Posted 2018/10/12
Liu Bei, alias "Xuan De", is the emperor that established the Shu Han regime during the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history. As a descendant of the Han royalty, he was in the reign from 221 to 223 A.D.
As the legend goes, Liu Bei was 7.5 Chi tall, who did not talk too much and was restrained in showing emotions. He was not much of a learner but loved dogs and horses, music, beautiful clothes and making friends with heroes, and treated servants and common people well. He was poor as a boy and lived on selling shoes and straw mats, and then became sworn brothers with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Liu Bei was appointed as the county magistrate of Anxi because of his exploit in suppressing the army of Yellow Turbans, but resigned shortly.
During the time of independent feudal regimes, Liu Bei’s force was weak and he had to depend on others for living. He once sought refuge with Gongsun Zan, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and Liu Biao without obtaining his own territory after twists and turns. Before the famous Battle of Red Cliffs, he paid three visits to Jingzhou, in order to invite Zhuge Liang’s assistance in his great cause of unification. During the Battle of Red Cliffs, Liu Bei allied with Sun Quan and defeated Cao Cao, establishing the foundation of the coexistence of Three Kingdoms.
Under Zhuge Liang’s assistance, Liu Bei occupied Jingzhou. Shortly after that, he attacked Yizhou and seized Hanzhong, thus building his regime across the two states, Jingzhou and Yizhou. He was officially proclaimed emperor in 221 A.D. After that, Guan Yu died in a battle with Jingzhou occupied by Sun Quan. Liu Bei was furious about his brother’s death and crusaded against Wu for revenge, when during the battle of Yiling, his troops suffered heavy losses from the fire attack by Lu Xun, a general of Wu. Shortly after that, he died of disease in Baidi City at the age of 63. Before his death, Liu Bei entrusted his son to Zhuge Liang, who shouldered the responsibilities of governing the country and reviving the Han Dynasty ever since.
