Due to the influence of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang has almost become synonymous with wisdom, and has a high reputation and high evaluation in China.
However, all along, the debate around Zhuge Liang has never stopped. Generally speaking, there are two extremes in the debate about Zhuge Liang, one is that Zhuge Liang is "shorter than The Odd Strategy" and even ridicules him for being "mediocre"; the other is that Zhuge Liang's wisdom is superior, just like the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" describes, "the talent of the heavens and the earth, the unpredictable opportunity of the gods".
Open the Baidu APP to see high-definition pictures
It should be said that this kind of controversy has a long history. The views that have belittled Zhuge Liang's military prowess in recent years are not new, and they almost invariably derive from the evaluation of Zhuge Liang by Chen Shou, the author of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. As early as a thousand years ago, Chen Shou believed that Zhuge Liang was "good at governing Rong, short in plots, and better than generals in reasoning with the people", pointing out that Zhuge Liang's military ability was lower than his own political talent. Therefore, the author believes that when discussing the advantages and disadvantages of Zhuge Liang's military ability, it is necessary to trace back to the source and seriously examine Chen Shou's evaluation of Zhuge Liang.
As we all know, since Chen Shou made the above evaluation of Zhuge Liang, successive generations of critics have been divided into two major factions. On this basis, one faction denied Zhuge Liang as an outstanding military figure in the Three Kingdoms period, believing that Chen Shou was a historian known for his "straight writing", and his judgment was of course comprehensive and pertinent, so he tried his best to footnote Chen Shou's words. For example, the Western Jin Dynasty scribe Lu Ji exaggerated the military achievements of Cao Wei's generals in resisting Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, and the Famous Northern Wei minister Cui Hao commented on Zhuge Liang's military talents with success or failure, and now some historians are collecting materials from all aspects to prove that Zhuge Liang is indeed "a little less than his strengths." The other faction believes that Chen Shou's assessment of Zhuge Liang is unfair and contrary to historical facts. He also analyzed that Chen Shou deliberately belittled Zhuge Liang's military ability because "Chen Shou tasted zhan (Zhan is Zhuge Liang's son Zhuge Zhan) official, and was humiliated by Zhan", "Shou's father joined the army for Ma Mo, and was cursed by Zhuge Liang, and Shou's father also sat on the throne (kūn)", thus concluding that Chen Shou was the end of the communiqué of personal vendetta. The Tang Dynasty historian Liu Zhiji once condemned Chen Shou on this basis, denouncing him as "a traitor who remembers words and a murderer who carries a pen."
In fact, the analysis of both schools is biased. Repeatedly chewing the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", it can be seen that Chen Shou has great respect for Zhuge Liang. He not only summarized Zhuge Liang's magnificent career in vivid and concise language in "The Biography of Zhuge Liang", but also pointed out Zhuge Liang's political influence and military talent at any time when writing biographies of other characters. Therefore, the doubt about Chen Shou's "communiqué personal vendetta" can be completely ruled out.
However, Chen Shou was a historian of the feudal era, and he was limited by historical conditions. Therefore, his "straight pen" cannot but lay the mark of the times. Looking at the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, especially the Biography of Zhuge Liang, we can see that the author's account of Zhuge Liang's life and career and his evaluation of Zhuge Liang are somewhat contradictory. In his account of Zhuge Liang's life and career, the author deliberately renders Zhuge Liang's extraordinary political and military talents; in his evaluation of Zhuge Liang, the author clearly praises his political talents and suppresses his military talents. Why is there such a contradiction? This is the crux of the matter where we want to solve the problem.
It should be noted that Chen Shou's argument that Zhuge Liang's military ability was inferior to his political ability was made within the specific scope of his analysis of the reasons why Zhuge Liang had never been able to overcome the State of Wei. He analyzed the main reasons for this: One is the subjective reason, "Ran Liangcai, Yu Zhirong is long, the strange plot is short, and the work of the people is superior to the general's strategy.", that is, he believes that Zhuge Liang's military ability is lower than his political ability, and the other is the objective reason, "and the enemy he has fought against, or the value of the people, the multitude is not inferior, and the attack and defense of the alien body, so although the masses have been mobilized for many years, they have not been able to overcome." Although the "human masters" pointed out by Chen Shou here may include other people, since what is discussed here is Zhuge Liang's later years, Zhuge Liang's fierce enemy in his later years is naturally Sima Yi. Therefore, this comment of the author is self-evident: Zhuge Liang's political ability is unparalleled, but the general Shuai's strategy is slightly inferior to Sima Yi's!
