Liu Bei
Liu Bei, courtesy name Xuande, was a Chinese warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who later became the founding emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms of China.
Despite early failings and lacking both the material resources and social status other warlords of his time commanded, he gathered support among Han loyalists who opposed Cao Cao, the warlord who controlled the Han central government and the figurehead Emperor Xian, and led a popular movement to restore the Han dynasty. Liu Bei overcame a number of setbacks to carve out his own realm, which at its peak spanned present-day Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunan, and parts of Hubei, Yunnan, and Gansu.
Bolstered by the cultural influence of the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms and its portrayal of Liu Bei as an exemplar of virtuous Confucian rule, Liu Bei is widely revered in China and other East Asian societies as an ideal benevolent and humane ruler who cared for his people and selected capable advisers for his government. Historically, Liu Bei, like many Han rulers, was greatly influenced by Laozi. His skill has been said to be "Confucian in appearance but Legalist in substance".
Physical appearance
The historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms described Liu Bei as a man seven chi and five cun tall, with long arms that "extended beyond his knees" and ears so large that "he could see them". According to the Chronicles of Huayang, Liu Bei has been called "Big Ears" by both Lü Bu and Cao Cao. Furthermore, an anecdote shared with Zhang Yu mentions that Liu Bei in his fifties was noted to be beardless.Family background
According to the third-century historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei was born in Zhuo County, Zhuo Commandery. He was a descendant of Liu Sheng, who was the ninth son of Emperor Jing and the first King of Zhongshan in Han dynasty. However, Pei Songzhi's fifth-century commentary, based on the Dianlüe, said that Liu Bei was a descendant of the Marquis of Linyi. The title "Marquis of Linyi" was held by:- Liu Fu and later by Liu Fu's son Liu Taotu, who were descendants of Liu Fa, King Ding of Changsha - another son of Emperor Jing.
- Liu Rang, a descendant of Liu Shun, King Xian of Changshan, - yet another son of Emperor Jing.
Liu Bei's grandfather Liu Xiong and father Liu Hong both served in provincial and commandery offices. Liu Bei's grandfather, Liu Xiong was recommended as a candidate for civil office in the xiaolian process. Then, he rose to become prefect of Fan in Dong Commandery.
Early life (161–184)
Liu Bei's father, Liu Hong, didn't live long, so Liu Bei grew up poor. To support themselves, he and his mother sold shoes and woven straw mats. Despite this, Liu Bei was full of ambition from childhood. In the southeast of his house, there was a mulberry tree that was very tall. When looked from far away, the tree's shade was similar to a small cart therefore people from all around the village felt that this tree was unique with some saying that the house would produce a person of nobility. A fortune teller named Li Ding of Zhuo stated: "This family will certainly produce an estimable man." When he was a kid, Liu Bei would play beneath the tree with other children from the village. He would often say: "I must ride in this feather covered chariot." Liu Bei's uncle Zijing thought of Liu Bei's dream as foolish and that he would bring destruction to his house.In 175, when he was 14, his mother sent him to study with Lu Zhi, a distinguished man and former grand administrator of Jiujiang Commandery. Lu Zhi was from Zhuo Commandery, the same as Liu Bei. One of his fellow-students was Gongsun Zan of Liaodong, with whom he became friends. Since Gongsun Zan was older, Liu Bei treated him as an elder brother. Another fellow-student was his kinsman Liu Deran. Liu Deran's father, Yuanqi, often gave Liu Bei material support to help him and his mother and treated him the same as his son, Liu Deran. Yuanqi's wife wasn't happy about this and told him: “Each has his own family. How can you regularly do this?” Yuanqi answered: “This boy is in our clan, and he is an extraordinary person.”
The adolescent Liu Bei was said to be unenthusiastic about studying. However he was fond of dogs and horses; he also displayed interest in hunting, music and dressing in fine clothing. He enjoyed associating with braves, and in his youth he fought and hung out with them. He would not manifest his anger or happiness and always showed a pleasant face in front of others. Liu Bei was charismatic and all the heroic youth bonded with him.
Around this time, two very wealthy great horse merchants from Zhongshan, Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang, met Liu Bei while passing through Zhuo commandery selling horses. They were so struck by his appearance and personality that they gifted him much money and wealth, allowing Liu Bei to assemble a large group of followers.
