生平

早年

据《三国志》记载，刘禅由刘备的妾室昭烈皇后甘梅所生，是刘备三位庶子中最为年长的。

208年（建安十三年），曹操的军队当阳长阪坡追击刘备，刘禅和生母甘氏与刘备的部队走失，幸好得到赵云的保护，母子都幸免于难。

212年（建安十七年），刘备入蜀，孙权派人接回孙夫人，孙夫人想将五岁的刘禅一并带走，诸葛亮派遣赵云夺回。

221年（建安二十五年）五月，立为太子。

在位期间

刘禅继位初期确实听从父亲的遗命，放权于丞相诸葛亮处理军政大事，「政事无巨细，咸决于亮」。

延熙元年（公元238年），诏命蒋琬应严整治军，率各军屯扎汉中，等东吴行动，两国构成东西犄角之势，伺机伐魏。

刘禅始「乃自摄国事」，由蒋琬、费禕、董允等人主政，修养生息，积蓄力量后从长计议再北伐的政策。刘禅对于宠臣陈祗与宦官黄皓也颇为宠信，姜维畏惧黄皓，只得拥兵屯垦汉中的沓中（今甘肃甘南藏族自治州迭部）。

景耀六年（公元263年），姜维上表后主：「听闻锺会治兵关中，欲规画进一步拓取土地之意，宜一并派遗张翼、廖化督率各军，分别护阳安关口、阴平桥头，以防患于未然」，黄皓徵求鬼巫信息，谓敌人终究不会自来，而刘禅也信了鬼巫，满朝文武竟没有一人知晓。

最后邓艾偷渡阴平大军压境，刘禅与群臣商议如何抵御，决定派诸葛瞻领兵迎战，但诸葛瞻战败。最后，刘禅接受谯周的建议，在农历十一月向曹魏投降。刘禅派太仆蒋显至剑阁，传令姜维等部投降，汉军悲愤不已，纷纷拔刀砍石。邓艾承制拜刘禅为骠骑将军。

乐不思蜀

蜀汉灭亡后，刘禅移居魏国都城洛阳，路上蜀汉旧臣只有郤正及殿中督张通陪同。曹魏朝廷封刘禅为安乐县公（常璩则作北巫县安乐乡公）。某日司马昭设宴款待刘禅，嘱咐演奏蜀乐曲，并以歌舞助兴时，蜀汉旧臣们想起亡国之痛，个个掩面或低头流泪。独刘禅怡然自若，不为悲伤。司马昭见到，便问刘禅：「安乐公是否思念蜀？」刘禅答道：「此间乐，不思蜀也。」他的旧臣郤正闻此言，趁上厕所时对他说：「下次如司马昭若再问同一件事，您就先注视著宫殿的上方，接著闭上眼睛一阵子，最后张开双眼，很认真地说：『先人坟墓，远在蜀地，我没有一天不想念啊！』这样，司马昭就能让陛下回蜀了。」刘禅听后，牢记在心。酒至半酣，司马昭又问同样的问题，刘禅赶忙把郤正教他的说了一遍。司马昭听了，即回以：「咦，这话怎么像是郤正说的？」刘禅大感惊奇道：「你怎么知道呀！」司马昭及左右大臣哈哈大笑。司马昭见刘禅如此老实忠恳，从此再也不怀疑他，刘禅就这样在洛阳度过馀生，这也是「乐不思蜀」一词的典故。

西晋晋武帝泰始七年（271年），刘禅去世，諡刘禅为思公。

刘禅太子刘璇在钟会之乱中丧生，按次序应该立次子刘瑶为继承人，但刘禅偏爱六子刘恂，立刘恂为继承人，旧臣文立劝谏，不听，于是刘恂袭为安乐公。

西晋末年，南匈奴出身的刘渊起事，国号为汉，即汉赵政权，追諡刘禅为孝怀皇帝。

住所

刘禅在洛阳的住宅位于洛阳城东阳门外二里御道的北侧，被称为晖文里，原本是晋朝的马道里，北魏时期，该处成为太傅李延寔的住宅。

评价

• 刘备在遗诏中说：「射君（射援）到，说丞相叹卿（即刘禅）智量，甚大增修，过于所望，审能如此，吾复何忧！勉之，勉之！」

• 诸葛亮在与杜微书中评价后主说：「朝廷年方十八，天资仁敏，爱德下士。」

• 蜀郡太守王崇论后主曰：「昔世祖内资神武之大才、外拔四屯之奇将、犹勤而获济。然乃登天衢、车不辍驾、坐不安席。非渊明弘鉴、则中兴之业何容易哉。后主庸常之君、虽有一亮之经纬、内无胥附之谋、外无爪牙之将、焉可包括天下也。」「邓艾以疲兵二万溢出江油。姜维举十万之师，案道南归，艾易成禽。禽艾已讫，复还拒会，则蜀之存亡未可量也。乃回道之巴，远至五城。使艾轻进，径及成都。兵分家灭，己自招之。然以钟会之知略，称为子房；姜维陷之莫至，克揵筹斥相应优劣。惜哉！」（华阳国志）

