"It is a very interesting place," said Sun Chenbei, a visitor from Beijing. The temple was built as a memorial hall to commemorate Zhuge Liang (AD 181-234), prime minister of the Shu Kingdom (AD 222-263), who was awarded the title of Marquis Wu (meaning "martial"). It also houses the tomb of Liu Bei, the king of Shu Kingdom.

"I've never been to a place with so many manuscripts of ancient legends," Sun said.

The temple is one of the best preserved relics relating to the Three Kingdoms period (AD 220-280) -- the Wei, Shu and Wu -- some 1,800 years ago.

The three states were locked in constant wars, trying to reunify the country while creating legends passed down from generation to generation.

Covering 5.5 hectares and enclosed by red walls, the 1,780-year-old temple sits on a north-to-south axis. All the main buildings, including the gate, inner gate, Liu Bei Temple, corridor and Zhuge Liang Temple, sit on the central axis. The temple is the only shrine in China where an emperor and his subject are enshrined, said Luo Kaiyu, deputy curator of the Temple of Marquis Wu Museum.

Tablets' tales

The temple boasts relics from several dynasties including 47 gilded or color-painted statues of important figures in the Shu Kingdom, more than 50 stone tablets, 60 couplets and 10 tripods, ovens, bells and drums.

The best known of all the relics include a stone tablet made in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) and a couplet written 101 years ago in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Luo said.

Entitled "For Zhuge Liang, Prime Minister of the Shu Kingdom," the nearly 3.7-meter-tall stone tablet has been known as the "Tablet of Three Wonders" since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Its text was written by Pei Du, a famous prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, its calligraphy was done by Liu Gongchuo, a famous calligrapher, and its carving was done by Lu Jian, a famous engraver. Liu and Lu also lived in the Tang Dynasty.

Written in AD 809, the text praises Zhuge's ability to manage state affairs and command the army, his loyalty to the two emperors of the Shu Kingdom, and his painstaking efforts to try to reunify the country. It compares Zhuge to the best prime ministers in Chinese history. Pei was known for his essay writing, after serving as prime minister for three emperors.

Another famous literary work at the temple is "Conquering the Mind," a 101-year-old couplet that is one of the most famous in China. It reads: "If a military strategist knows how to conquer the mind, a revolt can be suppressed accordingly. Since ancient times, people well versed in the art of war have never been bellicose. A leader can make mistakes if he does not make a correct assessment of the situation, being either too strict or lenient in implementing policies. Future governors of Sichuan have to take action after much deliberation."

The couplet was written in 1902 by Zhao Fan (1850-1927), a native of Southwest China's Yunnan Province, to advise his student Cen Chunxuan not to always take a hard line. As Sichuan's governor-general in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Cen often suppressed his rivals with his military.

In 1902, uprisings led by farmers, who called themselves the Boxers, took place in different parts of Sichuan against the decadent Qing Dynasty. The Qing government's rule in Sichuan was threatened because of the size of the uprisings. The Qing government in Beijing was so frightened that it sent Cen to Sichuan.

Cen, who believed the ancient Chinese philosophy of "meting out severe penalties in hard times," persecuted the Boxers to the fullest extent of the law, killing Liao Jiumei, their leader in Chengdu. As Liao was popular in Chengdu, Cen's acts aroused widespread dissatisfaction and hatred.

Zhao, who was also an official in Sichuan, felt that Cen's efforts were doomed to failure as they went against the will of the public. Although he had been Cen's teacher when the latter was a child, Zhao could neither criticize Cen nor approach him directly to change his approach, for Cen was now his superior.

Zhao, who was famous for his couplet writing and calligraphy, wrote the couplet "Conquering the Mind" and had it hung in the Temple of Marquis Wu. "He hoped that Cen would see the couplet and understand what he meant," Luo said.

Many days passed after the couplet was put on display without Cen learning of its existence. Zhao eventually arranged a banquet for Cen in the temple as part of a spring outing. There, Cen read the couplet and was told its meaning. But the arrogant Cen was irritated with his former teacher's "offence" and demoted him, sending him to a faraway place.

It was only after Cen suffered major setbacks in his post several years later because of his hard line and was almost dismissed that he truly understood the couplet's meaning.

When the Qing government sent him to Sichuan to suppress the Railway Protection Movement in 1911, which helped trigger the Revolution of 1911, Cen correctly assessed the situation. This time, he did not suppress the revolutionaries who later overthrew the Qing government in the Revolution of 1911 and established the Republic of China. Instead, Cen cooperated with their leader Dr Sun Yat-sen, and contributed to the new republic.

Temple deputy curator Luo said: "The couplet, which has only 30 Chinese characters, involves many allusions, the most famous of which refers to Zhuge's legendary conquest of the Yi tribe in the southern part of the Shu Kingdom."

According to the "Romance of Three Kingdoms," Zhuge set out on an expedition to the south of the kingdom where the Yi people, led by Meng Huo, revolted. Zhuge's army defeated the Yi people and captured Meng six times. Each time Meng was captured, he told Zhuge that he would not surrender because Zhuge had resorted to "tricks" to defeat him.

Only after he was captured for the seventh time did Meng truly admire Zhuge's ability to command the army and surrender. Later, Meng became a faithful subject of the Shu Kingdom. He helped Zhuge rule the kingdom's south and died in a battle against the invading army of Wei Kingdom.

The couplet's rich connotations attract many visitors in the temple, including top Chinese leaders, according to Luo. "When the late Chairman Mao Zedong visited the temple in 1958, he stayed in front of the couplet for a long time and highly praised it."

Liu Bei's mausoleum

The oldest relic in the temple, the Huiling Mausoleum where Liu Bei was buried, is to the west of the Liu Bei Temple. Surrounded by a brick wall 180 meters in length, the mausoleum is 12 meters high. According to historical records, the mausoleum, where Liu Bei and his two empresses were buried, was never sacked.

Like so many of the temple artifacts, the mausoleum comes with its own legend.

Soon after the Shu Kingdom was toppled, a grave robber dug open the mausoleum. Stepping inside, he found it lit with countless candles. Liu, Zhuge and Liu's two sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were drinking wine.

Seeing the unexpected visitor, Liu offered him a drink and gave him a girdle. As soon as the thief drank the wine and donned the girdle, a clap of thunder drove him out of the mausoleum. At once, the wine became poison and the girdle a snake.

According to the legend, news spread about the grave robber's tragic end and nobody ever again attempted to sack Liu's mausoleum, Luo said.

He said more than 1 million people visit the Temple of Marquis Wu each year to explore its rich cultural heritage and learn from the example set by Zhuge.

(China Daily May 29, 2003)