Historical sources

The authoritative historical source on Zhuge Liang's life is his biography in Volume 35 of the Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi), which was written by the historian Chen Shou (233–297) in the third century. Chen Shou had worked in the historical offices of the Shu Han government, and had previously collated Zhuge Liang's writings into an anthology. The scope of this collection may have been limited to official government documents.

In the fifth century, the Liu Song dynasty historian Pei Songzhi (372–451) annotated the Sanguozhi by incorporating information from other sources to Chen Shou's original work and adding his personal commentary. Some alternative texts used in the annotations to the Sanguozhi include:

• Xiandi Chunqiu (獻帝春秋; Chronicles of Emperor Xian) by Yuan Wei (袁暐)

• Han Jin Chunqiu (漢晉春秋; Chronicles of Han and Jin) by Xi Zuochi

• Xiangyang Ji (襄陽記; Records of Xiangyang) by Xi Zuochi

• Wei Shu (魏書; Book of Wei) by Wang Chen, Xun Yi and Ruan Ji

• Weilüe (魏略; Brief History of Wei) by Yu Huan

• Wei Shi Chunqiu (魏氏春秋; Chronicles of the Ruling Family of Wei) by Sun Sheng

• Jin Yang Qiu (晉陽秋) by Sun Sheng

• Yuanzi (袁子) by Yuan Zhun (袁準)

• Shu Ji (蜀記; Records of Shu) by Wang Yin (王隱)

• Wu Shu (吳書; Book of Wu) by Wei Zhao

• Lingling Xianxian Zhuan (零陵先賢傳; Biographies of the Departed Worthies of Lingling)

During the Qing dynasty, the historian Zhang Zhu (張澍; 1776–1847) compiled and arranged multiple pieces of literature on Zhuge Liang into an 11-volume collection called Zhuge Zhongwu Hou Wen Ji (諸葛忠武侯文集; Literature Collection of Marquis Zhuge Zhongwu). The collection contained, among other things, a preface by Zhang Zhu, Zhuge Liang's biography from the Sanguozhi, Zhuge Liang's writings, imperial edicts issued to Zhuge Liang, and appraisals of Zhuge Liang. In 1960, Duan Xizhong (段熙仲) and Wen Xuchu (聞旭初) annotated and reorganised Zhang Zhu's original collection, and had it published by the Zhonghua Book Company under the title Zhuge Liang Ji (諸葛亮集; Collected Works of Zhuge Liang).

Family background

Zhuge Liang's ancestral home was in Yangdu County (陽都縣), Langya Commandery (琅邪郡), near present-day Yinan County or Yishui County, Shandong. There are two other accounts of his ancestral origins in the Wu Shu (吳書) and Fengsu Tongyi (風俗同意).

The Wu Shu recorded that his ancestral family name was actually Ge (葛) and his ancestors were originally from Zhu County (諸縣; southwest of present-day Zhucheng, Shandong) before they settled in Yangdu County. As there was already another Ge family in Yangdu County before they came, the locals referred to the newcomers as the Zhuge – combining Zhu (County) and Ge – to distinguish them from the other Ge family. Over time, Zhuge Liang's ancestors adopted Zhuge as their family name.

The Fengsu Tongyi recorded that Zhuge Liang's ancestor was Ge Ying (:zh:葛嬰), who served under Chen Sheng, a rebel leader who led the Dazexiang uprising against the Qin dynasty. Chen Sheng later executed Ge Ying. During the early Western Han dynasty, Emperor Wen considered that Ge Ying was unjustly put to death so he enfeoffed Ge Ying's grandson as the Marquis of Zhu County to honour Ge Ying. Over time, Ge Ying's descendants adopted Zhuge as their family name by combining Zhu (County) and Ge.

The earliest known ancestor of Zhuge Liang who bore the family name Zhuge was Zhuge Feng (諸葛豐), a Western Han dynasty official who served as Colonel-Director of Retainers (司隷校尉) under Emperor Yuan (48–33 BCE). Zhuge Liang's father, Zhuge Gui (諸葛珪), whose courtesy name was Jungong (君貢), served as an assistant official in Taishan Commandery (泰山郡; around present-day Tai'an, Shandong) during the late Eastern Han dynasty under Emperor Ling (168–189 CE).

Zhuge Liang had an elder brother, a younger brother, and two elder sisters. His elder brother was Zhuge Jin and his younger brother was Zhuge Jun (諸葛均). The elder of Zhuge Liang's two sisters married Kuai Qi (蒯祺), a nephew of Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang. While the younger one married Pang Shanmin (龐山民), a cousin of Pang Tong.

Physical appearance

The only known historical description of Zhuge Liang's physical appearance comes from the Sanguozhi, which recorded that he was eight chi tall (approximately ) with "a magnificent appearance" that astonished his contemporaries.

In later sources, it is said that during the northern expedition, Zhuge Liang commanded the three armies with a white feather fan while wearing a headscarf made of kudzu cloth and riding on a plain chariot.

The Moss Roberts' translation of the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang's appearance is described as follows: The original Chinese text in the novel mentions that Zhuge Liang wore a guanjin (綸巾; a type of headscarf or hat) and a hechang (鶴氅; a robe commonly worn by Daoists).

Early life (181–207)

As Zhuge Liang was orphaned at a young age, he was raised by Zhuge Xuan, one of his father's cousins. He accompanied Zhuge Xuan to Yuzhang Commandery (豫章郡; around present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi) when the latter was appointed as the Commandery Administrator sometime in the mid-190s. Later, after the Han central government designated Zhu Hao as the new Administrator, Zhuge Xuan left Yuzhang Commandery and brought Zhuge Liang and Zhuge Jun to Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan) to live with the provincial governor Liu Biao, whom he was an old friend of.

After Zhuge Xuan died, Zhuge Liang moved to Deng County (鄧縣) in Nanyang Commandery (南陽郡), and settled down in Longzhong (隆中), an area about 20 li west of Xiangyang, the capital of Jing Province. In Longzhong, he lived the life of a peasant and spent his free time reading and travelling. He enjoyed reciting Liangfu Yin (梁父吟), a folk song popular in the area around his ancestral home in Shandong. Zhuge Liang maintained close relations with well-known intellectuals such as Sima Hui, Pang Degong and Huang Chengyan. However, other local literati scorned him when they learnt that he often compared himself to Guan Zhong and Yue Yi. Only a few, namely Cui Zhouping (崔州平), Xu Shu, Shi Tao (石韜) and Meng Jian (孟建), got along well with him and agreed that he was comparable to Guan Zhong and Yue Yi.

Between the late 190s and early 200s, Zhuge Liang often studied and travelled with Xu Shu, Shi Guangyuan and Meng Gongwei. Whenever he read, he only picked up the key points and moved on. His three friends, in contrast, focused on details and sometimes even memorised them. Throughout his time in Longzhong, he led a carefree life and took his time to do things. He often sat down with his arms around his knees, sighing to himself from time to time while in deep thought. He once told his three friends that they would become commandery administrators or provincial governors if they served in the government. When they asked him what his ambition was, he only laughed and did not give an answer.

Meeting with Liu Bei (207–208)

Recommendation from Sima Hui and Xu Shu

At the time, the warlord Liu Bei was living in Xinye County as a guest of Liu Biao, the governor of Jing Province. During this time, he met the hermit Sima Hui and consulted him on the affairs of their time. Sima Hui said, "What do Confucian academics and common scholars know about current affairs? Only outstanding talents have the best understanding of current affairs. In this region, there are two of such talents: Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix." When Liu Bei asked him who "Crouching Dragon" and "Young Phoenix" were, Sima Hui replied, "Zhuge Kongming and Pang Shiyuan." Xu Shu, whom Liu Bei regarded highly, also recommended Zhuge Liang by saying, "Zhuge Kongming is the Crouching Dragon. General, don't you want to meet him?" When Liu Bei asked Xu Shu if he could bring Zhuge Liang to meet him, Xu Shu advised him to personally visit Zhuge Liang instead of asking Zhuge Liang to come to him.

Liu Beis three visits

The Sanguozhi recorded in just one sentence that Liu Bei visited Zhuge Liang three times and met him. The Zizhi Tongjian recorded that the meeting(s) took place in 207. Chen Shou also mentions the three visits in his biographical sketch of Zhuge Liang appended to the memoirs Chen Shou compiled.

During their private meeting, Liu Bei sought Zhuge Liang's advice on how to compete with the powerful warlords and revive the declining Han dynasty. In response, Zhuge Liang presented his Longzhong Plan, which envisaged a tripartite division of China between the domains of Liu Bei, Cao Cao and Sun Quan. According to the plan, Liu Bei should seize control of Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan) and Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) from their respective governors, Liu Biao and Liu Zhang, and establish a solid foothold in southern and western China. Liu Bei would then form an alliance with Sun Quan, who ruled eastern China, and wage war against Cao Cao, who controlled northern China and the political centre of the Han dynasty in central China.

After the meeting, Liu Bei became very close to Zhuge Liang and spent much time with him – much to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's chagrin. Liu Bei explained to them, "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.

Formation of the Sun–Liu alliance (208–209)

Lius evacuation to Xiakou

In the autumn of 208, shortly before Liu Biao's death, Cao Cao led his forces on a southern campaign to conquer Jing Province. When Cao Cao's forces reached Jing Province's capital Xiangyang, Liu Biao's younger son Liu Cong, who had succeeded his father as the Governor of Jing Province, surrendered to Cao Cao. Upon receiving news of Liu Cong's surrender, Liu Bei immediately evacuated his base in Fancheng (樊城; present-day Fancheng District, Xiangyang, Hubei) and led thousands of his followers, both military and civilian, on a journey to Xiakou (夏口; in present-day Wuhan, Hubei) to join Liu Biao's elder son Liu Qi. Along the way, Cao Cao's forces caught up with them and defeated them at the Battle of Changban. Along with only a handful of close followers, Liu Bei managed to escape, and upon reaching Xiakou sent Zhuge Liang as his representative to meet Sun Quan and discuss an alliance against Cao Cao.