• 司马昭：「人之无情，乃可至于是乎！虽使诸葛亮在，不能辅之久全，而况姜维邪？」

• 陈寿于《三国志》：「后主任贤相则为循理之君，惑阉竖则为昬暗之后，传曰『素丝无常，唯所染之』，信矣哉！礼，国君继体，逾年改元，而章武之三年，则革称建兴，考之古义，体理为违。又国不置史，注记无官，是以行事多遗，灾异靡书。诸葛亮虽达于为政，凡此之类，犹有未周焉。然经载十二而年名不易，军旅屡兴而赦不妄下，不亦卓乎！自亮没后，兹制渐亏，优劣著矣！」、认为刘禅是「素丝无常，唯所染之」，早年得诸葛亮辅助，所以「任贤相则为循理之君」；但后来宠信黄皓，败坏政事，却是「惑阉竖则为昏暗之后」。但与暴虐好杀的孙皓相比，刘禅要更为善于处理政务且与大臣们保持著良好的互动。

• 薛珝：「主暗而不知其过，臣下容身以求免罪，入其朝不闻正言，经其野民有菜色。」

• 晋朝张华问李密：「安乐公（刘禅）何如？」密曰：「可次齐桓。」华问其故，对曰：「齐桓得管仲而霸，用竖刁而虫流。安乐公得诸葛亮而抗魏，任黄皓而丧国，是知成败一也。」(晋书‧李密传)

• 裴松之为《三国志·三少帝纪》作注，在评论郭修刺杀费禕事时，称刘禅为「凡下之主」。

• 孙盛：「刘禅暗弱，无猜险之性。」「禅虽庸主，实无桀、纣之酷，战虽屡北，未有土崩之乱，纵不能君臣固守，背城借一，自可退次东鄙以思后图。」认为刘禅是「庸主」。

• 李特：「刘禅有如此江山而降于人，岂非庸才？」（华阳国志）

• 常璩：「主非中兴之器。」（华阳国志）

• 张璠：「刘禅懦弱，心无害戾。」

• 朱敬则：「若乃投井求生，横奔畏死，面缚请罪，膝行待刑，是其谋也。马上唱无愁之歌，侍宴索达摩之曲，刘禅不思陇蜀，叔宝绝无心肝，对贾充以不忠之词，和晋帝以邻国之咏，是其才也。纵黄皓，嬖岑昏，宠高壤，狎江总，是其任也。剥面凿眼，孙皓之刑；弃亲即雠，高纬之志。其馀细故，不可殚论。听吾子之悬衡，任夫人之明镜。」（《全唐文》）

• 陈世崇：「孔明之子瞻、孙尚战死，张飞之孙遵，赵云次子广亦战死，北平王谌哭于昭烈庙，先杀妻子乃自杀，魏以蜀宫人赐将士，李昭仪不辱自杀。禅不特愧于将士，亦且愧于妇人矣。」

• 俞德邻：「禅以暗弱之资，而又惑于阉竖，使无此谶，其能与魏争乎？」

• 郑玉：「孔明盖社稷之臣也，今刘禅昏愚暗弱，纵使伊尹阿衡、周公辅相，亦必危亡而后已，虽百孔明，如之何哉？」「孔明既死，刘禅卒就擒缚。及其入魏，屈辱百端，略无愧耻。岂惟刘氏之宗社不嗣，遂使高祖、光武含羞地下，抱憾无穷。」

• 王夫之：「后主失德而亡，非失险也，恃险也，恃则未有不失者也。君恃之而弃德，将恃之而弃谋，士卒恃之而弃勇。伏弩飞石，恃以却敌；危石丛薄，恃以全身；无致死之心，一失其恃，则匍伏奔窜之恐后；扼以于蹊径，而淩峭壁以下攻，则首尾不相顾而溃。故谓后主信巫言而失阴平之守以亡国，非也。阴平守，而亘数百里之山厓溪谷，皆可度越，阴平一旅，亦赘疣而已。李特过剑阁而叹刘禅之不能守，草窍之智，乘晋乱以茍延尔。谯纵、王建、孟知祥、明玉珍蹶然而起，熸然而灭，恃险愈甚，其亡愈速矣。」《读通鉴论·卷十》

