Liu Bei (c640). Scroll detail. Ink, color on silk. 50 x 35. Attributed. Liu Bei, courtesy name Xuande, was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Despite early failings compared to his rivals and lacking both the material resources and social status they commanded, he gathered support among disheartened Han loyalists who opposed Cao Cao, the warlord who controlled the Han central government and the figurehead Emperor Xian, and led a popular movement to restore the Han dynasty through this support. Liu Bei overcame his many defeats to carve out his own realm, which at its peak spanned present-day Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunan, and parts of Hubei and Gansu. Culturally, due to the popularity of the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei is widely known as an ideal benevolent, humane ruler who cared for his people and selected good advisers for his government. His fictional counterpart in the novel was a salutary example of a ruler who adhered to the Confucian set of moral values, such as loyalty and compassion. Historically, Liu Bei, like many Han rulers, was greatly influenced by Laozi. He was a brilliant politician and leader whose skill was a remarkable demonstration of Legalism. Liu Bei's somewhat Confucian tendencies were also dramatized compared to his rival states' founders, Cao Pi and Sun Quan, who both ruled as pure Legalists. His political philosophy can best be described by the Chinese idiom Confucian in appearance but Legalist in substance, a style of governing which had become the norm after the founding of the Han dynasty. The historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms described Liu Bei as a man seven chi and five cun tall, with long arms that extended beyond his knees, and ears so large that he could see them. The 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms gives a similar description about Liu Bei's physical appearance, but with additional features. It mentions that Liu Bei is seven chi and five cun tall, with ears so large that they touch his shoulders and that he can even see them, long arms that extend beyond his knees, a fair and handsome face, and lips so red that it seems as though he is wearing lipstick. Further information: Shu Han family trees § Liu Bei's ancestors According to the 3rd-century historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei was born in Zhuo County, Zhuo Commandery, which is in present-day Zhuozhou, Baoding, Hebei. He was a descendant of Liu Zhen, a son of Liu Sheng, who was the ninth son of Emperor Jing and the first King of Zhongshan in Han dynasty. However, Pei Songzhi's 5th-century commentary, based on the Dianlue, said that Liu Bei was a descendant of the Marquis of Linyi. As the title Marquis of Linyi was held by Liu Fu and later by Liu Fu's son Liu Taotu, who were also descendants of Emperor Jing, it was possible that Liu Bei descended from this line rather than Liu Zhen's line. Liu Bei's grandfather Liu Xiong and father Liu Hong both served as clerks in the local commandery office. Liu Bei grew up in a poor family, having lost his father when he was still a child. To support themselves, Liu Bei and his mother sold shoes and straw-woven mats. Even so, Liu Bei was full of ambition from childhood: he once said to his peers, while under a tree that resembled the imperial chariot, that he desired to become an emperor. In 175, his mother sent him to study with Lu Zhi, a distinguished man from Zhuo Commandery. One of his fellow-students was Gongsun Zan, whom Liu Bei admired and treated as an elder brother, and another was his kinsman Liu Deran. The adolescent Liu Bei was said to be unenthusiastic in studying and displayed interest in hunting, music and dressing.He enjoyed associating with braves, and in his youth he fought and hung out with them. Concise in speech, calm in demeanour, and kind to his friends, Liu Bei was well liked by his contemporaries In 184, at the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Liu Bei became much more politically aware and called for the assembly of a militia to help government forces suppress the rebellion. Liu Bei received financial contributions from two wealthy horse merchants, Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang, and rallied a group of loyal followers, including Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Jian Yong. Liu Bei led his militia to join the local government forces led by Colonel Zou Jing and participated in battles against the rebels.