Meeting with Sun Quan

Around the time, Sun Quan was in Chaisang (柴桑; southwest of present-day Jiujiang, Jiangxi) and had been closely observing the developments in Jing Province. When Zhuge Liang met Sun Quan, he said:

When Sun Quan asked him why Liu Bei did not surrender to Cao Cao, Zhuge Liang replied:

An enraged Sun Quan then said that he would not allow anyone but himself to rule the territories and people in Wu. When he asked Zhuge Liang how Liu Bei could expect to resist Cao Cao, given his recent defeat at Changban, Zhuge Liang replied:

Zhang Zhaos recommendation

Yuan Zhun's Yuanzi recorded that when Zhuge Liang was in Chaisang, Zhang Zhao recommended he switch allegiance from Liu Bei to Sun Quan, but Zhuge Liang refused. When Zhang Zhao asked him why, Zhuge Liang said, "Quan is a good leader of men. However, from what I observe about his character, he will make good use of my abilities but not to their fullest extent. That is why I don't want to serve under him."

Pei Songzhi noted how differently this episode portrayed Zhuge Liang's special and sui generis relationship with Liu Bei, and pointed out that his loyalty to Liu Bei was so firm that nothing would make him switch allegiance to Sun Quan— not even if Sun Quan could make full use of his abilities. Pei Songzhi then cited a similar example of how Guan Yu, during his brief service under Cao Cao, maintained unwavering loyalty to Liu Bei even though Cao Cao treated him very generously.

Battle of Red Cliffs

After initial advisement against Zhuge Liang's plan for a Sun–Liu alliance, further consultation with his generals Lu Su and Zhou Yu convinced Sun Quan to move forward with it. He ordered Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, Lu Su and others to lead 30,000 troops to join Liu Bei in resisting Cao Cao's invasion. In the winter of 208, the allied forces 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 (鄴; in present-day Handan, Hebei) after his defeat.

Service in southern Jing Province (209–211)

Following the Battle of Red Cliffs, Liu Bei nominated Liu Qi as the Inspector of Jing Province and sent his forces to conquer the four commanderies in southern Jing Province: Wuling (武陵; near Changde, Hunan), Changsha, Guiyang (桂陽; near Chenzhou, Hunan) and Lingling (零陵; near Yongzhou, Hunan). The administrators of the four commanderies surrendered to him. After Liu Qi died in 209, acting on Lu Su's advice, Sun Quan agreed to "lend" the territories in Jing Province to Liu Bei and nominate him to succeed Liu Qi as the Governor of Jing Province.

After assuming governorship of southern Jing Province in 209, Liu Bei appointed Zhuge Liang as Military Adviser General of the Household (軍師中郎將) and put him in charge of collecting tax revenue from Lingling, Guiyang and Changsha commanderies for his military forces. During this time, Zhuge Liang was stationed in Linzheng County (臨烝縣; present-day Hengyang, Hunan) in Changsha Commandery.

Conquest of Yi Province (211–214)

In 211, Liu Zhang, the Governor of Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing), invited Liu Bei to lead troops into Yi Province to assist him in countering his rival, Zhang Lu, in Hanzhong Commandery. While Liu Bei was away in Jing Province, Zhuge Liang remained behind with Guan Yu and others to guard Liu Bei's territories in Jing Province.

When Liu Bei decided to take over Liu Zhang's lands in 212, Zhuge Liang, along with Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and others, led troops from Jing Province into Yi Province to reinforce Liu Bei. They conquered many counties and commanderies along the way and eventually joined Liu Bei in surrounding Chengdu, the capital of Yi Province.

After Liu Zhang surrendered and relinquished control over Yi Province to Liu Bei in 214, Zhuge Liang was appointed as Military Adviser General (軍師將軍) and made a staff member of the office of the General of the Left (左將軍), the nominal appointment Liu Bei held at the time. Whenever Liu Bei went on military campaigns, Zhuge Liang remained behind to guard Chengdu and ensured that the city was well-stocked with supplies and well-defended.

Lius coronation (214–223)

In late 220, some months after Cao Cao's death, his son and successor Cao Pi usurped the throne from Emperor Xian, ended the Eastern Han dynasty, and established the state of Wei with himself as the new emperor. This event marks the beginning of the Three Kingdoms period in China. In the following year, Liu Bei's followers urged him to declare himself emperor to challenge Cao Pi's legitimacy, but Liu Bei refused.

Zhuge said:

In 221, Liu Bei declared himself emperor and established the state of Shu Han. He appointed Zhuge Liang as his Imperial Chancellor (丞相) as follows:

Zhuge Liang also held the additional appointment of Lu Shangshu Shi (錄尚書事), the Supervisor of the Imperial Secretariat, and had full acting imperial authority. After Zhang Fei's death in mid 221, Zhuge Liang took on an additional appointment as Colonel-Director of Retainers (司隷校尉), which Zhang Fei previously held.

Appointment as regent (223)

Following his defeat at the Battle of Xiaoting in 222, Liu Bei retreated to Yong'an County (永安縣; present-day Fengjie County, Chongqing) and became critically ill in early 223. He summoned Zhuge from Chengdu, and told him: "Sir, you're ten times more talented than Cao Pi. You'll definitely bring peace to the Empire and accomplish our great mission. If my heir can be assisted, then assist him; if he turns out to be incompetent, then you may make your own decision."

With tears in his eyes, Zhuge replied: "I'll do my utmost and serve with unwavering loyalty until death!" Liu Bei then instructed Liu Shan, his son and heir apparent, as follows: "When you work together with the Imperial Chancellor, you must treat him like your father." Liu Bei then named Zhuge Liang as regent for Liu Shan, and Li Yan as deputy regent. He died on 10 June 223 in Yong'an County.

The last command of Liu Bei to Zhuge Liang, translated literally above as "you may make your own decision" (君可自取), is ambiguous. Chen Shou commented that Liu Bei wholeheartly trusted Zhuge Liang and was permitting him to assume leadership. Yi Zhongtian in his "Analysis of the Three Kingdoms" presented several interpretations of Liu Bei's message. Some argued that Liu Bei said that only to test Zhuge Liang's loyalty as his brother, Zhuge Jin, was working for Eastern Wu. Others commented that the ambiguous phrase 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.

Following Liu Bei's death, Liu Shan ascended the throne and succeeded his father as the emperor of Shu. After his coronation, Liu Shan enfeoffed Zhuge Liang as the Marquis of Wu District (武鄉侯) and created a personal staff to assist him. Later, Zhuge Liang assumed an additional appointment as Governor of Yi Province (益州牧). He personally oversaw all state affairs and made the final call on all policy decisions.

When rebellions broke out in the Nanzhong region of southern Shu, Zhuge Liang did not immediately take military action to suppress the rebellions because he thought it was not appropriate to do so in light of the recent death of Liu Bei. In late 223, he sent Deng Zhi as Shu's ambassador to Eastern Wu to make peace and rebuild the Wu–Shu alliance against Cao Wei.

During his regency, Zhuge Liang set Shu's objective as the restoration of the Han dynasty, continuing Liu Bei's objective. He appointed large numbers of local elites as low level officials, improving relations between Liu Bei's conquest bureaucracy, local elites, and the people of Shu.

Refusing to submit to Wei (223–225)

Shortly after he became regent, he received letters from various Wei officials – including Hua Xin, Wang Lang, Chen Qun, Xu Zhi (許芝) and Zhuge Zhang (諸葛璋) – asking him to surrender to Wei and make Shu a vassal state under Wei. Instead of responding to any of the letters, he wrote a memo, called Zheng Yi (正議; "Exhortation to Correct Action"), as follows:

Southern Campaign (225–227)

Zhuge Liang wanted to personally lead the Shu forces on a southern campaign to the Nanzhong region to suppress the rebellions which erupted in 223, as well as to pacify and gain the allegiance of the Nanman tribes living there. Wang Lian, Zhuge Liang's chief clerk, strongly objected to his boss's participation in the campaign because it was too dangerous. He argued that given Zhuge Liang's important status in Shu, he should not undertake such a risky venture. However, Zhuge Liang insisted on personally leading the campaign as he was worried that none of the Shu generals was competent enough to deal with the rebels on his own. Ma Su, an adviser under Zhuge Liang, suggested that rather than conventional warfare, they focus on psychological warfare, winning the hearts of the people in Nanzhong, so as to prevent rebellions from breaking out again. Zhuge Liang readily accepted Ma Su's advice.

In the spring of 225, Zhuge Liang led the Shu forces on the southern campaign. They defeated the rebel leaders Yong Kai (雍闓), Gao Ding (高定) and Zhu Bao (朱褒), and pacified the three commanderies of Jianning (建寧; around Qujing, Yunnan), Yuexi/Yuesui (越巂; around Xichang, Sichuan) and Zangke (牂柯; around Guiyang or Fuquan, Guizhou). After that, they turned their attention to Meng Huo, a local leader who supported the rebels. Zhuge Liang knew that Meng Huo was a popular and respected figure in Nanzhong among the Nanman and local Han Chinese, so he decided to let Meng Huo live. After capturing Meng Huo in battle, Zhuge Liang showed him around the Shu camp and asked him what he thought. Meng Huo replied, "Before this, I knew nothing about your army, which was why I lost. Now that you have shown me around your camp, I know the conditions of your army and will be able to win easily." Zhuge Liang laughed, released him and allowed him to return for another battle. The same cycle repeated for a total of seven times. On the seventh time, Meng Huo surrendered and told Zhuge Liang, "My lord, against Heaven's might the people of the south will never again rebel." Zhuge Liang then led his forces towards Dian Lake in triumph. The Nanzhong region was basically pacified by the autumn of 225.