• 罗贯中：「祈哀请命拜征尘，盖为当时宠乱臣。五十四州王霸业，等闲抛弃属他人。」「魏兵数万入川来，后主偷生失自裁。黄皓终存欺国意，姜维空负济时才。全忠义士心何烈，守节王孙志可哀。昭烈经营良不易，一朝功业顿成灰。」

• 潘时彤：「可惜三分鼎，空怜六尺孤。大权归宦竖，强敌问神巫。斫石军心愤，回天将胆粗。山头曾学射，一矢报仇无。」

• 《三国志》卢弼集解引周寿昌说：「五丈原头大星夜陨，至千载下犹有馀恫。廖公渊、李正方俱为武侯贬退，侯死皆痛泣而卒。李邈何人敢为此疏，直是全无心肝。使非后主之明断，则谗慝生心，乘间构衅，恐唐魏元成仆碑之祸，明张太岳籍没之惨，不待死肉寒而君心早变矣。见疏生怒，立正刑诛，君子谓后主之贤，于是乎不可及。」「（乐不思蜀一事）恐传闻失实，不则养晦以自全耳。」

• 清朝方苞《望溪先生文集》中有〈蜀汉后主论〉一文，论曰：「亡国之君若刘后主者，其为世诟历也久矣，而有合乎圣人之道一焉，则任贤勿贰是也。其奉先主之遗命也，一以国事推之孔明而己不与，世犹曰以师保受寄托，威望信于国人，故不敢贰也。然孔明既殁，而奉其遗言以任蒋琬、董允者，一如受命于先主。及琬与允殁，然后以军事属姜维，而维亦孔明所识任也。夫孔明之殁，其年乃五十有四耳。使天假之年而得乘司马氏君臣之瑕衅，虽北定中原可也。即琬与允不相继以殁，亦长保蜀汉可也。然则蜀之亡，会汉祚之当终耳，岂后主有必亡之道哉！呜呼！使置后主他行而独举其任孔明以衡君德，则太甲、成王当之有愧色矣！」

• 蔡东藩：「成都虽危，尚堪背城借一，后主宁从谯周，不从北地王谌，面缚出降，坐丧蜀土，是咎在后主。」

幼名争议

刘禅的幼名「阿斗」被后世用作无能者的代名词。然而，「阿斗」极有可能是「阿升」之误。

「升」字古音同「登」，与「斗」字语转相同，「升」「斗」本为一语、同指一物（「十升为斗」乃后世之制），后因音变二字分化，「升」字由「斗」字加笔区分，二字往往形近致误。古文献中「斗」「升」二字经常相混。在《三国志》现存常见版本中，亦有多个地方学术界认为「斗」字应作「升」字，其中较著名的包括刘禅的幼名「阿斗」疑应作「阿升」，姜维「胆大如斗」疑应作「胆大如升」。清代陈景云指出《三国志》卷三《魏书·明帝纪》注释中称刘禅为「刘升之」可为依据，吴金华《三国志校诂》认为称「刘升之」为「阿升」，如同《三国志·蜀书五·诸葛亮传》注释中称黄承彦为「阿承」，都是当时习俗。《汉书·卷六·武帝纪》记载汉武帝「登封泰山，……升䄠肃然」，「䄠」即「禅」之异体字，「升」「禅」含义关联。养子名为「刘封」，长子名为「刘禅」，亦反映刘备志向。

轶事

魏国史书《魏略》中记载，刘禅在刘备于徐州被曹操攻打时与家人走失，因而被人口贩子拐卖，到了汉中，被一个叫做刘括的人收养。后来刘备入蜀之后，一名简姓将军（疑为简雍）到汉中出使，刘禅找到他并讲解儿时故事，记得父亲字玄德，证明自己的确是刘备儿子。张鲁于是下令把刘禅还给刘备，刘备才把他立为继承人。间接来讲，若这个记载为真，赵云在当阳救刘禅以及拦江截阿斗都是蜀汉编造的故事。然而裴松之根据《三国志》的说法对这个记载提出质疑，指出年龄上并不符合，后世也多采信裴松之。

