Zhuge Kongming (諸葛孔明)

Overview

Zhuge Kongming was a statesman and Strategist.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal name	Zhuge Liang	諸葛亮	Zhūgě Liàng
Epithet	Crouching Dragon	臥龍	Wolong

Life and dates

Death

Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 62, passage 31

Attested activity

AD 221 AD 221-234
Strongly inferred · History of Liao 30, passage 149
AD 208 to AD 214 Jingzhou and Shu service with Liu Bei
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passage 5
AD 181 to AD 234 三國
Directly stated · History of Yuan 171, passage 26
AD 207 to AD 234 三國
Dated from the passage context · Book of Song 76, passage 158
AD 207 三國蜀漢
Directly stated · Book of Liang 20, passage 84
AD 225 丞相諸葛亮平南土
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 31, passage 112

Show 16 more source-backed claims

AD 209 to AD 211 主公之在公安也
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passage 199
AD 214 先主入益州時
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Three Kingdoms 34, passage 68
AD 214 十九年
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passage 198
AD 207 to AD 234 孔明
Dated from the passage context · History of Ming 127, passage 131
AD 223 後丞相諸葛亮問秦宓
Strongly inferred · Records of the Three Kingdoms 31, passage 158
AD 223 to AD 234 蜀丞相诸葛亮问广汉秦密（无纪年）
Derived from the source · Book of Later Han 93, passage 103
AD 234 蜀相諸葛亮卒
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 62, passage 31
AD 181 to AD 234 諸葛亮
Strongly inferred · Book of Song 69, passage 6
AD 181 to AD 234 諸葛亮生卒年
Dated from the passage context · Book of Sui 53, passage 23
AD 207 to AD 234 諸葛亮由此起輔先主
Dated from the passage context · History of Song 436, passage 141
AD 181 to AD 234 諸葛亮筒袖鎧帽
Dated from the passage context · Book of Song 86, passage 29
AD 207 諸葛亮謂之用武之國
Directly stated · History of Song 359, passage 4
AD 207 to AD 234 諸葛孔明云：「來敏亂郡，過於孔文
Directly stated · Book of Song 62, passage 112
AD 207 to AD 234 諸葛孔明可謂名將
Strongly inferred · Book of Northern Qi 32, passage 38
AD 222 章武二年
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 34, passage 9
AD 222 章武二年
Dated from the passage context · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passages 230-231

Family

Sibling of Elder Sister of Zhuge Liang
elder sister 小姊 · Full siblings
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passage 12

Key source chapters

Career and standing

Chancellor 丞相
AD 225 丞相諸葛亮平南土 · Held
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 31, passage 112
Chancellor of Shu 蜀丞相
AD 223 to AD 234 蜀丞相诸葛亮（无纪年） · Held
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 93, passage 103
Chancellor of Shu 蜀相
Held
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 62, passage 31
Chancellor 丞相
Held
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 34, passage 9

Places and affiliations

Polity Shu Han
Strongly inferred · Book of Sui 53, passage 23
Polity Shu Han 蜀 · Relation Served
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 62, passage 31
Polity Shu Han 蜀漢 · Relation Affiliated with
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 34, passage 9
Polity Shu Han 蜀漢 · Relation Served
Strongly inferred · Book of Northern Qi 32, passage 38
Polity Shu Han 蜀漢 · Relation Served
Directly stated · History of Song 436, passage 141
Polity Shu Han · Relation Served
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passage 51

Works and attributed material

Memorial · Author · With Liu Shan (劉禪)
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 34, passages 9-22
Question · Speaker · With Qin Mi (秦密) · Paraphrased · Summary asked Qin Mi of Guanghan what Dong Fu and Ren An were each good at
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 93, passage 103
Speech · Speaker · Direct quotation
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passages 199-200, 231-232

