<b>Early life</b>
Zhuge Liang was born in Yangdu County (??) in Langya Commandery (??), at present-day Yinan County (??), Shandong Province. He was the second of three brothers and was orphaned early on; his mother died when he was nine, and his father when he was twelve. His uncle raised him and his siblings.[3] When Cao Cao invaded Shandong in 195, his family was forced to flee south, and his uncle soon died of illness.

Although both his sisters married into important families with numerous connections in the area, for ten years he resided in Longzhong Commandery (??; in present-day Hubei province)[3] with his brothers Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Jun (???) in a simple peasant life – farming by day and studying by night. He developed friendships among the local intelligentsia. His reputation soon grew, and he was named the Crouching (or Sleeping) Dragon, an indication that he was viewed as wise among his peers in many areas. Meanwhile, he married the daughter of another renowned scholar Huang Chengyan, whose wife was the sister of Lady Cai, wife of the warlord Liu Biao, and Cai Mao, one of Liu Biao's most powerful generals. Zhuge Liang's wife's name is rumored to be Huang Yueying. The Huang family was also connected to several other well established clans in the region.


<b>Rise to prominence</b>
The warlord Liu Bei harbored in the neighboring city Xiangyang under his distant relative and the governor of the Jing Province (??), Liu Biao. Zhuge Liang joined Liu Bei in 207 only after Liu Bei visited him in person three times.[1] Zhuge Liang soon presented his famous Longzhong Plan before Liu Bei, travelled in person to Eastern Wu and formed an alliance with its ruler, Sun Quan.

In the Battle of Red Cliffs of 208, the allied armies of Liu Bei and Sun Quan defeated Cao Cao, thus enabling Liu Bei to establish his own territories. The historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms described that Zhuge Liang called forth a southeastern wind to sweep Huang Gai's fire-attack throughout Cao Cao's ships. In reality, however, it was the Wu officer Zhou Yu who masterminded the fire attack. In folklore, the wind is attributed to either Zhuge Liang's magic or his ability to predict the weather.

The union with Sun Quan broke down when Wu general Lü Meng invaded the Jing Province in 219 when its defender Guan Yu was at the Battle of Fancheng. Guan Yu was eventually captured by the Wu forces and was decapitated. Liu Bei, infuriated with the execution of his longtime comrade, ignored all arguments of his well-meaning subjects and turned on Eastern Wu, leading a huge army to seek revenge. He was defeated in the ensuing Battle of Yiling by Lu Xun and died in the lone fortress of Baidicheng after a hasty and humiliating retreat to his own borders. After the death of Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang became the chancellor of Shu Han under Liu Shan, Liu Bei's son, and renewed the alliance with Sun Quan.[3] Despite Liu Bei's request that Zhuge Liang assume control of Shu Han should his son prove to be an incompetent leader, Zhuge did not, serving Liu Shan unwaveringly.


<b>The Southern Expedition</b>
During his reign as regent, Zhuge Liang pursued the goal of restoring the Han Dynasty, which, in Shu's point of view, was usurped by Cao Wei. Zhuge Liang felt that in order to attack Wei he would first have to unify Shu Han completely.[4] If he fought in the north while the Nanman people rebelled in the south, then the Nanman people would march further and perhaps even press into areas surrounding the capital. So rather than embarking on a northern invasion, Zhuge Liang led an army to pacify the south first.

Ma Su, brother of Ma Liang, proposed the plan that Zhuge Liang should work toward getting the tribes to join him rather than trying to subdue all of them and he took this plan. Zhuge Liang defeated the rebel leader, Meng Huo, seven different times, but released him each time in order to achieve his genuine surrender.[5]

Finally, Meng Huo agreed to join Zhuge Liang in a genuine acquiescence, and thus Zhuge Liang appointed Meng Huo governor of the region, so he could govern it as he already had, keeping the populace content, and keeping the southern Shu border secure to allow for the future Northern Expeditions.[4] Zhuge Liang also obtained resources from the south, and after this, Zhuge Liang made his moves north.


<b>The Northern Expeditions</b>
From 228 until his death in 234, Zhuge Liang launched five Northern Expeditions against Cao Wei, but all except one failed, usually because his food supplies ran out rather than failure on the battlefield. His only permanent gain was the addition of the Wudu (??) and Yinping (??) prefectures as well as relocating Wei citizens to Shu on occasion.[6]

During his first Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang persuaded Jiang Wei, a general of Cao Wei, to defect to Shu Han.[6] Jiang Wei would become one of the prominent Shu generals, and inheritor of Zhuge Liang's ideals. On the fifth expedition, he died of overwork and illness in an army camp in the Battle of Wuzhang Plains at the age of 54. At Zhuge's recommendation, Liu Shan commissioned Jiang Wan to succeed him as Regent.[7]

In the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang attempted to extend his lifespan by twelve years, but failed when the ceremony was disturbed when Wei Yan rushed in, announcing the arrival of the Wei army. The novel also related a story of Zhuge Liang passing the 24 Volumes on Military Strategy (??????) to Jiang Wei at the eve of his death.