New Opinion on Zhu Ge Liang's Image

Zhuge Liang in The Romance of Three Kingdoms gives us an image of wise attendant.On one hand,the author spares no words in praising his loyalty and intelligence.On the other hand,Zhuge's errors in selecting personnel are also conveyed.His indulgence of Guan Yu has led to the escape of Tsao Tsao in Road of Huarong and the fall of city of Jingzhou.Because of his over tolerance toward Li Yan,his army has gone out for battle from Qishan for six times in vain.It is his mistreatment toward Wei Yan that makes the internal contradictions aggravated.An exploration of the cause of his failure in selecting personnel tells us that it is the result of his loyalty and intelligence.Then,why has Zhuge got such a character? We find out that as a scholar-turned official in feudal society,he has no independent social position and thus has to cling to the controller who is the only one to realize his idea.As a result,Zhuge is under the control of the controller,meanwhile he is in charge of other people,which is the distorted psychology of all the scholar-turned officials.Zhuge reflects the thought and feeling of all the scholar-turned officials,their dreams and ambitions as well as the sufferings and desperation of them.From him,we can experience the awkward situation and the double personality of the scholar-turned officials.To sum up,Zhuge Liang in The Romance of Three Kingdoms is a typical example of scholar-turned officials.