Before pulling out all Shu soldiers from the Nanzhong region, Zhuge Liang told Meng Huo and other local leaders that all he required from them was to pay tribute to the Shu government, in the form of gold, silver, oxen, warhorses, etc. He also appointed locals such as Li Hui and Lü Kai to serve as the new commandery administrators, while the local leaders and tribal chiefs were allowed to continue governing their respective peoples and tribes. After the southern campaign, the Shu state became more prosperous as the Nanzhong region became a steady source of funding and supplies for the Shu military. Under Zhuge Liang's direction, the Shu military also started training soldiers, stockpiling weapons and resources, etc., in preparation for an upcoming campaign against their rival Wei.

Northern Expeditions (227–234)

Submitting the Chu Shi Biao

In 227, Zhuge Liang ordered troops from throughout Shu to mobilise and assemble in Hanzhong Commandery in preparation for a large-scale military campaign against Cao Wei. Before leaving, he wrote a memorial, called Chu Shi Biao ("memorial on the case to go to war"), and submitted it to the Liu Shan. Among other things, the memorial contained Zhuge Liang's reasons for the campaign against Wei and his personal advice to Liu Shan on governance issues. After Liu Shan approved, Zhuge Liang ordered the Shu forces to garrison at Mianyang (沔陽; present-day Mian County, Shaanxi).

Tianshui revolts and Battle of Jieting

In the spring of 228, Zhuge Liang ordered Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi to lead a detachment of troops to Ji Valley (箕谷) and pretend to attack Mei County (郿縣; southeast of Fufeng County, Shaanxi) via Xie Valley (斜谷). Their mission was to distract and hold the Wei forces' attention, while Zhuge Liang led the Shu main army to attack Mount Qi (祁山; the mountainous regions around Li County, Gansu). Upon reaching Mount Qi, Zhuge Liang deployed his troops in orderly formations and directed them with clear and strict commands. Three Wei-controlled commanderies – Nan'an (南安; around Longxi County, Gansu), Tianshui, and Anding (安定; around Zhenyuan County, Gansu) – responded to the invasion by defecting to the Shu side. News of the Shu invasion sent shockwaves throughout the Guanzhong region.

The Wei government was stunned when they learnt of the Shu invasion and totally unprepared for it because they had lowered their guard against Shu after Liu Bei's death in 223 and had not heard anything from Shu since then. They were even more fearful and shocked when they heard of the three commanderies' defection. In response to the Shu invasion, Cao Rui moved from his imperial capital at Luoyang to Chang'an to oversee the defences in the Guanzhong region and provide backup. He sent Zhang He to attack Zhuge Liang at Mount Qi, and Cao Zhen to attack Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi at Ji Valley.

Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi lost to Cao Zhen at the battle in Ji Valley. Zhuge Liang had given them command of the weaker soldiers while he led the better troops to attack Mount Qi. Nevertheless, Zhao Yun managed to rally his men into putting up a firm defence as they retreated, thus minimising their losses. In the meantime at Mount Qi, Zhuge Liang had put Ma Su in charge of the vanguard force to engage the enemy. At Jieting (街亭; or Jie Village, east of Qin'an County, Gansu), Ma Su not only went against Zhuge Liang's instructions, but also made the wrong moves, resulting in the Shu vanguard suffering a disastrous defeat at the hands of the Wei forces under Zhang He. Zhang He also seized the opportunity to attack and reclaim the three commanderies for Wei.

Upon learning of the Shu defeats at Ji Valley and Jieting, Zhuge Liang pulled back the Shu forces and retreated to Hanzhong Commandery, where he resettled the few thousand families they captured in the Wei-controlled Xi County (西縣; present-day Li County, Gansu) during the campaign. This happened in the late spring of 228. Zhuge Liang executed Ma Su for disobeying orders and to appease public anger. Afterward, he analysed why the campaign failed and told his subordinates: He also wrote a memorial to Liu Shan, taking full responsibility for the Shu defeats at Jieting and Ji Valley, acknowledging his mistakes and failure in judgment, and requesting to be demoted by three grades as punishment. Liu Shan approved and symbolically demoted him from Imperial Chancellor to General of the Right (右將軍), but allowed him to remain as acting Imperial Chancellor and continue performing the same duties as he did before.

Siege of Chencang

Between late spring and early winter of 228, Zhuge Liang directed his efforts towards reorganising the Shu military, strengthening discipline, and training the troops in preparation for another campaign. During this time, he received news that Shu's ally Wu had defeated Wei at the Battle of Shiting around September 228. From this, he deduced that the Wei defences in the Guanzhong region must be weaker because Wei had mobilised its best troops to the eastern front to fight Wu.

In December 228, Zhuge Liang allegedly wrote a second Chu Shi Biao to Liu Shan to urge war against Wei. However, historians such as Qian Dazhao (錢大昭) have cast doubts on the authenticity of the second Chu Shi Biao and argued that it is falsely attributed to Zhuge Liang. Among other discrepancies, the second Chu Shi Biao differs sharply from the first Chu Shi Biao in tone, and already mentions Zhao Yun's death when the Sanguozhi recorded that he died in 229.

In the winter of 228–229, Zhuge Liang launched the second Northern Expedition and led the Shu forces out of San Pass (north of the Qin Mountains to the south of Baoji, Shaanxi) to attack the Wei fortress at Chencang (陳倉; east of Baoji). Before the campaign, Zhuge Liang already knew that Chencang was heavily fortified and difficult to capture, so when he showed up he was surprised to see that the fortress was additionally very well-defended. In fact, after the first Shu invasion, the Wei general Cao Zhen had predicted that Zhuge Liang would attack Chencang so he put Hao Zhao, a Wei general with a fierce reputation in the Guanzhong region, in charge of defending Chencang and strengthening its defences.

Zhuge Liang first ordered his troops to surround Chencang, then sent Jin Xiang (靳詳), an old friend of Hao Zhao, to persuade Hao Zhao to surrender. Hao Zhao refused twice. Although Hao Zhao had only 1,000 men with him to defend Chencang, he successfully held his ground against the Shu invaders. In the subsequent 20 days of siege, Zhuge Liang used an array of tactics to attack Chencang – siege ladders, battering rams, siege towers and underground tunnels – but Hao Zhao successfully countered each of them in turn. After failing to outwit Hao Zhao and take Chencang, and after learning that Wei reinforcements were approaching, Zhuge Liang decided to pull back his troops and return to base. Wang Shuang, a Wei officer, led his men to attack the retreating Shu forces, but was killed in an ambush laid by Zhuge Liang.

Battle of Jianwei

In the spring of 229, Zhuge Liang launched the third Northern Expedition and ordered Chen Shi to lead Shu forces to attack the Wei-controlled Wudu (武都; around present-day Cheng County, Gansu) and Yinping (陰平; present-day Wen County, Gansu) commanderies. The Wei general Guo Huai led his troops to resist Chen Shi. He retreated when he heard that Zhuge Liang had led a Shu army to Jianwei (建威; in present-day Longnan, Gansu). The Shu forces then conquered Wudu and Yinping commanderies.

When Zhuge Liang returned from the campaign, Liu Shan issued an imperial decree to congratulate him on his successes in defeating Wang Shuang during the second Northern Expedition and capturing Wudu and Yinping commanderies during the third Northern Expedition. He also restored Zhuge Liang to the position of Imperial Chancellor.

Congratulating Sun Quan on becoming emperor

Around May 229, Sun Quan, the ruler of Shu's ally state Wu, declared himself emperor and put himself on par with Liu Shan of Shu. When the news reached the Shu imperial court, many officials were outraged as they thought that Sun Quan had no right to be emperor, and so they urged the Shu government to break ties with Wu. Although Zhuge Liang agreed that Sun Quan lacked legitimacy, he considered that the Wu–Shu alliance was vital to Shu's survival and long-term interests because they needed Wu to help them keep Wei occupied in the east while they attacked Wei in the west. After concluding that Shu should maintain the Wu–Shu alliance and refrain from criticising Sun Quan, he sent Chen Zhen on a diplomatic mission to Wu to recognise Sun Quan's claim to the throne and congratulate him.

Ziwu Campaign

In August 230, Cao Zhen led an army from Chang'an to attack Shu via the Ziwu Valley (子午谷). At the same time, another Wei army led by Sima Yi, acting on Cao Rui's order, advanced towards Shu from Jing Province by sailing along the Han River. The rendezvous point for Cao Zhen and Sima Yi's armies was at Nanzheng County (南鄭縣; in present-day Hanzhong, Shaanxi). Other Wei armies also prepared to attack Shu from the Xie Valley (斜谷) or Wuwei Commandery.

When he heard of Wei recent movements, Zhuge Liang urged Li Yan to lead 20,000 troops to Hanzhong Commandery to defend against the Wei invasion which he reluctantly accepted after much persuasion. As Xiahou Ba led the vanguard of this expedition through the 330 km Ziwu Trail (子午道), he was identified by the local residents who reported his presence to the Shu forces. Xiahou Ba barely managed to retreat after reinforcements from the main army arrived.

Zhuge Liang also allowed Wei Yan to lead troops behind the ennemy lines towards Yangxi (陽谿; southwest of present-day Wushan County, Gansu) to encourage the Qiang people to join Shu Han against Wei. Wei Yan greatly defeated Wei forces led by Guo Huai and Fei Yao. Following those events, the conflict became a prolonged stalemate with few skirmishes. After more than a month of slow progress and by fear of significant losses and waste of resources, more and more Wei officials sent memorials to end the campaign. The situation wasn't helped by the difficult topography and constant heavy rainy weather lasting more than 30 days. Cao Rui decided to abort the campaign and recalled the officers by October 230.

Battle of Mount Qi

In 230, Zhuge Liang launched the fourth Northern Expedition and attacked Mount Qi (祁山; the mountainous regions around present-day Li County, Gansu) again. He used the wooden ox, a mechanical device he invented, to transport food supplies to the frontline. The Shu forces attacked Tianshui Commandery and surrounded Mount Qi, which was defended by the Wei officers Jia Si (賈嗣) and Wei Ping (魏平). At Mount Qi, Zhuge Liang managed to convince Kebineng, a Xianbei tribal leader, to support Shu in the war against Wei. Kebineng went to Beidi Commandery (北地郡; around present-day central Shaanxi) and rallied the locals to support Shu.