家庭

父

• 烈祖昭烈皇帝刘备

母

• 甘夫人甘梅，追尊昭烈皇后

后妃

• 敬哀皇后，张氏，张飞长女。刘禅为太子时立为太子妃。于223年立为皇后，237年去世。

• 张皇后，张飞次女。敬哀皇后死后，于238年正月立为皇后。蜀汉灭亡后，随刘禅到洛阳。

• 王贵人，刘禅后宫，刘璇生母。原本是敬哀皇后的侍女。

• 李昭仪，刘禅后宫，蜀汉灭亡时自杀。

兄弟

• 刘永，字公寿，乡侯。

• 刘理，字奉孝，諡曰悼王。

子

刘禅的儿子见于《三国志》记载的有以下七人，其中刘琮亡国之前已过世，刘璇于蜀汉亡后的锺会之乱中被杀，刘谌于亡国当日自杀，其馀投降并与后主同时被迁往洛阳。在永嘉之乱后，刘禅子孙全部死绝。

女

史书无明确记载，《三国志》中记载的三位公主应是他的女儿

• 公主，延熙六年（243年），嫁给时年十七岁的诸葛瞻

• 公主，嫁费禕次子费恭，费禕长女费氏是刘禅长子刘璇的太子妃

• 公主，嫁关羽之孙、关兴之子关统

艺术形象

歇后语

• 阿斗当皇帝——软弱无能

• 阿斗的江山——白送

• 刘备摔阿斗——收买人心

• 司马昭试探刘禅投降——乐不思蜀

• 扶不起的阿斗

影视形象

• 1985年电视剧《诸葛亮》：吴斗争、吉华

• 1994年电视剧《三国演义》：陈婧、李华彤、李铁、鲁继先

• 1996年电影《诸葛孔明》：周海涛

• 2008年电影《三国之见龙卸甲》：胡静波

• 2008年电影《赤壁》：傅祥瑞

• 2010年电视剧《三国》：王鹤鸣

• 2016年电视剧《武神赵子龙》：刘若谷

• 2017年电视剧《军师联盟》：姜寒

• 2020年电影《赵云传之龙鸣长阪坡》：可馨

• 2022年电视剧《风起陇西》

动漫形象

• 《三国演义》

• 漫画《苍天航路》（王欣太）:是一位聪明开朗的少年。

• 漫画《火凤燎原》（陈某）

游戏

• 《三国杀》

• 《三国杀名将传》

• 《真三国无双/无双OROCHI系列》（光荣公司开发，松野太纪配音）

• 《王者荣耀》

• 《幻想三国志5》

Early life

Liu Shan was the eldest son of the warlord Liu Bei and was born to Liu Bei's concubine Lady Gan. In 208, Liu Bei's rival Cao Cao, who had by then occupied most of northern China, launched a campaign on Jing Province. During his retreat south, Liu Bei was caught up by an elite cavalry force led by Cao Cao at the Battle of Changban, and forced to leave behind Lady Gan and Liu Shan to resume his escape. Liu Bei's general Zhao Yun stayed behind to protect the family members of Liu Bei. Holding the infant Liu Shan in his arms, Zhao Yun led the mother and child to safety.

An alternative story of Liu Shan's early life was given in Yu Huan's Weilüe. It was said that Liu Shan, then already several years old, was separated from Liu Bei when the latter was attacked by Cao Cao in Xiaopei in 200. He somehow landed in Hanzhong and was sold by slave traders. Only when Liu Bei declared himself emperor in 221 was Liu Shan reunited with his father. Pei Songzhi included this account in his Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms but refused to give it any credence.

After Liu Bei declared himself emperor of Shu Han in 221, Liu Shan was formally made the crown prince. In the following year, Liu Bei left the capital Chengdu on a campaign against Sun Quan, who had sent his general Lü Meng to invade and seize Jing Province from Liu Bei in 219. Liu Bei was defeated at the Battle of Xiaoting and, having retreated to the city of Baidicheng, eventually died in 223. Before his death, Liu Bei entrusted the young Liu Shan to the care of his chancellor Zhuge Liang. Liu Bei made an ambiguous deathbed statement to Zhuge Liang about the possibility of Liu Shan's fitness to rule. The statement meant at minimum that Zhuge Liang was empowered to replace Liu Shan if the crown prince proved incapable, and may have indicated permission for Zhuge Liang to take the throne himself.

Reign

Zhuge Liangs regency

While Zhuge Liang was alive, Liu Shan treated him as a father figure, allowing Zhuge to handle all state affairs. Zhuge Liang recommended many trusted officials, including Fei Yi, Dong Yun, Guo Youzhi and Xiang Chong into key positions. Under Zhuge Liang's advice, Liu Shan entered into an alliance with the state of Eastern Wu, helping both states to survive against the much larger state of Cao Wei. During Zhuge Liang's regency, the government was largely efficient and not corrupt, allowing the relatively small state of Shu to prepare itself for military campaigns.

