Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that can help answer the question.
Query: When was Liu Bei born?
Liu Bei (pronunciation; Mandarin pronunciation:[ljoupei]; 161 – 10 June 223),[1] courtesy name Xuande, was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Despite early failings compared to his rivals and lacking both the material resources and social status they 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 through this support. Liu Bei overcame his many defeats to carve out his own realm, which at its peak spanned present-day Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunan, and parts of Hubei and Gansu.
Lady Gan bore Liu Shan. Liu Yong and Liu Li were also Liu Bei's sons and were Liu Shan's younger half-brothers. Liu Yong and Liu Li were born to different mothers. Liu Bei had two daughters, who were captured by Cao Chun during the Battle of Changban. Liu Feng was Liu Bei's adopted son.
As she saw herself as the sister of a powerful warlord, Lady Sun not only acted in an arrogant and unbridled manner, but also allowed her bodyguards and personal staff to behave lawlessly in Jing Province. For this reason, Liu Bei specially appointed his general Zhao Yun, whom he deemed a serious and conscientious person, to oversee domestic affairs in Jing Province and maintain law and order. Around 211, Liu Bei left Jing Province on a campaign to attack the warlord Liu Zhang in Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) while Lady Sun remained behind in Jing Province. When Sun Quan heard that Liu Bei had travelled to Yi Province, he sent a ship to fetch his sister back. Lady Sun attempted to bring Liu Bei's son Liu Shan, who was born to Liu Bei's another wife Lady Gan, with her back to Sun Quan's territory. However, Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei, another of Liu Bei's generals, led their men to intercept her along the way and retrieve Liu Shan. Nothing was recorded in history about what happened to Lady Sun after she returned home.
Liu Shan 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 (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan). 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 the family members of Liu Bei. Holding the infant Liu Shan in his arms, Zhao Yun led the mother and child to safety. (It appears likely that Lady Gan had died sometime before 209, because when Liu Bei's wife Lady Sun effectively divorced Liu Bei in 211, Liu Shan was in her custody.)
Liu Bei grew up in a poor family, having lost his father when he was still a child. To support themselves, Liu Bei and his mother sold shoes and straw-woven mats. Even so, Liu Bei was full of ambition from childhood: he once said to his peers, while under a tree that resembled the imperial chariot, that he desired to become an emperor. In 175, his mother sent him to study with Lu Zhi, a distinguished man from Zhuo Commandery. One of his fellow-students was Gongsun Zan, whom Liu Bei admired and treated as an elder brother, and another was his kinsman Liu Deran (劉德然).[4] The adolescent Liu Bei was said to be unenthusiastic in studying and displayed interest in hunting, music and dressing. Concise in speech, calm in demeanour, and kind to his friends, Liu Bei was well liked by his contemporaries.
Sun Quan's forces, led by Zhou Yu, attacked Cao Ren after their resounding victory to wrestle for control of Jiangling County. Liu Bei recommended Liu Qi to be the new Inspector of Jing Province and led his men to capture the four commanderies in southern Jing Province – Changsha (長沙), Lingling (零陵), Guiyang (桂陽) and Wuling (武陵). Liu Bei set up his base at Gong'an County and continued to strengthen his forces. When Liu Qi died in 209 shortly after Liu Bei secured his position in southern Jing Province, Liu Bei succeeded Liu Qi as the new Inspector of Jing Province. To further strengthen the Sun–Liu alliance, Liu Bei travelled to Sun Quan's territory to marry Sun Quan's younger sister, Lady Sun. After the political marriage, Sun Quan not only recognised the legitimacy of Liu Bei's control over southern Jing Province, but also agreed to "lend" Nan Commandery (南郡; around present-day Jingzhou, Hubei) to him.