Events and relationships

A victory stele attributed to him was encountered during Shi Wansui’s southern campaign.
Historical allusion
Directly stated · Book of Sui 53, passage 23
Aided First Lord
Political · Aide · With First Lord (先主)
Directly stated · History of Song 436, passage 141
Campaigned for central plain
Military · Strategist
Directly stated · History of Song 359, passage 35
Mourned then enthroned
Political · Actor · With Former Lord (先主)
Directly stated · History of Liao 30, passage 149
Ordered to block river
Military · Commander orderer · With Zhao Yun (趙雲)
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 34, passage 68
Pacified the southern lands
AD 225 丞相諸葛亮平南土 · Military · Commander · At southern lands 南土
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 31, passage 112

Show 6 more source-backed claims

Sighed over absence
AD 222 章武二年 · Lament · Speaker · With Fa Zheng (法正)
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passages 231-232
Relation Advisor of · Person First Lord (先主)
Directly stated · History of Song 436, passage 141
Relation Minister of · Person Liu Bei (劉備)
Strongly inferred · Book of Liang 20, passage 84
Relation Colleague of · Person Fa Zheng (法正)
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passages 198, 202
Relation Colleague of · Person Pang Tong (龐統)
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passage 51
Relation Colleague of · Person Fa Zheng (法正)
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passages 227-228

Assessments and attributes

Assessment devotion comparable to Li Gang's loyalty · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · History of Song 359, passage 226
Assessment famous-general · Mode named-speech Speaker Lu Fahe (陸法和)
Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 32, passage 38
Assessment repeatedly marveled at Fa Zheng’s stratagems · With Fa Zheng (法正) · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passage 228
Assessment should not restrain Fa Zheng given past service and Liu Bei trust · With Fa Zheng (法正) · Mode named-speech Speaker Zhuge Kongming (諸葛孔明)
Directly stated · Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passages 199-200, 202
Item about a hu of crossbow bolts and arrowheads 埋弩箭鏃一斛許 · Relation Buried · At beside Baidi 此城旁
Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 32, passage 39

Source notes

Historicity historical
Directly stated · Book of Northern Qi 32, passage 38; Records of the Three Kingdoms 37, passage 198

References in the histories

Search passages

History

37 passages

Book of Northern Qi, Chapter 32Volume 32 Biographies 24: Lu Fahe; Wang Lin (General) · 1 passage

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軍次白帝，謂人曰：「諸葛孔明可謂名將，吾自見之。 The army halted at Baidi; he told men, "Zhuge Kongming may be called a famous general—I have seen him myself.

Book of Later Han, Chapter 93Volume 82b: Biographies of Alchemists 2 · 1 passage

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蜀丞相诸葛亮问广汉秦密，董扶及任安所长。 Shu chancellor Zhuge Liang asked the Guanghan scholar Qin Mi what Dong Fu and Ren An respectively excelled at.

Book of Liang, Chapter 20Volume 20: Liu Lijian; Chen Bozhi · 1 passage

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高祖笑謂曰：「卿欲慕劉備而曾不及公孫述，豈無臥龍之臣乎。」 Gaozu laughed and said, "You wished to rival Liu Bei yet could not even match Gongsun Shu—had you no Wolong at your side?"

History of Liao, Chapter 30Volume 30 Annals 30: Emperor Tianzuo 4: Ye Luchun, Ye Luyali, Ye Ludashi and Son: Yilie, Yi Lie and Younger Sister: Pu Suwan, Yi Lieci and Son: Zhilugu · 1 passage

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諸葛武侯為獻帝發喪，而後立先主為帝者，不可同年語矣。 When Zhuge the Martial Marquis mourned Emperor Xian and afterward enthroned the Former Lord—that is not a case to be named in the same breath.

History of Ming, Chapter 127Volume 127 Biographies 15: Li Shanzhang, Wang Guangyang · 1 passage

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誥詞稱其剸繁治劇，屢獻忠謀，比之子房、孔明。 His patent praised him for mastering tangled affairs and urgent business, for loyal counsel offered again and again, and likened him to Zifang and Zhuge Liang.

