Liu Bei
Chinese warlord and founding Emperor of Shu Han (161–223)
Liu Bei (Chinese: 劉備, ; Mandarin pronunciation: [ljǒʊ pêɪ]; 161 – 10 June 223 AD), courtesy name Xuande (玄德), was a Chinese warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who later became the founding emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms of China.
While unable to establish a permanent foothold in northern China, he gathered support among opponents of Cao Cao, the warlord who controlled the Han central government and the figurehead Emperor Xian, and was eventually able to carve out his own realm, which at its peak spanned present-day Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunan, and parts of Hubei, Yunnan, and Gansu.
Bolstered by the widespread influence of the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms and its portrayal of Liu Bei as an exemplar of virtuous Confucian rule, Liu Bei is widely revered in China and other East Asian societies as an ideal benevolent and humane ruler. Historically speaking, his style of governance has been said to have been "Confucian in appearance but Legalist in substance".
Physical appearance
The historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms describes Liu Bei as a man seven chi and five cun tall (approximately 1.74 metres), with long arms that "extended beyond his knees" and ears so large that "he himself could see them". According to the Chronicles of Huayang, Liu Bei had been called "Big Ears" (大耳) by both Lü Bu and Cao Cao. Furthermore, an anecdote shared with Zhang Yu mentions that Liu Bei in his fifties was noted to be beardless.
Family background
According to the third-century historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei was born in Zhuo County, Zhuo Commandery (present-day Zhuozhou, Hebei). He was a descendant of Liu Sheng, who was the ninth son of Emperor Jing and the first King of Zhongshan in Han dynasty. However, Pei Songzhi's fifth-century commentary, based on the Dianlüe (典略), said that Liu Bei was a descendant of the Marquis of Linyi (臨邑侯).
The public source identifies “Liu Bei” as chinese warlord and founding Emperor of Shu Han (161–223). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Chinese, warlord and founding.
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