At the time, as Grand Marshal Cao Zhen was ill, Cao Rui ordered the general Sima Yi to move to Chang'an to supervise the Wei defences in the Guanzhong region against the Shu invasion. After making preparations for battle, Sima Yi, with Zhang He, Fei Yao, Dai Ling (戴陵) and Guo Huai serving as his subordinates, led Wei forces to Yumi County (隃麋縣; east of present-day Qianyang County, Shaanxi) and stationed there. He then left Fei Yao and Dai Ling with 4,000 troops to guard Shanggui County (上邽縣; in present-day Tianshui, Gansu), while he led the others to Mount Qi to help Jia Si and Wei Ping.

When Zhuge Liang learnt of the Wei forces' approach, he split his forces into two groups – one group to remain at Mount Qi while he led the other group to attack Shanggui County. He defeated Guo Huai, Fei Yao and Dai Ling in battle and ordered his troops to collect the harvest in Shanggui County. In response, Sima Yi turned back from Mount Qi, headed to Shanggui County, and reached there within two days. By then, Zhuge Liang and his men had finished harvesting the wheat and were preparing to leave. Zhuge Liang encountered Sima Yi at Hanyang (漢陽) to the east of Shanggui County, but they did not engage in battle: Zhuge Liang ordered his troops to make use of the terrain and get into defensive positions; Sima Yi ordered his troops to get into formation, while sending Niu Jin to lead a lightly armed cavalry detachment to Mount Qi. The standoff ended when Zhuge Liang and the Shu forces retreated to Lucheng (鹵城), took control of the hills in the north and south, and used the river as a natural barrier.

Although his subordinates repeatedly urged him to attack the enemy, Sima Yi was hesitant to do so after seeing the layout of the Shu camps in the hills. However, he eventually relented when Jia Si and Wei Ping mocked him and said he would become a laughing stock if he refused to attack. Sima Yi then sent Zhang He to attack the Shu camp in the south, guarded by Wang Ping, while he led the others to attack Lucheng head-on. In response, Zhuge Liang ordered Wei Yan, Wu Ban and Gao Xiang to lead troops to engage the enemy outside Lucheng. The Wei army lost the battle, along with 3,000 troops and some equipment.

Despite his victory, Zhuge Liang could not make use of the momentum to launch a major offensive on the enemy because his army was running low on supplies. Sima Yi launched another attack on the Shu camps and succeeded in breaking through Zhuge Liang's defences. The Book of Jin recorded that as Zhuge and the Shu army retreated under the cover of night, Sima Yi led his forces in pursuit and inflicted over 10,000 casualties on the enemy. This account from the Book of Jin is disputed by historians and is not included in the 11th-century monumental chronological historical text Zizhi Tongjian.

In any case, according to Records of the Three Kingdoms and Zizhi Tongjian, Zhuge Liang retreated to the Shu because of lack of supply, not defeat, Zhang He led his troops to attack the retreating Shu forces but fell into an ambush and lost his life.

Battle of Wuzhang Plains

In the spring of 234, Zhuge Liang led more than 100,000 Shu troops out of Xie Valley (斜谷) and camped at the Wuzhang Plains on the south bank of the Wei River near Mei County (郿縣; southeast of present-day Fufeng County, Shaanxi). Aside from using the flowing horse to transport food supplies to the frontline, he implemented a tuntian plan by ordering his troops to grow crops alongside civilians at the south bank of the Wei River. He also forbid his troops from taking the civilians' crops.

In response to the Shu invasion, the Wei general Sima Yi led his forces and another 20,000 reinforcements to the Wuzhang Plains to engage the enemy. After an initial skirmish and a night raid on the Shu camp, Sima Yi received orders from the Wei emperor Cao Rui to hold his ground and refrain from engaging the Shu forces. The battle became a stalemate. During this time, Zhuge Liang made several attempts to lure Sima Yi to attack him. On one occasion, he sent women's ornaments to Sima Yi to taunt him. An apparently angry Sima Yi sought permission from Cao Rui to attack the enemy, but was denied. Cao Rui even sent Xin Pi as his special representative to the frontline to ensure that Sima Yi followed orders and remained in camp. Zhuge Liang knew that Sima Yi was pretending to be angry because he wanted to show the Wei soldiers that he would not put up with Zhuge Liang's taunting, and to ensure that his men were ready for battle.

During the stalemate, when Zhuge Liang sent a messenger to meet Sima Yi, Sima Yi asked the messenger about Zhuge Liang's daily routine and living conditions. The messenger said that Zhuge Liang consumed three to four sheng of grain a day and that he micromanaged almost everything, except trivial issues like punishments for minor offences. After hearing this, Sima Yi remarked, "How can Zhuge Kongming expect to last long? He's going to die soon."

Death and post-mortem events (234)

The stalemate at the Wuzhang Plains lasted for over 100 days. Sometime between 11 September and 10 October 234, Zhuge Liang became critically ill and died in camp. He was 54 (by East Asian age reckoning) at the time of his death.

Sun Sheng's Jin Yangqiu (晉陽秋) recorded the following account:

The Book of Wei (魏書) and Han–Jin Chunqiu (漢晉春秋) gave different accounts of where Zhuge Liang died. The former recorded that Zhuge Liang vomited blood in frustration when his army ran out of supplies during the stalemate and he ordered his troops to burn down their camp and retreat into a valley, where he fell sick and died. The latter recorded that he died in the residence of a certain Guo family. In his annotations to Zhuge Liang's biography, Pei Songzhi pointed out that the Wei Shu and Han–Jin Chunqiu accounts were wrong, and that Zhuge Liang actually died in camp at the Wuzhang Plains. He also rebutted the Wei Shu account as follows:

When Sima Yi heard from civilians that Zhuge Liang had died from illness and the Shu army had burnt down their camp and retreated, he led his troops in pursuit and caught up with them. The Shu forces, on Yang Yi and Jiang Wei's command, turned around and readied themselves for battle. Sima Yi pulled back his troops and retreated. Some days later, while surveying the remains of the Shu camp, Sima Yi remarked, "What a genius he was!" Based on his observations that the Shu army made a hasty retreat, he concluded that Zhuge Liang had indeed died, so he led his troops in pursuit again. When Sima Yi reached Chi'an (赤岸), he asked the civilians living there about Zhuge Liang and heard that there was a recent popular saying: "A dead Zhuge (Liang) scares away a living Zhongda" He laughed and said, "I can predict the thoughts of the living but I can't predict the dead's."

Burial and posthumous honours

Before his death, Zhuge Liang said that he wanted to be buried as simply as possible in Mount Dingjun (in present-day Mian County, Hanzhong, Shaanxi): his tomb should be just large enough for his coffin to fit in; he was to be dressed in the clothes he wore when he died; he did not need to be buried with any decorative objects or ornaments. Liu Shan issued an imperial edict to mourn and eulogise Zhuge Liang, as well as to confer on him the posthumous title "Marquis Zhongwu" (忠武侯; "loyal martial marquis").

Zhuge Liang once wrote a memorial to Liu Shan as follows and kept his promise until his death:

In the spring of 263, Liu Shan ordered a memorial temple for Zhuge Liang to be built in Mianyang County (沔陽縣; present-day Mian County, Shaanxi). Initially, when Zhuge Liang died in 234, many people wanted the Shu government to build memorial temple to honour him. However, after some discussion, the government decided not to because it was not in accordance with Confucian rules of propriety. In his works, Sima Guang noted that during the Han era, only emperors were worshiped at temples. With no official channels to worship Zhuge Liang, the people took to holding their own private memorial services for Zhuge Liang on special occasions. Some time later, some people pointed out that it was appropriate to build a memorial temple for Zhuge Liang in Chengdu, but the Shu emperor Liu Shan refused. Two officials, Xi Long (習隆) and Xiang Chong, then wrote a memorial to Liu Shan and managed to convince him to build the memorial temple in Mianyang County.

In the autumn of 263, during the Wei invasion of Shu, the Wei general Zhong Hui passed by Zhuge Liang's memorial temple in Mianyang County along the way and paid his respects there. He also ordered his troops to refrain from farming and logging anywhere near Zhuge Liang's tomb at Mount Dingjun.

Guo Chongs five anecdotes

The Shu Ji (蜀記), by Wang Yin (王隱), recorded that sometime in the early Jin dynasty, Sima Jun (司馬駿; 232–286), the Prince of Fufeng (扶風王), once had a discussion about Zhuge Liang with his subordinates Liu Bao (劉寶), Huan Xi (桓隰) and others. Many of them brought up negative points about Zhuge Liang: making a bad choice when he chose to serve under Liu Bei; creating unnecessary burden and stress for the people of Shu; being overly ambitious; and lacking awareness about the limits of his strengths and abilities. However, there was one Guo Chong (郭沖) who dissented and argued that Zhuge Liang's brilliance and wisdom exceeded that of Guan Zhong and Yan Ying. He then shared five anecdotes about Zhuge Liang which he claimed nobody had heard of. Liu Bao, Huan Xi and the others fell silent after hearing the five anecdotes. Sima Jun even generously endorsed the five anecdotes by Guo Chong.

Pei Songzhi, when annotating Zhuge Liang's official biography in the Sanguozhi, found the five anecdotes unreliable and questionable, but he still added them into Zhuge Liang's biography and pointed out the problems in each of them. In his concluding remarks, Pei Songzhi noted that the fourth-century historians Sun Sheng and Xi Zuochi, given their attention to detail, most probably came across Guo Chong's five anecdotes while doing research on the Three Kingdoms period. He surmised that Sun Sheng and Xi Zuochi probably omitted the anecdotes in their writings because they, like him, also found the anecdotes unreliable and questionable.

