Early life

Zhuge Liang was born in 181 in Yangdu County, Langya Commandery (present-day Yishui, Shandong Province). His family name, Zhuge, is a two-character Chinese compound family name. His father Zhuge Gui died when he was still young, and he was raised by Zhuge Xuan (a cousin of Zhuge Gui) in Yuzhang Commandery. When Zhuge Xuan was driven out of Yuzhang Commandery in 195, Zhuge Liang followed Zhuge Xuan to live with his friend, Liu Biao, the governor of Jing Province.

Zhuge Liang grew to be a tall man. He enjoyed reciting the Liangfu Yin (梁父吟), a folk song popular in Shandong, his birthplace. He had a habit of comparing himself to the sage minister Guan Zhong and military leader Yue Yi. Although few people took him seriously, Zhuge Liang developed close friendships with influential members of the local literati such as Xu Shu, Cui Zhouping, Meng Jian and Shi Tao. Zhuge Liang also maintained close relations with other well-known intellectuals such as Sima Hui, Pang Degong and Huang Chengyan. Sima Hui once compared Zhuge Liang to a sleeping dragon.

Huang Chengyan once told Zhuge Liang, "I heard that you're seeking a spouse. I've an ugly daughter with yellow skin and dark complexion, but her talent matches yours." Zhuge Liang agreed and married Huang Chengyan's daughter.

Service under Liu Bei

When Liu Bei was residing at Xinye County and taking shelter under Jing Province's governor, Liu Biao, he visited Sima Hui, who told him, "Confucian academics and common scholars, how much do they know about current affairs? Those who analyse current affairs well are the elites. Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix are the only ones in this region." Sima Hui was referring to Zhuge Liang, whose nickname was "Crouching Dragon"; and Pang Tong, whose nickname could be translated as "Young Phoenix" or "Fledgling Phoenix" (凤雏).

Xu Shu later recommended Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei again, and Liu wanted to ask Xu to invite Zhuge to meet him. However, Xu Shu replied, "You must visit this man in person. He cannot be invited to meet you." Liu Bei succeeded in recruiting Zhuge Liang in 207 after paying three personal visits. This is contradicted in the later Annotations by Pei Songzhi which claim Zhuge Liang visited him first. Nonetheless, "Three visits to the cottage" (三顾茅庐) became a very famous classical reference in China.

:Yi Zhongtian suggested that both the records in Sanguozhi and Weilue are the truth. The chronological order should be: Zhuge Liang approached Liu Bei first to demonstrate his wisdom. Liu Bei, now recognized Liang's talent, personally visited Liang three times to had further discussions.

:The novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms portrays Liu Bei's three visits with many fictional mystic events, and narrates that only at the third visit that Liu Bei managed to meet Zhuge Liang and listened to his Longzhong Plan. However the truth is, Liu Bei managed to meet Liang in all three visits, and there were probably more visits with further discussions of the Longzhong Plan before Zhuge Liang finally decided to officially offer his services.

Zhuge Liang presented the Longzhong Plan to Liu Bei and left his residence to follow Liu. Afterwards, Liu Bei became very close to Zhuge Liang and often had discussions with him. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were displeased with their relationship and complained about it. Liu Bei explained, "Now that I have Kongming, I am like a fish that has found water. I hope you'll stop making unpleasant remarks." Guan Yu and Zhang Fei then stopped complaining.

As a diplomat

In 208, Liu Biao died and was succeeded by his younger son, Liu Cong, who surrendered Jing Province to Cao Cao. When Liu Bei heard of Liu Cong's surrender, he led his followers (both troops and civilians) on an exodus southward to Xiakou, and suffered a severe defeat by Cao Cao's forces in a brief skirmish at the Battle of Changban along the way. While in Xiakou, Liu Bei sent Zhuge Liang to follow Lu Su to Jiangdong to discuss the formation of an alliance between him and Sun Quan, and Liang managed to have a meeting with Sun Quan in Chaisang.

Zhuge Liang, being able to gauge Sun Quan's personality, decided to provoke Sun Quan by telling Sun just to surrender if he could not resist Cao Wei. Liang also explained that although Liu Bei was also weaker than Cao Cao, he would fight to the death instead of surrendering; moreover, Liu Bei and his allies still retained some significant forces despite the defeat at Changban, and Cao Cao's army was not as strong as it appeared to be. Sun Quan was pleased with Zhuge Liang's arguments, and, together with Lu Su's analysis of the political situation and Zhou Yu's analysis of the weaknesses in Cao Cao's army, agreed to ally with Liu Bei in resisting Cao Cao. Zhuge Liang returned to Liu Bei's camp with Sun Quan's envoy, Lu Su, to make preparations for the upcoming war.

As a logistics officer

In late 208, the allied armies of Liu Bei and Sun Quan scored a decisive victory over Cao Cao's forces at the Battle of Red Cliffs. Cao Cao retreated to Ye city, while Liu Bei proceeded to conquer territories in Jiangnan, covering most of southern Jing Province. Zhuge Liang was appointed Military Advisor General of the Household. He was put in charge of governing Lingling (present day Yongzhou, Hunan), Guiyang and Changsha commanderies and collecting taxes to fund the military.

In 211, Liu Zhang, governor of Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing), requested aid from Liu Bei in attacking Zhang Lu in Hanzhong Commandery. Liu Bei left Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others in charge of Jing Province while he led an army into Yi Province. Liu Bei promptly agreed to Liu Zhang's proposal, but secretly planned to take over Liu Zhang's land. The following year, Liu Zhang discovered Liu Bei's intention, and the two turned hostile and waged war on each other. Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun led separate forces to reinforce Liu Bei in the attack on Yi Province's capital, Chengdu, while Guan Yu stayed behind to guard Jing Province. In 214, Liu Zhang surrendered and Liu Bei took control of Yi Province.

Liu Bei appointed Zhuge Liang as Military Advisor General and let him administer affairs of his personal office (office of the General of the Left). Whenever Liu Bei embarked on military campaigns, Zhuge Liang remained to defend Chengdu and ensured a steady flow of supply of troops and provisions. In 221, in response to Cao Pi's usurping of Emperor Xian's throne, Liu Bei's subordinates advised him to declare himself emperor. After initially refusing, Liu Bei was eventually persuaded by Zhuge Liang to do so and became ruler of Shu Han. Liu Bei named Zhuge Liang his chancellor and put him in charge of the imperial agency where Zhuge assumed the functions of the head of the imperial secretariat. Zhuge Liang was appointed Colonel-Director of Retainers (司隶校尉) after Zhang Fei's death.

Service under Liu Shan

In the spring of 223, Liu Bei retreated to Yong'an (present-day Fengjie County, Chongqing) after his defeat at the Battle of Xiaoting and became seriously ill. He summoned Zhuge Liang from Chengdu and said to him, "You're ten times more talented than Cao Pi, and capable of both securing the country and accomplishing our great mission. If my son can be assisted, then assist him. If he proves incompetent, then you may take over the throne." Zhuge Liang replied tearfully, "I'll do my utmost and serve with unwavering loyalty until death." Liu Bei then ordered his son, Liu Shan, to administer state affairs together with Zhuge Liang and regard Zhuge as his father.

There are controversies over the last statement of Liu Bei on Zhuge Liang's "take over the throne" (君可自取). Yi Zhongtian in his "Analysis of the Three Kingdoms" presented several interpretations of Liu Bei's message. Chen Shou commented that Liu Bei wholeheartly trusted Zhuge Liang and permitted Liang to "take over" literally. Some argued that Liu Bei said that only to test Zhuge Liang's loyalty as his brother, Zhuge Jin, was working for Eastern Wu. Other commented that the "take over the throne" part did not mean Zhuge Liang was allowed take the throne for himself, but he was permitted to, when the situation demanded, replace Liu Shan with other of Liu Bei's living sons such as Liu Yong and Liu Li.

Holding power as a regent

After Liu Bei's death, Liu Shan ascended to the throne of Shu Han. He granted Zhuge Liang the title "Marquis of Wu District" and created an office for him as a Chancellor. Not long later, Zhuge Liang was appointed Governor of Yi Province - the region which included most of Shu Han's territory.

Being both the Chancellor (directly managing the bureaucrat officers) and provincial governor (directly managing the common people) meant that both the magistrates and common people, i.e. all of the state affairs, were in the hand of Zhuge Liang. Having an independent Chancellery Office (with attached independent subordinates) meant that Zhuge Liang's authority was relatively independent of the emperor's authority. In other words, just like in Sanguozhi said, all of Shu Han's affairs, trivial or vital, were directly handled by Zhuge Liang, and the emperor Liu Shan was just a nominal leader. Moreover, the emperor himself was strictly educated and supervised by Zhuge Liang. This situation was maintained until Liang's death.

There are many attempts who tried to explain why Zhuge Liang refused to return the authority to Liu Shan. Yi Zhongtian proposed three reasons:

• Zhuge Liang supported the model of the emperor only indirectly lead the country and have a Chancellor to handle the affairs in his name, similar to the situation at the early period of Western Han. On Liang's opinion, if the emperor directly handled the affairs, then there is no one to be blamed if problems occurred, but if a representative Chancellor handled things then the emperor could have an interpellation against the Chancellor in the case of failure.

• Zhuge Liang stubbornly thought that Liu Shan was not experienced enough to directly handle the state affairs, hence Liang decided to do things himself to make sure no mistakes happened.

• The situation of Shu Han was indeed very complicated at that time which required extremely well-planned solutions. An inexperienced Liu Shan could not handle such challenging problems, but Zhuge Liang could.

Economic reforms

Yi Province's wealthy families, uncurbed by the previous governors, freely exploited the common people and had an extravagant life. As a result, poverty was widespread, and economical-political reform was the most important concern for Zhuge Liang. A robust economic foundation was also necessary to enhance the people's loyalty to Shu Han regime and properly support the future's expeditions against Cao Wei. Therefore Zhuge Liang made it clear that the core value of his policy was to stabilize and improve the life of the people.

