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75-555: Su Jun's father Su Mo ( 蘇模 ) was a prime minister of the Dukedom of Anle—the dukedom that was given to Liu Shan the last emperor of Shu Han and his descendants. Su himself was known for his intelligence when he was young. In the aftermath of Han-Zhao 's capture of Emperor Huai during the Disaster of Yongjia in July 311, Su gathered a group of refugees on modern Shandong Peninsula and served as

150-522: A Chinese idiom — lèbùsīshǔ ( 樂不思蜀 ), figuratively meaning "joyful and does not think of home / the past". The phrase has a negative connotation with regards to the person's character. Former Shu official Xi Zheng then advised Liu Shan that the appropriate response was to lament how far he had been removed from his family tombs. Liu Shan followed the advice when he was asked the same question later, however Sima Zhao quickly guessed that he had been coached in his answer, and Liu Shan admitted as much. This

225-638: A Wei attack, with troops positioned in such a way as to trap the Wei troops should they do so — a strategy that would be used several years later, in 263, when Wei did attack, but which would prove to be a failure. By 261, Huang Hao's power appeared paramount. Among the key domestic officials, only Dong Jue and Zhuge Liang's son Zhuge Zhan were able to maintain their posts without flattering Huang Hao. In 262, Huang Hao would in fact try to remove Jiang Wei and replace him with his friend Yan Yu ( 閻宇 ). Upon hearing this, Jiang Wei advised Liu Shan to execute Huang Hao, but

300-477: A bloody massacre of his population base at Liaodong. In contrast, Liu Shan's surrender led to a peaceful transfer of power to the Wei kingdom, with most of the population unharmed, except during the week of unrest caused by Jiang Wei 's plotting. Liu Shan appears as a character in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong , which romanticises the historical events before and during

375-453: A campaign against Sun Quan to retake Jing Province and avenge Guan Yu , culminating in the Battle of Xiaoting . However, due to grave tactical mistakes, Liu Bei suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Sun Quan's general, Lu Xun , and lost the bulk of his army. He survived the battle and retreated to Baidicheng , where he died from illness a year later. Before Liu Bei's death, he appointed

450-503: A consort, and in 238 created her empress. Her title remained the same as her sister, Empress Zhang . In 243, Jiang Wan grew ill and transferred most of his authority to Fei Yi and Fei's assistant Dong Yun . In 244, when Wei's regent Cao Shuang attacked Hanzhong, it was Fei Yi who led the troops against Cao Shuang and dealt Wei a major defeat in the Battle of Xingshi . Jiang Wan, however, remained influential until his death in 245. Soon after Jiang Wan's death, Dong Yun also died — allowing

525-451: A devastating defeat that eventually caused so much resentment that Zhuge Ke was assassinated. This was the last of the coordinated attacks by Shu and Wu on Wei in the duration of the Shu-Wu alliance. In 255, on one of Jiang Wei's campaigns, he dealt Wei forces a major defeat in the Battle of Didao , nearly capturing the important Wei border city Didao , but in 256, as he tried to again confront

600-414: A far more positive light. Among them, Yi Zhongtian argued that even competent emperors like Emperor Wu of Han had evil courtiers beside him; Liu Shan is not the only case. Moreover, surrounding Liu Shan were not only evil courtiers, but also many competent and talented officers like Jiang Wan, Fei Yi and Dong Yun. Secondly, Liu Shan surrendering without much fighting is blameworthy, but the fall of Shu Han

675-409: A large number of troops, reasoning that Shu was in no position for a major military confrontation with Wei. In 253, Fei Yi was assassinated by the general Guo Xun ( 郭循 ), a former Wei general who had been forced to surrender but who secretly maintained his loyalty to Wei. Fei Yi's death left Jiang Wei as the de facto regent, but with a power vacuum in domestic affairs, as Jiang Wei continued to be on

750-571: A major campaign to terminate the Shu threat once and for all. Upon hearing rumours of this plan, Jiang Wei submitted a request to Liu Shan, warning him about the mustering of Wei troops under the generals Deng Ai , Zhuge Xu , and Zhong Hui near the border. However, Huang Hao persuaded Liu Shan with fortunetelling to take no action on Jiang Wei's requests for war preparations. In 263, Sima Zhao launched his attacks, led by Deng Ai, Zhuge Xu, and Zhong Hui. Liu Shan followed Jiang Wei's previous plans and ordered