Harsh laws

In the first anecdote, Guo Chong claimed that Zhuge Liang incurred much resentment from the people when he implemented harsh and draconian laws in Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing). Fa Zheng, an adviser to Liu Bei, tried to dissuade Zhuge Liang from doing so as he believed that the harsh and draconian laws would drive a wedge between the people of Yi Province and Liu Bei's government. He further pointed out that the government lacked popular support and political legitimacy at the time because some people saw Liu Bei as a foreign invader who occupied Yi Province by military force. Fa Zheng then urged Zhuge Liang to relax the laws and give the people some "breathing space". In response, Zhuge Liang argued that harsh laws were necessary to restore law and order in Yi Province and help Liu Bei's government consolidate its control over the territories and people. He blamed Liu Yan's 'soft' rule and Liu Zhang's incompetence for allowing corruption and decadence to become deeply entrenched in Yi Province. He also argued that the best way to set things right was to restore law and order and to regulate the distribution of honours and privileges among the population.

Pei Songzhi pointed out three problems in this anecdote. First, when Fa Zheng and Liu Bei were still alive, Zhuge Liang was never in a position powerful enough for him to implement such a policy; he would have to be the Governor of Yi Province (益州牧) to do so, but he only became Governor of Yi Province (in addition to other appointments) during Liu Shan's reign. Second, as Zhuge Liang is known for being a respectful, humble and faithful subject, it seemed totally out of place for him to advocate such a policy and make such a crude response to Fa Zheng. Third, good governance, which Zhuge Liang is known for, is not normally associated with harsh laws.

Assassination attempt on Liu Bei

In the second anecdote, Guo Chong claimed that Cao Cao once sent an assassin to kill Liu Bei. When the assassin first met Liu Bei, he could only speak to Liu Bei from a distance, so he thought of a way to attract Liu Bei's attention and get up close. He started analysing the situation in Cao Cao's ___domain and presented ideas to Liu Bei on how to attack it. Liu Bei found his ideas interesting and asked him to come closer. Just then, Zhuge Liang came into the meeting room and caused the assassin to panic. He noticed the assassin's facial expression and found him suspicious. The assassin then excused himself, saying that he needed to use the latrine, Liu Bei told Zhuge Liang, "I found an extraordinary man who can be a good assistant to you." When Zhuge Liang asked who it was, Liu Bei said, "The man who just went to the latrine." Zhuge Liang took a deep breath and said, "Just now, I saw a look of fear and panic on his face. His avoidance of eye contact and his body language show that he has something evil on his mind. He must be an assassin sent by Cao Cao." Liu Bei immediately ordered the assassin's arrest but the assassin had already fled.

Pei Songzhi pointed out the problems in this anecdote. If this incident really happened, the assassin must be a great talent to be able to attract Liu Bei's attention and, in Liu Bei's opinion, worthy enough to serve as an assistant to Zhuge Liang. However, this was unlikely because assassins were typically rough and boorish men ready to sacrifice their lives to accomplish their mission. Besides, it did not make much sense for a man of such talent to be an assassin when he could be better off as an adviser to any of the great warlords. Moreover, as Cao Cao was known for respecting and cherishing talents, it was unlikely that he would willingly sacrifice someone of such talent by sending him on a risky mission. Furthermore, given the significance of this incident, it should be recorded in history, but there is no mention of it in the official histories.

Empty Fort Strategy

Guo Chong's third anecdote concerns Zhuge Liang's alleged use of the Empty Fort Strategy against Sima Yi at Yangping (陽平).

Rejecting compliments

In the fourth anecdote, Guo Chong claimed that when Zhuge Liang returned to Chengdu after the first Northern Expedition, he received many compliments from his colleagues for his successes in capturing a few thousand Wei families and making Jiang Wei defect to Shu. However, to their surprise, Zhuge Liang solemnly replied, "All the people under Heaven are people of the Han Empire. Now, the Han Empire isn't revived yet and the people are still suffering from war. It will be my fault even if only one person dies due to war. I dare not accept compliments built on people's miseries." The people of Shu then realised that his goal was to vanquish Wei rather than simply expanding Shu's borders through conquests.

Pei Songzhi pointed out that Zhuge Liang's goal of achieving a complete victory over Wei was already well known before he went on the first Northern Expedition, so it seemed very odd for Guo Chong to say that the people of Shu only realised it after Zhuge Liang came back from the first Northern Expedition. He also noted that the first Northern Expedition was an overall failure so the "successes" mentioned in this anecdote neither made sense nor were worthy of compliments. The reasons he gave were as such: Shu lost two battles against Wei in the first Northern Expedition and ultimately failed to conquer the three commanderies; Wei had nothing to lose from the defection of Jiang Wei, who at the time was a relative nobody; and the capture of the few thousand Wei families was insufficient to make up for the casualties the Shu forces suffered at Jieting and Ji Valley.

Earning the trust of soldiers

In the fifth anecdote, Guo Chong claimed that during the fourth Northern Expedition, when Zhuge Liang led Shu forces to attack Mount Qi, the Wei emperor Cao Rui decided to launch a counterattack on Shu, so he personally led his forces to Chang'an. He then ordered Sima Yi and Zhang He to lead 300,000 elite Wei soldiers from Yong and Liang provinces on a covert operation deep into Shu territory and launch a stealth attack on Jiange (劍閣; in present-day Jiange County, Sichuan), a strategic mountain pass. Around the time, Zhuge Liang had set up a rotating shift system, in which at any time 20 percent of his troops (about 80,000 men) would be stationed at Mount Qi, while the remaining 80 percent would remain behind. As the Wei forces approached Mount Qi and prepared to attack the Shu positions, Zhuge Liang's subordinates urged him to stop the rotating shift system and concentrate all the Shu forces together to resist the numerically superior Wei forces. Zhuge Liang replied, "When I lead the troops into battle, I operate on the basis of trust. Even the ancients felt it was a shame for one to betray others' trust in him in order to achieve his goals. The soldiers who are due to return home can pack up their belongings and prepare to leave. Their wives have been counting the days and looking forward to their husbands coming home. Even though we are in a difficult and dangerous situation now, we shouldn't break our earlier promise." When the homebound soldiers heard that they were allowed to go home, their morale shot up and they became more motivated to stay back and fight the Wei forces before going home. They talked among themselves and pledged to use their lives to repay Zhuge Liang's kindness. Later, during the battle, they fought fiercely and killed Zhang He and forced Sima Yi to retreat. Zhuge Liang won the battle because he successfully gained the trust of the Shu soldiers.

Pei Songzhi pointed out that this anecdote contradicted the accounts from historical records. During the fourth Northern Expedition, Cao Rui was indeed at Chang'an, but he did not personally lead Wei forces into battle. As for the part about Cao Rui ordering Sima Yi and Zhang He to lead a 300,000-strong army to attack Jiange, Pei Songzhi argued that it never happened because it was extremely unlikely for such a large army to pass through the Guanzhong region, bypass Zhuge Liang's position at Mount Qi, and enter Shu territory completely undetected. He also found the part about the rotating shift system untrue because it was impossible for a Shu expeditionary force to enter Wei territory and remain there for so long, much less set up a rotating shift system.

Family and descendants

;Spouse

Zhuge Liang married the daughter of Huang Chengyan, a reclusive scholar living south of the Han River. The Xiangyang Ji (襄陽記) recorded that Huang Chengyan once asked Zhuge Liang, "I heard you are looking for a wife. I have an ugly daughter with yellow hair and dark skin, but her talent matches yours." Zhuge Liang then married Huang Chengyan's daughter. At the time, there was a saying in their village: "Don't be like Kongming when you choose a wife. He ended up with Chengyan's ugly daughter." Although her name was not recorded in history, she is commonly referred to in popular culture by the name "Huang Yueying" (黃月英).

;Children

• Zhuge Qiao (諸葛喬; 199–223), Zhuge Liang's nephew and adopted son. As Zhuge Liang initially had no son, he adopted Zhuge Qiao, the second son of his elder brother Zhuge Jin. Zhuge Qiao served as a military officer in Shu and died relatively early.

• Zhuge Zhan (諸葛瞻; 227–263), Zhuge Liang's first son. He served as a military general in Shu and married a daughter of the Shu emperor Liu Shan. He was killed in battle in 263 during the Wei invasion of Shu.

• Zhuge Huai (諸葛懷), Zhuge Liang's third son. He is mentioned only in the Zhuge Family Genealogy (諸葛氏譜) cited in the 1960 publication Collected Works of Zhuge Liang (諸葛亮集). In 269, during the Jin dynasty, Emperor Wu summoned the descendants of famous Han dynasty officials (e.g. Xiao He, Cao Shen) to the imperial court so that he could confer honorary titles on them. When Zhuge Liang's descendants did not show up, Emperor Wu sent his officials to find them. The officials found Zhuge Huai in Chengdu and brought him to Emperor Wu. Zhuge Huai declined the honour, saying that he was contented with the land and property he already owned at the time. Emperor Wu was pleased and he did not force Zhuge Huai to accept.

• Zhuge Guo (諸葛果), Zhuge Liang's daughter. She is mentioned only in the 1960 publication Collected Works of Zhuge Liang (諸葛亮集) and the Ming dynasty Daoist text Lidai Shenxian Tongjian (歷代神仙通鑑; Comprehensive Mirror on Immortals Through the Dynasties). Her father named her guo (果; "fulfil / realise", basic meaning "fruit / result") because he wanted her to learn Daoist magical arts and fulfil her destiny of becoming an immortal.

;Grandchildren and great-grandchildren

• Zhuge Pan (諸葛攀), Zhuge Qiao's son. In 253, after Zhuge Ke (Zhuge Jin's first son) and his family were exterminated in a coup d'état in Eastern Wu, Zhuge Pan reverted from his adopted lineage (Zhuge Liang's) to his biological lineage (Zhuge Jin's) and went to Eastern Wu to continue Zhuge Jin's family line there.

• Zhuge Shang (諸葛尚; died 263), Zhuge Zhan's eldest son. He was killed in battle in 263 alongside his father during the Wei invasion of Shu.

• Zhuge Jing (諸葛京), Zhuge Zhan's second son. After the fall of Shu, he moved to Hedong Commandery in 264 together with Zhuge Pan's son, Zhuge Xian (諸葛顯), and later served as an official under the Jin dynasty after being summoned in April 269.