Zhuge Liang's new policies was enacted right from the time of Liu Bei and continued in the time of Liu Shan. He purged the corrupted officials, relieved taxes, and restricted the nobilities's abuse of power against the common people. Forced labours and military mobilization were also reduced and rescheduled to avoid the disruption of agriculture activities, and Cao Cao's tuntian system was implemented extensively to increase food production output. Agriculture dykes were significantly rebuilt and repaired, including the famous Zhuge dyke northern of Chengdu. Thanks to the reform, Shu Han agriculture production grew significantly and was able to sustain her military activities.

Salt manufacture, silk production, and steelmaking - three notable economic activities of Shu region - also attracted Zhuge Liang's attention. Liu Bei, following the proposal of Zhuge Liang, created specialized bureaus for salt and steelmaking management, first directed by Wang Lian and Zhang Yi, respectively. A specialized silk management bureau was also established, hence Chengdu was named as "the city of Silk". Sanguozhi reported that salt production in Shu Han was highly prosperous and generated significant income to the government. Fu Yuan, a well-known local metalsmith, was entrusted by Zhuge Liang in metallurgy research and managed to improve the techniques in crafting steel weapons for Shu Han army. Silk production also had significant growth, at the end of Shu Han regime it managed to accumulated 200000 pieces of silk in the national treasure. Zhuge Liang's family plantation also had 800 mulberry plants for silkworm feeding.

Due to political turmoil, monetary systems at the end of the Han dynasty were in severe turbulence. When establishing themselves in the Yi Province, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, following the advice of Liu Ba, enacted successful monetary reforms. The new Shu Han currency was not only smoothly circulated within its borders, but also popular in the neighboring Jing province. Meanwhile, similar policies of Cao Cao, Cao Fei, Cao Rui and Sun Quan were marred by difficulties and produced limited results.

Legal and moral reforms

Zhuge Liang strongly supported the rule of law in Shu Han. Yi Zhongtian commented that "Rule of Laws" together with "Nominal rule of the Monarch and direct rule of the Chancellor" are two important legacy of Zhuge Liang which were pitifully forgotten by many people.

After Liu Bei entered Yi province, Zhuge Liang, together with Fa Zheng, Liu Ba, Li Yan and Yi Ji, wrote the legal codes for Shu Han.

In order to curb the corruption and associated decadences of the local Yi nobility, Zhuge Liang enacted a Legalist policy with strict but fair and transparent laws, and restricted the power of wealthy families. Zhuge Liang was willing to punish high-ranked magistrates such as Li Yan, Liang's close associates such as Ma Su, and even willing to demote himself to keep the legal orders. However Liang also refrained from abusing punishment and required extreme caution in law enforcement. Xi Zuochi praised Liang's policy of legal rule, that "since the era of Qin and Han there had been no one as equal." Even punished magistrates like Li Yan and Liao Li put Zhuge Liang in high regards and strongly believed that Liang would re-employ them after the punishment was enough.

Zhuge Liang also promoted moral conduct and himself had a strict and stoic life as a model. He did not own excessive assets, refrained from luxurious spending, relied mainly on government salary. Shu Han's magistrates, like Deng Zhi, Fei Yi, Jiang Wei, Zhang Yi also followed suit, strictly abided by the law and the moral codes, enabled the Shu government to maintain a high level of transparency and integrity. Yi Zhongtian praised Shu Han as the best model of "rational rule" amongst the Three Kingdoms, and it is the incorruptibility and transparency of Zhuge Liang and his associates that kept Shu Han from collapsing in disregard of the heavy expenditure burden.

Not everybody was happy with such Legalist policy. Guo Chong's comment on Liang's policy was that it was "cruel" and "exploitative", that "everybody from the noble to the commoner" was upset. Pei Songzhi disagreed with such comments because Zhuge Liang's law enforcement was appropriate and could never be "exploitative". That also contradicted Chen Shou's comment that "nobody was upset despite the strict laws". Yi Zhongtian commented that both contradicted assessments are correct, as Shu people were happy about Liang's fairness and transparency, but some of them were also upset about Liang's overstrictness. Moreover, Zhuge Liang's fairness and legal rule inevitably suppressed the local nobility, prevented them from abusing their power and manipulate politics and public opinion. That is the reason why many of the local Shu intellegistia tacitly endorsed the invasion of Wei against Shu, although they also respected Zhuge Liang. This is supported by contemporary sources, including Zhang Wen and Sun Quan. Yuan Zhun of the Jin dynasty also highly appraised Zhuge Liang's administration skills and popularity, where people would still sing praises to Zhuge Liang decades after his death.

Education and talents enrollment policy

Zhuge Liang highly appreciated talents, hence he paid strong attention to education in order to cultivate and recruit more talented magistrates for Shu Han government. Liang established a position of Aide of Learning Encouragement (劝斈从事), held by many prominent local intelligentsia such as Qiao Zhou. Qiao Zhou held this post for a very long time and was very influential, one of his student were Chen Shou, author of Sanguozhi. Later Zhuge Liang established a Great Education Residence (太斈府), a training facility using Confucian literature works as textbooks. Liang also created many "reading book residences" both in Chengdu and in the frontline during the northern expeditions; such facilities functioned as places for discussions of various topics, and via such discussions talented people could be discovered and recruited. Yao Tian, Shu Han's governor of Guanghan district, managed to recommend many talents to the government, hence he received lavish praise from Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Liang also established "Discussion Bureau" mechanism to gather all the discussions of a certain policy, and encourage the magistrate to accept the criticisms of their subordinates to make a good decisions, and also to utilize all the talents of employees. Zhuge Liang carried out a meritocracy policy, promoted and assessed people based on what they did and could do rather than their fame or background.

Diplomatic missions in Eastern Wu

At the same time, the commanderies in Nanzhong rebelled against Shu, but Zhuge Liang did not send troops to suppress the revolt as Liu Bei's death was still recent. Liu Bei had been persuaded after his defeat by Lu Xun that an alliance with Wu was necessary. Zhuge sent Deng Zhi and Chen Zhen to make peace with Eastern Wu and reentered an alliance with Wu. Zhuge Liang would consistently send envoys to Wu to improve diplomatic relations between the two states.

In 229, Sun Quan proclaimed himself as emperor, thus angered many of the Shu Han court officials who considered Han dynasty (including Shu Han) as the only orthodox one. Some of Shu Han's officials even suggested severing the ties between Shu and Wu. However Zhuge Liang commented that Shu-Wu alliance was still necessary, hence Sun Quan's "treachery" could be temporarily left aside. A Shu Han emissary was sent to congratulate Sun Quan and strengthen the relationship between two allies.

Southern Campaign

During his reign as regent, Zhuge Liang set Shu's objective as the restoration of the Han dynasty, which, from Shu's point of view, had been usurped by the state of Cao Wei. He felt that in order to attack Wei, a complete unification of Shu was first needed. Zhuge Liang was worried that the local clans would work with the Nanman tribes in Nanzhong to stage a revolt. Fearing the possibility that the peasants might rebel and press into areas surrounding the capital Chengdu while he was attacking Wei in the north, Zhuge Liang decided to pacify the southern tribes first.

In the spring of 225, regional clans, including Yong, Gao, Zhu and Meng, had taken control of some cities in the south, so Zhuge Liang led an expedition force to Nanzhong. Ma Su proposed that they should attempt to win the hearts of the Nanman and rally their support instead of using military force to subdue them. Zhuge Liang heeded Ma Su's advice and defeated the rebel leader, Meng Huo, on seven occasions, as it was claimed in later histories such as the Chronicles of Huayang. He released Meng Huo each time in order to achieve Meng's genuine surrender. The story about Meng Huo's seven captures is recently questioned by many modern academics, including historians such as Miao Yue, Tan Liangxiao, and Zhang Hualan.

Realising he had no chance to win, Meng Huo pledged allegiance to Shu, and was appointed by Zhuge Liang as governor of the region to keep the populace content and secure the southern Shu border. This would ensure that the future Northern Expeditions would proceed without internal disruptions. Rich and abundant resources acquired from Nanzhong were used to fund Shu's military and the state became more prosperous.

Northern Expeditions and death

After pacifying the Nanman, Zhuge Liang ordered the Shu military to make preparations for a large scale offensive on Wei. In 227, while in Hanzhong, he wrote a memorial, titled Chu Shi Biao, to Liu Shan, stating his rationale for the campaign and giving advice to the emperor on good governance. From 228 until his death in 234, Zhuge Liang launched a total of five Northern Expeditions against Wei, all except one of which failed. During the first Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang persuaded Jiang Wei, a young Wei military officer, to surrender and defect to his side. Jiang Wei became a prominent general of Shu later and continued Zhuge Liang's legacy of an aggressive foreign policy against Wei. The other permanent gains by Shu were the conquests of the impoverished Wudu and Yinping commanderies, as well as the relocation of Wei citizens to Shu territories on occasion. During the first expedition the veteran commander Wei Yan proposed to lead a detachment of 10000 troops to launched a surprise attack through Ziwu Valley. Such a plan was highly risky, but in the case of success it could resulted in a decisive victory. The plan was rejected by an overcautious Zhuge Liang, which upset Wei Yan.

The first expedition took Cao Wei by surprise and initially proceeded smoothly, however Shu Han troops commanded by Ma Su suffered a strategic defeat at battle of Jieting, resulting in the total failure of the expedition. Zhuge Liang, as a punishment, had Ma Su executed, and had himself demoted by three levels. In second expedition, Shu army launched an unsuccessful attack at the key fortress Chencang and had to withdraw when Wei reinforcements arrived. The pursuing Wei general Wang Shuang was killed by a Shu ambush, though. The third expedition managed to capture Wudu and Yinping, two depopulated and commanderies used as military bridgeheads for further attacks. Cao Wei tried a counter-attack in 230, which also ended in failure.

The fourth expedition (231) marked the first deployment of wooden oxen for supply transportation, and the first time Zhuge Liang met Sima Yi in the battlefield. Zhuge Liang sent the bulk of his army to Mount Qi and lead a detachment to Shanggui for grain harvest. Guo Huai and Fei Yan's attempt of intervention ended in failure and Shu forces managed to harvest most of the wheat. Sima Yi decided to use the Fabian strategy and kept the defensive stance. Zhuge Liang retreated to Lucheng at the eastern side of Mount Qi to lure Sima Yi. The also cautious Sima Yi initially did not take the bait, but relented under the pressure of his subordinates. Cao Wei's attack ended in a disaster, though, hence Sima Yi resumed his defensive stance, this time persistently. Zhuge Liang could not exploit his victory with a major offensive due to a dwindling food supply as adverse weather prevented Shu's logistics from delivering matériel on schedule. Shu troops had no choice but a total retreat, although they managed to kill general Zhang He in another ambush.