825-511: A more positive view towards Liu Shan's capability, as Liu Shan's long reign in Shu Han was free of bloody court coups unlike its rivals. Nevertheless, the name "Adou" is today still commonly used in Chinese as an epithet for someone so incompetent at a task that no amount of assistance will help them succeed. The main source of historical information about Liu Shan and his contemporaries is Records of

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900-482: A political crisis. Unable to supply the troops sufficiently, Zhuge Liang's co-regent Li Yan forged an edict by Liu Shan, ordering Zhuge Liang to retreat. When Zhuge Liang discovered this, he recommended that Li Yan be removed from his office and put under house arrest, and Liu Shan accepted the recommendation. In 234, while Zhuge Liang was on his final campaign against Wei, he grew seriously ill. Hearing about Zhuge's illness, Liu Shan sent his secretary Li Fu ( 李福 ) to

975-495: A rebellion against Yu's regency, stating, in a famous quote: In other words, he would rather lose in battle and be executed, than to submit himself to what he thought was certain imprisonment. He allied himself with Zu Yue the governor of Yu Province ( 豫州 , usually referring to modern eastern Henan , but by that point mostly confined to central Anhui ), and headed for Jiankang. Yu was confident he could defeat Su—so much so that he declined emergency assistance from Wen Jiao, who

1050-521: A short duration. These campaigns instead had a detrimental effect on Shu, whose government no longer had the efficiency that it had during Zhuge Liang's and Jiang Wan's regencies, and therefore was unable to cope with the drain of resources that Jiang Wei's campaigns were having. In 253, Jiang Wei made a coordinated attack on Wei, along with Wu's regent Zhuge Ke , but was eventually forced to withdraw after his troops ran out of food supplies — allowing Sima Shi to concentrate against Zhuge Ke, dealing Wu forces

1125-514: A surprise attack on the Shu capital Chengdu . He was quickly relocated to the Wei capital at Luoyang , and enfeoffed as "Duke Anle". There he enjoyed his last years peacefully before dying in 271, most probably of natural causes. Widely known to later generations by his infant name " Adou " ( 阿斗 ), Liu Shan was commonly perceived as an incapable ruler. He was also accused of indulging in pleasures while neglecting state affairs, allowing corrupt officials to take power. Some modern scholars have taken

1200-452: A treacherous mountain pass and deep into Shu territory. There he launched a surprise attack on Jiangyou (江油; in present-day Mianyang , Sichuan ). After defeating Zhuge Zhan there, Deng Ai had virtually no Shu troops left between his army and the Shu capital Chengdu . Faced with the prospect of defending Chengdu against Deng Ai's troops with no defences, Liu Shan took the advice of Secretary Qiao Zhou and promptly surrendered. This surrender

1275-627: Is said that she was "humiliated" by Su, but the method of humiliation was not described.) Su took over the imperial government and put his allies into high positions quickly. However, Yu Liang, Wen, and Tao Kan soon entered into an alliance and headed back east to Jiankang. Eastern commanderies also rose against Su, led by Xi Jian . Despite these provincial forces having greater numbers, Su continued to defeat them in battle after battle, and even Wen and Tao, capable generals in their own right, became apprehensive. However, during one battle in November 328, Su

1350-523: Is widely seen as the founder of Shu Han, he never claimed to be the founder of a new dynasty; rather, he viewed Shu Han as a continuation of the Han dynasty. To distinguish the state from other historical Chinese states of the same name, historians have added a relevant character to the state's original name: the state that called itself "Han" (漢) is also known as "Shu Han" (蜀漢) or just "Shu" (蜀). Liu Bei ruled as emperor for less than three years. In 222, he launched

