Temple of Marquis Wu, which is located in the south of Chengdu, is a famous historical site dedicated to the memory of both Liu Bei (161-223), Emperor of the Kingdom of Shu in the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280), and Zhuge Liang (181-234), Prime Minister of the kingdom.
The temple was originally built by Li Xiong of the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316AD), 400 years after Zhuge Liang's death, and rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty with a total area of 37000 square meters. The whole complex faces south direction with the first gate, second gate, hall of Liu Bei, corridor, and hall of Zhuge Liang sitting on the central axis, in which hall of Liu Bei is the highest and greatest one. A board hung above the first gate reads "Han Zhaolie Temple" ( Zhaolie was a title given to Liu Bei posthumously). In spit of this, the temple is commonly known as Wuhou Memorial Temple (Zhuge Liang was conferred on the title of Wu Xianghou after his death).Three Kingdoms Period (220-280)After the quelling of the Yellow Turbans Uprising of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD), local warlords and tyrants sprung up everywhere in struggle for the control over the country. Among them, the military groups under Yuanshao and Caocao in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River stood out as the strongest. While to the south of the Yangtze River, Sunquan and Liubei occupied the eastern and western areas respectively. They stayed comparatively weaker in the first round of power struggle.
In 200 AD, Caocao declared war on Yuanshao. At Guandu in present Henan Province, the army of Caocao crushed the force of Yuanshao with lesser military strength. After Guandu Battle, Caocao annexed other minor forces in the north and unified the region north of the Yellow River. Thereafter, Caocao pushed his army across the river and launched assault on southern regimes.
Under the suggestion of Zhuge Liang, the advisor of Liubei, the forces of Liubei and Sunquan came to a united front against Caocao. They won an overwhelming victory in Chibi Battle (near present Puyin in Hubei Province). Since then, Caocao was warded back in the north. Liubei followed up the victory and seized present Chengdu City and west of present Hubei Province. And Sunquan strengthened his influence in the middle valley of the Yangtze River.
In 220 AD, Caopi, the son of Caocao, abandoned Emperor Xian of the Eastern Han Dynasty and proclaimed himself the emperor of Wei Kingdom (220 - 265), making Xuchang in Henan Province his capital city. The next year, Liubei was crowned in Chengdu, ruling the Kingdom of Shu (221 - 263). In 229 AD, Sunquan founded the Kingdom of Wu (229 - 280) with capital at Jianye, present Nanjing City. Thus the confrontation of three rival powers came into being and China entered the period of the Three Kingdoms, the golden age of chivalry in history.
Although the wars continued during this period, each of the kingdoms highly concentrated on the reorganization of the government and the rebuilding of the social order and economy. In the kingdom of Wei, the rulers made outstanding achievements. After the reunification of the northern area, Caocao began the opening of the farmlands by soldiers and local people. He restricted the rights of big landlords and uprooted the abused privilege of eunuchs and members of the royal family. Moreover, he gave promotion to the able men from the middle and low class. In Shu, Zhuge Liang sought to build the kingdom stronger and set up good terms with southwestern ethnic group people. While in the Wu Kingdom, seafaring was in the bloom. 
In 263, the Wei Kingdom conquered Shu, which only lasted forty-two years with two kings in the reign. Wei Kingdom lasted for 46 years with five kings. In 265, Sima Yan, a top official of the Wei, usurped the power and established his reign as Jin (265 - 420). Later, Jin overturned Wu, the last surviving kingdom in 280 and brought an end to the Three Kingdoms Period.Three Kingdoms Period-- Liubei (161-223)Liubei, commonly called Liu Xuande, was a descendant of Prince Zhongshanjing. Liubei was born in Hebei Province. Started his life as a shoemaker and a weaver of mats, he made his name against the Yellow Turban Uprising and fought in wars all around China, finally becoming the first emperor of Shu.
Liubei was noted for his loyalty to friends and his respect to the talents. He met Guanyu and Zhangfei and became sworn brothers at the Peach Garden and vowed to combine their strengths and efforts to restore peace and order to the country. Another much-told story said that he ever paid three visits to the home of Zhuge Liang, one of the most resourceful men in history. In the end, with sincerity and persuasion from Liubei, Zhuge Liang gave up his seclusion and spent the rest of his life assisting the Shu rulers to govern the Kingdom.