Learning from the experiences, Zhuge Liang spent great efforts in mitigating the logistic problem of the Shu army. He improved the wooden oxen into the flowing horses, build an extraordinary huge supply storage facility, and carried out large-scale agriculture production in the northern area. He also successfully asked for a coordinated attack from Eastern Wu. After two years of preparation, in 234 Liang launched his last expedition. The Shu army garrisoned at the Wuzhang Plain and implemented military plantation (tuntian) here for long-term food supplement. From the Cao Wei side, Sima Yi again persistently adapt the Fabian strategy and managed to quell the protest from his subordinate. Zhuge Liang attempted to make many provocations but all failed. Straining his energy on military matters big and small, Zhuge Liang fell seriously ill and eventually died in camp at the age of 53. Before his death, Zhuge Liang recommended Jiang Wan and Fei Yi to succeed him as regent of Shu.

Sima Yi, hearing the news of Zhuge Liang's death and Shu army's subsequent withdrawal, quickly launched a pursuit. However the Shu rearguard quickly feigned a counter-attack, successfully forced the overcautious Sima Yi into falsely believed that Zhuge Liang was still alive and preparing an ambush. Hence the Wei army halted and Shu army made a successful escape. That incident gave rise to the popular saying "A dead Zhuge (Liang) scared away a living Zhongda." Sima Yi replied: "I can handle the living but not the dead."

Burial

Zhuge Liang, according to his dying wish, was buried on Mount Dingjun with a modest funeral and tomb, using no luxurious and expensive material. Liang was posthumously granted the title "Marquis Zhongwu" (忠武侯; literally "loyal and martial marquis") by Liu Shan. Zhuge Liang once wrote to Liu Shan promising that he would have a stoic life with no excessive and no luxurious assets as a model for the country. After Zhuge Liang's death, people had his property checked, which verified his claims.

The death of Zhuge Liang was widely mourned by the Shu Han people. Initially, the mourning and worship for Zhuge Liang was done arbitrarily by the people since neither official temple nor legal worship protocol for Zhuge Liang had been established yet, which upset the public opinion. Hence in 263 a temple for Zhuge Liang was built in Mianyang, near his tomb.

Family and descendants

Zhuge Liang's ancestor, Zhuge Feng (诸葛丰), served as the Colonel-Director of Retainers during the reign of Emperor Yuan of the Han dynasty. Zhuge Liang's father, Zhuge Gui (诸葛圭), served as an assistant officer in Mount Tai Commandery in the late Han dynasty. Zhuge Liang's cousin-uncle, Zhuge Xuan, who raised Zhuge Liang and Zhuge Jun, served as the Administrator of Yuzhang Commandery before serving under Liu Biao, the Governor of Jing Province.

Zhuge Liang had an elder brother, a younger brother, and two elder sisters. His elder brother, Zhuge Jin, served under the warlord Sun Quan and later in the state of Eastern Wu. His younger brother, Zhuge Jun (诸葛均), served in the state of Shu Han. One of Zhuge Liang's sisters married Pang Shanmin, a cousin of Pang Tong, while the other sister married a member of the prominent Kuai family headed by Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue in Xiangyang Commandery.

Zhuge Liang married the daughter of Huang Chengyan. She was a maternal niece of Liu Biao and Lady Cai because her mother (Huang Chengyan's wife) was Lady Cai's younger sister. Although her name was not recorded in history, she is commonly referred to by the name "Huang Yueying" in popular culture.

Zhuge Liang had at least two sons. His elder son, Zhuge Zhan, served as a general in Shu and was killed in action during the Conquest of Shu by Wei. His younger son, Zhuge Huai (诸葛怀), lived as a commoner during the Jin dynasty. Zhuge Liang initially had no sons, so he adopted his nephew, Zhuge Qiao (Zhuge Jin's son). Zhuge Qiao served in Shu and died at a relatively young age. According to legend, Zhuge Liang had a daughter, Zhuge Guo (诸葛果), but her existence is disputed by historians.

Zhuge Qiao's son, Zhuge Pan (诸葛攀), returned to Eastern Wu after Zhuge Ke's death to continue Zhuge Jin's family line there. Zhuge Zhan had three sons. The eldest, Zhuge Shang, served Shu and was killed in action together with his father. The second, Zhuge Jing (诸葛京), moved to Hedong Commandery in 264 with Zhuge Pan's son, Zhuge Xian (诸葛显), and came to serve the Jin dynasty later. The youngest was Zhuge Zhi (诸葛质).

Zhuge Dan, one of Zhuge Liang's cousins, served in the state of Cao Wei and masterminded the third of the Three Rebellions in Shouchun. He was killed after his defeat.

Legacy

Inventions

Although the invention of the repeating crossbow has often been attributed to Zhuge Liang, he had nothing to do with it. This misconception is based on a record attributing improvements to the multiple bolt crossbows to him.

Zhuge Liang is also credited with constructing the Stone Sentinel Maze, an array of stone piles that is said to produce supernatural phenomena, located near Baidicheng.

An early type of hot air balloon used for military signalling, known as the Kongming lantern, is also named after him. It was said to be invented by Zhuge Liang when he was trapped by Sima Yi in Pingyang. Friendly forces nearby saw the message on the lantern paper covering and came to Zhuge Liang's aid. Another belief is that the lantern resembled Zhuge Liang's headdress, so it was named after him.

Literary works

Some books popularly attributed to Zhuge Liang can be found today. For example, the Thirty-Six Stratagems, and Mastering the Art of War (not to be confused with Sun Tzu's The Art of War) are two commonly available works attributed to Zhuge Liang. Supposedly, his mastery of infantry and cavalry formation tactics, based on the Taoist classic I Ching, were unrivalled. His memorial, the Chu Shi Biao, written prior to the Northern Expeditions, provided a salutary reflection of his unwavering loyalty to the state of Shu. The memorial moved some readers to tears. In addition, he wrote Admonition to His Son in which he reflected on his humbleness and frugality in pursuit of a meaningful life.

Zhuge Liang is also the subject of many Chinese literary works. A poem by Du Fu, a prolific Tang dynasty poet, was written in memory of Zhuge Liang whose legacy of unwavering dedication seems to have been forgotten in Du Fu's generation (judging by the description of Zhuge Liang' unkept temple). Some historians believe that Du Fu had compared himself with Zhuge Liang in the poem. The full text is:

Another poem of Du Fu was also written to praise Zhuge Liang at his Baidicheng temple.

Du Fu's quatrain "Eightfold Battle Formation" about Zhuge Liang's Stone Sentinel Maze, is collected in the Three Hundred Tang Poems.

Notable quotes

The phrase "The Han and the Evil do not stand together" (汉贼不两立 Hàn zéi bù liǎng lì) from the Later Chu Shi Biao is often used to draw a line in the sand and declare a situation where one cannot stand with evil. Notably, this phrase was Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's favorite quote to invoke to justify his anti-communism ideology.

Another phrase "with deference and prudence, to the state of one's depletion; it's never finished until one's death" (鞠躬尽瘁，死而后已 jū gōng jìn cuì, sǐ ér hòu yǐ) from the Later Chu Shi Biao is often used to describe one's commitment and perseverance to strive to the utmost.

One famous line of poem, "Who is the first, awakened from the Great Dream? As always, I'm the one who knows." (大梦谁先觉？平生我自知. dà mèng shuí xiān jué ? píng shēng wǒ zì zhī), was also attributed to Zhuge Liang.

"Without modest simplicity, one cannot brighten volition; Without tranquility and serenity, one cannot reach far" (非淡泊无以明志，非宁静无以致远 ), a well-known maxim authored by Zhuge Liang, has been popular in educational institutions in China for thousands of years.

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms

The wisdom of Zhuge Liang was popularised by the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong during the Ming dynasty. In it, Zhuge Liang is described to be able to perform fantastical achievements such as summoning advantageous winds and devising magical stone mazes.

There is great confusion on whether the stories are historical or fictional. At least, the Empty Fort Strategy is based on historical records, albeit not attributed to Zhuge Liang historically. For Chinese people, the question is largely irrelevant, as the Zhuge Liang of lore is regardless seen as a mastermind, whose examples continue to influence many layers of Chinese society. They are also argued, together with Sun Tzu's The Art of War, to still greatly influence the modern Chinese strategical, military and everyday thinking.

See the following for the stories in Romance of the Three Kingdoms involving Zhuge Liang.

• Three visits to the thatched cottage

• Battle of Bowang

• Zhuge Liang's diplomatic mission to Jiangdong

• Borrowing arrows with straw boats

• Zhuge Liang prays for the eastern wind

• Battle of Jiameng Pass

• Battle of Xiaoting

• Meng Huo captured and released seven times

• Empty fort strategy

Events before Zhuge Liangs death

When Zhuge Liang fell critically ill during the Battle of Wuzhang Plains, he attempted to extend his lifespan by 12 years through a ritual. However, he failed when the ritual was disrupted by Wei Yan, who rushed in to warn him about the enemy's advance. Before his death, Zhuge Liang also passed his 24 Volumes on Military Strategy (兵法二十四篇) to Jiang Wei, who would continue his legacy and lead another eleven campaigns against the state of Cao Wei.

Worship of Zhuge Liang

There are many temples and shrines built to commemorate Zhuge Liang. Some of the most famous ones include the Temple of the Marquis of Wu in Chengdu, and the Temple of the Marquis of Wu in Baidicheng.

File:Chengdu Wuhou ci.jpg|Temple of the Marquis of Wu in Chengdu, Sichuan.

File:Baidicheng Wu hou ci.jpg|Temple of the Marquis of Wu in Baidicheng, Fengjie County, Chongqing.