1425-622: The Conquest of Shu by Wei in 263 rather than use the local rugged terrain along with other armies in his government to resist the invaders. Pei Songzhi qualified him (along with Fei Yi ) as an average individual who had no weight on the existence of his State. Chang Qu , who wrote extensively about the history of the Sichuan region in the Chronicles of Huayang ( Huayang Guo Zhi ), greatly praised Zhuge Liang but lamented that his lord, Liu Shan wasn't

1500-566: The Jin dynasty , before being extinguished in the turmoils caused by the Wu Hu . Liu Yuan , the founder of Han Zhao , one of the states in the Sixteen Kingdoms , claimed to be a legitimate successor of the Han dynasty. In that capacity, he bestowed Liu Shan the posthumous name "Emperor Xiaohuai" ( 孝懷皇帝 ; "the filial and kind emperor"). Liu Shan had a very negative reputation among his contemporaries. He

1575-869: The Three Kingdoms period. In the novel, Liu Shan is generally portrayed as an incapable ruler who was easily swayed by words, especially those from the eunuch Huang Hao , whom he favoured. Liu Shan is a playable character in Koei 's Dynasty Warriors video game series, first available in the seventh instalment , as well as in Warriors Orochi 3 , also by Koei. Shu Han Han ( 漢 ; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( 蜀漢 [ʂù xân] ) or Ji Han ( 季漢 "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu ( Chinese : 蜀 ; pinyin : Shǔ ; Sichuanese Pinyin : Su < Middle Chinese : * źjowk < Eastern Han Chinese : * dźok ),

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1650-532: The chancellor Zhuge Liang and the general Li Yan as regents to his son, Liu Shan . The young Liu Shan was only 16 years old, making him the youngest of the rulers of the Three Kingdom states, and Liu Bei expected the two regents to assist Liu Shan in managing state affairs. Zhuge Liang was the de facto head of the Shu government throughout Liu Shan's reign, and was responsible for most of Shu's policies during his regency. When Liu Shan succeeded his father, Shu

1725-464: The Shu Han state's authority in the remote southern region of Nanzhong , Zhuge Liang also launched an expeditionary force there in 225 to quell local rebellions, and the growing influence of the Nanman (literal: southern barbarians) in the region. Zhuge Liang advocated an aggressive foreign policy towards Wei, because he strongly believed it was critical to the survival of Shu and its sovereignty. Between

1800-434: The Three Kingdoms ( Sanguozhi ), in his appraisal commends Liu Shan when he appointed Zhuge Liang for following reason but condemns him for the employment of Huang Hao as being ignorant. He noted that when something is without substance, it reflects what's around. And this expression fits Liu Shan perfectly. However, modern historians have taken a revisionist view , challenging the common portrayal of Liu Shan seeing him in

1875-402: The Three Kingdoms . Its author Chen Shou noted in his postface that Zhuge Liang did not employ scribes at Liu Shan's court, contrary to tradition. This custom would never be established in Shu Han, so details of Liu Shan's rule are hazy in comparison to the richness of information available for Shu's rival states of Wei and Wu. Much of his reign is recorded in spare, terse synopsis. Liu Shan

1950-414: The Wei forces, he was instead dealt a defeat by Deng Ai , and this was a fairly devastating loss that left Jiang Wei with a weakened standing with the people. Many officials now openly questioned Jiang Wei's strategy, but Liu Shan took no actions to stop Jiang. Further, in 259, under Jiang Wei's suggestion, Liu Shan approved a plan where the main troops were withdrawn from major border cities to try to induce

2025-400: The Wei generals Deng Ai and Zhong Hui attacked Shu, and conquered its capital, Chengdu , without much struggle — the state having been exhausted by Jiang Wei's ill-fated campaigns. In the same year, Liu Shan surrendered to Deng Ai outside Chengdu, marking the end of Shu. In spite of this, Jiang Wei attempted to incite conflict between Deng Ai and Zhong Hui, in the hope of taking advantage of

2100-433: The Wei regent, Cao Shuang , launched an invasion of Hanzhong. Despite being outnumbered 2-to-1, the Shu forces defeated the invading combatants at the Battle of Xingshi , with the humiliated Wei forces fleeing. Between 247 and 262, the Shu general, Jiang Wei , resumed Zhuge Liang's legacy by leading a series of military campaigns against Wei, but also failed to make any significant territorial gains. In 263, armies led by