In 223, Liu Shan married Zhang Fei's daughter, Empress Zhang.

In the aftermath of Liu Bei's death, the southern Nanman tribes had peeled away from Shu dominion. In 225, Zhuge Liang headed south and was able to, by both military victories and persuasion, reintegrate the southern region into the empire. For the rest of Zhuge Liang's regency, the southern Nanman people would be key contributors to Shu's campaigns against Wei.

Starting in 227, Zhuge Liang launched his five Northern Expeditions against Wei. All but one were modest military failures, with the Shu forces exhausting their provisions before they were able to inflict significant damage on Wei. On one expedition in 231, Zhuge Liang faced a political crisis. Unable to supply the troops sufficiently, Zhuge Liang's co-regent Li Yan forged an edict by Liu Shan, ordering Zhuge Liang to retreat. When Zhuge Liang discovered this, he recommended that Li Yan be removed from his office and put under house arrest, and Liu Shan accepted the recommendation.

In 234, while Zhuge Liang was on his final campaign against Wei, he grew seriously ill. Hearing about Zhuge's illness, Liu Shan sent his secretary Li Fu (李福) to the front line to visit Zhuge Liang and request instructions on important state matters. Among other things, Zhuge Liang recommended that Jiang Wan succeed him, and that Fei Yi succeed Jiang Wan. Zhuge Liang refused to answer Li Fu's next question — who should succeed Fei Yi. Zhuge Liang died soon thereafter. Liu Shan followed these recommendations, installing Jiang Wan as the new regent.

Jiang Wans regency

From that point on, Shu was generally in a defensive posture and no longer posed a threat to Wei. According to histories of the Wu court, Shu's defensive posture was interpreted by many Wu officials as a sign that Shu was abandoning the alliance and had entered into a treaty with Wei; but Wu's emperor Sun Quan correctly identified it as merely a sign of weakness, not an abandonment of the alliance.

In 237, Empress Zhang died. That year, Liu Shan took her younger sister as a consort, and in 238 created her empress. Her title remained the same as her sister, Empress Zhang.

In 243, Jiang Wan grew ill and transferred most of his authority to Fei Yi and Fei's assistant Dong Yun. In 244, when Wei's regent Cao Shuang attacked Hanzhong, it was Fei Yi who led the troops against Cao Shuang and dealt Wei a major defeat in the Battle of Xingshi. Jiang Wan, however, remained influential until his death in 245. Soon after Jiang Wan's death, Dong Yun also died — allowing the eunuch Huang Hao, a favourite of Liu Shan's, whose power Dong Yun had curbed, to start aggrandising his power. Huang Hao was viewed as corrupt and highly manipulative in domestic matters, and the governmental efficiency that was achieved during Zhuge Liang's and Jiang Wan's regencies began to deteriorate.

Fei Yis regency

After Jiang Wan and Dong Yun's deaths, Liu Shan named Jiang Wei as Fei Yi's assistant, but both were largely involved only in military matters, as Liu Shan gradually became more self-assertive in non-military matters. It was also around this time that he became more interested in touring the countryside and increasing the use of luxury items, both of which added stress on the treasury, albeit not cripplingly so. Jiang Wei was interested in resuming Zhuge Liang's policies of attacking Wei aggressively, a strategy that Fei Yi partially agreed with — as he allowed Jiang Wei to make raids on Wei's borders, but never gave him a large number of troops, reasoning that Shu was in no position for a major military confrontation with Wei.

In 253, Fei Yi was assassinated by the general Guo Xun (郭循), a former Wei general who had been forced to surrender but who secretly maintained his loyalty to Wei. Fei Yi's death left Jiang Wei as the de facto regent, but with a power vacuum in domestic affairs, as Jiang Wei continued to be on the borders, conducting campaigns against Wei. Huang Hao's influence increased greatly as a result.

Jiang Weis semi-regency

After Fei Yi's death, Jiang Wei assumed command of Shu's troops and began a number of campaigns against Wei—but while they were troubling to the Wei regents Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, the attacks largely inflicted no real damage against Wei, as Jiang Wei's campaigns were plagued by one problem that had plagued Zhuge Liang's—the lack of adequate food supply—and largely had to be terminated after a short duration. These campaigns instead had a detrimental effect on Shu, whose government no longer had the efficiency that it had during Zhuge Liang's and Jiang Wan's regencies, and therefore was unable to cope with the drain of resources that Jiang Wei's campaigns were having.