File:WuHou 4.JPG|Temple of the Marquis of Wu in Zhuge Liang's hometown at Nanyang, Henan.

File:Zhugeliang Temple.jpg|The Temple of the Marquis of Wu in Chengdu, Sichuan, a temple worshiping Zhuge Liang.

File:Temple of Marquis Wu (Wuzhang Plains) entrance stone2 2016 September.jpg|The Temple of Marquis Wu of Wuzhang Plains is dedicated to Zhuge Liang

In 760, when Emperor Suzong of the Tang dynasty built a temple to honour Jiang Ziya, he had sculptures of Zhuge Liang and another nine famous historical military generals/strategists – Bai Qi, Han Xin, Li Jing, Li Shiji, Zhang Liang, Tian Rangju, Sun Tzu, Wu Qi and Yue Yi – placed in the temple flanking Jiang Ziya's statue.

Zhuge Liang is also sometimes venerated as a door god at Chinese and Taoist temples, usually in partnership with Sima Yi of Wei.

In popular culture

Film and television

Notable actors who have portrayed Zhuge Liang in film and television include: Adam Cheng, in The Legendary Prime Minister – Zhuge Liang (1985); Li Fazeng, in Zhuge Liang (1985); Tang Guoqiang, in Romance of the Three Kingdoms (1994); Pu Cunxin, in Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon (2008); Takeshi Kaneshiro, in Red Cliff (2008–09); Lu Yi, in Three Kingdoms (2010); Raymond Lam, in Three Kingdoms RPG (2012); Wang Luoyong, in The Advisors Alliance (2017).

Video games

Zhuge Liang's reputation for being an unparalleled genius is also emphasised in his portrayal in video games. Reflecting his status as the most highly regarded strategist in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, games such as Destiny of an Emperor and Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms game series place Zhuge Liang's intelligence statistic as the highest of all characters. He is also a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors, Dynasty Tactics and Kessen II. He also appears in Warriors Orochi, a crossover between Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors.

Zhuge Liang is the protagonist in Koei's tactical role-playing game Sangokushi Koumeiden, where he can die at the Battle of Wuzhang Plains, as he did historically, or proceed to restore the Han dynasty under Emperor Xian.

Zhuge Liang appears in the turn-based strategy games Civilization IV and Civilization V as a great general along with Cao Cao.

Zhuge Liang appears as two separate spirits in the game Destiny of Spirits.

Zhuge Liang appears in at least two forms in the mobile game Puzzle & Dragons.

Zhuge Liang appears as a summonable Pseudo-Servant in the mobile game Fate/Grand Order, with most of his skills portraying him as a skilled tactician.

Zhuge Liang is featured in the sequel to Level-5's game and anime Inazuma Eleven GO 2: Chrono Stone, as well as Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Notably, both adaptations portray Zhuge Liang as a woman.

Zhuge Liang is a legendary strategist in Creative Assembly's turn-based strategy game Total War: Three Kingdoms.

Zhuge Liang appears as a playable character in a mobile game Honkai Impact 3rd portrayed as a woman and being a powerful support

Zhuge Liang is the fable hero of scholar class in the mobile game Royal Chaos, where he deals great amount of Area of Effect (AOE) damage as well as skilled in deployment.

生平事迹

琅琊出世

葛氏原住在琅琊诸县，后迁到琅琊阳都，阳都先有葛氏，时人称诸县葛氏为诸葛，因之以诸葛为姓。

东汉光和四年 (公元181年) 诞生于徐州琅琊郡阳都县（今山东沂南县）。汉司隶校尉诸葛丰后；父亲诸葛圭，字君贡，汉末为泰山郡丞。

诸葛亮父亲去世得早，一家生活由叔父诸葛玄来照料。

隆中十年

兴平二年（195年），诸葛玄为袁术所署豫章太守，诸葛玄将诸葛亮及其弟诸葛均以及他们两个姐姐随同上任。诸葛瑾留家照顾继母。之后汉朝更选朱皓代诸葛玄职位。诸葛玄素与荆州牧刘表有旧，往依附之。诸葛玄死，诸葛亮躬耕陇亩，好为《梁父吟》；身长八尺（约184公分，汉时一尺约为23.1公分），每自己比作于管仲、乐毅，当时人都不同意；惟有博陵崔州平、颖川徐庶与诸葛亮友善，谓为相信他。诸葛亮与弟迁居隆中。

诸葛亮与当时荆州名士司马徽、庞德公等结交。三国志注《襄阳记》记载曰：黄承彦高爽开列，为沔南名士，谓诸葛亮：「闻君择妇；身有丑女，黄头黑色，而才堪相配。（听闻你选择妻子；我有一丑女儿，黄头发、黑皮肤，而才华堪相配于你。）」；诸葛亮答应，即迎娶黄氏；时人以为笑乐，乡里为之谚曰：「莫作孔明择妇，正得阿承丑女。（不要像诸葛亮那样选妻，正择得黄承彦他家的丑女儿。）」

三顾茅庐

建安六年（201年），曹操既破袁绍，自南进击刘备；刘备派遣麋竺、孙乾与刘表相闻，刘表自郊外迎接，以上宾之礼相待，增益其兵马，使之屯兵新野。刘备向司马徽请教世事。司马徽说：「我这儒生是浅俗士人，怎么会懂时势事务？知道时势事务的人都是英俊豪杰。在这地方，有卧龙（诸葛亮）、凤雏（庞统）两人。」徐庶见刘备，刘备器重，徐庶对刘备说：「诸葛孔明，是卧龙，刘将军希望见到吗？」；刘备答：「你与他一起过来吧。」；徐庶说：「诸葛亮这个人你需要亲自去见他，不能由其他人去做，还委屈将军您坐车去拜访他。」

建安十二年（207年）冬，刘备亲自拜访诸葛亮，凡三次才见到（史称「三顾茅庐」）；刘备屏退别人说：「现在汉室衰败，奸臣掌权，使当今圣上蒙受苦难。我不自量德行与能力，想要在这天下伸张大义，可是我的智术浅薄，到今天却一无所成。然而我的志向还没消退，先生可以出谋画策吗？」

诸葛亮遂向刘备陈述三分天下之计，分析：此时与曹操挟天子而令诸侯，此诚不可与争锋；孙权据有江东，可以为援而不可图；又详述荆州用武之国、战略要地，而其主刘表不能守，此恐怕是上天赐予刘备；益州是汉高祖成就帝业之地，其主刘璋暗弱；更建议刘备等待时局有变，由荆州、益州进攻中原。这篇论说后世称为《隆中对》。刘备与诸葛亮情好日密，「关羽、张飞等不悦」，刘备解说：「我有孔明，就像鱼得到水。只是想全部人都不要再提起了。」；关羽、张飞乃作罢。

不过根据《魏略》和《九州春秋》的说法，是诸葛亮主动求见刘备后才被刘备录用，记载与《三国志》和《出师表》的三顾草庐版本有所不同。

何宇度《益部谈资》称刘备在荆州扩军，诸葛亮筹措军需。

出使江东

刘表妻子蔡氏想刘琮取代刘琦，多次与蔡瑁、张允等人在刘表面前说刘琦坏话。刘琦每欲找诸葛亮请教自安之术，诸葛亮动辄拒绝，未与共同谋画；刘琦便邀请诸葛亮游观自家后园，共上高楼，饮宴之间，上屋抽梯，迫使诸葛亮授以对策；诸葛亮答刘琦：「君不见申生在内而危，重耳在外而安乎？（您没看到春秋时期申生留在国内而遇危险，但重耳在外地而得安全吗？）」；刘琦恍然大悟，决意离开襄阳；适值黄祖过身，刘琦得出，遂任江夏太守。

建安十三年（208年），刘表卒。蔡瑁、张允、蒯越等人拥立刘琮做荆州之主。刘琮闻曹操来征伐，遣使请降。刘备屯樊，不知曹操卒至，至宛城乃闻，遂将其众离去。刘备过襄阳，诸葛亮劝说刘备攻打刘琮，可有荆州。刘备说：「吾不忍也。（我不忍心啊。）」刘备乃驻马高呼刘琮，刘琮惧怕不能起。之后来到刘表墓前祭奠，拜辞而去。刘琮左右及荆州人多归刘备。刘备走到当阳时，人数达10馀万，一天走10几里，另遣关羽乘船数百艘，使于江陵会合。曹军五千轻骑于当阳长阪坡追上刘备一行。孙权派出鲁肃，在当阳长阪迎刘备。诸葛亮主动请缨出使向孙权求救。到达柴桑后，诸葛亮面见孙权，给孙权两个选择：「若能以吴、越之众与中原抗衡，不如早与之绝（如果能以吴、越的军民与中原抗衡，不如早日与曹操绝交）」，另一个选择是：「若不能当，何不按兵束甲，北面而事之？（如果不能抵挡，何不解除武装，向北方〔「北面」一指曹操当时在北方，二指臣子通常面向北方见君主。〕称臣呢？）」孙权反问诸葛亮那刘备为什么不去投降曹操，诸葛亮说刘备有高远志向，他自己绝不会向曹操投降。孙权声言不向曹操投降，却担心刘备新败，还能抗此敌吗？诸葛亮分析，先说自军散兵归还和关羽水军有两万人，加上刘琦招集江夏郡战士也不下一万人。再说曹军远来疲弊，追击刘备时，「轻骑一日一夜行三百馀里，此所谓『强弩之末，势不能穿鲁缟者也』，故兵法忌之，曰『必蹶上将军』。且北方之人，不习水战；又荆州之民附曹者，逼兵势耳，非心服也」。最后，他说孙权如果能派遣猛将统领数万雄兵，与刘备同心协力，必破曹军。孙权正式决定迎战，十一月，曹操在赤壁之战大败。