Yellow Turban Rebellion (184–189)
In 184, at the end of the reign of Emperor Ling, the Yellow Turbans rose up and started the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Every province and commandery called for righteous men to defend the country. Liu Bei led his followers, including among them Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Jian Yong, to join the local government forces led by Colonel Zou Jing, participating in battles against the rebels with distinction. Around this time, Liu Ziping of Pingyuan heard of Liu Bei's reputation as a brave man. When Zhang Chun rebelled, the Qing Province was ordered by imperial decree to send an attendant official to lead an army to defeat Zhang Chun. As they passed through Pingyuan, Ziping recommended Liu Bei to the attendant official. Liu Bei accepted and joined him. When they met the rebels in the field, Liu Bei was gravely wounded and had to feign being dead. After the rebels left, Bei's friend loaded him onto a cart, carrying him away to safety. In recognition of his contributions, the Han central government appointed Liu Bei as the Commandant of Anxi County, one of the counties in Zhongshan Commandery.Later, the Han central government decreed that any official who had gained a post as a reward for military contributions was to be dismissed, yet Liu Bei doubted that he would be dismissed. When he saw an inspector sent to his prefecture, he wanted to meet him. The inspector, however, refused to see him, claiming illness. Liu Bei was furious; he returned to his office, led clerks and soldiers to the postal relay station, and forced his way through the door, proclaiming: "I have been secretly instructed by the commandery administrator to arrest the inspector!" Thereupon he bound the inspector, took him to the outskirts of the district, and tied him to a tree. Liu Bei undid his ribbon of office and hung it on the inspector's neck, whereupon he had the inspector lashed more than one hundred times with a bamboo stave. Liu Bei wanted to kill the inspector, but was dissuaded by the latter's pleas for mercy. Afterwards, he vacated his office.
He then travelled south with his followers to join another militia. Around this time, the General-in-Chief He Jin sent the Chief Commandant Guanqiu Yi to Danyang with the mission to recruit soldiers and Liu Bei joined him in fighting the Yellow Turbans remnants in Xu Province. When they reached Xiapi, they met the rebel army and Liu Bei fought hard with talent. As a reward for his contributions, he was appointed as Assistant in the commandery office. Again, he resigned from his post. According to the Records of Heroes written by Wang Can, Liu Bei then visited the imperial capital where he met Cao Cao. He joined him as they returned to Cao Cao's ancestral home in Pei State, which is present-day Bozhou, Anhui. where they recruited and gathered many people.
Thereafter, the Han central government appointed Liu Bei as the Commandant of Gaotang County before promoting him to Prefect.
Warlord state
In Gongsun Zan's service (189–194)
When Emperor Ling died in 189, the land fell into chaos. Therefore, Liu Bei raised an army and joined the Campaign against Dong Zhuo. Later, when he returned to Gaotang County, the commandery was overwhelmed by rebels, so he opted to move north to join an old friend, the warlord Gongsun Zan. In 191, they scored a major victory against another warlord Yuan Shao in their struggle for control of Ji Province and Qing Province. Gongsun Zan nominated Liu Bei to be the Chancellor of Pingyuan State and sent him to join his subordinate Tian Kai in fighting Yuan Shao's eldest son Yuan Tan in Qing Province. In defending against the governor of Ji province, Yuan Shao he fought many battles with distinction. Therefore, he was appointed probationary Prefect of Pingyuan and later was made the concurrent Chancellor.While he was in Pingyuan, a resident named Liu Ping, who had long held Liu Bei in low esteem and who was ashamed of having to serve under him, hired an assassin to kill Liu Bei. Liu Bei, however, didn't realize the assassin's intention, treating him so generously that the assassin could not bring himself to kill him. The assassin informed Liu Bei about Liu Ping's plot before he left. Such was the extent to which Liu Bei had won the hearts of the people. Pingyuan was poor and its people starving, so some banded together to commit robbery. Liu Bei guarded against such bandits while carrying out generous economic measures. He had elites and commoners sit on the same mat and eat from the same pot. He felt no cause to be disdainful, so people attached themselves to him in droves.
During his tenure at Pingyuan, Kong Rong worked as the Chancellor of Beihai State and was besieged by an army led by Yellow Turbans. He sent Taishi Ci to ask for reinforcement from Liu Bei. When he learned of this, Liu Bei said: "So, Kong Wenju knows that there is a Liu Bei in this world?" Thereafter, he sent troops to rescue Kong Rong and the siege was lifted.