生平事跡

琅琊出世

葛氏原住在琅琊諸縣，後遷到琅琊陽都，陽都先有葛氏，時人稱諸縣葛氏為諸葛，因之以諸葛為姓。

東漢光和四年 (公元181年) 誕生於徐州琅琊郡陽都縣（今山東沂南縣）。漢司隸校尉諸葛豐後；父親諸葛珪，字君貢，漢末為泰山郡丞。

諸葛亮父親去世得早，一家生活由叔父諸葛玄來照料。

隆中十年

興平二年（195年），諸葛玄為袁術所署豫章太守，諸葛玄將諸葛亮及其弟諸葛均以及他們兩個姐姐隨同上任。諸葛瑾留家照顧繼母。之後漢朝更選朱皓代諸葛玄職位。諸葛玄素與荊州牧劉表有舊，往依附之。諸葛玄死，諸葛亮躬耕隴畝，好為《梁父吟》；身長八尺（約184公分，漢時一尺約為23.1公分），每自己比作於管仲、樂毅，當時人都不同意；惟有博陵崔州平、穎川徐庶與諸葛亮友善，謂為相信他。諸葛亮與弟遷居隆中。

諸葛亮與當時荊州名士司馬徽、龐德公等結交。三國志註《襄陽記》記載曰：黃承彥高爽開列，為沔南名士，謂諸葛亮：「聞君擇婦；身有醜女，黃頭黑色，而才堪相配。（聽聞你選擇妻子；我有一醜女兒，黃頭髮、黑皮膚，而才華堪相配於你。）」；諸葛亮答應，即迎娶黃氏；時人以為笑樂，鄉里為之諺曰：「莫作孔明擇婦，正得阿承醜女。（不要像諸葛亮那樣選妻，正擇得黃承彥他家的醜女兒。）」

三顧茅廬

建安六年（201年），曹操既破袁紹，自南進擊劉備；劉備派遣麋竺、孫乾與劉表相聞，劉表自郊外迎接，以上賓之禮相待，增益其兵馬，使之屯兵新野。劉備向司馬徽請教世事。司馬徽說：「我這儒生是淺俗士人，怎麼會懂時勢事務？知道時勢事務的人都是英俊豪傑。在這地方，有臥龍（諸葛亮）、鳳雛（龐統）兩人。」徐庶見劉備，劉備器重，徐庶對劉備說：「諸葛孔明，是臥龍，劉將軍希望見到嗎？」；劉備答：「你與他一起過來吧。」；徐庶說：「諸葛亮這個人你需要親自去見他，不能由其他人去做，還委屈將軍您坐車去拜訪他。」

建安十二年（207年）冬，劉備親自拜訪諸葛亮，凡三次才見到（史稱「三顧茅廬」）；劉備屏退別人說：「現在漢室衰敗，奸臣掌權，使當今聖上蒙受苦難。我不自量德行與能力，想要在這天下伸張大義，可是我的智術淺薄，到今天卻一無所成。然而我的志向還沒消退，先生可以出謀畫策嗎？」

諸葛亮遂向劉備陳述三分天下之計，分析：此時與曹操挾天子而令諸侯，此誠不可與爭鋒；孫權據有江東，可以為援而不可圖；又詳述荊州用武之國、戰略要地，而其主劉表不能守，此恐怕是上天賜予劉備；益州是漢高祖成就帝業之地，其主劉璋闇弱；更建議劉備等待時局有變，由荊州、益州進攻中原。這篇論說後世稱為《隆中對》。劉備與諸葛亮情好日密，「關羽、張飛等不悅」，劉備解說：「我有孔明，就像魚得到水。只是想全部人都不要再提起了。」；關羽、張飛乃作罷。

不過根據《魏略》和《九州春秋》的說法，是諸葛亮主動求見劉備後才被劉備錄用，記載與《三國志》和《出師表》的三顧草廬版本有所不同。

何宇度《益部談資》稱劉備在荊州擴軍，諸葛亮籌措軍需。

出使江東

劉表妻子蔡氏想劉琮取代劉琦，多次與蔡瑁、張允等人在劉表面前說劉琦壞話。劉琦每欲找諸葛亮請教自安之術，諸葛亮動輒拒絕，未與共同謀畫；劉琦便邀請諸葛亮游觀自家後園，共上高樓，飲宴之間，上屋抽梯，迫使諸葛亮授以對策；諸葛亮答劉琦：「君不見申生在內而危，重耳在外而安乎？（您沒看到春秋時期申生留在國內而遇危險，但重耳在外地而得安全嗎？）」；劉琦恍然大悟，決意離開襄陽；適值黃祖過身，劉琦得出，遂任江夏太守。

建安十三年（208年），劉表卒。蔡瑁、張允、蒯越等人擁立劉琮做荊州之主。劉琮聞曹操來征伐，遣使請降。劉備屯樊，不知曹操卒至，至宛城乃聞，遂將其眾離去。劉備過襄陽，諸葛亮勸說劉備攻打劉琮，可有荊州。劉備說：「吾不忍也。（我不忍心啊。）」劉備乃駐馬高呼劉琮，劉琮懼怕不能起。之後來到劉表墓前祭奠，拜辭而去。劉琮左右及荊州人多歸劉備。劉備走到當陽時，人數達10餘萬，一天走10幾里，另遣關羽乘船數百艘，使於江陵會合。曹軍五千輕騎於當陽長阪坡追上劉備一行。孫權派出魯肅，在當陽長阪迎劉備。諸葛亮主動請纓出使向孫權求救。到達柴桑後，諸葛亮面見孫權，給孫權兩個選擇：「若能以吳、越之眾與中原抗衡，不如早與之絕（如果能以吳、越的軍民與中原抗衡，不如早日與曹操絕交）」，另一個選擇是：「若不能當，何不按兵束甲，北面而事之？（如果不能抵擋，何不解除武裝，向北方〔「北面」一指曹操當時在北方，二指臣子通常面向北方見君主。〕稱臣呢？）」孫權反問諸葛亮那劉備為什麼不去投降曹操，諸葛亮說劉備有高遠志向，他自己絕不會向曹操投降。孫權聲言不向曹操投降，卻擔心劉備新敗，還能抗此敵嗎？諸葛亮分析，先說自軍散兵歸還和關羽水軍有兩萬人，加上劉琦招集江夏郡戰士也不下一萬人。再說曹軍遠來疲弊，追擊劉備時，「輕騎一日一夜行三百餘里，此所謂『強弩之末，勢不能穿魯縞者也』，故兵法忌之，曰『必蹶上將軍』。且北方之人，不習水戰；又荊州之民附曹者，逼兵勢耳，非心服也」。最後，他說孫權如果能派遣猛將統領數萬雄兵，與劉備同心協力，必破曹軍。孫權正式決定迎戰，十一月，曹操在赤壁之戰大敗。