足食足兵

赤壁之战后，刘备撤出江陵，放弃江夏，全力占据荆州南部四郡，先上表汉帝奏请刘琦为荆州刺史，之后两万大军南下。建安十三年（208年）十二月，荆州南部四郡尽为刘备所占领。刘琦死，群下推刘备为荆州牧。刘备遂收江南，以诸葛亮为军师中郎将，使督零陵、桂阳、长沙三郡，收其租赋，以供军实。裴松之注引《零陵先贤传》说：「亮时住临烝。」，「此县居长沙、零陵、桂阳三郡之中，调其赋税，最为要地也。」在《资治通鉴·汉纪五十七·献帝建安十三年》胡三省注中解释军师中郎将一职时说：「军师，亦古将军号。曹操初置军师祭酒，而备置军师中郎将，皆以一时军事创置官名也。然军师祭酒止决军谋，中郎将则有兵柄。亮后又进军师将军。」建安十六年，益州牧刘璋遣法正迎刘备，使入蜀助攻张鲁；诸葛亮与关羽镇守荆州。建安十七年（212年）十二月，刘备与刘璋决裂。刘备自葭萌还攻刘璋，诸葛亮与张飞、赵云等率众泝江，分兵平定郡县，与刘备共围成都。从建安十八年建安十九年，刘备围攻雒城将近一年。张飞、赵云、刘封等随入蜀。建安十九年（214年）夏，诸葛亮入蜀援军溯江而上诸葛亮亲自沿涪江取德阳，直取成都。成都平，以诸葛亮为军师将军，署左将军府事。关羽听闻马超归降，以往并非旧人，关羽写信给诸葛亮，问马超才能谁可相比；诸葛亮知关羽护前，乃回答称：「马超文武兼备，气概雄烈过于常人，可谓一世之豪杰，黥布、彭越之流，当与张飞相提并论，但是不及美髯公你超逸绝群。」刘备派简雍进入成都劝说刘璋投降，刘璋答应投降，与简雍一同前往刘备所在地「同舆而载，出城归命」，益州易主，归属刘备。

蜀汉丞相

诸葛亮受金五百斤、银千斤、钱五千万、锦千匹，并受任为军师将军，署左将军府事。每每刘备出兵征伐，诸葛亮便负责镇守成都，为刘备足食足兵。在建安二十年（215年），曹操进攻汉中，最终降服张鲁，抢在刘备之前占有汉中。刘晔一度劝曹操趁机攻击刘备。诸葛亮为防备曹操出屯江阳。此时孙权派人讨索荆州，刘备正率兵五万从益州到公安，与孙军对峙，准备夺回被孙权夺走的长沙、零陵、桂阳三郡。偏将军黄权对刘备说：「若失汉中，则三巴不振，此为割蜀之股臂也。」刘备为尽快解决荆州问题，回兵保卫益州，便以湘水为界，将江夏、长沙、桂阳三郡划给孙吴。后曹操并未攻打刘备，留下夏侯渊、张合等镇守汉中，本人从汉中撤退。

建安二十四年三月，刘备亲率大军征汉中，战事胶著。曹操自长安率兵经褒斜谷赶往汉中，刘备说：「曹公虽来，无能为也，我必有汉川矣。」诸葛亮镇守成都，刘备「急书发益州兵」，诸葛亮与从事杨洪商议对策，杨洪说：「汉中则益州咽喉，存亡之机会，若无汉中则无蜀矣，此家门之祸也。方今之事，男子当战，女子当运，发兵何疑！」；诸葛亮当即发兵支援汉中前线。从建安二十二年起，双方在汉中僵持一年多，建安二十四年（219年）春刘备依定军山恃险安营，命黄忠居高临下，冲入敌阵，杀死夏侯渊。夏五月，曹操引兵撤出汉中，汉中归刘备所有。诸葛亮之后出骆谷，派兵戍守兴势山，设置烽火楼，防备曹操。秋七月，马超、庞羲、射援、诸葛亮、关羽、张飞、黄忠、法正、李严等120人联名上表刘备为汉中王。十月，吴国吕蒙攻打关羽。关羽败走麦城被吴军捕杀。当刘封失掉汉中东面三郡逃回成都时，诸葛亮担心在刘备薨逝之后，后主刘禅会很难驾驭刚毅勇猛的刘封，便劝刘备以不发兵援救关羽为由杀害刘封。

建安二十五年（220年），曹丕篡汉自立。当时谣言汉帝刘协已被杀害，刘备发丧，諡刘协为孝愍皇帝。建安二十六年（221年），群臣劝刘备登基为帝，刘备不答应，诸葛亮用耿纯游说刘秀登基故事劝刘备，刘备才决定接受群臣拥立而称帝，称帝后，诸葛亮官拜丞相录尚书事，假节。

刘备托孤

章武二年（222年）八月，刘备东征孙吴，意图夺回荆州和为关羽报仇，大败，撤退至永安。诸葛亮大叹可惜法正逝去，认为法正若在，必能制止刘备东征，即使刘备东征，若有法正跟随，战局也不至如此颓丧。章武三年（223年）二月，诸葛亮接到刘备诏书，带著刘永、刘理从成都来到永安。刘备病重，召诸葛亮与尚书令李严一起托付后事。四月下旬，刘备对诸葛亮说：「君才十倍曹丕，必能安国，终定大事。若嗣子可辅，辅之；如其不才，君可自取。（你的才能是曹丕的十倍，必定能够安定国家，终可成就大事。如果嗣子（刘禅）可以辅助，便辅助他；如果他没有才干，你可以自取其位。）」诸葛亮涕泣说：「臣敢竭股肱之力，效忠贞之节，继之以死！（臣必定竭尽自己所有力量，报效忠贞之气节，继续至死为止！）」刘备又要刘禅和其他儿子「与丞相从事，事之如父。」

延至四月，刘备驾崩，刘禅继位，封诸葛亮为武乡侯，开设相府办公。不久，再领益州牧，政事上大小事务，刘禅都依赖于诸葛亮，由诸葛亮决定。南中地区因刘备大败而乘机叛乱，诸葛亮因国君甫逝，先不发兵。

诸葛亮派广汉太守、使臣邓芝前往吴国。孙权便断绝同曹魏来往，派张温回访蜀汉。与此同时曹魏司徒华歆、司空王朗、尚书令陈群、太史令许芝、谒者仆射诸葛璋等写信给诸葛亮，劝其举国称藩，但遭到诸葛亮拒绝。建兴七年（229年）四月，东吴孙权大赦改年，在南郊拜天，即皇帝位，诸葛亮派卫尉陈震去东吴祝贺孙权登皇帝位，3个月后孙权把国都从武昌迁回建业。

五月渡泸

建兴二年（224年）春，「务农殖谷，闭关息民」。建兴三年（225年），诸葛亮率大军南征，临行前曾徵求马谡意见，马谡提出「攻心为上」。刘禅赐诸葛亮金鈇钺一具，曲盖一个，前后羽葆鼓吹各一部，虎贲60人。后诸葛亮深入不毛之地讨伐雍闓、高定和孟获，诸葛亮采取参军马谡的建议，以攻心为主，先打败雍闓军，再打败孟获，至秋天平定所有乱事。孟获投降，诸葛亮挥军东进，与李恢、马忠会师于昆明滇池。此次出战一是为开发南中，增强蜀汉国力；二是为北伐曹魏。此后蜀汉的山地作战能力因为南中的山地兵的注入而变得更加强大。

五伐中原

建兴五年（227年），诸葛亮率诸军北驻汉中，临出发前，向刘禅上《出师表》。遂行，屯兵于沔阳。诸葛亮任张裔为丞相府长史；参军蒋琬一起处理国事，张裔去世后，蒋琬代替其职。诸葛亮率军北上，在汉水北面阳平、石马扎下大营，屯兵于汉中。建兴六年（228年）春，诸葛亮扬声由斜谷道取郿，使赵云、邓芝为疑军，据箕谷，曹真举众军相拒。诸葛亮身率诸军攻祁山，戎兵阵列整齐，赏罚严肃而号令分明，南安郡、天水郡、安定郡叛魏响应诸葛亮，关中震动。魏明帝往西镇压长安，命令张合兵拒诸葛亮，诸葛亮使马谡督诸军在前锋，与张合战于街亭。马谡违反诸葛亮调度，不合举动，大部为张合所攻破。诸葛亮拔西县1,000馀家，还兵汉中，戮杀马谡以谢罪于众。于是以诸葛亮为右将军，行丞相事，所总统政事如前。同年冬十二月，诸葛亮再一次统兵北伐，出散关，直逼陈仓。却无法攻下陈仓，再次撤军。诸葛亮知道王双追来，预先设伏，将其斩杀。建兴七年（229年）春，诸葛亮派陈式进攻武都郡、阴平郡。以攻取二郡之功复为丞相。

建兴八年（230年），曹魏派司马懿由西城，张合由子午道，曹真由斜谷，三路进攻汉中，诸葛亮率军西征，命李严率军2万赴汉中。魏军战斗不利而撤军。

建兴九年（231年）春，诸葛亮组织第四次北伐。诸葛亮派魏延、高翔、吴班等猛攻魏军，取得大胜，「获甲首三千级，玄铠五千领，角弩三千一百张」。六月，诸葛亮向汉中撤退，司马懿让张合军追击，张合中箭身亡。诸葛亮北伐，屯驻祈山，李严督运粮草，「运粮不继」，派部下去见诸葛亮，转达己见，要求撤军；诸葛亮撤军回来，李严「欲以解己否辩之责，显亮不进之愆也」，诸葛亮使李严认罪，废为平民，流放于梓潼郡。自从第四次北伐退兵后，诸葛亮在汉中黄沙休整军队，训练士兵，宣导农耕，屯粮备战；他在建兴十一年（233年），在斜谷口修建粮仓，运大批粮食屯储。

建兴十二年（234年）二月，诸葛亮再次与兵北伐。诸葛亮集中在汉中10万大军全部出动，木牛流马，运粮不停，同时相约东吴东西并举。五月，东吴出兵，七月退兵。诸葛亮占据武功五丈原，与魏国大都督司马懿对峙。诸葛亮在渭南地区分兵屯田。诸葛亮的屯田之策，让士兵与渭南河滨居民共力耕作，使百姓可以安居乐业，军队也得以补充粮食。诸葛亮曾多次向司马懿挑战。司马懿写奏章向魏明帝请战，明帝下令不许出战，并派卫尉辛毗持符节制止魏军。姜维对诸葛亮说：「辛佐治仗节而到，贼不复出矣。」诸葛亮说：「彼本无战情，所以固请战者，以示武于其众耳。将在军，君命有所不受，苟能制吾，岂千里而请战邪！」诸葛亮再派人至司马懿军中，司马懿只向汉使询问诸葛亮寝食和管理政事的繁杂，不过问军旅之事。诸葛亮使者对司马懿说：「诸葛公夙兴夜寐，罚二十以上，皆亲揽焉；所啖食不至三升。」司马懿说：「亮将死矣。」其后，两军对峙一百多天。期间，司马懿穿著戎装，派人查探诸葛亮军情，得知诸葛亮乘坐素色乘舆，头戴葛巾，用毛扇指麾三军，军队一举一动都服从诸葛亮指令。