2175-570: The age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Liang and Imperial Secretariat Li Yan . His reign of 40 years was the longest of all emperors in the Three Kingdoms era. During Liu Shan's reign, many campaigns were led against the rival state of Cao Wei , primarily by Zhuge Liang and his successor Jiang Wei , but to little avail, due to their drastic mismatch in terms of population and geographic extent. Liu Shan eventually surrendered to Wei in 263 after Deng Ai led

2250-443: The border troops to withdraw and prepare to trap Wei forces, rather than to confront them directly. The plan, however, had a fatal flaw — it assumed that Wei forces would siege the border cities, which, instead, Deng Ai and Zhong Hui ignored, and they advanced instead on Yang'an Pass (陽安關; in present-day Hanzhong , Shaanxi ), capturing it. Jiang Wei was able to meet their troops and initially repel them, but Deng Ai led his army through

2325-502: The borders, conducting campaigns against Wei. Huang Hao's influence increased greatly as a result. After Fei Yi's death, Jiang Wei assumed command of Shu's troops and began a number of campaigns against Wei —but while they were troubling to the Wei regents Sima Shi and Sima Zhao , the attacks largely inflicted no real damage against Wei, as Jiang Wei's campaigns were plagued by one problem that had plagued Zhuge Liang's—the lack of adequate food supply—and largely had to be terminated after

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2400-594: The capital late at night, Emperor Ming personally went to visit the forces. Su was instrumental in subsequently defeating Wang's forces, preserving Jin. After this success, Su was made the governor of Liyang Commandery ( 歷陽 , roughly modern Chaohu , Anhui ). He became proud of his success and began to have greater ambition, and he received criminals and other unwanted people into his commandery, seeking to strengthen his own personal force. After Emperor Ming's death in October 325, his four-year-old son Emperor Cheng succeeded to

2475-427: The crown prince proved incapable, and may have indicated permission for Zhuge Liang to take the throne himself. While Zhuge Liang was alive, Liu Shan treated him as a father figure, allowing Zhuge to handle all state affairs. Zhuge Liang recommended many trusted officials, including Fei Yi , Dong Yun , Guo Youzhi and Xiang Chong into key positions. Under Zhuge Liang's advice, Liu Shan entered into an alliance with

2550-522: The emperor denied the request, saying that the eunuch was but a servant who ran errands. Fearing retaliation, Jiang Wei left Chengdu to garrison troops at Tazhong ( 沓中 ; northwest of present-day Zhugqu County , Gansu ). According to the Wu ambassador Xue Xu , who visited Shu in 261 on the order of the Wu emperor Sun Xiu , the status that Shu was in at this point was: In 262, aggravated by Jiang Wei 's constant attacks, Wei's regent Sima Zhao planned to carry out

2625-537: The eunuch Huang Hao , a favourite of Liu Shan's, whose power Dong Yun had curbed, to start aggrandising his power. Huang Hao was viewed as corrupt and highly manipulative in domestic matters, and the governmental efficiency that was achieved during Zhuge Liang's and Jiang Wan's regencies began to deteriorate. After Jiang Wan and Dong Yun's deaths, Liu Shan named Jiang Wei as Fei Yi's assistant, but both were largely involved only in military matters, as Liu Shan gradually became more self-assertive in non-military matters. It

2700-610: The family members of Liu Bei. Holding the infant Liu Shan in his arms, Zhao Yun led the mother and child to safety. An alternative story of Liu Shan's early life was given in Yu Huan 's Weilüe . It was said that Liu Shan, then already several years old, was separated from Liu Bei when the latter was attacked by Cao Cao in Xiaopei in 200. He somehow landed in Hanzhong and was sold by slave traders. Only when Liu Bei declared himself emperor in 221

2775-400: The five expeditions. During his final campaign where he fought against the Wei general, Sima Yi , an already taxed and ill Zhuge Liang died under the strain of the long stalemate with the Wei forces at the Battle of Wuzhang Plains . After Zhuge Liang's death, the Shu government was then headed by Jiang Wan , Fei Yi , and others, and Shu temporarily ceased its aggression towards Wei. In 244,