足食足兵

赤壁之戰後，劉備撤出江陵，放棄江夏，全力占據荊州南部四郡，先上表漢帝奏請劉琦為荊州刺史，之後兩萬大軍南下。建安十三年（208年）十二月，荊州南部四郡盡為劉備所占領。劉琦死，群下推劉備為荊州牧。劉備遂收江南，以諸葛亮為軍師中郎將，使督零陵、桂陽、長沙三郡，收其租賦，以供軍實。裴松之註引《零陵先賢傳》說：「亮時住臨烝。」，「此縣居長沙、零陵、桂陽三郡之中，調其賦稅，最為要地也。」在《資治通鑒·漢紀五十七·獻帝建安十三年》胡三省注中解釋軍師中郎將一職時說：「軍師，亦古將軍號。曹操初置軍師祭酒，而備置軍師中郎將，皆以一時軍事創置官名也。然軍師祭酒止決軍謀，中郎將則有兵柄。亮後又進軍師將軍。」建安十六年，益州牧劉璋遣法正迎劉備，使入蜀助攻張魯；諸葛亮與關羽鎮守荊州。建安十七年（212年）十二月，劉備與劉璋決裂。劉備自葭萌還攻劉璋，諸葛亮與張飛、趙雲等率眾泝江，分兵平定郡縣，與劉備共圍成都。從建安十八年建安十九年，劉備圍攻雒城將近一年。張飛、趙雲、劉封等隨入蜀。建安十九年（214年）夏，諸葛亮入蜀援軍溯江而上諸葛亮親自沿涪江取德陽，直取成都。成都平，以諸葛亮為軍師將軍，署左將軍府事。關羽聽聞馬超歸降，以往並非舊人，關羽寫信給諸葛亮，問馬超才能誰可相比；諸葛亮知關羽護前，乃回答稱：「馬超文武兼備，氣概雄烈過於常人，可謂一世之豪傑，黥布、彭越之流，當與張飛相提並論，但是不及美髯公你超逸絕群。」劉備派簡雍進入成都勸說劉璋投降，劉璋答應投降，與簡雍一同前往劉備所在地「同輿而載，出城歸命」，益州易主，歸屬劉備。

蜀漢丞相

諸葛亮受金五百斤、銀千斤、錢五千萬、錦千匹，並受任為軍師將軍，署左將軍府事。每每劉備出兵征伐，諸葛亮便負責鎮守成都，為劉備足食足兵。在建安二十年（215年），曹操進攻漢中，最終降服張魯，搶在劉備之前占有漢中。劉曄一度勸曹操趁機攻擊劉備。諸葛亮為防備曹操出屯江陽。此時孫權派人討索荊州，劉備正率兵五萬從益州到公安，與孫軍對峙，準備奪回被孫權奪走的長沙、零陵、桂陽三郡。偏將軍黃權對劉備說：「若失漢中，則三巴不振，此為割蜀之股臂也。」劉備為盡快解決荊州問題，回兵保衛益州，便以湘水為界，將江夏、長沙、桂陽三郡劃給孫吳。後曹操並未攻打劉備，留下夏侯淵、張郃等鎮守漢中，本人從漢中撤退。

建安二十四年三月，劉備親率大軍征漢中，戰事膠著。曹操自長安率兵經褒斜谷趕往漢中，劉備說：「曹公雖來，無能為也，我必有漢川矣。」諸葛亮鎮守成都，劉備「急書發益州兵」，諸葛亮與從事楊洪商議對策，楊洪說：「漢中則益州咽喉，存亡之機會，若無漢中則無蜀矣，此家門之禍也。方今之事，男子當戰，女子當運，發兵何疑！」；諸葛亮當即發兵支援漢中前線。從建安二十二年起，雙方在漢中殭持一年多，建安二十四年（219年）春劉備依定軍山恃險安營，命黃忠居高臨下，衝入敵陣，殺死夏侯淵。夏五月，曹操引兵撤出漢中，漢中歸劉備所有。諸葛亮之後出駱谷，派兵戍守興勢山，設置烽火樓，防備曹操。秋七月，馬超、龐羲、射援、諸葛亮、關羽、張飛、黃忠、法正、李嚴等120人聯名上表劉備為漢中王。十月，吳國呂蒙攻打關羽。關羽敗走麥城被吳軍捕殺。當劉封失掉漢中東面三郡逃回成都時，諸葛亮擔心在劉備薨逝之後，後主劉禪會很難駕馭剛毅勇猛的劉封，便勸劉備以不發兵援救關羽為由殺害劉封。

建安二十五年（220年），曹丕篡漢自立。當時謠言漢帝劉協已被殺害，劉備發喪，諡劉協為孝愍皇帝。建安二十六年（221年），群臣勸劉備登基為帝，劉備不答應，諸葛亮用耿純遊說劉秀登基故事勸劉備，劉備才決定接受群臣擁立而稱帝，稱帝後，諸葛亮官拜丞相錄尚書事，假節。

劉備託孤

章武二年（222年）八月，劉備東征孫吳，意圖奪回荊州和為關羽報仇，大敗，撤退至永安。諸葛亮大嘆可惜法正逝去，認為法正若在，必能制止劉備東征，即使劉備東征，若有法正跟隨，戰局也不至如此頹喪。章武三年（223年）二月，諸葛亮接到劉備詔書，帶著劉永、劉理從成都來到永安。劉備病重，召諸葛亮與尚書令李嚴一起託付後事。四月下旬，劉備對諸葛亮說：「君才十倍曹丕，必能安國，終定大事。若嗣子可輔，輔之；如其不才，君可自取。（你的才能是曹丕的十倍，必定能夠安定國家，終可成就大事。如果嗣子（劉禪）可以輔助，便輔助他；如果他沒有才幹，你可以自取其位。）」諸葛亮涕泣說：「臣敢竭股肱之力，效忠貞之節，繼之以死！（臣必定竭盡自己所有力量，報效忠貞之氣節，繼續至死為止！）」劉備又要劉禪和其他兒子「與丞相從事，事之如父。」