Draft History of Qing, Chapter 423Volume 423 Biographies 210: Zong Jichen, Yin Gengyun, Wang Zheng, Mu Jixianga, You Baichuan, Shen Huai · 1 passage

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昔諸葛亮為三代下一人，史獨稱之以謹慎。 Zhuge Liang was the greatest man since antiquity, yet history praised him above all for caution.

Records of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 31Volume 31: Book of Shu 1: Biographies of the Two Governor Lius · 2 passages

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後丞相諸葛亮問秦宓以扶所長，宓曰：「董扶褒秋毫之善，貶纖芥之惡。」 Later Chancellor Zhuge Liang asked Qin Mi what Dong Fu excelled at. Mi replied: “Dong Fu praises goodness down to the finest hair and condemns wrongdoing down to the smallest flaw.”

丞相諸葛亮平南土，闡還吳，為御史中丞。 After Chancellor Zhuge Liang pacified the south, Liu Chan returned to Wu and was promoted to palace assistant censor-in-chief.

Records of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 34Volume 34: Book of Shu 4: Biographies of Concubines and Sons of the Two Lords · 3 passages

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丞相亮上言： Zhuge Liang memorialized as follows:

夫人欲將太子歸吳，諸葛亮使趙雲勒兵斷江留太子，乃得止。 She meant to take the crown prince with her, but Zhuge Liang had Zhao Yun seal the river and keep the boy—only then was she stopped.

今以后為皇后，遣使持節丞相亮授璽綬，承宗廟，母天下，皇后其敬之哉！」 I now make the empress queen, send envoys with the imperial baton for Chancellor Zhuge Liang to confer her seals and cords, that she may receive the ancestral shrines and mother the realm—revere this charge, O empress!"

Records of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 37Volume 37: Book of Shu 7: Biographies of Pang Tong and Fa Zheng · 14 passages

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〈《襄陽記》曰：諸葛孔明為臥龍，龐士元為鳳雛，司馬德操為水鏡，皆龐德公語也。〈The Xiangyang Ji records that people called Zhuge Liang the Sleeping Dragon, Pang Tong the Fledgling Phoenix, and Sima Hui the Clear Mirror of Water—epithets attributed to Pang Degong.

孔明每至其家，獨拜床下，德公初不令止。 Whenever Zhuge Liang visited, he alone bowed low at the bedside; Degong did not at first tell him to rise.

諸葛亮亦言之於先主，先主見與善譚，大器之，以為治中從事。 Zhuge Liang spoke for him as well. Liu Bei received Tong, conversed at length, thought highly of him, and named him Assistant Clerk to the Administrator.

時孔明諫孤莫行，其意獨篤，亦慮此也。 Zhuge Liang alone urged me not to travel—his concern ran deepest because he foresaw exactly this.

親待亞於諸葛亮，遂與亮併為軍師中郎將。 He honored Tong next after Zhuge Liang and made Tong and Liang joint Military Advisers of the Household.

亮留鎮荊州。 Zhuge Liang stayed behind to guard Jingzhou.

拜統父議郎，遷諫議大夫，諸葛亮親為之拜。 He ennobled Tong’s father as a Court Gentleman and advanced him to Grand Counselor of the Household; Zhuge Liang himself led the ceremony of respect.

或謂諸葛亮曰：「法正於蜀郡太縱橫，將軍宜啟主公，抑其威福。」 Advisers urged Zhuge Liang: “Fa Zheng abuses his prefecture—tell our lord to rein him in.”

亮答曰：「主公之在公安也，北畏曹公之強，東憚孫權之逼，近則懼孫夫人生變於肘腋之下； Zhuge Liang answered: “When our lord sheltered at Gong’an he dreaded Cao Cao north, Sun Quan east, and Lady Sun plotting beside him;

亮又知先主雅愛信正，故言如此。 Zhuge Liang knew how fond Liu Bei was of Fa Zheng—that is why he framed his answer this way.