• Zhuge Zhi (諸葛質), a son of Zhuge Zhan. He is mentioned only in the Zaji (雜記) cited in the 1960 publication Collected Works of Zhuge Liang (諸葛亮集). After the fall of Shu, Liu Xun (劉恂; a son of Liu Shan) was unwilling to accompany his father to Luoyang, so he sent Zhuge Zhi as a messenger to meet Meng Qiu (孟虬), Meng Huo's son, and seek permission to live with the Nanman tribes. Meng Qiu approved.

;Others

• Zhuge Dan (諸葛誕; died 258), a cousin of Zhuge Liang, served in Cao Wei as a high-ranking military general in the mid Three Kingdoms period. Between 257 and 258, he started a rebellion in Shouchun against the Wei regent Sima Zhao, but ended up being defeated and killed.

Appraisal and legacy

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 – all civil affairs in Yi Province – were in the hands 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 as attested in Sanguozhi, 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 during the Western Han. In his opinion, if the emperor directly handled the affairs, then there would be no one to blame if problems occurred, but a Chancellor could bear responsibility and punishment for failure.

• Zhuge Liang stubbornly thought that Liu Shan was not experienced enough to directly handle the state affairs, considered too important to risk error.

• 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, unchecked by previous governors, freely exploited the common people and lived in extravagance. As a result, poverty was widespread, and economic–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 were enacted during the reign of Liu Bei and continued in the time of Liu Shan. He purged corrupt officials, reduced taxes, and restricted the aristocracy's abuse of power against the common people. Corvée labour and military mobilization were also reduced and rescheduled to avoid the disruption of agriculture activities, and Cao Cao's tuntian system of state-run agricultural colonies was implemented extensively to increase food production output. Agriculture dykes were significantly rebuilt and repaired, including the eponymous Zhuge dyke north of Chengdu. Thanks to the reforms, Shu Han agriculture production grew significantly, sufficient to sustain an active military.

Salt manufacture, silk production, and steelmaking – three major industries in Shu – also attracted Zhuge Liang's attention. Liu Bei, following the proposal of Zhuge Liang, created specialized bureaus for managing salt and steel manufacture, initially directed by Wang Lian and Zhang Yi, respectively. A specialized silk management bureau was also established, and silk production experienced significant growth, leading to Chengdu being nicknamed "the city of Silk". Over the lifetime of the Shu Han state, it accumulated 200,000 pieces of silk in the national treasury. 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 appointed to a role in metallurgy research by Zhuge Liang, and managed to improve the techniques in crafting steel weapons for the Shu Han army.

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 Pi, Cao Rui, and Sun Quan were marred by difficulties and achieved limited success.

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 legacies of Zhuge Liang which were unfortunately forgotten by many people.

After Liu Bei took over 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 attendant decadence of the local Yi aristocracy, 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, his own close associates such as Ma Su, and even willing to demote himself to keep legal order. However he also refrained from abusing punishment and required extreme caution in law enforcement. Xi Zuochi praised Zhuge 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 highly regarded Zhuge Liang and strongly believed that he would re-employ them after the punishment was enough.

Zhuge Liang also promoted moral conduct and himself led a strict and stoic life as a model. He did not own excessive assets, refrained from luxurious spending, and relied mainly on government salary. Shu Han's magistrates, like Deng Zhi, Fei Yi, Jiang Wei, Zhang Yi also followed suit, strictly abiding by the legal and moral codes, enabling 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 under a heavy burden of expenditure.

Not everybody was happy with such Legalist policies. Guo Chong's characterised Zhuge Liang's policy "cruel" and "exploitative", claiming "everybody from the noble to the commoner" was upset. Pei Songzhi disagreed with such comments, considering Zhuge Liang's law enforcement appropriate and rejecting claims of exploitation. Guo Chong's perspective also contradicted Chen Shou's comment that "nobody was upset despite the strict laws". Yi Zhongtian commented that both contradictory assessments were correct, as Shu people were happy about Zhuge Liang's fairness and transparency, but some of them were also upset about his strictness. Moreover, Zhuge Liang's fairness and legal rule inevitably suppressed the local aristocracy, preventing 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 greatly appreciated talent, hence he paid strong attention to education in order to cultivate and recruit more talented magistrates for the Shu Han government. He established the position Aide of Learning Encouragement (勸斈從事), held by many prominent local intelligentsia such as Qiao Zhou, who held this post for a very long time and was very influential. Chen Shou was one of his students. Later Zhuge Liang established a Great Education Residence (太斈府), a training facility using Confucian literature as textbooks. He also created many "reading book residences" both in Chengdu and in his encampments during the northern expeditions; such facilities functioned as places where talented people could be discovered and recruited. Yao Tian, Shu Han's governor of Guanghan district, managed to recommend many talented people to the government, to Zhuge Liang's lavish praise.

Zhuge Liang also established "Discussion Bureau" mechanism to gather all the discussions of a certain policy, encourage magistrates to accept the criticisms of their subordinates, and utilize the talents of all employees to reach the best decision. Zhuge Liang adopted a meritocratic promotion system, promoting and assessing people based on deeds and ability rather than fame or background.

Military strategy

Inventions

Zhuge Liang was believed to be the inventor of the Chinese steamed bun, the land mine and a mysterious but efficient automatic transportation device (initially used for grain) referred to as the "wooden ox and flowing horse" (木牛流馬), which is sometimes identified with the wheelbarrow.

Although he is often credited with the invention of the repeating crossbow that is named after him and called the "Zhuge Crossbow" (諸葛弩), this type of semi-automatic crossbow is an improved version of a model that first appeared during the Warring States period. There is debate over whether the original Warring States period bow was semi-automatic, or rather shot multiple bolts at once. Nevertheless, Zhuge Liang's improved model could shoot farther and faster.

Zhuge Liang is also credited with constructing the Stone Sentinel Maze, an array of stone piles that is said to produce supernatural phenomena, 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 have been 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 The Art of War attributed to Sun Tzu). Supposedly, his mastery of infantry and cavalry formation tactics based on the classic I Ching, was unrivalled. His memorial Chu Shi Biao, written prior to the Northern Expeditions, provided a salutary reflection of his unswerving loyalty to the state of Shu. The memorial moved some readers to tears. In addition, he wrote Admonition to His Son (諸葛亮誡子書) in which he reflected on his humility and frugality in pursuit of a meaningful life.

Zhuge is also the subject of many Chinese literary works. Poems by the prolific and highly regarded Tang dynasty poet Du Fu were written in memory of him, whose legacy of unwavering dedication seems to have been forgotten in Du's generation, judging by the description of Zhuge's neglected temple. Two such pieces were written as part of Du Fu's acclaimed "Kuizhou poems".

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 "Han and bandits 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-communist ideology.

Another phrase "deference and prudence, to a state of depletion, are never finished until 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 commitment and perseverance to strive to the utmost.

One famous line of poetry, "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.

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms

The 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong romanticises the historical figures and events before and during the Three Kingdoms period. In the novel, Zhuge Liang is characterised as a strategist of legendary brilliance and fantastical abilities such as summoning advantageous winds and devising magical stone mazes.

There is great confusion on whether the stories are historical or fictional. At minimum the Empty Fort Strategy is based on historical records, albeit not originally attributed to Zhuge Liang. In Chinese culture, the question is largely irrelevant, as Zhuge Liang is an archetypal mastermind whose stratagems continue to influence Chinese society. Together with Sun Tzu's The Art of War, the legends of Zhuge Liang underlie much of modern Chinese strategic thinking, both military and civilian.

In Moss Roberts's translation of the novel, Zhuge Liang's appearance is described as follows: In the original Chinese, he wears a guanjin (綸巾) hat, and a hechang (鶴氅) robe associated with Daoists.

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

• Battle of Bowang, where Zhuge Liang first makes his name as a commander under Liu Bei using fire as a weapon

• Zhuge Liang's diplomatic mission to Jiangdong

• Borrowing arrows with straw boats, in which decoy boats stuffed with straw are used to steal thousands of arrows from Cao Cao's archers. In earlier versions of this story, Sun Quan or Zhou Yu takes the role of protagonist later given to Zhuge Liang.

• Zhuge Liang prays for the eastern wind, where the wind that fans the flames destroying Cao Cao's fleet at Red Cliffs is due to Zhuge Liang's magic spell

• Meng Huo captured and released seven times, a further embellishment upon the story transmitted in Xi Zuochi's work

Events before Zhuge Liangs death

When Zhuge Liang fell critically ill during the Battle of Wuzhang Plains, he attempted a ritual to extend his lifespan by twelve years. 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 Cao Wei state.

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

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

Zhuge Liang is often depicted wearing a Daoist robe and holding a hand fan made of crane feathers.

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 appears as a playable character in various video games based on the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, most notably Koei Tecmo's Dynasty Warriors series, Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, Warriors Orochi series, Dynasty Tactics series, Kessen II and Sangokushi Koumeiden. He also appears in other games such as Capcom's Destiny of an Emperor, Firaxis Games's Civilization IV and Civilization V, Level-5's Inazuma Eleven GO 2: Chrono Stone, as well as Destiny of Spirits and the mobile games Puzzle & Dragons and Fate/Grand Order.

Card games

In the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, there is a card named Kongming, "Sleeping Dragon" in the Portal Three Kingdoms and Commander (2013 Edition) sets.

Zhuge Liang is also featured in the Qun Xiong Zheng Ba (群雄争霸) and Ao Shi Tian Xia (傲视天下) sets of the collectible card game Generals Order.

Zhuge Liang is also a main character in the card game Legends of the Three Kingdoms.

Comics

The young Zhuge Liang is a member of the League of Infinity in the superhero pastiche Supreme by Alan Moore.

In the manhwa Faeries' Landing, the protagonist of the story is a high school student named Ryang Jegal, whose life is turned upside-down by a fairy and her heavenly (and not-so-heavenly) peers. Ryang Jegal, or Jegal Ryang in the proper Asian sequence, is the Korean translation of "Zhuge Liang".