2850-406: The front line to visit Zhuge Liang and request instructions on important state matters. Among other things, Zhuge Liang recommended that Jiang Wan succeed him, and that Fei Yi succeed Jiang Wan. Zhuge Liang refused to answer Li Fu's next question — who should succeed Fei Yi. Zhuge Liang died soon thereafter. Liu Shan followed these recommendations, installing Jiang Wan as the new regent. Jiang Wan

2925-511: The general guarding Liu Bei's assets in Jing Province, was captured and subsequently executed by Sun Quan's forces. Cao Cao died in 220, and was succeeded by his son, Cao Pi , who forced the last Han ruler, Emperor Xian , to abdicate the throne in his favour. Cao Pi then established the state of Cao Wei , and declared himself emperor. Liu Bei contested Cao Pi's claim to the throne, and proclaimed himself "Emperor of Han" in 221. Although Liu Bei

3000-701: The historian, Chen Shou , also used the prefix "Shu" to describe Liu Bei's state of Han as a historiographical prefix to differentiate it from the many other states officially named " Han " throughout Chinese history. Towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty , Liu Bei , a warlord and distant relative of the Han imperial clan, rallied the support of many capable followers. Following the counsel of his advisor, Zhuge Liang , and Zhuge's Longzhong Plan , Liu Bei conquered parts of Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan ) in 208 and 209, took over Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing ) from

3075-504: The kind of man that could unite a country. In the volume 7 of the Huayang Guo Zhi , he ends Liu Shan's biography with Wang Chong 's eulogy toward his former State of Shu Han where Wang Chong comments that Liu Shan was a mediocre ruler without ambition toward the world and was in part responsible for the decline of his State. Chen Shou , who wrote Liu Shan's biography in the Records of

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3150-498: The leader of self-protection league. This eventually brought the attention of Cao Ni —a general with substantial forces in modern Shandong who frequently changed his allegiance between Han-Zhao and Jin, and after Cao could not persuade Su to join him, he became determined to destroy Su. Su became fearful, and in 319 he took his group of refugees south to join the Jin imperial regime under Emperor Yuan , then located at Jiankang . Emperor Yuan

3225-469: The most famous tale to be associated with Liu Shan: One day, the Wei regent Sima Zhao invited Liu Shan and his followers to a feast, during which Sima Zhao arranged to have entertainers perform traditional Shu music and dance. The former Shu officials present were all saddened, but Liu Shan was visibly unmoved. When asked by Sima Zhao if he missed his former state, Liu Shan replied: I am too happy here to think about Shu. ( 此間樂不思蜀 ) This phrase has become

3300-420: The officials and hunger among the people. Lu Kai noted that the natural defences of Sichuan along with a strong army were enough to protect his State yet Liu Shan allowed disorder and corruption in his court, failed to recognize honest officials from dishonest more interested in luxury which is how his State and subordinates became prisoners from another. This statement about the impressive natural defenses of

3375-504: The precursor of the Han dynasty . Shu Han's founder, Liu Bei (Emperor Zhaolie), had named his dynasty "Han", as he considered it a rump state of the Han dynasty and thus the legitimate successor to the Han throne, while the prefix "Shu" was first used by the rival state of Cao Wei to delegitimize the orthodoxy claims of the Shu Han state. Later on when writing the Records of the Three Kingdoms ,

3450-534: The region is repeated by Li Te , when he led his clan back to Yi Province . While passing through Jian'ge Pass (劍閣關, in modern Guangyuan , Sichuan ), he exclaimed that with such an impressive barrier, only a lesser man like Liu Shan could have been submitted by someone else. As previously stated, Sima Zhao thought of Liu Shan's attitude as pleasure seeker, saying that even someone as talented as Zhuge Liang couldn't assist and safeguard him forever so even less Jiang Wei . Jia Chong answered to Sima Zhao that this