病殁于军

八月，诸葛亮病倒。刘禅派尚书仆射李福到前线去探望，回到成都时，诸葛亮在五丈原前线病逝，（农历8月23日）享年五十四岁。《汉晋春秋》称：杨仪等整军而还，百姓奔告司马懿，司马懿得知蜀汉撤退，率兵来追；姜维令杨仪反旗鸣鼓，若将向司马懿者，司马懿乃退兵。于是杨仪结阵而去，入斜谷然后发丧。司马懿之退，百姓为之谚语：「死诸葛走生仲达。」或以告诉司马懿，司马懿说：「吾能料生，不便料死也。（我能预料他活著时想做什么，不能预料他死。）」

家庭

祖先

• 诸葛丰，汉元帝时任司隶校尉，他以执法严格、性情刚直见称。

父辈

• 诸葛圭，东汉末年为泰山郡丞。

• 诸葛玄，叔父，本为豫章太守，后投靠刘表，照顾诸葛亮和诸葛均。

兄弟姊妹

• 诸葛瑾，诸葛亮之兄。东吴大将军、左都护、豫州牧、宛陵侯。兄弟二人于公事皆不带亲属感情。

• 诸葛均，诸葛亮之弟。为蜀汉官吏，官至长水校尉。

• 诸葛亮有两位姊姊，长姊嫁给襄阳望族蒯氏蒯祺，二姊嫁给庞德公之子庞山民。

夫人

• 黄夫人，名士黄承彦之女，刘表的外甥女，民间相传名黄月英、黄绶、黄硕。宋人追记黄夫人磨面木人「运磨如飞」，诸葛亮向黄夫人「求传是术」，据说木牛流马就是受此启发而改造。诸葛亮成为黄承彦女婿，岳母是蔡瑁姊姊、刘表后妇亲姊妹，遂使蔡瑁成为诸葛亮妻舅，刘表成为诸葛亮姨丈。

子女

• 诸葛乔，本为兄长诸葛瑾次子，后成为诸葛亮养子。官至翊武将军，早逝。

• 诸葛瞻，诸葛亮长子。历任骑都尉；羽林中郎将；射声校尉、侍中、尚书仆射加军师将军；行都护、卫将军、平尚书事等职，在魏灭蜀之战中，涪城一役中战死。

孙子

• 诸葛攀，诸葛乔之子。因诸葛恪被杀，无嗣，便回作诸葛瑾之后。

• 诸葛尚，诸葛瞻长子。与父亲诸葛瞻在涪城一役中战死。

• 诸葛京，诸葛瞻次子。264年，与诸葛攀之子诸葛显移居河东，在晋朝仕官。根据裴松之《三国志注》，诸葛京依著他的才能，被任命为郿（今陕西眉县）令，而晋朝大臣山涛也称赞过诸葛京为郿令时政绩可称，应予拔擢。诸葛京最后官至江州刺史。

曾孙

• 诸葛显，诸葛攀的儿子。于咸熙元年（264年）迁徙至河东。

堂兄弟

• 诸葛诞，三国时曹魏大臣和重要将领，官至征东大将军，后在寿春发动叛乱反抗司马昭，兵败被杀。

其他

• 清朝张澍《诸葛忠武侯文集·故事》中还记载诸葛亮第三子诸葛怀、诸葛瞻第三子诸葛质及诸葛亮之女诸葛果，但史学研究者张崇琛认为这些人物均属虚构，并不存在。

• 另历代神仙通鉴中记载诸葛亮有一子诸葛企，后过继给其么弟诸葛均，但正史并无此记载。

后人

浙江兰溪诸葛八卦村的居民，自称是诸葛亮之孙诸葛京的后人。杨玲认为兰溪《诸葛氏宗谱》中陈果夫序言所记载诸葛爽为诸葛京后裔不知依据从何而来，从264年诸葛京等人迁徙河东至884年诸葛爽参与镇压黄巢起义失败长达600多年，一百多年传一代，无法解释；陈果夫序言又记载「自诸葛亮治蜀至诸葛利迁，凡700年，传15代」，杨玲认为平均47年传一代，晚婚或繁衍都有太慢之疑；诸葛爽是青州博昌人，似乎与琅邪诸葛氏不沾边，更无法证明是诸葛亮的后裔。这样的记载，无法做到陈果夫所说的「证之正史、别史及地方志」，以诸葛亮为始祖之谱牒的可信度都可大打折扣。

功绩与成就

诸葛亮是中国历史上杰出的政治家与发明家。 被袁准称誉为集忠、义、智、勇于一身，自三国演义起在中华文化圈内很长时间代表智慧的化身。在同属汉字文化圈的汉语与日语里，诸葛亮几乎是作为智谋的同义词（日本战国时代的竹中重治就被称为「今孔明」）。因为诸葛亮同时具备杰出的才能与高尚的品格，后人对诸葛亮评价颇高，「鞠躬尽瘁、死而后已」成为无数仁人志士的座右铭。

诸葛亮之忠诚，备受后世推崇。在刘备托孤后，诸葛亮对后主刘禅尽心尽力，凡事亲力亲为，忧国忘家，于《出师表》中表明心迹，直至最后自己食少事烦，病死军中。在割据政权中，诸葛亮总揽朝政十馀年，既不敛财，也不营谋私利或名位，以兴复汉室为任。另一位托孤重臣李严曾写信给诸葛亮，希望他受赐九锡，但是诸葛亮拒绝，表示不能为汉室收复中原就不算有功。 诸葛亮曾上表指出自己没有多馀财产，只有800株桑树和15顷土地，而自己穿的都是朝廷赐封，就算儿子都是自给自足，自己没有一点多馀的财产。果然，诸葛亮直至死时也是如此，甚至在临死前，也吩咐了他下葬时只需要挖洞一个，棺木能够放进去便足够，自己则穿著平常的服装即可，不须要其他配葬物。诸葛亮死后30年，他的长子诸葛瞻和长孙诸葛尚一起在蜀汉保卫战中战死沙场。

诸葛亮在政治上有极为突出的成绩，除了在《隆中对》提出了刘备政权长期战略外交规划之外，早期经常为刘备足食足兵。等到他开始独掌蜀汉军政大权以后，则以法为根本，到后来在朝内作八务、七戒、六恐及五惧训诫各臣，而朝外亦民风朴实，赏罚分明，突出法制的作用，在中国古代极为罕见。他鼓励其他朝臣以集思广益的态度进谏。他又敢于接受问责、承认错误，在第一次北伐时，因为误用与他最为亲密的马谡而失败，他后来上表自责，自贬降官，及对马谡进行处分。《三国志》作者陈寿的父亲因为马谡兵败，连坐，被髡（剃发），但是他对诸葛亮的评价却是「尽忠益时者虽仇必赏，犯法怠慢者虽亲必罚」。诸葛亮极为注重基础设施建设，裴松之注引袁准「亮好治官府、次舍、桥梁、道路」，这是蜀汉之所以长期对魏作战仍能保持经济发展的原因之一。同时代乃至后时代的人对诸葛亮的治国能力有著极高的评价，陈寿称为「识治之良才，管、萧之亚匹。」「至今梁、益之民，咨述亮者，言犹在耳，虽甘棠之咏召公，郑人之歌子产，无以远譬也。」袁准评价为「亮之治蜀，田畴辟，仓廪实，器械利，蓄积饶，朝会不华，路无醉人。」诸葛亮在世时，蜀汉虽然国力较弱，然而在正面战场处于上风，且在战争负荷的情况下国内经济仍然得到了较大发展，这可以体现出诸葛亮杰出的治国能力。

诸葛亮虽然未能克复中原，但是其军事上也有著极为出色的成就。就战略而言，隆中对成为蜀汉集团的战略决策，且在汉中之战后几乎成功。隆中对作出之时，刘备尚是刘表客将，同时期的其他战略分析（如榻上策）均未把刘备看作一方诸侯。在隆中对之后，刘备开始攻城略地，建立基业，最终建立蜀汉。就战绩而言，蜀汉尽管未能夺得陇西地区，然而在弱国对抗强国的情况下，夺得武都、阴平二郡，在正面战场屡屡击败曹魏军队，并射杀魏车骑将军张合。蜀汉军队军纪严明，陈寿记载「百姓安堵，军无私焉」。蜀汉的北伐大量消耗了魏国的国力，《晋书》有「每诸葛亮入寇关中，边兵不能制敌，中军奔赴，辄不及事机。」「每大军征举，运兵过半，功费巨亿」的说法。司马懿正是在与蜀汉的战争中逐步掌握实权，最终导致了高平陵之变。同时代东吴张俨评论为：「若此人不亡，终其志意，连年运思，刻日兴谋，则凉、雍不解甲，中国不释鞍，胜负之势，亦已决矣。」认为如果诸葛亮不是因病去世，将最终达成其北伐目标。就军事理论而言，诸葛亮改善了八阵，推演兵法，对军事理论有一定的贡献。司马懿在诸葛亮去世后观察蜀汉营寨称赞其为天下奇才，司马昭灭蜀后，就立即令其近侍陈勰学习其「围阵用兵倚伏之法，又甲乙校标帜之制」，直至唐代将领李靖仍然十分推崇。晋书与南北朝诸史有多处关于八阵的记载，充分说明了八阵对后世将领的影响。

