery there in the spring of 223. His body was brought back to Chengdu and entombed at Huiling (惠陵, southern suburb of present day Chengdu) four months later. He was given the posthumous name of Zhaolie (昭烈), literally meaning apparent uprightness. Liu Shan, who succeeded him, eventually surrendered to the Kingdom of Wei in 263.
Major battles
Battle of Red Cliffs
The Battle of Red Cliffs was a classic battle where the vastly outnumbered emerged victorious. In the winter of 208, Liú Bèi and Sun Quan formed their first coalition against the southward expansion of Cao Cao. The two sides clashed at the Red Cliffs (northwest of present day Puqi County, Hubei). Cao Cao boasted 830,000 men (historians believe the realistic number was around 220,000), while the alliance at best had 50,000 troops.
However, Cao Cao's men, mostly from the north, were ill-suited to the southern climate and naval warfare, and thus entered the battle with a clear disadvantage. Furthermore, a plague that broke out undermined the strength of Cao Cao's army. The fire tactic used by Huang Gai and Zhou Yu, chief military advisors to Liú Bèi and Sun Quan, also worked effectively against Cao Cao's vessels, which were chained together and thus allowed the fire to quickly spread. A majority of Cao Cao's troops were either burnt to death or drowned. Those who tried to retreat to the near bank were ambushed and annihilated by enemy skirmishers. Cao Cao himself barely escaped the encounter.
Battle of Yiling
The Battle of Yiling was fought in the summer of 222 between forces of Liú Bèi and Sun Quan. In autumn of the previous year, Liu Bei personally led a sizeable force east under the banner of avenging Guan Yu, who was captured and executed by Sun Quan in 219. A request for peace from Sun Quan was turned down. After initial victories by Liú Bèi, Lu Xun, commander-in-chief of the Wu forces, ordered a retreat to Yiling (present day Yichang, Hubei). There he held his position and refused to engage with the invaders.
As summer came by Liú Bèi's troops were scorched and low in morale. Liú Bèi was forced to camp within the woods for shade. Lu Xun then ordered a counterattack. Using fire, he easily set Liú Bèi's entire campground ablaze and forced the enemy to retreat west to Ma'an Hill (馬鞍山, northwest of Yiling, not to be confused with Ma'anshan, Anhui). Lu Xun's force then besieged the hill. With most of his troops routed, Liú Bèi managed to escape under cover of the night to Baidi and died there a year later.
Liú Bèi in Romance of the Three Kingdoms
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a 14th century historical novel based on the events that occurred before and during the Three Kingdoms period. Written by Luo Guanzhong more than a millennium after the period said, the novel incorporated many popular folklore and opera scripts into the character of Liú Bèi, portraying him as a compassionate and righteous leader who built his kingdom on the basis of Confucian values. This is in line with the historical background of the times during which the novel was written. Furthermore, the author acknowledged the legitimacy of Liú Bèi's claim to the throne, since Liú Bèi was related, however distantly, to the ruling family of the Han Dynasty. Famous and notable stories involving Liú Bèi from the novel include:
Sworn brotherhood in the garden of peach blossoms
One of the most well-known stories from the novel, found in the first chapter, speaks of Liú Bèi, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei who, having met by chance in the county of Zhuo in 188, found that all three shared the same desire to serve the country in the tumultuous times. They swore to be brothers the next day in Zhang Fei's backyard, which was a garden full of peach blossoms. Liú Bèi was ranked the eldest, Guan Yu the second, and Zhang Fei the youngest. Having done this, they recruited more than 300 local men, acquired horses, forged weapons and joined the resistance against the Yellow Turban rebels.Historically the three never made the oath but were such great friends people believed the oath to be true.
General worship of Liú Bèi
Liú Bèi is also worshipped as the patron of shoemakers in Chengdu, which is also known as the "City of Shoes" as more than 80 million pairs of shoes totaling 5 billion RMB in sales are manufactured there annually. It was said that in 1845, during the reign of the Daoguang Emperor, the shoemakers guild in Chengdu who called themselves disciples of Liú Bèi sponsored the construction of the Sanyi Temple (三義廟) in Liú Bèi's honor. After many times of relocation, the temple can be found in Wuhou District today. Since Mainland China loosened its control on religious practices in recent years, the worship of Liú Bèi among shoemakers had again gained popularity in Chengdu. On July 1, 2005, a large procession was carried out in front of the Sanyi Temple to commemorate Liú Bèi – the first such event since the founding of the People's Republic of China. ; (Both sources in Simplified Chinese)
A commentary carried by the Yangtse Evening News (扬子晚报) criticized such practice as mere commercial gimmick to exploit the fame of Liu Bei. It argued that although Liú Bèi sold straw-woven shoes and mats for a living when he was young, he was hardly the inventor of shoes. According to legends, it was Yu Ze (于则) who made the first pairs of shoes with softwood during the time of the Yellow Emperor. However, the criticisms did not dampen the enthusiastic shoe industry owners in their decision to erect a statue of Liú Bèi in the West China Shoes Centre Industrial Zone, which is still under construction in Wuhou District as of August 2005.
Modern portrayal
Video and computer games
Liú Bèi appears as a playable character in the popular Dynasty Warriors video game series by Koei, in which his weapon of choice is a sword (in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms he had a smith make two swords). His moveset consists of rapid slashes as well as dash and aerial attacks. During most of the battles in Musou Mode (Story Mode), he fights alongside his sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. In Dynasty Warriors 5, a cutscene preceding the Battle of Yiling shows Liú Bèi stricken with grief over the death of Guan Yu. Liú Bèi's heir Liu Shan also appears as a non-playable character in the game. In Liu Bei's Musou mode on Dynasty Warriors 5, the last battle he fights in is at Bai Di Castle, Yu Fu. He faces Sun Quan, who then says "Liu Bei you are the cause of Shang Xiangs tears", while Liu Bei replies "The bond between Shang Xiang and me is special, and we share a bond that you will not destroy". However, it is known that Liu Bei was defeated in the Battle of Yi Ling or shortly after.Liú Bèi also appears in another video game by Koei, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The standard storyline of the game follows the plot of the historical novel of the same name more closely than Dynasty Warriors, wherein Liú Bèi rises from a rogue leader to a sovereign. Player's actions, however, would determine the development of events, which could deviate vastly from the original plot.
Liú Bèi is also the protagonist in Destiny of an Emperor, a role-playing game on the Nintendo console. Released in the United States by Capcom in 1989, the game also loosely follows the plot of the historical novel.
Personal information
- Father
- Liu Hong (劉弘), descendant of Liu Sheng (劉勝), Prince Jing of Zhongshan, son of Emperor Jing of Han
- Wives
- Major Concubine
- Children
- Adopted Child
Notes
References
See also
- Han dynasty
- End of Han Dynasty
- Three Kingdoms
- Personages of the Three Kingdoms
- Tables of Chinese Sovereigns
- Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms
- Romance of the Three Kingdoms
External links
- Comprehensive biography of Liú Bèi from Kongming's Archive
- Original text of Liú Bèi's biography from the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms (in simplified Chinese)
161 births | 223 deaths | People of the Three Kingdoms | Han Dynasty | Shu Han emperors | Warlords
Liu Bei | Liu Bei | Liu Bei | 劉備 | 유비 | Liu Bei | เล่าปี่ | 刘备
"Liu Bei"