延至四月，劉備駕崩，劉禪繼位，封諸葛亮為武鄉侯，開設相府辦公。不久，再領益州牧，政事上大小事務，劉禪都依賴於諸葛亮，由諸葛亮決定。南中地區因劉備大敗而乘機叛亂，諸葛亮因國君甫逝，先不發兵。

諸葛亮派廣漢太守、使臣鄧芝前往吳國。孫權便斷絕同曹魏來往，派張溫回訪蜀漢。與此同時曹魏司徒華歆、司空王朗、尚書令陳群、太史令許芝、謁者僕射諸葛璋等寫信給諸葛亮，勸其舉國稱藩，但遭到諸葛亮拒絕。建興七年（229年）四月，東吳孫權大赦改年，在南郊拜天，即皇帝位，諸葛亮派衛尉陳震去東吳祝賀孫權登皇帝位，3個月後孫權把國都從武昌遷回建業。

五月渡瀘

建興二年（224年）春，「務農殖穀，閉關息民」。建興三年（225年），諸葛亮率大軍南征，臨行前曾徵求馬謖意見，馬謖提出「攻心為上」。劉禪賜諸葛亮金鈇鉞一具，曲蓋一個，前後羽葆鼓吹各一部，虎賁60人。後諸葛亮深入不毛之地討伐雍闓、高定和孟獲，諸葛亮採取參軍馬謖的建議，以攻心為主，先打敗雍闓軍，再打敗孟獲，至秋天平定所有亂事。孟獲投降，諸葛亮揮軍東進，與李恢、馬忠會師於昆明滇池。此次出戰一是為開發南中，增強蜀漢國力；二是為北伐曹魏。此後蜀漢的山地作戰能力因為南中的山地兵的注入而變得更加強大。

五伐中原

建興五年（227年），諸葛亮率諸軍北駐漢中，臨出發前，向劉禪上《出師表》。遂行，屯兵於沔陽。諸葛亮任張裔為丞相府長史；參軍蔣琬一起處理國事，張裔去世後，蔣琬代替其職。諸葛亮率軍北上，在漢水北面陽平、石馬紮下大營，屯兵於漢中。建興六年（228年）春，諸葛亮揚聲由斜谷道取郿，使趙雲、鄧芝為疑軍，據箕谷，曹真舉眾軍相拒。諸葛亮身率諸軍攻祁山，戎兵陣列整齊，賞罰嚴肅而號令分明，南安郡、天水郡、安定郡叛魏響應諸葛亮，關中震動。魏明帝往西鎮壓長安，命令張郃兵拒諸葛亮，諸葛亮使馬謖督諸軍在前鋒，與張郃戰於街亭。馬謖違反諸葛亮調度，不合舉動，大部為張郃所攻破。諸葛亮拔西縣1,000餘家，還兵漢中，戮殺馬謖以謝罪於眾。於是以諸葛亮為右將軍，行丞相事，所總統政事如前。同年冬十二月，諸葛亮再一次統兵北伐，出散關，直逼陳倉。卻無法攻下陳倉，再次撤軍。諸葛亮知道王雙追來，預先設伏，將其斬殺。建興七年（229年）春，諸葛亮派陳式進攻武都郡、陰平郡。以攻取二郡之功複為丞相。

建興八年（230年），曹魏派司馬懿由西城，張郃由子午道，曹真由斜谷，三路進攻漢中，諸葛亮率軍西征，命李嚴率軍2萬赴漢中。魏軍戰鬥不利而撤軍。

建興九年（231年）春，諸葛亮組織第四次北伐。諸葛亮派魏延、高翔、吳班等猛攻魏軍，取得大勝，「獲甲首三千級，玄鎧五千領，角弩三千一百張」。六月，諸葛亮向漢中撤退，司馬懿讓張郃軍追擊，張郃中箭身亡。諸葛亮北伐，屯駐祈山，李嚴督運糧草，「運糧不繼」，派部下去見諸葛亮，轉達己見，要求撤軍；諸葛亮撤軍回來，李嚴「欲以解己否辯之責，顯亮不進之愆也」，諸葛亮使李嚴認罪，廢為平民，流放於梓潼郡。自從第四次北伐退兵後，諸葛亮在漢中黃沙休整軍隊，訓練士兵，宣導農耕，屯糧備戰；他在建興十一年（233年），在斜谷口修建糧倉，運大批糧食屯儲。

建興十二年（234年）二月，諸葛亮再次與兵北伐。諸葛亮集中在漢中10萬大軍全部出動，木牛流馬，運糧不停，同時相約東吳東西並舉。五月，東吳出兵，七月退兵。諸葛亮占據武功五丈原，與魏國大都督司馬懿對峙。諸葛亮在渭南地區分兵屯田。諸葛亮的屯田之策，讓士兵與渭南河濱居民共力耕作，使百姓可以安居樂業，軍隊也得以補充糧食。諸葛亮曾多次向司馬懿挑戰。司馬懿寫奏章向魏明帝請戰，明帝下令不許出戰，並派衛尉辛毗持符節制止魏軍。姜維對諸葛亮說：「辛佐治仗節而到，賊不復出矣。」諸葛亮說：「彼本無戰情，所以固請戰者，以示武於其眾耳。將在軍，君命有所不受，苟能制吾，豈千里而請戰邪！」諸葛亮再派人至司馬懿軍中，司馬懿只向漢使詢問諸葛亮寢食和管理政事的繁雜，不過問軍旅之事。諸葛亮使者對司馬懿說：「諸葛公夙興夜寐，罰二十以上，皆親攬焉；所啖食不至三升。」司馬懿說：「亮將死矣。」其後，兩軍對峙一百多天。期間，司馬懿穿著戎裝，派人查探諸葛亮軍情，得知諸葛亮乘坐素色乘輿，頭戴葛巾，用毛扇指麾三軍，軍隊一舉一動都服從諸葛亮指令。

