Liu Bei was a statesman and military strategist during the Three Kingdoms period,as well as an important historical figure described in literary works of the past dynasties.From the complex and multi-faceted historical image to the gradually "sage-like" literary image,the Liu Bei’s image evolution process over the past thousand years is saturated with the influence of orthodox concepts.During the Wei,Jin,Southern and Northern Dynasties,Chen Shou’s “Records of the Three Kingdoms”recognized the legitimacy of the Wei Dynasty’s succession to the Han Dynasty,which means Liu bei was regarded as the prince of the separatist side.In Chen Shou’s pen,Liu bei is a kind-hearted hero and a persevering entrepreneur.In the Eastern Jin Dynasty,Xi Zaochi wrote “The Chunqiu Period of the Han to Jin Dynasty” which advocated that the State of Shu was the orthodox status.His views gave birth to the orthodox dispute between the Wei and the Shu in the field of ancient Chinese historiography and politics,and the construction of Liu bei’s historiographical image underwent subtle changes at this time.Liu Bei is a benevolent ruler who sticks to morality in Xi Zaochi’s writings.Pei Songzhi annotated “Records of the Three Kingdoms ”,supplementing and enriching Liu Bei’s historical narrative.Liu Bei’s historiographical image has the characteristics of moral disposition,mystical color and power deceit in Pei Songzhi’s writings.After the Tang Dynasty,Liu Bei’s image became increasingly literary and artistic.In Tang poetry,Liu Bei is the image of a wise monarch who appoints Zhuge Liang and an image of a hero who fails to rejuvenate.In “Stories Three Kingdoms”,Liu Bei’s low-level civilian image is highlighted and his brotherhood is strengthened.In different Yuan Dynasty dramas,Liu Bei is not only a hero who protects the state of affairs,but also a weak hero who lacks opinions.In “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”,the evolution of Liu Bei’s literary image is basically stereotyped,with the image of a virtuous lord of benevolence,an image of a wise monarch who respects the virtuous,and the image of a beloved sage.Orthodoxy has an important influence and significance on historical writing and literary creation of Liu Bei’image.On the one hand,scholars of the Northern Song Dynasty judged whether the dynasties were orthodox or not based on their merits.After comparing the national strengths of Wei,Shu and Wu,the Wei Dynasty was regarded as orthodox.Starting from the historical results of Wei’s destruction of Shu,“Zizhitongjian” and historical articles portray Liu Bei as an image of being too treacherous,lacking in human bearing,and lacking in talent.On the other hand,orthodoxy became Luo Guanzhong’s motivation to create “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”,and guided the value orientation of “Praise Liu” in “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” and other literary works based on the stories of the Three Kingdoms. |