3525-467: The situation to revive Shu. Zhong Hui captured Deng Ai, and openly rebelled against the Wei regent, Sima Zhao , but the revolt was suppressed by Wei forces. Jiang Wei, Zhong Hui, and Deng Ai were killed in the struggle. Liu Shan was brought to Luoyang , where he met with Sima Zhao, and was awarded the title of "Duke of Anle." He lived a comfortable and peaceful life in Luoyang until the end of his days. Shu

3600-480: The state of Eastern Wu , helping both states to survive against the much larger state of Cao Wei . During Zhuge Liang's regency, the government was largely efficient and not corrupt, allowing the relatively small state of Shu to prepare itself for military campaigns. In 223, Liu Shan married Zhang Fei 's daughter, Empress Zhang . In the aftermath of Liu Bei's death, the southern Nanman tribes had peeled away from Shu dominion. In 225, Zhuge Liang headed south and

3675-409: The throne, and his maternal uncle Yu Liang became regent. Yu became apprehensive of Su and became convinced that he had to strip Su of his military post. In 327, he announced that Su was being promoted to minister of agriculture—a post that did not involve any military commands. Su refused, and asked to be transferred to another commandery instead. Yu in turn refused and prepare for war. Su then declared

3750-422: The vast difference in population and military capability between the two states, as well as the tendency of victors to massacre the citizens of enemy states that had refused to surrender. In particular, Liu Shan's surrender is often compared favorably with that of Gongsun Yuan , a regional warlord who attempted to retake power by allying with Eastern Wu, which eventually resulted in the extermination of his clan, and

3825-568: The warlord Liu Zhang between 212 and 214, and wrestled control of Hanzhong from his rival, Cao Cao , in 219. Afterwards, Liu Bei proclaimed himself King of Hanzhong . From the territories he gained, Liu Bei established a position for himself in China during the final years of the Han dynasty. However, in 219, the alliance between Liu Bei and his ally, Sun Quan , was broken when Sun sent his general, Lü Meng , to invade Jing Province . Liu Bei lost his territories in Jing Province to Sun Quan. Guan Yu ,

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3900-409: The years of 228 and 234, he launched a series of five military campaigns against Wei, with the aim of conquering Chang'an , a strategic city located on the road to the Wei capital, Luoyang . Most of the battles were fought around present-day Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. However, aside from gaining Jiang Wei as an officer in 228, Shu failed to achieve any significant victories or lasting gains in

3975-463: Was Liu Shan reunited with his father. Pei Songzhi included this account in his Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms but refused to give it any credence. After Liu Bei declared himself emperor of Shu Han in 221, Liu Shan was formally made the crown prince. In the following year, Liu Bei left the capital Chengdu on a campaign against Sun Quan , who had sent his general Lü Meng to invade and seize Jing Province from Liu Bei in 219. Liu Bei

4050-489: Was a dynastic state of China and one of the three major states that competed for supremacy over China in the Three Kingdoms period. The state was based in the area around present-day Hanzhong , Sichuan , Chongqing , Yunnan , Guizhou , and north Guangxi , an area historically referred to as "Shu" based on the name of the past ancient kingdom of Shu , which also occupied this approximate geographical area. Its core territory also coincided with Liu Bang's Kingdom of Han ,

4125-480: Was a capable administrator, and he continued Zhuge Liang's domestic policies, leaving the government largely efficient. He was also known for his tolerance of dissension and his humility. Not having much military aptitude, however, he soon abandoned Zhuge Liang's aggressive foreign policy towards Wei, and indeed in 241 withdrew most of the troops from the important border city of Hanzhong to Fu County ( 涪縣 ; in present-day Mianyang , Sichuan ). From that point on, Shu

4200-488: Was a good chance for northern expansion. However, Liu Shan carefully instructed Fei Yi to attack only in combination with Eastern Wu, and only when Cao Wei was unprepared. Several historical commentators thus compare Liu Shan's caution favorably with that of Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang's costly and ineffective campaigns. Finally, Liu Shan's surrender in 262-263 has been viewed with sympathy as an inevitable choice by commentators in both historical records and contemporary times, due to