If that's not enough, we can move on. The author goes on to say: "Xi Xiao He recommended Han Xin and Guan Zhongju Prince Cheng's father, both of whom were concerned about their own strengths and failed to have both. The bright instrument can govern, or can it also manage and Xiao ZhiYapiye, and the name of the time will have no father of the city and Han Xin, so that the merit is late, and the righteousness is not as good as the evil?" It is more clearly stated here: Zhuge Liang's measurement ability was comparable to Guan Zhong and Xiao He, but at that time, there were no famous generals like Prince Cheng's father and Han Xin who were comparable to Sima Yi, so that his ambition could never be realized!
So, why did Chen Shou sing praises for Sima Yi? This is another important issue that we must clarify. According to shi zai: "Chen Shouzi Chengzhuo, the Brazilian Anhan people also ... Shi Shu Guan Ge Ling Shi", after the Western Jin Dynasty unified the country, it was also "removed from Zuo Shu Lang", and then promoted to "Shu Lang". It can be seen from this that he served as both a Shu official and a Jin official in his lifetime. Therefore, he not only had feelings for Shu, but also under the political pressure of the rulers of the Jin Dynasty, he could not engage in the writing of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms without caution. Therefore, he did not hesitate to praise Zhuge Liang's political talent, but he commented on his military talent with reservations, all because the former was far away from the Jin rulers, and the latter was closely related to the ancestors of the Jin rulers!
As a historian, Chen Shou's heart was very contradictory: he wanted to record history "straight" and truthfully, and he was afraid that the Rulers of the Jin Dynasty would see something strange and be attacked by flying disasters. This state of mind can often be grasped in the book "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". For example, Chen Shou in the "Biography of Zhuge Liang" tried his best to describe and praise Zhuge Liang, a stormy figure at that time, but he was afraid of the accusations of the Jin rulers, so at the end of the biography, he deliberately pointed out: "Liang Bi Zuo is in danger of the country, and the negative obstruction is not guest", and the minister was also ordered to "determine the story of Zhuge Liang of shu cheng xiang", which is "sincerely the bright and virtuous of the Great Jin Dynasty, Ze is boundless, and since ancient times, there has been no Lunye".
At the same time, when Chen Shou collected Zhuge Liang's remarks and compiled them into a collection of essays and appended them to his biography, he also hurriedly explained: "His Majesty Fu Wei has traced the ancient saints and is unscrupulous, so although the enemy country is secretive, he is salty and unscrupulous, so the way of Ming Datong is also." I would like to record and write the works of Shangyi, and the subject Shoucheng is sincerely afraid, and the first time is the first to be killed, and the capital crime is a capital offense." This is obviously an attempt to avoid unforeseen calamities by praising the magnanimity of the Jin rulers, and to try to circulate his books and the works of Zhuge Liang recorded, and his fear of the Jin rulers is naked!
In addition, Chen Shou's final analysis of the deep reasons for Zhuge Liang's failure to conquer Wei was summed up in one sentence: "Gai Tianfeng has a return, and we can't fight for it wisely!" On the one hand, this sentence reflects the author's idealistic views, and at the same time, it is also his praise for the jin rulers. Although Zhuge Liang has amazing intelligence, but the Destiny of Heaven belongs to Jin, what about intelligence?
In summary, we can draw the following conclusions: First, Chen Shou's comment that Zhuge Liang's military ability is inferior to his political ability has its bitterness and special intentions, and it is not enough to believe; second, Chen Shou himself has never denied zhuge Liang as an outstanding military expert!
So, what do you think of Zhuge Liang's military talents? First-class, second-rate, or not at all? Welcome to leave a message to discuss.