Liu Bei

Emperor Zhaolie of Han
漢昭烈帝
Tang dynasty portrait of Liu Bei by Yan Liben
Emperor of Shu Han
Reign15 May 221[1] – 10 June 223
SuccessorLiu Shan
King of Hanzhong (漢中王)
(under the Eastern Han)
TenureJuly or August 219[2] – 15 May 221
Born161
Zhuo County, Zhuo Commandery, Han Empire (present-day Zhuozhou, Baoding, Hebei)
Died10 June 223 (aged 62)[a]
Baidicheng, Shu Han
Burial
Hui Mausoleum, Chengdu, Sichuan
Spouse
Issue
(among others)
Names
Family name: Liu ()
Given name: Bei ()
Courtesy name: Xuande (玄德)
Era name and dates
Zhangwu (章武): 221–223
Posthumous name
Emperor Zhaolie (昭烈皇帝)
Temple name
Liezu (烈祖)
HouseHouse of Liu
DynastyShu Han
FatherLiu Hong
Military career
AllegianceEastern Han
Shu Han
Battles / warsYellow Turban Rebellion
Campaign against Dong Zhuo
Invasion of Xu Province
Campaign against Yuan Shu
Battle of Xiapi
Battle of Guandu
Battle of Bowang
Battle of Changban
Battle of Red Cliffs
Battle of Jiangling
Invasion of Yi Province
Territorial dispute in Jing Province
Hanzhong Campaign
Battle of Xiaoting
Liu Bei
"Liu Bei" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese劉備
Simplified Chinese刘备
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLiú Bèi
Wade–GilesLiu2 Pei4
IPA[ljǒʊ pêɪ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationLàuh Beih
JyutpingLau4 Bei6
IPA[lɐw˩ pej˨]
Southern Min
Tâi-lôLâu Pī
Alternative Chinese name
Chinese玄德
Literal meaning(courtesy name)
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXuándé
Wade–GilesHsüan2-te2
IPA[ɕɥɛ̌ntɤ̌]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationYùhn-dāk
Southern Min
Tâi-lôHiân-tik

Liu Bei (Chinese: 劉備, ; Mandarin pronunciation: [ljǒʊ pêɪ]; 161 – 10 June 223),[3] courtesy name Xuande (玄德), 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 his rivals commanded, he gathered support among disheartened 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 and Gansu.

Culturally, due to the popularity of the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei is widely regarded as the ideal benevolent and humane ruler who cared for his people and selected good advisers for his government. His fictional counterpart in the novel was a salutary example of a ruler who adhered to the Confucian set of moral values, such as loyalty and compassion. Historically, Liu Bei, like many Han rulers, was greatly influenced by Laozi. He was a brilliant politician and leader whose skill was a remarkable demonstration of "Confucian in appearance but Legalist in substance".[b][4]

  1. ^ Volume 69 of Zizhi Tongjian indicated that Liu Bei crowned himself on the bingwu day of the 4th month of the 2nd year of Cao Pi's reign. ([魏文帝二年]夏,四月,丙午,汉中王即皇帝位于武担之南,大赦,改元章武.) The date corresponds to 15 May 221 in the Julian calendar.
  2. ^ According to Liu Xie's biography in Book of the Later Han, Liu Bei proclaimed himself King of Hanzhong on the gengzi day of the 7th month of the 24th year of the Jian'an era. However, there is no gengzi day in the month; the month corresponds to 30 Jul to 27 Aug 219 on the Julian calendar. [(建安二十四年)秋七月庚子,刘备自称汉中王] Houhanshu, vol.09. Vol.68 of Zizhi Tongjian recorded that Liu Bei proclaimed himself King of Hanzhong in the 7th month of that year.
  3. ^ de Crespigny, Rafe (2007). A biographical dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23–220 AD). Brill. pp. 478–483. ISBN 978-90-04-15605-0.
  4. ^ Throughout Chinese history, no successful emperor had ruled purely based on Confucianism (though some did purely use Legalism). Numerous studies such as Political Reality of Transforming Legalism by Confucianism in the Western Han Dynasty as Seen from Selection System by Wang Baoding, or Aspects of Legalist Philosophy and the Law in Ancient China: The Chi'an and Han Dynasties and Rediscovered Manuscript of Mawangdui and Shuihudi by Matthew August LeFande, have pointed out most ancient Chinese dynasties after Qin had ruled by a mix of Legalism and Confucianism.


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