Xuande

Xuande, also known as Liu Bei, is a descendant of the Han imperial family whose rise from poverty to leadership gives the novel a central figure in its contest over political legitimacy. His defining commitments are friendship with worthy people, responsibility toward the people, loyalty to the Han, and an ambition repeatedly measured against the claim that Heaven and the people must support a rightful ruler.

Identity and Background

Xuande is introduced as generous, reserved, and modest, with the aspiration of befriending the empire’s worthiest men. The portrait also gives him striking features: he is tall, his arms reach below his knees, his earlobes are long, and his eyes are set so widely apart that he can see his own ears. His face is compared to jade and his lips are described as bright red. These conventional signs of distinction accompany a notably humble beginning: his father died when he was young, and he and his mother lived in poverty despite their imperial descent. Xuande supported them by weaving and selling mats and sandals.

His childhood is associated with a huge mulberry tree whose two-storey canopy resembled that of an imperial carriage. A fortune-teller had predicted that a significant man would emerge from the village, and as a child Xuande said that, if he became Son of Heaven, his carriage would have a canopy like the tree. His uncle Liu Yuanqi, who helped support the family, took the remark as evidence that Xuande was no ordinary child. At fifteen Xuande’s mother sent him to school. By the time he encounters the call for volunteers, he is twenty-eight.

The Brotherhood and First Campaigns

The call to arms against Zhang Jue’s Yellow Headband rebels brings Xuande together with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Each is drawn toward service for different reasons; their chance meeting at an inn becomes the beginning of a lasting political and personal alliance. At Zhang Fei’s manor, the three agree to make sacrifices in the peach orchard and bind themselves to a shared destiny. Their vow commits them to support one another, defend the people, and seek to die on the same day. Xuande becomes the leader of this band of brothers.

The vow quickly takes military form. As the three prepare for service, Xuande has two double-edged swords made, while Guan Yu obtains a curved sword and Zhang Fei orders a long spear. With about five hundred young men, they report to Governor Liu Yan. When an army of roughly fifty thousand rebels attacks the Zhuo district, Xuande leads his force, with Guan Yu on his left and Zhang Fei on his right. Zhang Fei kills the enemy champion and Guan Yu defeats the champion’s companion; the rebels flee and many are captured. The episode establishes Xuande as a commander whose authority is bound to the complementary loyalty and fighting ability of his sworn brothers.

That pattern of answering appeals recurs when Kong Rong is besieged at Beihai. At the request of Kong Rong, Xuande, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei set out with three thousand warriors. They help Taishi Ci break through to the city gate, while Xuande attacks the rest of the rebel force with his main divisions and throws it into disorder. The siege is lifted. Kong Rong then asks Xuande to help Tao Qian resist Cao Cao’s assault. Xuande says he has no personal quarrel with Cao Cao, but Kong Rong persuades him to give his word to assist; Xuande returns to recruit more men, including Zhao Zilong. The episode presents his public responsibility as something that can override private neutrality once he has pledged aid.

Loyalty, Counsel, and Strategy

Xuande’s ties to his brothers shape his choices even when the brothers are separated. When Guan Yu is surrounded and faces the prospect of dying, Zhang Liao reminds him of three obligations: the peach-orchard vow, the duty to protect Xuande’s wives, and the shared commitment to the Han. Guan Yu’s survival, Zhang Liao argues, will better serve all three than a death that leaves Xuande without his aid and family unprotected. The scene makes the brotherhood more than a pledge of affection: it is a network of responsibilities that bears directly on political and military decisions.

Xuande also recognizes the value of counsel. After Shan Fu recommends Kong Ming, Xuande sets out with his brothers to seek the adviser known as the Sleeping Dragon. Kong Ming’s analysis frames the political landscape in terms of both power and legitimacy: Cao Cao has overcome Yuan Shao through cunning and controls the emperor, while Sun Quan’s strength rests on the support of the people. Kong Ming advises Xuande to regard Sun Quan as a potential ally and to focus on Jingzhou. He presents the future acquisition of that territory as sanctioned by the Will of Heaven. This counsel gives strategic direction to Xuande’s ambitions while exposing the tension between taking power and claiming that power is rightful.

Xuande’s stated purpose is the restoration of just rule. In the debate with Kong Ming, he describes the Han as collapsing and its authority as usurped by evil ministers; he says he wants the land governed by justice, while admitting that his own efforts have so far failed. Years later, following military successes around Hanzhong, Kong Ming argues that Cao Cao has usurped the true ruler and that Xuande’s benevolence and restoration of peace make this the proper moment to become emperor. Xuande objects that, although he belongs to the Han lineage, accepting the throne could make him appear a rebel. Kong Ming answers that the country has been torn apart by adventurers and that people long for a true emperor. The exchange shows Xuande’s hesitation as a conflict between dynastic restoration and the danger of seeming to violate the very order he claims to defend.

The Fall of Han and Xuande’s Claim

The abdication of Emperor Xian to Cao Pi makes the question of Xuande’s claim immediate. The abdication document describes the Han era as ended and the mandate as having moved to the Cao family, invoking the precedent of Yao’s abdication. Cao Pi accepts the throne after Sima Yi advises him to refuse successive appeals before proceeding to the formal ceremony. With the transfer of the jade seal, the Wei dynasty begins; Emperor Xian is demoted to governor of Shanyang. These events place the language of virtuous succession and Heaven’s signs in the hands of the new regime.

In Chengdu, reports of Wei’s foundation and rumors about Emperor Xian’s fate leave Xuande so unwell that he delegates day-to-day government to Kong Ming. Kong Ming proposes that Xuande be crowned emperor as a continuation of the Han line, grounding the proposal in Xuande’s descent from the dynasty’s founder. Xuande reacts with horror, calling the suggestion rebellious and disloyal. Kong Ming counters that Cao Pi has already usurped the throne and that Xuande, as a scion of the House of Liu, has a duty to reclaim control. The evidence presents Xuande at this decisive threshold, caught between his aversion to appearing a usurper and the argument that refusing the crown would abandon the Han restoration he has long professed.

Narrative Role and Political Meaning

Xuande’s story brings together private bonds, public obligation, and rival theories of rule. His rise begins not with an established army or secure territory but with poverty, a call for volunteers, and a vow made with two companions. As a leader, he is repeatedly asked to act beyond his own immediate interests: to relieve Beihai, to aid Tao Qian, and to preserve the political inheritance of the Han. His brotherhood with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei gives that ethic a personal form, while Kong Ming’s counsel turns it into a program of strategy and sovereignty.

The novel’s account of legitimacy remains contested rather than simple. Xuande’s imperial ancestry supports his claim, but the narrative also repeatedly associates his authority with benevolence, public peace, and the hopes of the people. At the same time, the abdication to Cao Pi demonstrates how the language of Heaven’s mandate and ancient precedent can be used to justify a transfer of power. Xuande’s central political dilemma is therefore not merely whether he may rule, but how to claim the throne without betraying the Han loyalty that defines his purpose.