Liu Bei (Chinese: 劉備, pronunciation ; Mandarin pronunciation: [ljǒu pêi]; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (玄德), 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. Though he was a distant relative of the imperial family, Liu Bei's father died when he was a child and left his family impoverished. To help his mother, he sold shoes and straw mats. When he reached the age of fifteen, his mother sent him to study under Lu Zhi. In his youth, Liu Bei was known as ambitious and charismatic. He gathered a militia army to fight the Yellow Turbans. Liu Bei fought bravely in many battles and started getting famous. Rather than join the coalition against Dong Zhuo, he joined his childhood friend Gongsun Zan and fought under him against Yuan Shao many times with recognition.
Later he was sent to help Tao Qian against Cao Cao. Thanks to the support of the influential Mi and Chen families along with Tao Qian's last will, Liu Bei inherited the Xu Province. After his defeat against Cao Cao, Lü Bu joined him and seized the province while Liu Bei was away fighting Yuan Shu. After many conflicts, he joined Cao Cao and they defeated Lü Bu at the Battle of Xiapi. Although he was treated well, Liu Bei received a secret edict from the emperor to kill Cao Cao and rebelled against him taking back Xu province. After a brief alliance with Yuan Shao, Liu Bei was quickly defeated by Cao Cao and had to flee to the warlord in the north. He was sent by Yuan Shao to raise uprisings behind Cao Cao's main base but he was ultimately defeated by Cao Cao and joined his kinsman Liu Biao. Liu Biao doubted his loyalty so he located him at Xinye to serve as a shield against Cao Cao. After Liu Biao's death, Liu Bei led many civilians to join Liu Qi to Xiakou where they allied with Sun Quan to oppose Cao Cao at the Battle of Red Cliffs.
After Cao Cao's defeat, Liu Bei quickly took control of the majority of Jing Province, then he married Sun Quan's sister who recognised his legitimacy over the province and agreed to "lend" him Nan Commandery. Liu Bei later led his army to join another kinsman, Liu Zhang in his war against the warlord Zhang Lu. Under the advices of his advisors, he betrayed Liu Zhang and seized the Yi Province from him. After some disputes and seeing Cao Cao growing closer to the Yi province. Liu Bei agreed to yield half of the Jing province to Sun Quan and led his army against Xiahou Yuan at Hanzhong and seized it. Liu Bei then declared himself "King of Hanzhong" and set up his headquarters in Chengdu. However soon after Guan Yu was killed by Liu Bei's "ally" Sun Quan who took the rest of Jing province for the "lending" of Nan commandery. Liu Bei was furious and after declaring himself emperor to challenge Cao Pi's authority, he led his army against his former "ally". Though some early success, his army was soon blocked into a stalemate against Lu Xun and was finally defeated. Ashamed by his failure, he never returned to Chengdu and settled in Baidicheng until his death one year later. Urging his heir to not emulate him and being as virtuous as possible he appointed to help him Zhuge Liang in charge of domestic matters and Li Yan for the military matters.
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 defeats to carve out his own realm, which at its peak spanned present-day Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunan, and parts of Hubei and Gansu. Culturally, due to the popularity of the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei is widely known as an ideal benevolent, humane ruler who cared for his people and selected good advisers for his government. His fictional counterpart in the novel was a salutary example of a ruler who adhered to the Confucian set of moral values, such as loyalty and compassion. Historically, Liu Bei, like many Han rulers, was greatly influenced by Laozi. He was a brilliant politician and leader whose skill was a remarkable demonstration of "Confucian in appearance but Legalist in substance" .
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