 The Genius of Shu Han
“The centuries rarely produce a genius. It is our bad luck that the great genius of our era was granted to the Turkish nation.” David Lloyd George
The authenticity of this quote can be called into question, but this is not my concern, for I do not intend to speak on either Earl Lloyd-George or Atatürk, at least not for now. But if centuries really do seldom produce a true genius, then I can name another man worthy of the title for his era - a Chinese tactician and inventor by the name Zhuge Liang.
Typically, after the fall of a great political power, myriad minor clans flourish, often competing for dominion - the fall of the Seljuk Empire marked the rise of the Ottomans alongside many other beghliks; a succession war eventually split the Mongol Empire and various clans fought against each other after the fall of the Ashikaga shogunate in Japan. It is often in those times that heroes are born, for periods of constant war demand nothing less.
Zhuge Liang lived in a similar time of great turmoil, called the Three Kingdoms period, quite famous in popular culture. Those who have played the Dynasty Warriors series would be very familiar with the era. Myth and history are intertwined when it comes to accounts of this period, and Zhuge Liang got his fair share of apocryphal deeds, thanks, in part, to the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms (which I should fully read, but can't seem to get around to). But now let's put introductions aside and take a look at what this legendary man did, or is said to have done.
One thing Zhuge Liang is famous for is his uncanny ability to aggravate. Upon learning of the illness of the enemy general Cao Zhen, Zhuge Liang took the opportunity to finish him off - with a letter. He released a few enemy soldiers, telling them to bring along his letter, which they gladly did. The letter merely insulted Cao Zhen by calling him a coward, but as this translation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms words it, "Cao Zhen's wrath rose as he read. At the end it filled his breast. And he died that evening."
The letter-assassination incident makes me wonder if Zhuge Liang came up with using anthrax as a weapon too, but this isn't the only time Zhuge Liang killed people with insults. Old Minister Wang Lang apparently didn't know better than to request a parley with Liang, and again was so insulted that he immediately fell over dead.
Another exploit of Zhuge Liang is defending against an army all by his lonesome, though the account is probably just a myth. As the story goes, Zhuge Liang was in a pinch, with the loss of a vital area for the supply lines of his army and a large opposing army headed by a very competent general, Sima Yi, on its way to his position. Zhuge Liang hid away the few soldiers he had, ordered all banners put down and dressed a few soldiers as peasants sweeping the roads. He himself sat on a wall, cheerfully playing music. Sima Yi, a cautious man by nature, though Zhuge Liang had set up some ambush (for which he is famous for), ordered a retreat - and that's how Zhuge Liang scared off an army of 150,000 all on his own.
There are yet other stories about Zhuge Liang, which you can easily access on the Internet, or you may want to read the 120-chapter monster of a book that is the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (which can also be found in full, for free, on the internet) And well, I started the article with a quote, it'd be proper to end it with one too.
“Now I will write him such a letter that he will die.”- Zhuge Liang
BY ALPER ÖZKAN (MBG/III)
d_ozkan@ug.bilkent.edu.tr
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