4275-508: Was able to, by both military victories and persuasion, reintegrate the southern region into the empire. For the rest of Zhuge Liang's regency, the southern Nanman people would be key contributors to Shu's campaigns against Wei. Starting in 227, Zhuge Liang launched his five Northern Expeditions against Wei. All but one were modest military failures, with the Shu forces exhausting their provisions before they were able to inflict significant damage on Wei. On one expedition in 231, Zhuge Liang faced

4350-478: Was actually due to many reasons. Thirdly, for the case of Zhao Yun, Zhao's official position during his life was actually lower than Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao and Huang Zhong. Hence, Liu Shan's awarding of posthumous Marquis titles to the latter four but not timely to Zhao Yun was understandable. Finally, Liu Shan's behavior in front of Sima Zhao was purposeful: he pretended to be stupid and despicable so that Sima Zhao would ignore him and spare his family, and Liu Shan

4425-407: Was also around this time that he became more interested in touring the countryside and increasing the use of luxury items, both of which added stress on the treasury, albeit not cripplingly so. Jiang Wei was interested in resuming Zhuge Liang's policies of attacking Wei aggressively, a strategy that Fei Yi partially agreed with — as he allowed Jiang Wei to make raids on Wei's borders, but never gave him

4500-517: Was controlling the politics of the State and none among the people of Shu did not miss Dong Yun. Li Mi , a former official of Shu gave a mixed appraisal praising him for the employment of Zhuge Liang which allowed him to stabilize his power but also criticizing him for the employment of Huang Hao which allowed the later corruption of his court. Sun Sheng evaluated Liu Shan as a mediocre and ignorant ruler and denounced him for surrendering so quickly during

4575-904: Was criticised by many: Chen Shou alone had sympathetic words, in a laconic coda to the biography of Qiao Zhou, his own former mentor. It would be until the Qing dynasty that other nuanced or positive assessments were made. In March 264, Zhong Hui would carry out an attempt to seize power — which Jiang Wei, who had surrendered to Zhong Hui, tried to take advantage of to revive Shu. He advised Zhong Hui to falsely accuse Deng Ai of treason and arrest him, and, with their combined troops, rebel against Sima Zhao. Zhong Hui did so, and Jiang Wei planned to next kill Zhong Hui and his followers, and then redeclare Shu's independence under emperor Liu Shan, and had in fact written to Liu Shan to inform him of those plans. However, Zhong Hui's troops rebelled against him, and both Jiang Wei and Zhong Hui were killed in battle. Liu Shan himself

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4650-416: Was defeated at the Battle of Xiaoting and, having retreated to the city of Baidicheng , eventually died in 223. Before his death, Liu Bei entrusted the young Liu Shan to the care of his chancellor Zhuge Liang . Liu Bei made an ambiguous deathbed statement to Zhuge Liang about the possibility of Liu Shan's fitness to rule. The statement meant at minimum that Zhuge Liang was empowered to replace Liu Shan if

4725-454: Was generally in a defensive posture and no longer posed a threat to Wei. According to histories of the Wu court, Shu's defensive posture was interpreted by many Wu officials as a sign that Shu was abandoning the alliance and had entered into a treaty with Wei; but Wu's emperor Sun Quan correctly identified it as merely a sign of weakness, not an abandonment of the alliance. In 237, Empress Zhang died. That year, Liu Shan took her younger sister as

4800-400: Was hit by a spear and fell off his horse, and the provincial forces quickly beheaded him. His forces tried to coalesce behind his brother Su Yi ( 蘇逸 ), but collapsed in early 329. Liu Shan Liu Shan ( pronunciation , 207–271), courtesy name Gongsi , was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. As he ascended the throne at

4875-511: Was impressed at how Su kept his group of refugees together and how he had come a long distance to join him, and he made Su a commandery governor. He went through a succession of posts the next few years. In 324, when the warlord Wang Dun 's forces attacked Jiankang, with intent to overthrow Emperor Yuan's successor Emperor Ming , Emperor Ming summoned Su, among other generals posted on the northern border with Later Zhao, to come to his aid. When Su's forces (and those of Liu Xia ( 劉遐 )) arrived in