Liu Bei assisted Gongsun Zan against his rival Yuan Shao in 191 and was given the post of magistrate in Pingyuan Commandery. His post didn't last long as Yuan Shao dealt a devastating blow to Gongsun Zan in 192 and Liu Bei was forced to move east to Qi Commandery. When Tao Qian of Xu Province offered him 4,000 troops and a post in Pei Commandery, Liu Bei accepted. Tao Qian died in 194 and Liu Bei succeeded him as Governor of Xu Province. In 196 Yuan Shu invaded from the south while Liu Bei had lost Xiapi Commandery due to Zhang Fei killing its Chancellor. Lü Bu, who was at the time taking refuge in the province, attacked Liu Bei and forced him to surrender. Having defeated Liu Bei and taken Xu Province, Lü Bu drove away Yuan Shu's army. While defeated, Liu Bei still retained Pei Commandery. When Yuan Shu attacked Liu Bei again, Lü Bu prevented their advance out of fear that Yuan Shu would become too powerful. Liu Bei continued to recruit troops until 198 when he intercepted a trade convoy from Lü Bu. Lü Bu's officers Gao Shun and Zhang Liao retaliated, taking Pei Commandery and forcing Liu Bei to flee to Cao Cao. Cao Cao sent an army under Xiahou Dun to assist Liu Bei against Lü Bu. In the autumn their army was defeated by Gao Shun. When Cao Cao joined them in the winter, they successfully laid siege to Lü Bu in Xiapi Commandery and killed him the following year.
In 207, Cao Cao planned a campaign to conquer the Wuhuan in the north, but was apprehensive that Liu Biao might attack his base but he was assured by Guo Jia that Liu Biao would not do so for fear of Liu Bei being more powerful than he was. Cao Cao agreed and Guo Jia's point was proven later, when Liu Biao refused to attack Xu when Liu Bei advised him to do so.
Zhang Yi was from Chengdu, the capital of Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing). He started his official career after Liu Zhang, the Governor of Yi Province, nominated him as a "xiaolian" (civil service candidate). Between 212 and 214, when conflict broke out between Liu Zhang and another warlord Liu Bei, Liu Zhang sent Zhang Yi to Deyang County to block Liu Bei's reinforcements from entering Yi Province. However, Liu Bei's general Zhang Fei defeated the force led by Zhang Yi, who was forced to return to Chengdu. In 214, as Liu Bei's forces besieged Liu Zhang in Chengdu, Liu Zhang sent Zhang Yi as his envoy to negotiate the terms of surrender with Liu Bei. Liu Bei promised that he would treat Liu Zhang well if he surrendered, which Liu Zhang did.
In 214, after the warlord Liu Bei seized control of Yi Province from Liu Zhang and became the new Governor, he appointed Li Miao as an assistant officer (從事) in his office. In the following year, on the first day of the lunar new year, when Li Miao came to greet Liu Bei, he used the opportunity to tell Liu Bei: Liu Bei then asked him: "Since you believe it is improper of me to do so, then why don't you help (Liu Zhang)?" Li Miao replied: "It's not because I don't want to help him. It's because I don't have the ability to." When Liu Bei's subordinates urged their lord to execute Li Miao for his audacity, Zhuge Liang stepped in and managed to convince Liu Bei to spare Li Miao.
Between 212 and 214, the warlord Liu Bei engaged Liu Zhang in a war for control of Yi Province. When Liu Bei's forces attacked Zitong County, Wang Lian ordered his troops to hide behind the city walls and close the gates, and refused to surrender to Liu Bei. Liu Bei admired Wang Lian for his loyalty towards Liu Zhang, so he called off the attack on Zitong County.
Liu Li was born in an unknown year. His father, Liu Bei, was a warlord of the late Eastern Han dynasty who became the founding emperor of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period. His mother was one of Liu Bei's concubines. He was a younger half-brother of Liu Shan, Liu Bei's successor and the second emperor of Shu. He was born to a different mother from Liu Yong, another half-brother of Liu Shan.