病歿於軍

八月，諸葛亮病倒。劉禪派尚書僕射李福到前線去探望，回到成都時，諸葛亮在五丈原前線病逝，（農曆8月23日）享年五十四歲。《漢晉春秋》稱：楊儀等整軍而還，百姓奔告司馬懿，司馬懿得知蜀漢撤退，率兵來追；姜維令楊儀反旗鳴鼓，若將向司馬懿者，司馬懿乃退兵。於是楊儀結陣而去，入斜谷然後發喪。司馬懿之退，百姓為之諺語：「死諸葛走生仲達。」或以告訴司馬懿，司馬懿說：「吾能料生，不便料死也。（我能預料他活著時想做什麼，不能預料他死。）」

家庭

祖先

• 諸葛豐，漢元帝時任司隸校尉，他以執法嚴格、性情剛直見稱。

父輩

• 諸葛珪，東漢末年為泰山郡丞。

• 諸葛玄，叔父，本為豫章太守，後投靠劉表，照顧諸葛亮和諸葛均。

兄弟姊妹

• 諸葛瑾，諸葛亮之兄。東吳大將軍、左都護、豫州牧、宛陵侯。兄弟二人於公事皆不帶親屬感情。

• 諸葛均，諸葛亮之弟。為蜀漢官吏，官至長水校尉。

• 諸葛亮有兩位姊姊，長姊嫁給襄陽望族蒯氏蒯祺，二姊嫁給龐德公之子龐山民。

夫人

• 黃夫人，名士黃承彥之女，劉表的外甥女，民間相傳名黃月英、黃綬、黃碩。宋人追記黃夫人磨麵木人「運磨如飛」，諸葛亮向黃夫人「求傳是術」，據說木牛流馬就是受此啟發而改造。諸葛亮成為黃承彥女婿，岳母是蔡瑁姊姊、劉表後婦親姊妹，遂使蔡瑁成為諸葛亮妻舅，劉表成為諸葛亮姨丈。

子女

• 諸葛喬，本為兄長諸葛瑾次子，後成為諸葛亮養子。官至翊武將軍，早逝。

• 諸葛瞻，諸葛亮長子。歷任騎都尉；羽林中郎將；射聲校尉、侍中、尚書僕射加軍師將軍；行都護、衛將軍、平尚書事等職，在魏滅蜀之戰中，涪城一役中戰死。

孫子

• 諸葛攀，諸葛喬之子。因諸葛恪被殺，無嗣，便回作諸葛瑾之後。

• 諸葛尚，諸葛瞻長子。與父親諸葛瞻在涪城一役中戰死。

• 諸葛京，諸葛瞻次子。264年，與諸葛攀之子諸葛顯移居河東，在晉朝仕官。根據裴松之《三國志注》，諸葛京依著他的才能，被任命為郿（今陝西眉縣）令，而晉朝大臣山濤也稱讚過諸葛京為郿令時政績可稱，應予拔擢。諸葛京最後官至江州刺史。

曾孫

• 諸葛顯，諸葛攀的兒子。于咸熙元年（264年）遷徙至河東。

堂兄弟

• 諸葛誕，三國時曹魏大臣和重要將領，官至征東大將軍，後在壽春發動叛亂反抗司馬昭，兵敗被殺。

其他

• 清朝張澍《諸葛忠武侯文集·故事》中還記載諸葛亮第三子諸葛懷、諸葛瞻第三子諸葛質及諸葛亮之女諸葛果，但史學研究者張崇琛認為這些人物均屬虛構，並不存在。

• 另歷代神仙通鑑中記載諸葛亮有一子諸葛企，後過繼給其么弟諸葛均，但正史並無此記載。

後人

浙江蘭溪諸葛八卦村的居民，自稱是諸葛亮之孫諸葛京的後人。楊玲認為蘭溪《諸葛氏宗譜》中陳果夫序言所記載諸葛爽為諸葛京後裔不知依據從何而來，從264年諸葛京等人遷徙河東至884年諸葛爽參與鎮壓黃巢起義失敗長達600多年，一百多年傳一代，無法解釋；陳果夫序言又記載「自諸葛亮治蜀至諸葛利遷，凡700年，傳15代」，楊玲認為平均47年傳一代，晚婚或繁衍都有太慢之疑；諸葛爽是青州博昌人，似乎與琅邪諸葛氏不沾邊，更無法証明是諸葛亮的後裔。這樣的記載，無法做到陳果夫所說的「証之正史、別史及地方志」，以諸葛亮為始祖之譜牒的可信度都可大打折扣。

功績與成就

諸葛亮是中國曆史上傑出的政治家與發明家。 被袁準稱譽為集忠、義、智、勇于一身，自三國演義起在中華文化圈內很長時間代表智慧的化身。在同屬漢字文化圈的漢語與日語裡，諸葛亮幾乎是作為智謀的同義詞（日本戰國時代的竹中重治就被稱為「今孔明」）。因為諸葛亮同時具備傑出的才能與高尚的品格，後人對諸葛亮評價頗高，「鞠躬盡瘁、死而後已」成為無數仁人志士的座右銘。

諸葛亮之忠誠，備受後世推崇。在劉備託孤後，諸葛亮對後主劉禪盡心盡力，凡事親力親為，憂國忘家，於《出師表》中表明心跡，直至最後自己食少事煩，病死軍中。在割據政權中，諸葛亮總攬朝政十餘年，既不斂財，也不營謀私利或名位，以興複漢室為任。另一位託孤重臣李嚴曾寫信給諸葛亮，希望他受賜九錫，但是諸葛亮拒絕，表示不能為漢室收複中原就不算有功。 諸葛亮曾上表指出自己沒有多餘財產，只有800株桑樹和15頃土地，而自己穿的都是朝廷賜封，就算兒子都是自給自足，自己沒有一點多餘的財產。果然，諸葛亮直至死時也是如此，甚至在臨死前，也吩咐了他下葬時只需要挖洞一個，棺木能夠放進去便足夠，自己則穿著平常的服裝即可，不須要其他配葬物。諸葛亮死後30年，他的長子諸葛瞻和長孫諸葛尚一起在蜀漢保衛戰中戰死沙場。