In 253, Jiang Wei made a coordinated attack on Wei, along with Wu's regent Zhuge Ke, but was eventually forced to withdraw after his troops ran out of food supplies — allowing Sima Shi to concentrate against Zhuge Ke, dealing Wu forces a devastating defeat that eventually caused so much resentment that Zhuge Ke was assassinated. This was the last of the coordinated attacks by Shu and Wu on Wei in the duration of the Shu-Wu alliance.

In 255, on one of Jiang Wei's campaigns, he dealt Wei forces a major defeat in the Battle of Didao, nearly capturing the important Wei border city Didao, but in 256, as he tried to again confront the Wei forces, he was instead dealt a defeat by Deng Ai, and this was a fairly devastating loss that left Jiang Wei with a weakened standing with the people. Many officials now openly questioned Jiang Wei's strategy, but Liu Shan took no actions to stop Jiang. Further, in 259, under Jiang Wei's suggestion, Liu Shan approved a plan where the main troops were withdrawn from major border cities to try to induce a Wei attack, with troops positioned in such a way as to trap the Wei troops should they do so — a strategy that would be used several years later, in 263, when Wei did attack, but which would prove to be a failure.

By 261, Huang Hao's power appeared paramount. Among the key domestic officials, only Dong Jue and Zhuge Liang's son Zhuge Zhan were able to maintain their posts without flattering Huang Hao. In 262, Huang Hao would in fact try to remove Jiang Wei and replace him with his friend Yan Yu (阎宇). Upon hearing this, Jiang Wei advised Liu Shan to execute Huang Hao, but the emperor denied the request, saying that the eunuch was but a servant who ran errands. Fearing retaliation, Jiang Wei left Chengdu to garrison troops at Tazhong (沓中; northwest of present-day Zhugqu County, Gansu).

According to the Wu ambassador Xue Xu, who visited Shu in 261 on the order of the Wu emperor Sun Xiu, the status that Shu was in at this point was:

:The ruler is incompetent and does not know his errors; his subordinates do the bare minimum to avoid punishment. When I entered their court, I heard no proper speech; when I toured their countryside, the people looked sallow from hunger. Your servant has heard that swallows and sparrows may nests atop a great hall, mother and child both content, believing themselves safe. Yet should the rafters suddenly ignite, the birds remain happy, unaware of the disaster about to befall them. The situation is analogous.

Fall of Shu

In 262, aggravated by Jiang Wei's constant attacks, Wei's regent Sima Zhao planned to carry out a major campaign to terminate the Shu threat once and for all. Upon hearing rumours of this plan, Jiang Wei submitted a request to Liu Shan, warning him about the mustering of Wei troops under the generals Deng Ai, Zhuge Xu, and Zhong Hui near the border. However, Huang Hao persuaded Liu Shan with fortunetelling to take no action on Jiang Wei's requests for war preparations.

In 263, Sima Zhao launched his attacks, led by Deng Ai, Zhuge Xu, and Zhong Hui. Liu Shan followed Jiang Wei's previous plans and ordered the border troops to withdraw and prepare to trap Wei forces, rather than to confront them directly. The plan, however, had a fatal flaw — it assumed that Wei forces would siege the border cities, which, instead, Deng Ai and Zhong Hui ignored, and they advanced instead on Yang'an Pass (阳安关; in present-day Hanzhong, Shaanxi), capturing it. Jiang Wei was able to meet their troops and initially repel them, but Deng Ai led his army through a treacherous mountain pass and deep into Shu territory. There he launched a surprise attack on Jiangyou (江油; in present-day Mianyang, Sichuan). After defeating Zhuge Zhan there, Deng Ai had virtually no Shu troops left between his army and the Shu capital Chengdu. Faced with the prospect of defending Chengdu against Deng Ai's troops with no defences, Liu Shan took the advice of Secretary Qiao Zhou and promptly surrendered. This surrender was criticised by many: Chen Shou alone had sympathetic words, in a laconic coda to the biography of Qiao Zhou, his own former mentor. It would be until the Qing dynasty that other nuanced or positive assessments were made.