諸葛氏之言，於是乎失政刑矣。〉 In Sun Sheng’s eyes Zhuge Liang’s defense blurred the line between policy and penal justice.〉

諸葛亮與正，雖好尚不同，以公義相取。 Though Zhuge Liang and Fa Zheng differed in their tastes and values, they respected each other’s commitment to the public good.

亮每奇正智術。 Zhuge Liang repeatedly admired Fa Zheng’s schemes.

亮嘆曰：「法孝直若在，則能制主上，令不東行； Zhuge Liang sighed, “Had Fa Zheng lived he could have checked our lord and blocked the eastern march;

Records of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 62Volume 62: Book of Wu 17: Biographies of Shi Yi and Hu Zong · 1 passage

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蜀相諸葛亮卒，權垂心西州，遣儀使蜀申固盟好。 After Zhuge Liang's death Sun Quan turned his eyes westward and sent Shi Yi to Chengdu to renew the alliance.

History of Song, Chapter 359Volume 359 Biographies 118: Li Gang 2 · 3 passages

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上言：「荊湖、國之上流，其地數千里，諸葛亮謂之用武之國。 He submitted a memorial: "Jinghu lies in the upper reaches of the realm, its territory stretching thousands of li. Zhuge Liang called it a country made for war.

諸葛亮佐蜀，連年出師以圖中原，不如是，不足以立國。 Zhuge Liang served Shu and sent armies out year after year to recover the Central Plain; without that, the state could not endure.

嗚呼，中興功業之不振，君子固歸之天，若綱之心，其可謂非諸葛孔明之用心歟？ Alas, that the work of restoration did not flourish — upright men may indeed ascribe this to Heaven; yet can Li Gang's devotion be said to fall short of Zhuge Kongming's?

History of Song, Chapter 436Volume 436 Biographies 195: Confucian Scholars 6: Chen Liang, Zheng Qiaolinting, Li Daochuan · 1 passage

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又二百餘年，遂為三國交據之地，諸葛亮由此起輔先主，荊楚之士從之如雲，而漢氏賴以復存於蜀； Two hundred years more it became the three states' contested ground; Zhuge Liang from here rose to aid the First Lord; Jing-Chu scholars followed like clouds, and the Han house relied on this to survive again in Shu;

Book of Song, Chapter 62Volume 62 Biographies 22: Yang Xin, Zhang Fu, Wang Wei · 1 passage

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諸葛孔明云：「來敏亂郡，過於孔文舉。」 Zhuge Liang said, "Lai Min throws a commandery into disorder—worse than Kong Rong."

Book of Song, Chapter 69Volume 69 Biographies 29: Liu Zhan, Fan Ye · 1 passage

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博涉史傳，諳前世舊典，弱年便有宰世情，常自比管夷吾、諸葛亮，不為文章，不喜談議。 He read widely in histories and chronicles and knew the statutes of earlier ages by heart; even in his youth he harbored ambitions to govern the realm and often likened himself to Guan Zhong and Zhuge Liang. He did not write belles lettres and disliked idle talk.

Book of Song, Chapter 76Volume 76 Biographies 36: Zhu Xiuzhi, Zong Que, Wang Xuanmo · 1 passage

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尋除車騎將軍、江州刺史，副司徒建安王於赭圻，賜以諸葛亮筩袖鎧。 He was soon Grand General of Chariots and Cavalry and Inspector of Jiangzhou, serving under the Minister of Works, Prince of Jian'an, at Zheqi, and was presented with Zhuge Liang's linked tube armor.

Book of Song, Chapter 86Volume 86 Biographies 46: Yin Xiaozu, Liu Mian · 1 passage

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御仗先有諸葛亮筒袖鎧帽，二十五石弩射之不能入，上悉以賜孝祖。 Among the imperial stores were sleeve-armor caps of the Zhuge Liang type that even twenty-five-stone crossbows could not penetrate; the emperor bestowed them all on Xiaozu.