諸葛亮在政治上有極為突出的成績，除了在《隆中對》提出了劉備政權長期戰略外交規劃之外，早期經常為劉備足食足兵。等到他開始獨掌蜀漢軍政大權以後，則以法為根本，到後來在朝內作八務、七戒、六恐及五懼訓誡各臣，而朝外亦民風樸實，賞罰分明，突出法制的作用，在中國古代極為罕見。他鼓勵其他朝臣以集思廣益的態度進諫。他又敢於接受問責、承認錯誤，在第一次北伐時，因為誤用與他最為親密的馬謖而失敗，他後來上表自責，自貶降官，及對馬謖進行處分。《三國志》作者陳壽的父親因為馬謖兵敗，連坐，被髡（剃髮），但是他對諸葛亮的評價卻是「盡忠益時者雖仇必賞，犯法怠慢者雖親必罰」。諸葛亮極為注重基礎設施建設，裴松之注引袁準「亮好治官府、次舍、橋梁、道路」，這是蜀漢之所以長期對魏作戰仍能保持經濟發展的原因之一。同時代乃至後時代的人對諸葛亮的治國能力有著極高的評價，陳壽稱為「識治之良才，管、蕭之亞匹。」「至今梁、益之民，咨述亮者，言猶在耳，雖甘棠之詠召公，鄭人之歌子產，無以遠譬也。」袁準評價為「亮之治蜀，田疇闢，倉廩實，器械利，蓄積饒，朝會不華，路無醉人。」諸葛亮在世時，蜀漢雖然國力較弱，然而在正面戰場處于上風，且在戰爭負荷的情況下國內經濟仍然得到了較大發展，這可以體現出諸葛亮傑出的治國能力。

諸葛亮雖然未能克複中原，但是其軍事上也有著極為出色的成就。就戰略而言，隆中對成為蜀漢集團的戰略決策，且在漢中之戰後幾乎成功。隆中對作出之時，劉備尚是劉表客將，同時期的其他戰略分析（如榻上策）均未把劉備看作一方諸侯。在隆中對之後，劉備開始攻城略地，建立基業，最終建立蜀漢。就戰績而言，蜀漢儘管未能奪得隴西地區，然而在弱國對抗強國的情況下，奪得武都、陰平二郡，在正面戰場屢屢擊敗曹魏軍隊，並射殺魏車騎將軍張郃。蜀漢軍隊軍紀嚴明，陳壽記載「百姓安堵，軍無私焉」。蜀漢的北伐大量消耗了魏國的國力，《晉書》有「每諸葛亮入寇關中，邊兵不能制敵，中軍奔赴，輒不及事機。」「每大軍征舉，運兵過半，功費巨億」的說法。司馬懿正是在與蜀漢的戰爭中逐步掌握實權，最終導致了高平陵之變。同時代東吳張儼評論為：「若此人不亡，終其志意，連年運思，刻日興謀，則涼、雍不解甲，中國不釋鞍，勝負之勢，亦已決矣。」認為如果諸葛亮不是因病去世，將最終達成其北伐目標。就軍事理論而言，諸葛亮改善了八陣，推演兵法，對軍事理論有一定的貢獻。司馬懿在諸葛亮去世後觀察蜀漢營寨稱讚其為天下奇才，司馬昭滅蜀後，就立即令其近侍陳勰學習其「圍陣用兵倚伏之法，又甲乙校標幟之制」，直至唐代將領李靖仍然十分推崇。晉書與南北朝諸史有多處關于八陣的記載，充分說明了八陣對後世將領的影響。

諸葛亮在技術發明上亦有靈巧的表現，如改良連弩，製造木牛流馬。陳壽稱讚為「亮性長于巧思，損益連弩，木牛流馬，皆出其意」。

諸葛亮在文學藝術領域亦有不俗的表現。《出師表》是千古名篇，被《文心雕龍》稱讚為「孔明之辭後主，志盡文暢」。陸游也有「出師一表真名世，千載誰堪伯仲間」之句，蘇軾評價為「簡而盡，直而不肆」。諸葛亮亦擅長書法繪畫，宋徽宗時編宣和書譜有「自漢晉宋以還，以草書得名者為多，流傳于今者，蜀得諸葛亮。今御府所藏草書《遠涉帖》。」之句。現今傳世之遠涉帖，傳為王羲之臨摹諸葛亮原貼而得。南朝梁陶弘景《刀劍錄》記載：「蜀章武元年辛丑，採金牛山鐵，鑄八鐵劍，各長三尺六寸，……並是孔明書作風角處所。」虞荔《古鼎錄》記載：「諸葛亮殺王雙，還定軍山，鑄一鼎，埋于漢川，其文曰：定軍鼎。又作八陣鼎，沉永安水中，皆大篆書。」「先主章武二年，于漢川鑄一鼎，名克漢鼎，置丙穴中，八分書又鑄一鼎于成都武擔山，名受禪鼎；又鑄一鼎于劍山口，名劍山鼎。並小篆書，皆武侯跡。」「章武三年義作二鼎，一與魯王，文曰：『富貴昌，宜侯王。』；一與梁王，文曰：『大吉祥，宜公王。』並古隸書，高三尺，皆武侯跡。」北宋時周越所著《古今法書苑》也記載：「蜀先主嘗作三鼎，皆武侯篆隸八分，極其工妙。」唐朝張彥遠在《歷代名畫記》中寫道：「諸葛武侯父子皆長于畫。」張彥遠還在其《論畫》一書中，說：「今分為三古以定貴賤，以漢、魏三國為上古，則趙岐、劉褻、蔡邕、張衡、曹髦、楊修、桓范、徐邈、曹不興、諸葛亮之流是也。」《華陽國志》記載：「南中，其俗征巫鬼，好詛盟，投石結草，官常以詛盟要之。諸葛亮乃為夷作圖譜，先畫天地日月君長城府，次畫神龍，龍生夷及牛馬駝羊。後畫部主吏，乘馬幡蓋，巡行安恤。又畫夷牽牛負酒齎金寶詣之之象，以賜夷，夷甚重之。」

著作

• 《出師表》——《後出師表》長期有學者認為是後人託名之作，陶元珍所著魏晉史叢考的第一篇《世傳諸葛亮後出師表辨証》曾加以考証。

• 《誡子書》

• 《琴經》

• 西晉陳壽撰《諸葛亮集》二十四篇，十萬四千一百一十二字。

• 明王士騏撰《武侯全書》。

• 清張澍撰《諸葛忠武侯文集》。

發明

• 天燈：亦稱為孔明燈，相傳源自四川平樂古鎮，三國時期，此鎮乃為軍事重地，諸葛亮當時被司馬懿困於平陽，諸葛亮算準風向，製成紙燈籠繫上求救信息放上天空，最終得以脫險。