Around late August or September, when Cao Cao's forces had reached Wancheng (宛城; in present-day Nanyang, Henan), Liu Biao died of illness and was succeeded by his younger son, Liu Cong. Liu Cong's advisers Kuai Yue and Fu Xun convinced Liu Cong that he could not resist Cao Cao even with Liu Bei's help, so Liu Cong agreed to surrender. Liu Bei, who was at Fancheng at the time, was not informed of Liu Cong's decision to surrender. When Liu Bei became suspicious, he sent an attendant to Xiangyang to question Liu Cong, and only then would Liu Cong pass the news to Liu Bei through his subordinate Song Zhong (宋忠). Dismayed, Liu Bei drew his sword on Song Zhong, but did not kill him.
When Tao Qian became critically ill in 194, he told his subordinate Mi Zhu: "No one but Liu Bei can bring peace to this province." After his death, Mi Zhu invited Liu Bei to be the new Governor of Xu Province in accordance with Tao Qian's dying wish. When Liu Bei declined, Chen Deng told him: When Liu Bei said Yuan Shu would be more suitable to be the Governor, Chen Deng replied: Kong Rong, the Chancellor (相) of Beihai State (北海國; around present-day Weifang, Shandong), also urged Liu Bei to accept the governorship. Liu Bei agreed and became the new Governor of Xu Province.
According to the 3rd-century historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei was born in Zhuo County, Zhuo Commandery, which is in present-day Zhuozhou, Baoding, Hebei. He was a descendant of Liu Zhen, a son of Liu Sheng and a grandson of Emperor Jing. However, Pei Songzhi's 5th-century commentary, based on the Dianlue (典略), said that Liu Bei was a descendant of the Marquis of Linyi (臨邑侯). As the title "Marquis of Linyi" was held by Liu Fu (劉復; grandson of Liu Yan) and later by Liu Fu's son Liu Taotu (劉騊駼), who were also descendants of Emperor Jing, it was possible that Liu Bei descended from this line rather than Liu Zhen's line. Liu Bei's grandfather Liu Xiong (劉雄) and father Liu Hong (劉弘) both served as clerks in the local commandery office.
Zhang Su, Zhang Song's brother, discovered his brother's secret communications with Liu Bei and reported the issue to Liu Zhang. Liu Zhang was furious and stunned when he heard that Zhang Song had been helping Liu Bei to take over Yi Province from him – he executed Zhang Song and ordered his officers guarding the passes to Chengdu to keep secret his knowledge that Liu Bei wanted to attack him. Nevertheless, Liu Bei still found out from the spies he planted around Liu Zhang. Fa Zheng and Meng Da defected to Liu Bei's side before Yang Huai (楊懷) and Gao Pei (高沛), Liu Zhang's subordinates guarding Boshui Pass, knew about Liu Bei's true motive. Liu Bei lured Yang Huai and Gao Pei into a trap and executed them for behaving disrespectfully towards him. He then took command of Yang Huai's and Gao Pei's troops, numbering under 5,000, and turned to attack Fu County (涪縣; present-day Mianyang, Sichuan).
In 202, Jing Province's governor, Liu Biao, sent Liu Bei north to attack Cao Cao when Cao was away on his campaigns in northern China. Cao Cao sent Xiahou Dun and Li Dian to lead an army to resist Liu Bei's forces. Liu Bei burnt his supplies and pretended to retreat. When Xiahou Dun wanted to pursue Liu Bei, Li Dian cautioned him, "There must be an ambush because the enemy is retreating for no reason. The roads to the south are narrow and the vegetation is very dense. We shouldn't pursue the enemy." Xiahou Dun ignored Li Dian's warning and went off in pursuit of Liu Bei together with Yu Jin, while Li Dian remained behind. As Li Dian expected, Xiahou Dun and his men did fall into Liu Bei's ambush later but Li showed up with the remaining troops and rescued them. Liu Bei retreated when he saw that Li Dian's reinforcements had arrived.