In the Japanese manga and anime series Ya Boy Kongming!, Zhuge Liang is reincarnated in present-day Japan and applies his strategic skills in the music industry.

生平

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。

黎東方在《細說三國》稱，諸葛亮遠祖是商代葛國國君，封邑在今河南省東部。諸葛亮是漢司隸校尉諸葛豐後；父親諸葛珪，字君貢，漢末為泰山郡丞。

漢靈帝光和四年（181年），諸葛亮生於琅琊陽都。不久母親章氏去世，父親續娶。中平五年（188年），諸葛亮的父親諸葛珪去世。一家生活由叔父諸葛玄來照料。

躬耕十年

袁術與諸葛玄是世交，他請諸葛玄擔任豫章郡太守。興平元年（194年），諸葛玄帶著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。之後諸葛瑾帶著繼母到江東避難，後來出仕於孫權帳下。

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。諸葛玄許配諸葛亮大姐予中廬蒯祺，許配諸葛亮二姐予龐德公兒子龐山民。建安二年（197年）諸葛玄死，當時諸葛亮虛歲十七歲。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、穎川徐庶與諸葛亮交好，說是確實這樣。

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。（聽聞你正要挑選妻子；我有一醜女兒，黃頭髮、黑皮膚，但才華堪相配於你。）」；諸葛亮答應，即迎；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老婆，娶了黃承彥的醜女兒。）」

三顧之恩

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，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，卻想要以天下蒼生為己任，欲以天下伸張大義，只是我的智術淺薄，到今天還一無所成。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，此誠不可與之爭鋒；孫權據有江東，以歷三世，可以為援而不可圖；又詳述荊州北據漢沔、利盡南海、東連吳會、西通巴蜀。此乃用武之國、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，此談話即後世稱為《草廬對》之文章。後來劉備與諸葛亮越來越親近，引起結拜兄弟關羽、張飛等人心有不滿，劉備對此解釋說：「我得到孔明，就像魚得到水，希望眾人別在這件事上做無謂的議論。」；關羽、張飛於是就此做罷。

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。

赴吳結盟

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。劉琮在蒯越、傅巽等人勸說下，最後選擇投降，瞞著劉備向曹操遞降書。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。魯肅建議孫權與劉備聯合抗曹，受命到荊州。與魯肅相見，劉備與諸葛亮故意稱要先投奔蒼梧太守吳巨。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（如果江東的人力、物力能與北方曹操相抗衡，那就早一點與他一刀兩斷）」，另一個選擇是：「若不能當，何不按兵束甲，北面而事之？（如果辦不到，那就把盔甲收存起來，士兵解除戒備，向曹操投降）」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。孫權決定抵抗曹操，而不是投降。諸葛亮去京口途徑秣陵時稱：「鍾山龍盤，石頭虎踞，真乃帝王之宅也」，後來孫權接受諸葛亮建議遷都秣陵，改稱建業。曹操率領水陸大軍20多萬，號稱80萬。十一月初冬，曹操在赤壁之戰大敗。

足食足兵

赤壁之戰後，孫權、劉備和曹操瓜分荊州。曹仁留守江陵，周瑜派甘寧西取夷陵，曹仁包圍甘寧，呂蒙建議周瑜分兵援甘寧，留凌統守江陵城外，至建安十四年年底曹仁撤軍至襄陽，周瑜為南郡太守。孫權控制江夏。劉備根據地在油江口，更名公安。建安十三年（208年）十二月，荊州南部四郡盡為劉備所占領。建安十四年（209年）冬季，劉琦死，群下推劉備為荊州牧，劉備把州治所放在公安城。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。」據《三國志·蜀書·龐統法正傳第七》中記載，諸葛亮曾稱：「主公之在公安也，北畏曹公之強，東憚孫權之逼，近則懼孫夫人生變於肘腋之下。（當初主公在南郡時，北邊畏懼曹操的強大，東邊忌憚孫權的威壓，內部還怕孫夫人平生變故，真是內外交困。）」

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。劉備圍攻雒城有一年，張任守城，其部下流矢射殺龐統。諸葛亮留關羽守荊州，與張飛、趙雲等溯流入巴東。建安十九年（214年）夏，劉備攻克雒城。諸葛亮分遣趙雲從外水定江陽、犍為；張飛定巴西、德陽，與劉備、黃忠等圍成都。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，劉璋決意開城投降，與簡雍「同輿而載，出城歸命」；劉備成為益州之主，領益州牧。

蜀漢丞相

據《華陽國志》記載，諸葛亮、關羽、張飛和法正都受金五百斤、銀千斤、錦一萬匹。諸葛亮由軍師中郎將升任為軍師將軍，署左將軍府事。劉備擴充地盤，諸葛亮留守後方，保障前線糧草兵力。建安二十年（215年）初，曹操攻打張魯，占領漢中郡。曹操兩位主簿司馬懿和劉曄都勸曹操得到漢中後即入川打劉備。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。（如果漢中被曹操占領，則三巴受到直接威脅，猶割蜀之臂膀。）」劉備懼失益州，便遣使求和於孫權，孫權令諸葛瑾報命，遂分荊州，以湘水為界：江夏、長沙、桂陽三郡以東屬孫權；南郡、零陵和武陵以西歸劉備。後曹操班師回許昌，以夏侯淵為主將，張郃為副，杜襲主持漢中行政。

從建安二十二年十一月起，劉備先打漢中。劉備使諸葛亮坐鎮成都，領法正率十萬大軍北上，攻占陽平關。張郃駐軍守廣石，劉備未能攻克，「急書發益州兵」。諸葛亮徵詢從事楊洪的意見，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！（漢中是益州的咽喉，關係到蜀中的存亡，如失去漢中，蜀就危險了，這真是家門的禍福大事，此時，男子應當參加戰鬥，女子可擔當運糧之任，發兵是沒有疑問的。）」因法正在漢中，諸葛亮升楊洪代法正為蜀郡太守。

建安二十三年九月，曹操到長安。建安二十四年（219年），劉備在定軍山下扎營，命黃忠在山後埋伏。夏侯淵率主力攻打劉備，黃忠居高衝下，「忠推鋒必進，勸率士卒，金鼓振天，歡聲動谷，一戰斬淵，淵軍大敗」。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。（曹操雖親率兵至，也無能為力，我一定能拿下漢中。）」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。關羽敗走麥城被呂蒙手下捕殺。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。劉備以劉封不發兵援救關羽，又與孟達不和使其投敵，遂命劉封自裁，劉封死。

建安二十五年（220年），曹操病逝，曹丕篡漢自立。建安二十六年（221年），蜀中傳言漢獻帝被害，漢中王劉備發喪制服，追諡獻帝為孝愍皇帝。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。劉備稱帝後，以諸葛亮為丞相。諸葛亮錄尚書事，假節。

白帝託孤

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。劉備大敗，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。孫權向劉備請和，派大夫鄭泉見劉備；劉備派大夫宗瑋答聘，還派費禕回訪吳國。

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，把劉禪託付給諸葛亮，「命丞相亮輔助太子，以尚書令李嚴為副」。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，你可以自作決斷。)」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」。呂思勉稱：「菁華已竭，褰裳去之，為是言易，欲行是事，不可得也。古來聖賢豪傑有蓋世之才智，卒不能自免於敗亡以此。」

延至四月，劉備駕崩，孫權派立信都尉馮熙到白帝城吊喪。劉禪繼位，封諸葛亮為武鄉侯，領益州牧，開府治事，政事不論大小，「咸決於亮」。

南中的蠻王、豪強在鬧事，諸葛亮也先擱在一邊，「糧穀軍之最要」，積極發展農業生產：盡可能減輕農民負擔及興修水利。諸葛亮分設司金中郎將和鹽府校尉，管理冶鐵和煮鹽。諸葛亮又鼓勵種桑養蠶，繅絲織錦，製作蜀錦：「今民貧國虛，決敵之資，惟仰錦耳。」

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。呂思勉稱：「抑亮與李恢、呂凱等，雖竭力經營，南夷仍未大定，直至馬忠督庲降，張嶷守越巂，霍弋守永昌，然後竟其令功也。諸人者，固未嘗不竭撫育之勞，亦未聞遂釋攻戰之事，此又以見攻心心戰之策，未足專恃矣。要之亮之素志，自在北方；其於南土，不過求其不為後患而止。軍國攸資，已非夙望，麤安麤定，自繫本懷。一出未能敉平，原不足為亮病，必欲崇以虛辭，轉貽致譏失實矣。」

五次北伐曹魏

第一次北伐: 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。本有投降之意的曹魏祁山守將高剛也因此沒有投降。於是諸葛亮自貶三級為右將軍，行丞相事，所總統政事如前。

第二次北伐: 建興五年（227年）冬十二月，諸葛亮再一次統兵北伐，出散關，直逼陳倉。糧盡退兵，諸葛亮知道王雙追來，預先設伏，將其斬殺。

第三次北伐: 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。主帥大司馬曹真由北面子午谷徑取南鄭、副帥大將軍司馬懿由宛城溯漢水出西城及征西將軍張郃由斜谷向漢中進發奪取南鄭，郭淮、費曜、夏侯霸等為隨軍將領，三路軍隊計劃會師於南鄭。諸葛亮親自率領主力軍隊抵抗魏軍，深怕士兵不足，更特意命江州都督李嚴從後方調兵北上支援，更派魏延和吳懿帶兵擾魏軍側後方。秋季的雨下了一個月道路難行，減慢了魏軍的前進延誤軍機。最終，曹魏軍未抵漢中，魏明帝下詔撤軍。