• 十字連弩：被諸葛亮大大改進，諸葛亮改良當時只能連續射擊三發的「三連弩」，改造成一次能夠連射十發的「諸葛連弩」，是故連弩亦有諸葛連弩或諸葛弩之稱。

• 木牛流馬：分為木牛及流馬，為運輸工具。根據歷史記載，建興九年至十二年（231年－234年）諸葛亮在北伐時所使用，其載重量為「一歲糧」〈逾4百斤〉，每日行程為「特行者數十里，群行二十里」，為蜀國10萬大軍提供軍糧。另外還有機關防止敵人奪取後使用。然而其確實的設計、使用方式不明，至今後世對其亦有不同的解釋。

• 饅頭：《事物紀原》載：「諸葛武侯之徵孟獲，人曰蠻地多邪術，須禱于神，假陰兵以助之。然蠻俗必殺人，以其祭之，神則助之，為出兵也。武侯不從，因雜用羊豕之肉，而包之以面，像人頭以祠，神亦助焉，而為出兵。後人由此為饅頭。」明人郎瑛在《七類修稿》中也記有：「饅頭本名蠻頭，蠻地以人頭祭神，諸葛之徵孟獲，命以麵包肉為人頭以祭，謂之『蠻頭』，今訛而饅頭。自諸葛亮以饅頭代替人頭祭瀘水後，饅頭就以儺食品的身份出現，作為祭享的陳設之用。不過，那時候的饅頭都是肉餡的，而且個兒很大。很長一段時間饅頭與饅首稱謂通用。

• 八陣圖

• 蜀鹽

武侯祠

諸葛亮去世後，蜀漢各地人民紛紛請求為諸葛亮建立廟宇，以紀念他對國家之功績，朝廷經過商議後，認為根據當時的制度，只有國君才有資格立廟，諸葛亮應該以功臣的身份，配食劉備，而不是單獨立廟，于是皇帝劉禪拒絕；於是，各地百姓就每逢節日，跪在路旁高地拜祭諸葛亮。後來有人認為應該聽從百姓的請願，為諸葛亮在成都立廟。但根據禮法，劉備的廟已經立于成都，如果再給諸葛亮于同樣的地點立廟，顯然會侵逼主君的宗廟，劉禪又不聽從。直到263年春季，步兵校尉習隆聯同一班大臣（向充等）上書皇帝（以周人懷念召伯、越王勾踐思念范蠡故事），要求在諸葛亮墳墓附近建立廟宇，劉禪這才同意。劉禪於是下詔於沔縣（今陝西勉縣）建廟，這亦是最早的一座武侯祠。魏將鍾會伐蜀時亦有到廟祭祀諸葛亮，命令士卒不可以在其墓左右伐樵。

到後來，多處地方都有修建武侯祠紀念諸葛亮，中國大陸目前另外尚有保存9處武侯祠，其中以四川成都武侯祠的最為著名，而河南南陽臥龍崗、湖北襄陽、黃陵廟、甘肅祁山、陝西勉縣、岐山、重慶白帝城及雲南保山都有武侯祠。

臺灣主祀諸葛亮的廟宇，則有南投縣魚池鄉玄機院、新竹市青草湖靈隱寺、高雄市彌陀區南寮清龍宮、高雄市苓雅區過田子意誠堂。有放孔明燈習俗的新北市平溪區，於2011年從成都武侯祠取得一尊孔明神像，並且計畫要在當地建造孔明廟。

臺灣陪祀諸葛亮的廟宇則包括台北市士林區芝山岩惠濟宮、北投區行天宮、新北市三峽區白雞行修宮、桃園市大溪區劉備廟、雲林縣元長鄉鹿寮保勝宮、臺南市永康區鹽行禹帝宮等。

File:Chengdu Wuhou ci.jpg|四川成都武侯祠

File:WuHou 4.JPG|河南南陽武侯祠

File:Baidicheng Wu hou ci.jpg|白帝城武侯祠

評價

諸葛亮是一位非常傑出的政治家，軍事家與發明家，在三方面均有極大的貢獻。

蜀漢統治地區的百姓對諸葛亮極為追思，三國志稱為「至今梁、益之民，咨述亮者，言猶在耳，雖甘棠之詠召公，鄭人之歌子產，無以遠譬也。」即使是在諸葛亮去世之後，「蜀人追思亮，咸愛其才敏。每朝廷有一善政佳事，雖非瞻所建倡，百姓皆傳相告曰：葛侯之所為也」。可以看出，諸葛亮因為其出色的治國才能與高尚的品德，十分受百姓愛戴，直到唐朝時（諸葛亮之後五百餘年），蜀地尚有民眾自發祭祀諸葛亮的習慣。

當時的人對諸葛亮評價極高，即使是敵國曹魏。諸葛亮在蜀漢廣受官員與百姓的尊敬與愛戴，譙周並不贊同北伐，但諸葛亮去世後卻首先前去弔喪表示哀悼。季漢輔臣贊稱讚其「忠武英高，獻策江濱，攀吳連蜀，權我世真。受遺阿衡，整武齊文，敷陳德教，理物移風，賢愚競心，僉忘其身。誕靜邦內，四裔以綏，屢臨敵庭，實耀其威，研精大國，恨于未夷。」諸葛亮去世後，朝廷並未立廟，但百姓每年均會自發拜祭諸葛亮。敵國方面，賈詡評價諸葛亮善治國，傅幹評價為「諸葛亮達治知變，正而有謀」。諸葛亮死，蜀軍退卻後，司馬懿行經諸葛亮營帳堡壘處所，說：「天下奇才呀！」。在魏滅蜀之戰，鐘會入漢中時，仍令士兵不得于諸葛亮墓旁樵採，還親往祭拜。東吳人士亦對諸葛亮有極高評價，張儼在默記里將諸葛亮與司馬懿這二位當世俊傑作了詳盡對比，論述道：「諸葛、司馬二相，遭值際會，託身明主，或收功于蜀漢，或冊名于伊、洛……歷前世以觀近事，二相優劣，可得而詳也。孔明起巴、蜀之地，蹈一州之土，方之大國，其戰士人民，蓋有九分之一也，而以貢贄大吳，抗對北敵，至使耕戰有伍，刑法整齊，提步卒數萬，長驅祁山，慨然有飲馬河、洛之志。仲達據天下十倍之地，仗兼併之眾，據牢城，擁精銳，無禽敵之意，務自保全而已，使彼孔明自來自去。若此人不亡，終其志意，連年運思，刻日興謀，則涼、雍不解甲，中國不釋鞍，勝負之勢，亦已決矣。昔子產治鄭，諸侯不敢加兵，蜀相其近之矣。方之司馬，不亦優乎！」

