劉禪
Liu Shan
Profile
The infant A-Dou carried from Changban in Zhao Yun’s arms — second and last emperor of Shu-Han. By delegating everything to Zhuge Liang he kept the state stable, then reigned thirty more years after the chancellor’s death, longest of any Three Kingdoms sovereign. With Wei at the gates of Chengdu he chose surrender and spared his people; in Luoyang, his cheerful "I’m too happy here to miss Shu" bought him a peaceful old age. Fool, or master survivor? No verdict divides opinion more.
Key events
- 223
Liu Bei’s Deathbed Trust at Baidicheng
Defeated at Yiling, the dying Liu Bei entrusts his son Liu Shan and the state to Zhuge Liang at Baidicheng — warning him, too, not to over-promote Ma Su.
- 227
The Chu Shi Biao — the Northern Campaigns Begin
Zhuge Liang submits his memorial to the young emperor and marches north to restore the Han. Around this time Jiang Wei came over to Shu.
- 234
Wuzhang Plains — the Death of Zhuge Liang
After a hundred days facing Sima Yi, Zhuge Liang dies in camp. The orderly Shu withdrawal left the saying: "Dead Kongming routed living Zhongda."
- 253
Jiang Wei’s Northern Campaigns
Heir to Zhuge Liang’s mission, Jiang Wei launches campaign after campaign north — trading blows with Wei while draining Shu’s strength, critics said.
- 263
The Fall of Shu-Han
Wei columns cross the mountain trails and descend on Chengdu; Liu Shan surrenders. Jiang Wei, holding Jiange, schemed for a restoration to his dying breath.
History vs. the novelHistoryvsNovel
His name as a byword for uselessness is largely the novel’s doing. Modern readers increasingly see shrewdness instead: total delegation to a genius chancellor, and surrender-plus-contentment as survival craft in a murderous age.