When Liu Bei is in Xinye, he receives an invitation from Liu Biao, the governor of Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan), to attend a feast. However, Liu Biao is sick so he asks his sons Liu Qi and Liu Cong to entertain Liu Bei. Liu Bei arrives in Xiangyang with Zhao Yun and is directed to the feast. Cai Mao and others attempt to assassinate Liu Bei but Yi Ji secretly informs Liu Bei about Cai Mao's plot. Liu Bei pretends to go to the latrine and seizes the opportunity to escape from Xiangyang. When Cai Mao discovers that Liu Bei has fled, he leads a group of soldiers in pursuit. Liu Bei is riding Dilu (的盧), a horse said to bring ill luck to its rider. He reaches the Tan Stream (檀溪), located west of Xiangyang, and attempts to ride across the stream. After taking a few steps, Dilu falls forward and Liu Bei's clothing becomes wet. Liu Bei whips the horse and exclaims, "Dilu! Dilu! Today you obstruct me!" Dilu suddenly rises above the surface and leaps three "zhang" (or 30 "chi") across the stream to the opposite bank, bringing Liu Bei to safety.
Zhang Ren appears in chapters 60–64 of the historical novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", which romanticises the events in the late Eastern Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. Like his historical counterpart, Zhang Ren serves under Liu Zhang and is known for being very loyal to his lord. When Liu Bei first enters Yi Province in the name of helping Liu Zhang counter a rival warlord, Zhang Lu, Zhang Ren and others warn Liu Zhang to be wary of Liu Bei and take precautionary measures, but Liu Zhang ignores them. When Liu Zhang attends a banquet hosted by Liu Bei, Liu Bei's strategist Pang Tong instructs the general Wei Yan to pretend to perform a sword dance and use the opportunity to assassinate Liu Zhang. Zhang Ren senses danger so he draws his sword and pretends to join the sword dance while secretly protecting Liu Zhang from Wei Yan's advances. When war breaks out between Liu Bei and Liu Zhang, Zhang Ren sets up an ambush at the Valley of the Fallen Phoenix, where his archers kill Pang Tong. After Zhang Ren is captured alive, Liu Bei asks him to surrender but he firmly refuses and is executed. Liu Bei feels it was a pity so he has Zhang Ren buried with full honours.
Liu Bei plans to go to war with Sun Quan to avenge Guan Yu and retake Jing Province, but his decision is opposed by many of his subjects. The first person who attempts to dissuade him from going to war is Zhao Yun, who is ignored. After that, other Shu officials such as Ma Liang and Chen Zhen urge Zhuge Liang to stop Liu Bei, so Zhuge Liang brings them along to meet Liu Bei and advise him against his decision, but Liu Bei refuses to accept their advice. Just when Liu Bei is preparing for war, Qin Mi opposes his decision. Liu Bei is so angry that he wants to execute Qin Mi. However, Qin Mi is spared after Zhuge Liang and the rest of the Shu imperial court plead with Liu Bei. Zhuge Liang then writes a memorial to Liu Bei to explain why he should not go to war with Sun Quan, but Liu Bei throws the memorial to the ground after reading it and exclaims, "My decision is final. There is no need to advise me against my decision anymore!"
There are no details in the "Sanguozhi" about how Liu Bei recruited Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang's biography briefly mentions that after Xu Shu recommended Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei, Liu Bei visited Zhuge Liang thrice and met him. Zhuge Liang presented the Longzhong Plan to Liu Bei during their meeting(s). However, the "Weilüe" and the "Jiuzhou Chunqiu" (九州春秋) give different accounts on how Liu Bei first met Zhuge Liang. Both the "Weilüe" and "Jiuzhou Chunqiu" claimed that Zhuge Liang visited Liu Bei first, instead of the other way round. Both Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei did not know each other at first when the former came to visit the latter. Liu Bei did not pay much attention to Zhuge Liang because he thought that Zhuge Liang was just a typical young scholar. Zhuge Liang remained behind after Liu Bei's other guests left the meeting. Liu Bei did not ask him if he had something to say and continued playing with a gift from one of the guests. Zhuge Liang initiated a conversation with Liu Bei. Liu Bei recognised his talent, viewed him in a different light, and started treating him more respectfully. Pei Songzhi commented that the "Weilue" and "Jiuzhou Chunqiu" accounts contradicted Zhuge Liang's own statement in the "Chu Shi Biao", which stated: "(Liu Bei) visited me thrice in the thatched cottage, (and) consulted me on the affairs of our time." He felt that it was obvious from the "Chu Shi Biao" that Zhuge Liang did not visit Liu Bei first.