Book of Sui, Chapter 53Volume 53 Biographies 18: Daxi Zhangru, Helou Zigan, Shi Wansui, Liu Fang · 1 passage

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先是，南寧夷爨翫來降，拜昆州刺史，既而復叛．遂以萬歲為行軍總管，率眾擊之．入自蜻蛉川，經弄凍，次小勃弄、大勃弄，至于南中．賊前後屯據要害，萬歲皆擊破之．行數百里，見諸葛亮紀功碑，銘其背曰：「萬歲之後，勝我者過此．」萬歲令左右倒其碑而進．渡西二河，入渠濫川，行千餘里，破其三十餘部，虜獲男女二萬餘口．諸夷大懼，遣使請降，獻明珠徑寸．於是勒石頌美隋德．萬歲遣使馳奏，請將翫入朝，詔許之．爨翫陰有二心，不欲詣闕，因賂萬歲以金寶，萬歲於是捨翫而還．蜀王時在益州，知其受賂，遣使將索之．萬歲聞而悉以所得金寶沉之於江，索無所獲．以功進位柱國．晉王廣虛衿敬之，待以交友之禮．上知為所善，令萬歲督晉府軍事．明年，爨翫復反，蜀王秀奏萬歲受賂縱賊，致生邊患，無大臣節．上令窮治其事，事皆驗，罪當死．上數之曰：「受金放賊，重勞士馬．朕念將士暴露，寢不安席，食不甘味，卿豈社稷臣也？」 Earlier, Cuan Wan of the Ningnan Yi had surrendered and been made governor of Kunzhou, then rebelled again. Wansui was sent as commander on campaign against him. He entered by the Qingling River, passed Nongdong, and halted at Lesser and Greater Bonong before reaching the southern heartland. The rebels held every strong point; Wansui broke them all. After several hundred li he came upon Zhuge Liang’s victory stele, inscribed on the back: “After ten thousand years, whoever surpasses me will pass this place.” Wansui had his men overturn it and march on. He crossed the two western rivers, entered the Quluan River, marched more than a thousand li, and shattered more than thirty tribes, taking more than twenty thousand captives. The Yi were terrified, sent envoys to surrender, and presented a pearl an inch across. He carved a stone praising Sui virtue. Wansui sent a swift report asking that Wan be brought to court; the edict agreed. Wan secretly had no wish to come to the capital and bribed Wansui with gold and jewels; Wansui then left him and returned. The prince of Shu was in Yizhou; learning of the bribe, he sent men to seize the goods. Wansui heard of it and sank everything he had received in the river, and nothing was found. For his merit he was made pillar of state. Prince Jin Guang treated him with open respect as a friend. The emperor, knowing Guang favored him, put Wansui in charge of the prince of Jin’s military affairs. The next year Cuan Wan rebelled again. Prince Xiu of Shu reported that Wansui had taken bribes and released the rebel, bringing border trouble and failing the integrity of a great minister. A full investigation confirmed everything; the crime merited death. The emperor recounted his offenses: “You took gold and let the rebel go, wasting soldiers and horses. When I think of men exposed in the field I cannot sleep or eat with ease—are you a minister of the altars of state?”

History of Yuan, Chapter 171Volume 171 Biographies 58: Liu Yin, Wu Cheng · 1 passage

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嘗愛諸葛孔明靜以修身之語，表所居曰「靜修」。 He admired Zhuge Liang's saying about cultivating oneself through stillness and named his residence "Quiet Cultivation."

Book of Zhou, Chapter 17Volume 17 Biographies 9: Liang Yu; Guo Ganhui; Yi Feng; Liu Liang; Wang De · 1 passage

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太祖乃謂之曰：「卿文武兼資，即孤之孔明也。」 Grand Progenitor Yuwen Tai told him: "You unite civil and military talent—you are my Kongming."