後時代的絕大多數統治者，文臣與武將都對諸葛亮有著極高的評價，尤其是其傑出的政治，軍事才能和高尚的品格。唐詩與宋詩中有大量讚頌諸葛亮的詩篇。杜甫的「出師未捷身先死，長使英雄淚滿襟」「功蓋三分國，名成八陣圖」，李商隱的「猿鳥猶疑畏簡書，風雲常為護儲胥」，陸游的「出師一表真名世，千載誰堪伯仲間」等皆為千古名句。諸葛亮在社會各個階級都廣受歡迎。前蜀高祖王建于永平二年（912年）封諸葛亮為安國王。

少數人也對他的北伐提出過批評，認為北伐未能取得重大戰果，是不順應天命的行為。比如司馬光評價為「諸葛亮自負才能，逆天而行，自取敗之也」。

傳說及俚語

諸葛亮在四川地區深得民心，四川很多地方的居民一直到近現代仍有頭戴白布的習慣，據說就是為諸葛亮戴孝，歷時一千多年。

在高承《事物紀原》中，有記載諸葛亮南征班師時，正遇風起，不能渡河，孟獲說這是猖神作怪，只要用人頭和牲畜祭祀，便會風平浪靜。但諸葛亮覺得用人頭太殘忍了，於是用麵粉搓成人頭狀，混上牛、羊等肉去替代，名為饅頭。（又有一說，饅頭乃張飛征蜀時發明）。

另外，相傳諸葛亮擔任軍師中郎將時，因解決糧食問題，向百姓詢問了當時名為「蔓菁」的野菜的種植方法，並下令士兵開始種蔓菁，補充軍糧，後世便把這菜稱為諸葛菜。

亦有傳說指諸葛亮另有一兒諸葛懷與一女諸葛果。在晉朝時曾召錄漢代名臣之後裔到京城任職，但諸葛懷推辭，自給自足，在家終老。而諸葛果則相傳在成都西南乘煙觀修行和成仙升天。

在山區的居民過去要放送消息，會施放孔明燈，相傳是諸葛亮傳下來的。在雲南（三國時南中之地），佧佤族有傳說指諸葛亮曾教他們祖先蓋房子、編竹籮；傣族傳說指當地的佛寺大殿屋頂就是仿照諸葛亮的帽子建造的，又有說諸葛亮南征時發明一種銅鼓，稱為「諸葛鼓」，白天做飯，晚間可敲它作警報。而現有許多俚語，如「事後孔明」，意思是等到事情過後才發表各種高論，自以為先知；也有「三個臭皮匠，勝個諸葛亮」，意思是指形容集體智慧的偉大。

另有「死諸葛嚇走活仲達」之說，大意是說，諸葛亮在五丈原病逝之後，姜維、楊儀等人怕司馬懿探知實情，密令軍士雕塑諸葛亮的木雕像，於退兵時連同前鋒軍撤退。司馬懿等人早就懷疑諸葛亮已逝世，但不敢輕舉妄動，隨軍出來卻看到諸葛亮（木雕像）仍好端端的坐在車上，大吃一驚，急令軍隊回營，蜀漢軍因此平安的回到成都，並將盛放諸葛亮屍體的棺木一同送回，由蜀後主劉禪親葬之。事後司馬懿等人聽到諸葛亮終於死之後，才放下這心，專心準備征蜀之事。

諸葛神數相傳為漢諸武侯所作，共有三百八十四籤，以大易三百八十四爻之數占，籤文長短不一，寓意深遠，判斷吉凶，相當準繩。

諸葛神數又有稱之為諸葛神算、諸葛神籤、諸葛靈籤、臥龍神數、孔明神算、孔明大易神數、未來預知術。

諸葛亮在劉備病逝後為了扶持年幼的劉禪繼續執政，遂於建興元年（公元223年）下發《教與軍師長史參軍掾屬》及《又教與軍師長史參軍掾屬》兩篇奏文，以供部屬積極批評其秉政時的缺點與失誤。當中「夫參署者，集眾思，廣忠益也。」乃是現今常用成語「集思廣益」的來源。

民間傳說，明朝開國功臣的劉伯溫的前世正是三國時代蜀國軍師——諸葛亮。

民間藝術與流行文化

小說《三國演義》結合過往傳奇、野史、戲曲、地方世代說法、被官史避諱說法、說部話本中諸葛亮的故事，他被描寫成智慧的化身，和《三國志》中的諸葛亮很不一樣，而且事蹟亦有所出入，歷史上諸葛亮用兵的功績不如他治理蜀國的政績耀眼，但這些都成為家喻戶曉故事。如火燒博望與新野時，諸葛亮尚未出仕劉備；三顧茅廬、七擒孟獲、六出祁山（實際是五次北伐，只有第一、四次出祁山）等都經過誇張和劇情創造；舌戰群儒、草船借箭、借東風、智激周瑜、三氣周瑜、空城計等則是虛構或將劇情移花接木。

亦有部分小說將諸葛亮描寫成為一個道士，如七星壇祭風、延壽七星燈等，使得魯迅在《中國小說史略》中批古本三國志通俗演義中的諸葛亮為「狀諸葛之多智而近妖」，將一貫有法家風範的諸葛亮神化成了算無遺策、通天曉地、精通軍事、運籌帷幄、智慧超卓入聖之完美人物。

此外，在現代，孔明因為影視動漫中部份情節，像是「諸葛亮大罵王朗」一段的情節以及橫山光輝的漫畫「三國志」當中的「孔明的陷阱」（孔明の罠）等，而成為常見的惡搞素材，並常和「鬼畜」扯上關係；而孔明也因此被某些人給視為網路紅人。

戲劇

在中國傳統戲曲中，諸葛亮一角為老生，身穿印有八卦圖案的外袍，手持羽扇。而劇目多來自《三國演義》，參與的劇目有《諸葛亮弔孝》、《收姜維》、《群英會》、《借東風》、《三氣周瑜》、《空城計》、《戰馬超》（又名《兩將軍》）等。