Liu Feng sought an interview with Liu Bei, but gained scant sympathy. In response to Liu Feng's petition, Liu Bei instructed the executioners to expel Liu Feng and put him to death. Liu Bei felt some regret later when he heard of Liu Feng's staunch rejection of Meng Da's enticement. This, adding to the recent death of Guan Yu, made Liu Bei grieve until he fell sick.
A commandery-level inspector is sent to survey Liu Bei's county after Liu Bei is appointed as a county prefect as a reward for helping to suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion. The inspector hints to Liu Bei that he wants a bribe, but Liu Bei does not understand the inspector's point. Later, even after his assistant explains to him, Liu Bei still refuses to bribe the inspector. When the inspector is unable to find any fault with Liu Bei's administration, he attempts to intimidate the locals into making false accusations against Liu Bei. Zhang Fei is furious when he hears about this and he barges into the county office, drags the inspector out, ties him to a post and gives him a severe thrashing. Liu Bei shows up and stops Zhang Fei. When Guan Yu suggests they kill the inspector and seek their fortune elsewhere, Liu Bei refuses, resigns and returns his official seal to the inspector before leaving.
When Cao Cao and Yuan Shao clashed at the Battle of Guandu in 200, Yuan sent Liu Bei to contact Liu Pi (劉辟), a Yellow Turban rebel chief in Runan (汝南; present-day Runan County, Henan), and assist Liu Pi in attacking the imperial capital Xu (許; present-day Xuchang, Henan) while Cao Cao was away at Guandu. Guan Yu reunited with Liu Bei around this time. Liu Bei and Liu Pi were defeated by Cao Cao's general Cao Ren, after which Liu Bei returned to Yuan Shao. Liu Bei secretly planned to leave Yuan Shao, so he pretended to persuade Yuan Shao to form an alliance with Liu Biao, the Governor of Jing Province. Yuan Shao sent Liu Bei to contact another rebel leader, Gong Du (共都/龔都), in Runan, where they gathered a few thousand soldiers. Cao Cao turned back and attacked Runan after scoring a decisive victory over Yuan Shao at Guandu, and he defeated Liu Bei in Runan. Liu Bei fled south and found shelter under Liu Biao, who put him in charge of Xinye (新野; present-day Xinye County, Henan) at the northern border of Jing Province. Guan Yu followed Liu Bei to Xinye.
Before leaving for Xuchang, Xu Shu recommends Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei and tells him that he needs to recruit Zhuge Liang personally. Accompanied by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, Liu Bei travels to Longzhong (in present-day Xiangyang, Hubei) to find Zhuge Liang. They arrive at Zhuge Liang's house (described to be a "thatched cottage"), where a servant tells them that his master is not at home. Liu Bei then asks the servant to pass a message to Zhuge Liang that Liu Bei came to visit him. Several days later, in winter, Liu Bei brings his sworn brothers along with him to visit Zhuge Liang again. This time, the servant leads Liu Bei to his "master", who turns out to be Zhuge Liang's younger brother, Zhuge Jun. Just as he is about to leave, Liu Bei sees a man approaching and thinks he must be Zhuge Liang, but he turns out to be Zhuge Liang's father-in-law, Huang Chengyan. When winter is over and spring comes, Liu Bei decides to visit Zhuge Liang again, much to the annoyance of his sworn brothers. This time, Zhuge Liang is at home but is asleep. Liu Bei waits patiently until Zhuge Liang wakes up. Zhuge Liang drafts the Longzhong Plan for Liu Bei and agrees to leave home and serve Liu Bei as his strategist.