Who they were
Liu Bei recruited him in 207 with the celebrated “three visits to the thatched cottage”. His Longzhong Plan proposed allying with Sun Quan and taking Sichuan.
What they did
As chancellor under Liu Bei’s successor Liu Shan, he ran the Shu state and led repeated northern expeditions against Wei from 228 to 234, dying on campaign at the Wuzhang Plains. His memorial “Chushibiao” is a classic of loyalty.
Legacy
His image as the wise and utterly devoted minister endured through the centuries, magnified further by the 14th-century novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.