在戲劇中扮演過諸葛亮的人不計其數。其中比較著名的有：

• 越調表演藝術家申鳳梅，在劇壇中有「活諸葛」之稱。

• 京劇老生馬連良、譚富英、于魁智。

• 葉青在歌仔戲《孔明三氣周瑜》中扮演諸葛亮。

日本也有音樂劇

• 《孔明最後の一夜》（在大阪的新歌舞伎座演出，由諏訪部順一主演）

電影

電視劇

電子遊戲

• 《三國志》系列（光榮公司開發）

• 《全面戰爭：三國》（Creative Assembly開發）

• 《吞食天地》系列

• 《軒轅劍外傳 漢之雲》（大宇資訊開發）本遊戲從不同視角解析了諸葛亮

• 《三國志英傑傳》系列（光榮公司開發）

• 《真三國無雙系列》（光榮公司開發，小野阪昌也配音）

• 《決戰》系列（光榮公司開發）

• 《三國群英傳系列》（宇峻奧汀開發）

• 《三國群俠傳》（東方演算（前身為河洛工作室）開發）

• 《臥龍傳》

• 《幻想三國誌系列》（宇峻奧汀開發）

• 《三國志大戰》（世嘉開發）

• 《三國大戰SMASH》

• 《夢三國》

• 《Fate/Grand Order》——手機遊戲，附身於艾爾梅洛伊二世（韋伯·維爾維特）並以「Caster」的職階登場，寶具為「石兵八陣」

• 《王者榮耀》

• 《三國殺Online》

• 《爐石傳說》——作為諸葛亮安度因英雄皮膚出現

桌上遊戲

• 《三國殺》

動畫

• 《三國志》

• 《三國演義》

• 《一騎當千》—諸葛亮孔明

• 《戀姬無雙》系列—諸葛亮孔明、真名朱里

• 《SD高達三國傳BraveBattleWarriors》、《BB戰士三國傳 英雄激突編》、《BB戰士三國傳 戰神決鬥編》—孔明靈．格斯/天翔龍孔明

• 《SD高達世界 三國創傑傳》-諸葛亮 自由高達

• 《鋼鐵三國志》—諸葛亮

• 《橫山光輝三國志》—諸葛亮

• 《閃電十一人GO》—諸葛孔明

漫畫

• 《蒼天航路》- 王欣太）

• 《火鳳燎原》 - 陳某:設定為「水鏡八奇」之七奇，於董卓火燒洛陽篇登場，在關東軍平陽軍營遇上司馬懿並合作破解「城下一聚」之意，同司馬懿一樣預測董卓會撤離洛陽，在曹操「奉孝殺戮」時再和司馬懿聯手打敗同門四師兄郭嘉，後來隱居隆中，謀劃於赤壁之戰前後取得荊南四郡和四川，更利用隆冬季節及荊州十一年一遇的大水，使華容道之曹軍不戰自潰，並生擒曹操、曹洪、程昱，後在司馬懿之共識下釋放。

• 《一騎當千》— 鹽崎雄二

• 《橫山光輝三國志》— 橫山光輝

• 《吞食天地》— 本宮宏志

• 《九九八十一》—米二

• 《天子傳奇7三國驕皇》:

• 《》：描述孔明死後穿越到21世紀日本的搞笑故事。四葉夕ト作，小川亮畫

• 《孔明のヨメ》- 杜康潤

• 《諸葛孔明 時の地平線》- 諏訪緑

音樂

• 《出師表》- 清漪、安九

• 《有為歌》，又名《臥龍吟》電視劇《三國演義》的一首插曲 - 由王健作詞、谷建芬作曲、戴建明演唱、李一丁配樂

• 《哭諸葛》，電視劇《三國演義》的一首插曲 - 由王健作詞、谷建芬作曲、劉歡演唱。

詩歌

• 《蜀相》- 杜甫

• 《詠懐古跡》（其五）- 杜甫

• 《八陣圖》- 杜甫

• 《書憤》- 陸游

• 《籌筆驛》- 羅隱

• 《五丈原』- 胡曾

• 《司馬仲達、武侯の営址を観る図に題す》- 頼山陽

• 《武侯の墓》- 竹添進一郎

• 《肖像自贊》- 吉田松陰

• 《星落秋風五丈原》- 土井晩翠

對聯

• 能攻心則反側自消，自古知兵非好戰；不審勢即寬嚴皆誤，後來治蜀要深思（清人趙藩題成都武侯祠）

• 兩表酬三顧；一對足千秋 （游俊題成都武侯祠）

• 一生惟謹慎，七擒南渡，六出北征，何期五丈崩摧，九代志能遵教受；十倍荷褒榮，八陣名成，兩川福被，所合四方精銳，三分功定屬元勛（成都武侯祠）

• 心在朝廷原無論先主後主；名高天下何必辨襄陽南陽（顧嘉蘅題臥龍崗武侯祠）

• 個個孔明諸葛亮；家家居易百樂添（茶聯集大成者《百茶聯》作者在天題）

• 成大事以小心，一生謹慎；仰風流於遺蹟，萬古清高（馮玉祥題勉縣武侯祠）

• 心遠地自偏，問草廬是耶非耶，此處想見當日；江流石不轉，睹秋水來者逝者，伊人宛在中央（范鶴年題石鼓書院武侯祠）

相關連結

• 對諸葛亮的評價

• 多處有名為臥龍鎮、臥龍區、臥龍街道的地名，四川省汶川縣有臥龍國家級自然保護區。

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" (鳳雛).

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 (司隸校尉) 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 (勸斈從事), 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 (諸葛豐), served as the Colonel-Director of Retainers during the reign of Emperor Yuan of the Han dynasty. Zhuge Liang's father, Zhuge Gui (諸葛珪), 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 (諸葛均), 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 (諸葛懷), 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 (諸葛果), but her existence is disputed by historians.

Zhuge Qiao's son, Zhuge Pan (諸葛攀), 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 (諸葛京), moved to Hedong Commandery in 264 with Zhuge Pan's son, Zhuge Xian (諸葛顯), and came to serve the Jin dynasty later. The youngest was Zhuge Zhi (諸葛質).

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" (漢賊不兩立 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" (鞠躬盡瘁，死而後已 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." (大夢誰先覺？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" (非淡泊無以明志，非寧靜無以致遠 ), 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.