第四次北伐: 建興九年（231年），諸葛亮組織第四次北伐。諸葛亮已經發明了木牛流馬，欲解決前三次蜀軍北伐運糧不繼的弱點，更配備先進武器連弩。蜀軍諸葛亮率部下魏延、王平、高翔、吳班和姜維出戰。反觀曹魏大司馬曹真剛好病逝，魏明帝命大將軍司馬懿取代曹真成為曹魏最高統帥執掌兵權。司馬懿統率張郃、費曜、戴凌和郭淮迎戰，蜀魏兩軍兵力不相上下旗鼓相當。諸葛亮曾經數次挑釁魏軍，司馬懿卻按兵不動，蜀魏兩軍對峙一個月，諸葛亮表面上只好退兵，實際上引魏軍迎戰。曹魏將領多番請司馬懿主動迎戰，司馬懿在五月分二路進攻蜀軍，第一路司馬懿進攻諸葛亮大本營，第二路車騎將軍張郃攻祁山南面的蜀軍據點。一方面，諸葛亮利用八陣圖成功痛擊司馬懿兵馬，另一方面，張郃也不敵堅守的蜀軍王平。諸葛亮續派魏延、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」。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，六月，諸葛亮向漢中撤退，司馬懿派張郃軍追擊，張郃中箭身亡；諸葛亮撤軍回來後，李嚴試圖搪塞卸責，「欲以解己否辯之責，顯亮不進之愆也」，諸葛亮訊問李嚴使其認罪，廢為平民，流放於梓潼郡。諸葛亮與大臣聯名給尚書公函（《公文上尚書》）要求懲處李嚴。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。

第五次北伐: 建興十二年（234年）二月，諸葛亮再次興兵北伐。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。諸葛亮在渭南地區分兵屯田。曹魏面對西東兩條戰線，魏明帝採西守東攻，西線命司馬懿(約10萬大軍)堅守抵禦蜀軍，更派秦朗率二萬騎兵援司馬懿，東線魏明帝御駕親征討東吳。在五月，東吳出兵曹魏，七月退兵。另一方面，反觀魏蜀交戰勢均力敵不分勝負，西部戰線進入相持狀態。雖然諸葛亮和司馬懿各為其主，但雙方在私下有書信往來，「利在急戰」的諸葛亮多次向「堅壁拒守以逸待勞」的司馬懿發出戰書，其中一次派人送女裝及首飾，諷刺曹魏主帥為女流之輩去激怒司馬懿。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！」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。司馬懿聽說後稱讚諸葛亮：「這可以說是名士阿。」 魏蜀兩軍在渭濱對峙三個月不分勝負。諸葛亮常常派人至司馬懿軍中下戰書，司馬懿避而不談軍事，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。」可見諸葛亮早起晚睡，事無大小終日忙碌。古時候每人每日平均進食5升米，諸葛亮每天卻只進食不到3升米, 較獨居老人進食量還要少。司馬懿說：「亮將死矣。」司馬懿從諸葛亮的起居飲食推斷他命不久矣。

星落五丈原

建興十二年（234年）八月，諸葛亮病重。蜀漢後主劉禪派尚書僕射李福到前線去探望，諸葛亮託付李福，希望蔣琬成為自己的後繼人，李福問還有誰，諸葛亮又指名費禕，李福再問還有誰，諸葛亮不答。諸葛亮在臨終前更安排了10萬蜀軍的撤軍方案。當李福回到成都的時候，根據《晉書》卷1〈宣帝紀〉有關星象異動的記載「有星赤而芒角，自東北西南流，投於亮營，三投再還，往大還小。俄而亮卒」，不久諸葛亮在五丈原病逝，終年五十四歲。諸葛亮離世後，蜀軍按他意願低調行事秘不發喪，往漢中方向撤軍。《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；蜀軍中監軍征西將軍姜維令楊儀反旗鳴鼓虛張聲勢，司馬懿怕諸葛亮裝死，下令退兵不敢再追。於是，楊儀結陣而去，入斜谷然後發喪。數日後，雖然蜀軍已退，但是空無一人卻井然有序的蜀漢軍營依然有震懾力。司馬懿不得不佩服諸葛亮的才幹和膽識，稱讚諸葛亮是天下奇才。曹魏軍從斜谷往南追擊蜀軍，卻只看到一路上很多由蜀軍佈置的(古代對付騎兵的地雷)鐵蒺藜。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。）」

逸聞

• 南朝齊梁時文人殷蕓在《小說》中記載一段與諸葛亮有關的事。內容描述東晉權臣桓溫伐蜀時遇到一位百歲老翁，年輕時曾在諸葛亮在世時與之共事過。桓溫召見他說：「當今之世誰可以跟諸葛亮相比呢?」老翁回答：「諸葛亮在世時我不認為他有什麼特別的，但諸葛亮死後我發現沒人比得上他。」

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

諸葛亮是中國歷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》

• 《論讓奪》

• 《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。

• 改良翻車（龍骨水車）

• 八陣圖

• 蜀鹽

紀念

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、台南市官田區玉旨孔明廟、高雄市彌陀區南寮清龍宮、高雄市苓雅區過田子意誠堂、屏東縣恆春鎮天下第一軍師府諸葛亮孔明廟。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、、台中谷關【玉敕封神台谷關大道院】、雲林縣元長鄉鹿寮保勝宮、臺南市永康區鹽行禹帝宮、高雄市左營啟明堂等。

File:成都武侯祠 紅牆竹影.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

蜀漢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，諸葛亮死後，朝廷隨後下詔禁止奔喪，譙周不顧禁令前去弔喪表示哀悼。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：「天下奇才也」，呂思勉稱：「此非虛美之辭。……諸葛亮之治戎，確有法度也。」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。

東晉追封諸葛亮為武興王。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」、「事後諸葛」，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，三國電視劇的空城計中城上彈琴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，網路上亦有諸葛村夫及諸葛琴魔等稱謂。

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）

• 《三國志孔明傳》（光榮公司開發）

• 《三國志曹操傳》（光榮公司開發）

• 《三國志英傑傳》系列（光榮公司開發）

• 《吞食天地》系列

• 《三國志 中原之霸者》

• 《三國志II 霸王的大陸》

• 《三國志列傳 亂世群英》

• 《橫山光輝 三國志》

• 《全面戰爭：三國》（Creative Assembly開發）

• 《真三國無雙系列》/《無雙OROCHI系列》（光榮公司開發）

• 《天下三國之亂世奸雄》(雙系列）

• 《天下三國之王者回歸》

• 《決戰》系列（光榮公司開發）

• 《三國殺》

• 《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》

• 《王者榮耀》

• 《三國戰紀》

• 《臥龍：蒼天殞落》

動漫

• 《三國志》

• 《三國演義》

• 《橫山光輝三國志》

• 《蒼天航路》

• 《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

• 《閃電十一人GO》—諸葛孔明

• 《派對咖孔明》—諸葛孔明

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：「丞相祠堂何處尋？錦官城外柏森森。映階碧草自春色，隔葉黃鸝空好音。三顧頻煩天下計，兩朝開濟老臣心。出師未捷身先死，長使英雄淚滿襟。」

• 《詠懐古跡》（其五）- 杜甫：「諸葛大名垂宇宙，宗臣遺像肅清高。三分割據紆籌策，萬古雲霄一羽毛。伯仲之間見伊呂，指揮若定失蕭曹。運移漢祚終難復，志決身殲軍務勞。」

• 《八陣圖》- 杜甫：「功蓋三分國，名存八陣圖。江流石不轉，遺恨失吞吳。」

• 《讀蜀志》-李中：「鼎分天地日，先主力元微。魚水從相得，山河遂有歸。任賢無間忌，報國盡神機。草昧爭雄者，君臣似此稀。」

• 《五丈原》- 胡曾：「蜀相西驅十萬來，秋風原下久徘徊。長星不為英雄住，夜半流光落九垓。」

• 《隆中》古詩一首 - 蘇軾：「武侯來西國，千年愛未衰。今朝游故里，蜀客不勝悲。誰言襄陽野，生此萬乘師。山中有遺廟，矯矯龍之姿。龍蟠山水秀，龍去淵潭移。空餘蜿蜒跡，使我寒涕垂。」

• 《書憤五首·其一》- 陸游：「早歲那知世事艱，中原北望氣如山。樓船夜雪瓜洲渡，鐵馬秋風大散關。塞上長城空自許，鏡中衰鬢已先斑。出師一表真名世，千載誰堪伯仲間！」

• 《籌筆驛》- 羅隱：「拋擲南陽為主憂，北征東討盡良籌。時來天地皆同力，運去英雄不自由。千里山河輕孺子，兩朝冠劍恨譙周。唯餘巖下多情水，猶解年年傍驛流。」

• 《懷孔明》-文天祥：「斜谷事不濟，將星隕營中。至今出師表，讀之淚沾胸。漢賊明大義，赤心貫蒼穹。世以成敗論，操懿真英雄。」

• 《諸葛亮丞相渡瀘》-顧炎武：「火山橫日幕，銅澗亙天繳。亂樹雲南國，交繩僰外橋。枕戈岑逼仄。帶甲上岧嶢。地汁生淫霧，流煙入斗杓。七擒依算略，一戰定蠻苗。信洽炎荒永，恩宣益部遙。深思危大業，隆眷切先朝。更有親賢表，宮廷告百僚。」

• 《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

• 《詠南陽》- 汪遵：「陸困泥蟠未適從，豈妨耕稼隱高蹤。若非先主垂三顧，誰識草廬一臥龍。」

• 《詠史詩·南陽》- 胡曾：「世亂英雄百戰餘，孔明方此樂耕鋤。蜀王不自垂三顧，爭得先主出草廬。」

• 《題諸葛武侯畫像》- 王柏：「隆中高臥匪無情，鼎峙規模豈素心。自是將軍三顧晚，坐看世變轉移深。」

• 乾隆帝謁景賢祠，改名「五賢祠」：「孝能竭力王祥覽，忠以捐軀顏杲真。所遇由來殊出處，端推諸葛是全人。」

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）

• 勤王事大好兒孫，三世忠貞，史筆猶褒陳庶子；出師表驚人文字，千秋涕淚，墨痕同濺岳將軍。（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（顧嘉蘅題南陽武侯祠楹聯。另參諸葛亮躬耕地之爭）

• 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。