Liu Shan - Life After The Fall of Shu

Life After The Fall of Shu

In 264, Liu Shan and his entire family was relocated to the Wei capital Luoyang. He was created the Duke of Anle (安樂公; literally meaning "duke of peace and comfort"), and his sons and grandsons were created marquesses. According to the Spring and Autumn Annals of Han and Jin (漢晉春秋) by Xi Zuochi (习鑿齒), Sima Zhao, the Duke of Jin and de facto ruler of Wei, one day invited Liu Shan and his followers to a feast, during which Sima Zhao arranged to have entertainers perform traditional Shu music and dance. The former Shu officials present were all saddened, but Liu Shan was visibly unmoved. When asked by Sima Zhao if he missed his former state, Liu Shan replied:

I enjoy life here and do not think of Shu at all. (此間樂，不思蜀)

This phrase became a Chinese idiom le bu si shu (樂不思蜀; literally meaning "too joyful to think about home", but often with a negative implication). This was noted by Sima Zhao as a sign that Liu Shan was an incompetent fool; however, some later historians believed that it showed Liu Shan's wisdom in intentionally displaying a lack of ambition so that Sima Zhao would not view him as a threat.

Liu Shan died in 271, in Luoyang, and was given the posthumous name Duke Si of Anle (安樂思公; literally "the deep-thinking duke of Anle"). His dukedom lasted several generations during Wei's successor state, the Jin Dynasty, before being extinguished in the turmoils caused by the Wu Hu. Liu Yuan, the founder of one of the Wu Hu Sixteen Kingdoms, Han Zhao, who claimed to be a legitimate successor of the Han Dynasty, gave Liu Shan the posthumous name Emperor Xiaohuai (孝懷皇帝; literally "the filial and kind emperor").