In March 264, Zhong Hui would carry out an attempt to seize power — which Jiang Wei, who had surrendered to Zhong Hui, tried to take advantage of to revive Shu. He advised Zhong Hui to falsely accuse Deng Ai of treason and arrest him, and, with their combined troops, rebel against Sima Zhao. Zhong Hui did so, and Jiang Wei planned to next kill Zhong Hui and his followers, and then redeclare Shu's independence under emperor Liu Shan, and had in fact written to Liu Shan to inform him of those plans. However, Zhong Hui's troops rebelled against him, and both Jiang Wei and Zhong Hui were killed in battle. Liu Shan himself was not harmed in the disturbance, although his crown prince Liu Xuan was killed in the confusion.

Life after the fall of Shu

In early 264, Liu Shan with Empress Zhang and his entire family was relocated to the Wei capital Luoyang. On 11 April 264, he was enfeoffed as Duke of Anle (安乐公) while his sons and grandsons became marquises. This practice was referred to as (二王三恪).

The by Xi Zuochi records an incident which has become the most famous tale to be associated with Liu Shan: One day, the Wei regent Sima Zhao invited Liu Shan and his followers to a feast, during which Sima Zhao arranged to have entertainers perform traditional Shu music and dance. The former Shu officials present were all saddened, but Liu Shan was visibly unmoved. When asked by Sima Zhao if he missed his former state, Liu Shan replied:

This phrase has become a Chinese idiom— lèbùsīshǔ (乐不思蜀), figuratively meaning "joyful and does not think of home / the past". The phrase has a negative connotation with regards to the person's character.

Former Shu official Xi Zheng then advised Liu Shan that the appropriate response was to lament how far he had been removed from his family tombs. Liu Shan followed the advice when he was asked the same question later, however Sima Zhao quickly guessed that he had been coached in his answer, and Liu Shan admitted as much. This was noted by Sima Zhao as a sign that Liu Shan was an incompetent fool; some later historians believed that it showed Liu Shan's wisdom in intentionally displaying a lack of ambition so that Sima Zhao would not view him as a threat.

Liu Shan died in 271 in Luoyang, and was given the posthumous name "Duke Si of Anle" (安乐思公; "the deep-thinking duke of peace and happiness"). This landless sinecure lasted a few generations during Wei's successor state, the Jin dynasty, before being extinguished in the Disaster of Yongjia. Liu Yuan, the founder of Han-Zhao, one of the states in the Sixteen Kingdoms, claimed to be a legitimate successor of the Han dynasty. In that capacity, he bestowed Liu Shan the posthumous name "Emperor Xiaohuai" (孝怀皇帝; "the filial and kind emperor").

Assessment

Contemporary

Liu Shan had a very negative reputation among his contemporaries. He was seen as an incompetent ruler, more interested in satisfying his desires than looking after his country and was held responsible for appointing corrupt officials to position of power.

Both Xue Xu and Lu Kai, officials from the allied State of Eastern Wu described him as a mediocre ruler with Xue Xu further remarking that when he travelled to Shu for his mission as emissary in 261, he saw corruption among the officials and hunger among the people. Lu Kai noted that the natural defences of Sichuan along with a strong army were enough to protect his State yet Liu Shan allowed disorder and corruption in his court, failed to recognize honest officials from dishonest more interested in luxury which is how his State and subordinates became prisoners from another.

This statement about the impressive natural defenses of the region is repeated by Li Te, when he led his clan back to Yi Province. While passing through Jian'ge Pass (剑阁关, in modern Guangyuan, Sichuan), he exclaimed that with such an impressive barrier, only a lesser man like Liu Shan could have been submitted by someone else.

As previously stated, Sima Zhao thought of Liu Shan's attitude as pleasure seeker, saying that even someone as talented as Zhuge Liang couldn't assist and safeguard him forever so even less Jiang Wei. Jia Chong answered to Sima Zhao that this was the same behaviour that allowed them to conquer Shu Han. A resounding anecdote when comparing with the events preceding the Wei invasion. When he was Emperor, Liu Shan repeatedly wanted to expand his harem however Dong Yun prevented him from doing so. Liu Shan was too afraid to act against him and for this disliked him. After Dong Yun's death, with the flattery of Chen Zhi and influence of Huang Hao, Liu Shan's hatred for Dong Yun grew each day. After Chen Zhi's death in 258, Huang Hao was controlling the politics of the State and none among the people of Shu did not miss Dong Yun.

Li Mi, a former official of Shu gave a mixed appraisal praising him for the employment of Zhuge Liang which allowed him to stabilize his power but also criticizing him for the employment of Huang Hao which allowed the later corruption of his court. Sun Sheng evaluated Liu Shan as a mediocre and ignorant ruler and denounced him for surrendering so quickly during the Conquest of Shu by Wei in 263 rather than use the local rugged terrain along with other armies in his government to resist the invaders. Pei Songzhi qualified him (along with Fei Yi) as an average individual who had no weight on the existence of his State.