In 208 AD, Liubei adopted the suggestion of Zhuge Liang and carried out a joint military action with the Wu Kingdom against the attacks of the powerful Wei Kingdom. The alliance had the final victory. And further on, Liubei occupied the vast land in present Sichuan and Shaanxi Provinces and thus reinforced the regime of Shu.
In 221 AD, Liubei crowned himself the King of Shu in present Chengdu City. The next year, he broke the alliance treaty and commanded the army downstream the Yangtze River to attack the Wu Kingdom. However, the Shu army lost the battle. On the way of their retreat, Liubei died at Baidicheng, in present Chongqing 
City.Zhuge Liang (181-234)Zhuge Liang was an excellent statesman, thinker and strategist in the period of the Three Kingdoms. His hometown was in present Shandong Province. He became parentless when still young. His uncle brought him up and he suffered homeless life because of the chaos caused by war. After his uncle died, he took up a recluse life in present Hubei Province for ten years, but still kept a close watch on the state affairs outside. Finally, Liubei, the ruler of the Shu Kingdom entreated him out of the withdrawal. For the rest of his life, he served in the Shu Kingdom as the chief military advisor. Since the regime of Caocao in the north boasted the strongest force, Zhuge Liang suggested his master to make allies with the equally weak Wu Kingdom against Caocao, which helped to form the confrontation of three kingdoms for over thirty years. Shu-Wu alliance once thoroughly defeated the army of Caocao, who was driven back and stayed in the north of the Yellow River for a long time.
Later, a war broke out between the Wu and Shu kingdoms. Liubei was badly defeated and died soon. At his death, he entrust to Zhu Gelinag his child and the country. From then on, Zhuge Liang devoted himself to the cause of the restoration of the Han Empire bequeathed by his master. He resumed the good terms with the Wu Kingdom, put down the revolt on the border area and ordered the northern expeditions against the Wei Kingdom. In 234 AD, Zhuge Liang died of life exhaustion on the battlefield of northern expedition. His death marked the downfall of the Shu Kingdom. He once remarked himself as to bend myself to a task and exert the life to the utmost. Even his rivals could not help admiring his great talent and his devotion to the country. Based on his war experience, Zhuge Liang initiated Eight Elements Battle formation for army deployment and arrangement. Now the site where he once drilled the army still remains in Fengjie County, Chongqing Municipality. And Wuhou Memorial Temple (Temple of Marquis Wu) has been built all over the country in honor of Zhuge Liang.Caocao (155-220)Caocao was born in Pei Guohao (present Hao County in Anhui Province). He was known as a famous politician, strategist and a great litterateur during the Three Kingdoms Period. Caocao started his military career at the age of twenty. In the process of cracking down the Yellow Turbans Uprising at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD), he built up his force. After the rebellion, the Eastern Han only reigned in name and the country fell apart into three confronting forces of Caocao, Liubei and Sunquan. Caocao outstripped the other two. 
In 196 AD, Caocao had the Eastern Han capital relocated from Luoyang to Xu, (both in present Henan Province). He proclaimed himself the prime minister and made the puppet emperor his trump card. After several decisive battles with local forces in the north, he unified the region north of the Yellow River.
Thenceforward, Caocao targeted at major forces in the south. In order to fight back Cacao, the southern regimes of Liubei and Sunquan allied together. Quickly, the Battle of Chibi broke out. Caocao was badly defeated and had to draw back to the north desperately. Since then, Caocao has never stepped across the Yellow River until the time of his son. In the north, Caocao had vast land cultivated by the garrison troops and ordered the construction of many irrigation projects. He set the governmental monopoly on the salt and iron commodities. In politics, he practiced merits system. All this contributed to the restoration of social economy. Meanwhile, he made accomplishments in poetry. Together with his two sons, they opened a new ear in the history of Chinese literature. Caocao died of heavy headache at the age of sixty-five.
