Liu Bei, the future warlord and founding…

Liu Bei, the future warlord and founding emperor of the state of Shu Han, was born in Zhuo County, Zhuo prefecture (present day Zhuozhou, Baoding, Hebei), according to the Records of the Three Kingdoms.

He was a descendant of Liu Zhen, the son of Liu Sheng, a son of Emperor Jing.

However, Pei Songzhi's commentary, based on the Dianlue, said that Liu Bei was a descendant of the Marquess of Linyi.

The royal title of Marquess of Linyi wqas held by Liu Fu and later his son Liu Taotu, respectively Liu Yan's grandson and great-grandson, who were all ultimately descended from Emperor Jing.

Liu Bei's grandfather Liu Xiong and father Liu Hong were both employed as local clerks.

Liu Bei had grown 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 since childhood: he once said to his peers, while under a tree that resembled the royal chariot, that he desired to become an emperor.

Sponsored by a more affluent relative who recognized his potential in leadership, Liu Bei at the age of fourteen had gone to study under the tutelage of Lu Zhi (a prominent scholar and, at the time, former Administrator of Jiujiang).

There he had met and befriended Gongsun Zan, a prominent northern warlord to be.

The adolescent Liu Bei was said to be unenthusiastic in studying and displayed interest in hunting, music and dressing.

Concise in speech, calm in demeanor, and kind to his friends, Liu Bei was well liked by his contemporaries.

He was said to have long arms and large earlobes.

In 184, at the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Liu Bei calls for the assembly of a volunteer army to help government forces suppress the rebellion.

Liu Bei receives financial contributions from two wealthy horse merchants and rallies a group of loyal followers, among whom include Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

Liu Bei leads his army to join the provincial army.

Together, they score several victories against the rebels.

In recognition of his contributions, Liu Bei is appointed Prefect of Anxi in Zhongshan prefecture.

He resigns after refusing to submit to a corrupt inspector who attempted to ask him for bribes.

He then travels south with his followers to join another volunteer army to suppress the Yellow Turbans remnants in Xu Province (present day northern Jiangsu).

For this achievement, he is appointed Prefect and Commandant of Gaotang.