Chang Qu, who wrote extensively about the history of the Sichuan region in the Chronicles of Huayang (Huayang Guo Zhi), greatly praised Zhuge Liang but lamented that his lord, Liu Shan wasn't the kind of man that could unite a country. In the volume 7 of the Huayang Guo Zhi, he ends Liu Shan's biography with Wang Chong's eulogy toward his former State of Shu Han where Wang Chong comments that Liu Shan was a mediocre ruler without ambition toward the world and was in part responsible for the decline of his State.

Chen Shou, who wrote Liu Shan's biography in the Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi), in his appraisal commends Liu Shan when he appointed Zhuge Liang for following reason but condemns him for the employment of Huang Hao as being ignorant. He noted that when something is without substance, it reflects what's around. And this expression fits Liu Shan perfectly.

Modern

However, modern historians have taken a revisionist view, challenging the common portrayal of Liu Shan seeing him in a far more positive light.

Among them, Yi Zhongtian argued that even competent emperors like Emperor Wu of Han had evil courtiers beside him; Liu Shan is not the only case. Moreover, surrounding Liu Shan were not only evil courtiers, but also many competent and talented officers like Jiang Wan, Fei Yi and Dong Yun. Secondly, Liu Shan surrendering without much fighting is blameworthy, but the fall of Shu Han was actually due to many reasons. Thirdly, for the case of Zhao Yun, Zhao's official position during his life was actually lower than Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao and Huang Zhong. Hence, Liu Shan's awarding of posthumous Marquis titles to the latter four but not timely to Zhao Yun was understandable. Finally, Liu Shan's behavior in front of Sima Zhao was purposeful: he pretended to be stupid and despicable so that Sima Zhao would ignore him and spare his family, and Liu Shan was successful. Being able to fool the distrustful Sima Zhao meant Liu Shan was actually not a fool.

Moreover, there were notable signs of Liu Shan's competence during his reign. He cleverly retook direct control of state affairs after the death of Zhuge Liang and appointed Jiang Wan and Fei Yi so that the two could keep each other in check. In 238, Cao Wei made war with Gongsun Yuan and many people in Shu Han believed it was a good chance for northern expansion. However, Liu Shan carefully instructed Fei Yi to attack only in combination with Eastern Wu, and only when Cao Wei was unprepared. Several historical commentators thus compare Liu Shan's caution favorably with that of Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang's costly and ineffective campaigns. Finally, Liu Shan's surrender in 262-263 has been viewed with sympathy as an inevitable choice by commentators in both historical records and contemporary times, due to the vast difference in population and military capability between the two states, as well as the tendency of victors to massacre the citizens of enemy states that had refused to surrender. In particular, Liu Shan's surrender is often compared favorably with that of Gongsun Yuan, a regional warlord who attempted to retake power by allying with Eastern Wu, which eventually resulted in the extermination of his clan, and a bloody massacre of his population base at Liaodong. In contrast, Liu Shan's surrender led to a peaceful transfer of power to the Wei kingdom, with most of the population unharmed, except during the week of unrest caused by Jiang Wei's plotting.

Family

Consorts and issue

• Empress Jing'ai, of the Zhang clan (敬哀皇后 张氏; d. 237)

• Empress Zhang, of the Zhang clan (张皇后 张氏; 237–264)

• Noble Lady Wang, of the Wang clan (王贵人 王氏)

　• Liu Xuan, Crown Prince (皇太子 刘璇; 224–March 264), first son

• Li Zhaoyi, of the Li clan (李昭仪 李氏)

• Unknown:

　• Liu Yao, Prince of Anding (安定王刘瑶), second son

　• Liu Cong, Prince of Xihe (西河王刘琮; d. 262), third son

　• Liu Zan (刘瓒), fourth son

　• Liu Chen, Prince of Beidi (北地王刘谌; d. 263), fifth son

　• Liu Xun, Prince of Xinxing (新兴王刘恂), sixth son; later succeeded the peerage of Duke of Anle

　• Liu Qian (刘虔), seventh son

In popular culture

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Liu Shan appears as a character in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, which romanticises the historical events before and during the Three Kingdoms period. In the novel, Liu Shan is generally portrayed as an incapable ruler who was easily swayed by words, especially those from the eunuch Huang Hao, whom he favoured.

In modern works

Liu Shan is a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors video game series, first available in the seventh instalment, as well as in Warriors Orochi 3, also by Koei.