诸葛亮在技术发明上亦有灵巧的表现，如改良连弩，制造木牛流马。陈寿称赞为「亮性长于巧思，损益连弩，木牛流马，皆出其意」。

诸葛亮在文学艺术领域亦有不俗的表现。《出师表》是千古名篇，被《文心雕龙》称赞为「孔明之辞后主，志尽文畅」。陆游也有「出师一表真名世，千载谁堪伯仲间」之句，苏轼评价为「简而尽，直而不肆」。诸葛亮亦擅长书法绘画，宋徽宗时编宣和书谱有「自汉晋宋以还，以草书得名者为多，流传于今者，蜀得诸葛亮。今御府所藏草书《远涉帖》。」之句。现今传世之远涉帖，传为王羲之临摹诸葛亮原贴而得。南朝梁陶弘景《刀剑录》记载：「蜀章武元年辛丑，采金牛山铁，铸八铁剑，各长三尺六寸，……并是孔明书作风角处所。」虞荔《古鼎录》记载：「诸葛亮杀王双，还定军山，铸一鼎，埋于汉川，其文曰：定军鼎。又作八阵鼎，沉永安水中，皆大篆书。」「先主章武二年，于汉川铸一鼎，名克汉鼎，置丙穴中，八分书又铸一鼎于成都武担山，名受禅鼎；又铸一鼎于剑山口，名剑山鼎。并小篆书，皆武侯迹。」「章武三年义作二鼎，一与鲁王，文曰：『富贵昌，宜侯王。』；一与梁王，文曰：『大吉祥，宜公王。』并古隶书，高三尺，皆武侯迹。」北宋时周越所著《古今法书苑》也记载：「蜀先主尝作三鼎，皆武侯篆隶八分，极其工妙。」唐朝张彦远在《历代名画记》中写道：「诸葛武侯父子皆长于画。」张彦远还在其《论画》一书中，说：「今分为三古以定贵贱，以汉、魏三国为上古，则赵岐、刘亵、蔡邕、张衡、曹髦、杨修、桓范、徐邈、曹不兴、诸葛亮之流是也。」《华阳国志》记载：「南中，其俗征巫鬼，好诅盟，投石结草，官常以诅盟要之。诸葛亮乃为夷作图谱，先画天地日月君长城府，次画神龙，龙生夷及牛马驼羊。后画部主吏，乘马幡盖，巡行安恤。又画夷牵牛负酒赍金宝诣之之象，以赐夷，夷甚重之。」

著作

• 《出师表》——《后出师表》长期有学者认为是后人托名之作，陶元珍所著魏晋史丛考的第一篇《世传诸葛亮后出师表辨证》曾加以考证。

• 《诫子书》

• 《琴经》

• 西晋陈寿撰《诸葛亮集》二十四篇，十万四千一百一十二字。

• 明王士骐撰《武侯全书》。

• 清张澍撰《诸葛忠武侯文集》。

发明

• 天灯：亦称为孔明灯，相传源自四川平乐古镇，三国时期，此镇乃为军事重地，诸葛亮当时被司马懿困于平阳，诸葛亮算准风向，制成纸灯笼系上求救信息放上天空，最终得以脱险。

• 十字连弩：被诸葛亮大大改进，诸葛亮改良当时只能连续射击三发的「三连弩」，改造成一次能够连射十发的「诸葛连弩」，是故连弩亦有诸葛连弩或诸葛弩之称。

• 木牛流马：分为木牛及流马，为运输工具。根据历史记载，建兴九年至十二年（231年－234年）诸葛亮在北伐时所使用，其载重量为「一岁粮」〈逾4百斤〉，每日行程为「特行者数十里，群行二十里」，为蜀国10万大军提供军粮。另外还有机关防止敌人夺取后使用。然而其确实的设计、使用方式不明，至今后世对其亦有不同的解释。

• 馒头：《事物纪原》载：「诸葛武侯之徵孟获，人曰蛮地多邪术，须祷于神，假阴兵以助之。然蛮俗必杀人，以其祭之，神则助之，为出兵也。武侯不从，因杂用羊豕之肉，而包之以面，像人头以祠，神亦助焉，而为出兵。后人由此为馒头。」明人郎瑛在《七类修稿》中也记有：「馒头本名蛮头，蛮地以人头祭神，诸葛之徵孟获，命以面包肉为人头以祭，谓之『蛮头』，今讹而馒头。自诸葛亮以馒头代替人头祭泸水后，馒头就以傩食品的身份出现，作为祭享的陈设之用。不过，那时候的馒头都是肉馅的，而且个儿很大。很长一段时间馒头与馒首称谓通用。

• 八阵图

• 蜀盐

武侯祠

诸葛亮去世后，蜀汉各地人民纷纷请求为诸葛亮建立庙宇，以纪念他对国家之功绩，朝廷经过商议后，认为根据当时的制度，只有国君才有资格立庙，诸葛亮应该以功臣的身份，配食刘备，而不是单独立庙，于是皇帝刘禅拒绝；于是，各地百姓就每逢节日，跪在路旁高地拜祭诸葛亮。后来有人认为应该听从百姓的请愿，为诸葛亮在成都立庙。但根据礼法，刘备的庙已经立于成都，如果再给诸葛亮于同样的地点立庙，显然会侵逼主君的宗庙，刘禅又不听从。直到263年春季，步兵校尉习隆联同一班大臣（向充等）上书皇帝（以周人怀念召伯、越王勾践思念范蠡故事），要求在诸葛亮坟墓附近建立庙宇，刘禅这才同意。刘禅于是下诏于沔县（今陕西勉县）建庙，这亦是最早的一座武侯祠。魏将锺会伐蜀时亦有到庙祭祀诸葛亮，命令士卒不可以在其墓左右伐樵。

到后来，多处地方都有修建武侯祠纪念诸葛亮，中国大陆目前另外尚有保存9处武侯祠，其中以四川成都武侯祠的最为著名，而河南南阳卧龙岗、湖北襄阳、黄陵庙、甘肃祁山、陕西勉县、岐山、重庆白帝城及云南保山都有武侯祠。

台湾主祀诸葛亮的庙宇，则有南投县鱼池乡玄机院、新竹市青草湖灵隐寺、高雄市弥陀区南寮清龙宫、高雄市苓雅区过田子意诚堂。有放孔明灯习俗的新北市平溪区，于2011年从成都武侯祠取得一尊孔明神像，并且计画要在当地建造孔明庙。

台湾陪祀诸葛亮的庙宇则包括台北市士林区芝山岩惠济宫、北投区行天宫、新北市三峡区白鸡行修宫、桃园市大溪区刘备庙、云林县元长乡鹿寮保胜宫、台南市永康区盐行禹帝宫等。

File:Chengdu Wuhou ci.jpg|四川成都武侯祠

File:WuHou 4.JPG|河南南阳武侯祠

File:Baidicheng Wu hou ci.jpg|白帝城武侯祠

评价

诸葛亮是一位非常杰出的政治家，军事家与发明家，在三方面均有极大的贡献。

蜀汉统治地区的百姓对诸葛亮极为追思，三国志称为「至今梁、益之民，咨述亮者，言犹在耳，虽甘棠之咏召公，郑人之歌子产，无以远譬也。」即使是在诸葛亮去世之后，「蜀人追思亮，咸爱其才敏。每朝廷有一善政佳事，虽非瞻所建倡，百姓皆传相告曰：葛侯之所为也」。可以看出，诸葛亮因为其出色的治国才能与高尚的品德，十分受百姓爱戴，直到唐朝时（诸葛亮之后五百馀年），蜀地尚有民众自发祭祀诸葛亮的习惯。

当时的人对诸葛亮评价极高，即使是敌国曹魏。诸葛亮在蜀汉广受官员与百姓的尊敬与爱戴，谯周并不赞同北伐，但诸葛亮去世后却首先前去吊丧表示哀悼。季汉辅臣赞称赞其「忠武英高，献策江滨，攀吴连蜀，权我世真。受遗阿衡，整武齐文，敷陈德教，理物移风，贤愚竞心，佥忘其身。诞静邦内，四裔以绥，屡临敌庭，实耀其威，研精大国，恨于未夷。」诸葛亮去世后，朝廷并未立庙，但百姓每年均会自发拜祭诸葛亮。敌国方面，贾诩评价诸葛亮善治国，傅干评价为「诸葛亮达治知变，正而有谋」。诸葛亮死，蜀军退却后，司马懿行经诸葛亮营帐堡垒处所，说：「天下奇才呀！」。在魏灭蜀之战，钟会入汉中时，仍令士兵不得于诸葛亮墓旁樵采，还亲往祭拜。东吴人士亦对诸葛亮有极高评价，张俨在默记里将诸葛亮与司马懿这二位当世俊杰作了详尽对比，论述道：「诸葛、司马二相，遭值际会，托身明主，或收功于蜀汉，或册名于伊、洛……历前世以观近事，二相优劣，可得而详也。孔明起巴、蜀之地，蹈一州之土，方之大国，其战士人民，盖有九分之一也，而以贡贽大吴，抗对北敌，至使耕战有伍，刑法整齐，提步卒数万，长驱祁山，慨然有饮马河、洛之志。仲达据天下十倍之地，仗兼并之众，据牢城，拥精锐，无禽敌之意，务自保全而已，使彼孔明自来自去。若此人不亡，终其志意，连年运思，刻日兴谋，则凉、雍不解甲，中国不释鞍，胜负之势，亦已决矣。昔子产治郑，诸侯不敢加兵，蜀相其近之矣。方之司马，不亦优乎！」

后时代的绝大多数统治者，文臣与武将都对诸葛亮有著极高的评价，尤其是其杰出的政治，军事才能和高尚的品格。唐诗与宋诗中有大量赞颂诸葛亮的诗篇。杜甫的「出师未捷身先死，长使英雄泪满襟」「功盖三分国，名成八阵图」，李商隐的「猿鸟犹疑畏简书，风云常为护储胥」，陆游的「出师一表真名世，千载谁堪伯仲间」等皆为千古名句。诸葛亮在社会各个阶级都广受欢迎。前蜀高祖王建于永平二年（912年）封诸葛亮为安国王。

