Zhuge Liang
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Zhuge Liang (181 - 234, Chinese:诸葛亮) was one of the greatest Chinese strategists during the Three Kingdoms era. Zhuge is an uncommon two-character compound family name. His name (or even just his surname) has become synonymous with intelligence and wit in Chinese culture.
Early Life
Zhuge Liang was born in Yangdu County in Langya Commandery, at present-day Yishui County, Shandong Province. He was the second of three brothers and orphaned early; his mother died when he was nine, and his father when he was twelve. His uncle raised him and his siblings. When Cao Cao invaded Shandong in 195, his family was forced to flee south, and his uncle soon died of illness.
Although both his sisters married into important families with numerous connections in the area, for ten years, he resided in Longzhong Commandery (in present-day Hubei province), with his brothers Zhuge Jin(诸葛瑾) (who later served the Wu Kingdom, under Sun Quan) and Zhuge Jun(诸葛均), in a simple peasant life - farming by day and studying by night. He got to know a group of friends among the intellectuals of the area. His reputation soon grew, and he was named the Crouching (or Sleeping) Dragon, wise among his peers in many areas. At the meantime, he married the daughter of another renowned scholar Huang Chengyan(黄承彦). His wife's name is rumored to be Huang Yueying(黄月英). The Huang Family was also connected to several other well established clans in the region.
Rise to Prominence
The warlord Liu Bei(刘备) harbored in the neighboring city Xiangyang under his distant relative and the governor of the Jing Region, Liu Biao(刘表). Legends recounted that Zhuge Liang joined Liu Bei in 207 only after Liu visited him in person three times. In reality, one of Zhuge Liang's works accounted for three visits. Zhuge Liang soon presented his famous Longzhong Plan before Liu, and he travelled in person to Eastern Wu and formed an alliance with its ruler Sun Quan.
In the Battle of Red Cliffs (otherwise known as Chibi，赤壁) of 208, allied armies of Liu Bei and Sun Quan (孙权) defeated Cao Cao(曹操), thus enabling Liu Bei to establish his own territories. The novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms described that Zhuge Liang called forth a southeastern wind to sweep Huang Gai(黄盖)'s fire-attack throughout Cao Cao's ships. In reality, however, it was the Wu general Zhou Yu who masterminded the fire attack. In folklore, the wind is attributed to either Zhuge Liang's magic or his ability to predict the weather.
The union with Sun Quan broke down when Wu general Lü Meng(吕蒙) invaded Jingzhou in 219 when its defender Guan Yu(关羽) was laying siege to Fancheng. Guan Yu was defeated and decapitated. Liu Bei, infuriated with the execution of his longtime comrade, ignored all arguments of his well-meaning subjects and turned on Eastern Wu, leading a huge army to seek revenge. He was defeated in the ensuing Battle of Yiling by Lu Xun(陆逊) and died in the lone fortress of Baidicheng after a hasty and humiliating retreat to his own borders. After the death of Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang became the chancellor of Shu Han under Liu Shan, Liu Bei's son, and renewed the alliance with Sun Quan. Despite Liu's request that Zhuge assume control of Shu Han should his son prove an incompetent leader, Zhuge did not, serving Liu Shan unwaveringly.