Wolonggang

【Wolonggang】. Nanyang, the place where Zhuge Liang was worshipped During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Nanyang was a famous metropolis, known as 'the Southern Capital'. In the year 197 AD, to avoid the chaos of the troubled times, Zhuge Liang, along with his brother Zhuge Jun, came to Nanyang from the east of the Yangtze River, and cultivated the land at Wolonggang, west of the city. During these ten years, Zhuge Liang worked hard, extensively read various books, made friends with scholars, composed poetry while waiting for the right opportunity, and led a simple pastoral life with his brother. In the year 207 AD, Liu Bei garrisoned troops in Xinye and appointed Xu Shu as his military advisor. Cao Cao devised a plan, using Xu Shu's mother as a pretext, to have Xu Shu return to Xuchang (the capital) to visit her (which later led to the story of Xu Shu entering Cao Cao's camp without uttering a word). Helplessly, before saying farewell to Liu Bei, Xu Shu recommended 'Master Wolong' to him, praising Zhuge Liang as 'a rare genius of the age, and it is imperative for you to visit him. If this man is willing to assist you, why worry about the world not being settled?'. Liu Bei, in his eager search for wise men, went to Wolonggang three times with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to invite Zhuge Liang out of seclusion. Liu Bei's quest for a wise man was later termed by posterity as 'Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage'.