少数人也对他的北伐提出过批评，认为北伐未能取得重大战果，是不顺应天命的行为。比如司马光评价为「诸葛亮自负才能，逆天而行，自取败之也」。

传说及俚语

诸葛亮在四川地区深得民心，四川很多地方的居民一直到近现代仍有头戴白布的习惯，据说就是为诸葛亮戴孝，历时一千多年。

在高承《事物纪原》中，有记载诸葛亮南征班师时，正遇风起，不能渡河，孟获说这是猖神作怪，只要用人头和牲畜祭祀，便会风平浪静。但诸葛亮觉得用人头太残忍了，于是用面粉搓成人头状，混上牛、羊等肉去替代，名为馒头。（又有一说，馒头乃张飞征蜀时发明）。

另外，相传诸葛亮担任军师中郎将时，因解决粮食问题，向百姓询问了当时名为「蔓菁」的野菜的种植方法，并下令士兵开始种蔓菁，补充军粮，后世便把这菜称为诸葛菜。

亦有传说指诸葛亮另有一儿诸葛怀与一女诸葛果。在晋朝时曾召录汉代名臣之后裔到京城任职，但诸葛怀推辞，自给自足，在家终老。而诸葛果则相传在成都西南乘烟观修行和成仙升天。

在山区的居民过去要放送消息，会施放孔明灯，相传是诸葛亮传下来的。在云南（三国时南中之地），佧佤族有传说指诸葛亮曾教他们祖先盖房子、编竹箩；傣族传说指当地的佛寺大殿屋顶就是仿照诸葛亮的帽子建造的，又有说诸葛亮南征时发明一种铜鼓，称为「诸葛鼓」，白天做饭，晚间可敲它作警报。而现有许多俚语，如「事后孔明」，意思是等到事情过后才发表各种高论，自以为先知；也有「三个臭皮匠，胜个诸葛亮」，意思是指形容集体智慧的伟大。

另有「死诸葛吓走活仲达」之说，大意是说，诸葛亮在五丈原病逝之后，姜维、杨仪等人怕司马懿探知实情，密令军士雕塑诸葛亮的木雕像，于退兵时连同前锋军撤退。司马懿等人早就怀疑诸葛亮已逝世，但不敢轻举妄动，随军出来却看到诸葛亮（木雕像）仍好端端的坐在车上，大吃一惊，急令军队回营，蜀汉军因此平安的回到成都，并将盛放诸葛亮尸体的棺木一同送回，由蜀后主刘禅亲葬之。事后司马懿等人听到诸葛亮终于死之后，才放下这心，专心准备征蜀之事。

诸葛神数相传为汉诸武侯所作，共有三百八十四签，以大易三百八十四爻之数占，签文长短不一，寓意深远，判断吉凶，相当准绳。

诸葛神数又有称之为诸葛神算、诸葛神签、诸葛灵签、卧龙神数、孔明神算、孔明大易神数、未来预知术。

诸葛亮在刘备病逝后为了扶持年幼的刘禅继续执政，遂于建兴元年（公元223年）下发《教与军师长史参军掾属》及《又教与军师长史参军掾属》两篇奏文，以供部属积极批评其秉政时的缺点与失误。当中「夫参署者，集众思，广忠益也。」乃是现今常用成语「集思广益」的来源。

民间传说，明朝开国功臣的刘伯温的前世正是三国时代蜀国军师——诸葛亮。

民间艺术与流行文化

小说《三国演义》结合过往传奇、野史、戏曲、地方世代说法、被官史避讳说法、说部话本中诸葛亮的故事，他被描写成智慧的化身，和《三国志》中的诸葛亮很不一样，而且事迹亦有所出入，历史上诸葛亮用兵的功绩不如他治理蜀国的政绩耀眼，但这些都成为家喻户晓故事。如火烧博望与新野时，诸葛亮尚未出仕刘备；三顾茅庐、七擒孟获、六出祁山（实际是五次北伐，只有第一、四次出祁山）等都经过夸张和剧情创造；舌战群儒、草船借箭、借东风、智激周瑜、三气周瑜、空城计等则是虚构或将剧情移花接木。

亦有部分小说将诸葛亮描写成为一个道士，如七星坛祭风、延寿七星灯等，使得鲁迅在《中国小说史略》中批古本三国志通俗演义中的诸葛亮为「状诸葛之多智而近妖」，将一贯有法家风范的诸葛亮神化成了算无遗策、通天晓地、精通军事、运筹帷幄、智慧超卓入圣之完美人物。

此外，在现代，孔明因为影视动漫中部份情节，像是「诸葛亮大骂王朗」一段的情节以及横山光辉的漫画「三国志」当中的「孔明的陷阱」（孔明の罠）等，而成为常见的恶搞素材，并常和「鬼畜」扯上关系；而孔明也因此被某些人给视为网路红人。

戏剧

在中国传统戏曲中，诸葛亮一角为老生，身穿印有八卦图案的外袍，手持羽扇。而剧目多来自《三国演义》，参与的剧目有《诸葛亮吊孝》、《收姜维》、《群英会》、《借东风》、《三气周瑜》、《空城计》、《战马超》（又名《两将军》）等。

在戏剧中扮演过诸葛亮的人不计其数。其中比较著名的有：

• 越调表演艺术家申凤梅，在剧坛中有「活诸葛」之称。

• 京剧老生马连良、谭富英、于魁智。

• 叶青在歌仔戏《孔明三气周瑜》中扮演诸葛亮。

日本也有音乐剧

• 《孔明最后の一夜》（在大阪的新歌舞伎座演出，由诹访部顺一主演）

电影

电视剧

电子游戏

• 《三国志》系列（光荣公司开发）

• 《全面战争：三国》（Creative Assembly开发）

• 《吞食天地》系列

• 《轩辕剑外传 汉之云》（大宇资讯开发）本游戏从不同视角解析了诸葛亮

• 《三国志英杰传》系列（光荣公司开发）

• 《真三国无双系列》（光荣公司开发，小野阪昌也配音）

• 《决战》系列（光荣公司开发）

• 《三国群英传系列》（宇峻奥汀开发）

• 《三国群侠传》（东方演算（前身为河洛工作室）开发）

• 《卧龙传》

• 《幻想三国志系列》（宇峻奥汀开发）

• 《三国志大战》（世嘉开发）

• 《三国大战SMASH》

• 《梦三国》

• 《Fate/Grand Order》——手机游戏，附身于艾尔梅洛伊二世（韦伯·维尔维特）并以「Caster」的职阶登场，宝具为「石兵八阵」

• 《王者荣耀》

• 《三国杀Online》

• 《炉石传说》——作为诸葛亮安度因英雄皮肤出现

桌上游戏

• 《三国杀》

动画

• 《三国志》

• 《三国演义》

• 《一骑当千》—诸葛亮孔明

• 《恋姬无双》系列—诸葛亮孔明、真名朱里

• 《SD高达三国传BraveBattleWarriors》、《BB战士三国传 英雄激突编》、《BB战士三国传 战神决斗编》—孔明灵．格斯/天翔龙孔明

• 《SD高达世界 三国创杰传》-诸葛亮 自由高达

• 《钢铁三国志》—诸葛亮

• 《横山光辉三国志》—诸葛亮

• 《闪电十一人GO》—诸葛孔明

漫画

• 《苍天航路》- 王欣太）

• 《火凤燎原》 - 陈某:设定为「水镜八奇」之七奇，于董卓火烧洛阳篇登场，在关东军平阳军营遇上司马懿并合作破解「城下一聚」之意，同司马懿一样预测董卓会撤离洛阳，在曹操「奉孝杀戮」时再和司马懿联手打败同门四师兄郭嘉，后来隐居隆中，谋划于赤壁之战前后取得荆南四郡和四川，更利用隆冬季节及荆州十一年一遇的大水，使华容道之曹军不战自溃，并生擒曹操、曹洪、程昱，后在司马懿之共识下释放。

• 《一骑当千》— 盐崎雄二

• 《横山光辉三国志》— 横山光辉

• 《吞食天地》— 本宫宏志

• 《九九八十一》—米二

• 《天子传奇7三国骄皇》:

• 《》：描述孔明死后穿越到21世纪日本的搞笑故事。四叶夕ト作，小川亮画

• 《孔明のヨメ》- 杜康润

• 《诸葛孔明 时の地平线》- 诹访緑

音乐

• 《出师表》- 清漪、安九

• 《有为歌》，又名《卧龙吟》电视剧《三国演义》的一首插曲 - 由王健作词、谷建芬作曲、戴建明演唱、李一丁配乐

• 《哭诸葛》，电视剧《三国演义》的一首插曲 - 由王健作词、谷建芬作曲、刘欢演唱。

诗歌

• 《蜀相》- 杜甫

• 《咏懐古迹》（其五）- 杜甫

• 《八阵图》- 杜甫

• 《书愤》- 陆游

• 《筹笔驿》- 罗隐

• 《五丈原』- 胡曾

• 《司马仲达、武侯の営址を観る図に题す》- 頼山阳

• 《武侯の墓》- 竹添进一郎

• 《肖像自赞》- 吉田松阴

• 《星落秋风五丈原》- 土井晩翠

对联

• 能攻心则反侧自消，自古知兵非好战；不审势即宽严皆误，后来治蜀要深思（清人赵藩题成都武侯祠）

• 两表酬三顾；一对足千秋 （游俊题成都武侯祠）

• 一生惟谨慎，七擒南渡，六出北征，何期五丈崩摧，九代志能遵教受；十倍荷褒荣，八阵名成，两川福被，所合四方精锐，三分功定属元勋（成都武侯祠）

• 心在朝廷原无论先主后主；名高天下何必辨襄阳南阳（顾嘉蘅题卧龙岗武侯祠）

• 个个孔明诸葛亮；家家居易百乐添（茶联集大成者《百茶联》作者在天题）

• 成大事以小心，一生谨慎；仰风流于遗迹，万古清高（冯玉祥题勉县武侯祠）

• 心远地自偏，问草庐是耶非耶，此处想见当日；江流石不转，睹秋水来者逝者，伊人宛在中央（范鹤年题石鼓书院武侯祠）

相关连结

• 对诸葛亮的评价

• 多处有名为卧龙镇、卧龙区、卧龙街道的地名，四川省汶川县有卧龙国家级自然保护区。