4950-536: Was not harmed in the disturbance, although his crown prince Liu Xuan was killed in the confusion. In early 264, Liu Shan with Empress Zhang and his entire family was relocated to the Wei capital Luoyang . On 11 April 264, he was enfeoffed as Duke of Anle ( 安樂公 ) while his sons and grandsons became marquises. This practice was referred to as èrwáng-sānkè    [ simple ; zh ] ( 二王三恪 ). The Chronicle of Han and Jin    [ zh ] by Xi Zuochi records an incident which has become

5025-487: Was not large enough to stand against the rival state of Wei. This greatly limited Shu in terms of resources and manpower; although the country could efficiently defend itself, Shu could not easily launch successful campaigns. As such, Zhuge Liang parleyed for peace with Wu, and reaffirmed the alliance between Sun Quan and Shu — with the former even recognising Sun Quan's legitimacy when the latter broke with Wei, and declared himself "Emperor of Wu" in 229. In order to strengthen

5100-563: Was not merely a nation at war. During peacetime, the Shu state began many irrigation and road-building projects designed to improve the economy. Many of these public works still exist and are widely used. For example, the Zipingpu Dam is still present near Chengdu , Sichuan . These works helped improve the economy of southwestern China, and can be seen as the beginning of economic activity in Sichuan. It also promoted trade with southern China, which

5175-459: Was noted by Sima Zhao as a sign that Liu Shan was an incompetent fool; some later historians believed that it showed Liu Shan's wisdom in intentionally displaying a lack of ambition so that Sima Zhao would not view him as a threat. Liu Shan died in 271 in Luoyang, and was given the posthumous name "Duke Si of Anle" ( 安樂思公 ; "the deep-thinking duke of peace and happiness"). This landless sinecure lasted several generations during Wei's successor state,

5250-418: Was seen as an incompetent ruler, more interested in satisfying his desires than looking after his country and was held responsible for appointing corrupt officials to position of power. Both Xue Xu and Lu Kai , officials from the allied State of Eastern Wu described him as a mediocre ruler with Xue Xu further remarking that when he travelled to Shu for his mission as emissary in 261, he saw corruption among

5325-430: Was successful. Being able to fool the distrustful Sima Zhao meant Liu Shan was actually not a fool. Moreover, there were notable signs of Liu Shan's competence during his reign. He cleverly retook direct control of state affairs after the death of Zhuge Liang and appointed Jiang Wan and Fei Yi so that the two could keep each other in check. In 238, Cao Wei made war with Gongsun Yuan and many people in Shu Han believed it

5400-460: Was the eldest son of the warlord Liu Bei and was born to Liu Bei's concubine Lady Gan . In 208, Liu Bei's rival Cao Cao , who had by then occupied most of northern China, launched a campaign on Jing Province . During his retreat south, Liu Bei was caught up by an elite cavalry force led by Cao Cao at the Battle of Changban , and forced to leave behind Lady Gan and Liu Shan to resume his escape. Liu Bei's general Zhao Yun stayed behind to protect

5475-505: Was the same behaviour that allowed them to conquer Shu Han . A resounding anecdote when comparing with the events preceding the Wei invasion. When he was Emperor, Liu Shan repeatedly wanted to expand his harem however Dong Yun prevented him from doing so. Liu Shan was too afraid to act against him and for this disliked him. After Dong Yun's death, with the flattery of Chen Zhi and influence of Huang Hao , Liu Shan's hatred for Dong Yun grew each day. After Chen Zhi's death in 258, Huang Hao

5550-403: Was the weakest of the three major powers. Following his father's defeat in 221, the portion of Jing Province previously held by Shu was now firmly under the control of Wu. Shu only included the western lands of Yi Province , while Wei controlled all of the northern lands, and Wu controlled all the lands from the east of Yi Province to the southern and eastern coastlines. Meanwhile, Shu's population

5625-447: Was then the governor of Jiang Province ( 江州 , modern Jiangxi ) -- but instead Su won battle after battle and reached Jiankang quickly, capturing the city in early March 328 and forcing Yu to flee. Su's forces pillaged the capital, stripping both officials and commoners of their wealths and even their clothing, and even the servant girls of Empress Dowager Yu , Emperor Cheng's mother, were seized. Empress Dowager Yu, in distress, died. (It

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