XuanLiang

XuanLiang is the slash ship between Liu Bei (courtesy name Xuande) and Zhuge Liang from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms fandom.

Three visits to the thatched cottage
Upon hearing from Xu Shu that there was a person whose talent surpassed him, Liu Bei (courtesy name Xuande) decides to visit Zhuge Liang. Just before he leaves, another person comes to visit him, and Liu Bei realizes it’s his old friend Sima Hui. Liu Bei explains that he is about to go visit Zhuge Liang, and asks Sima Hui about his talent. Sima Hui says Zhuge Liang compares himself to Guan Zhong and Yue Yi, famous people who lived during the Spring and Autumn period. Guan Yu thinks that it’s excessive, but Sima Hui goes on to compare him to Zhang Zifang and Jiang Ziya, even more famous people who were known for their talent.

The next day, Liu Bei and his sworn brothers prepare to visit Wolong hill. He asks a farmer where Zhuge Liang’s cottage is, and he answers truthfully. Once they arrive, Liu Bei presents himself very formally and tells the kid his many names and positions. To Liu Bei’s disappointment, the kid informs him that Zhuge Liang is not at home. When asked when he will come back, the kid responds, “Maybe in three days, maybe in ten days.”

Liu Bei asks the kid to tell Zhuge Liang that he came to visit, and leaves. On the way back, he meets another person. Thinking it is indeed Zhuge Liang, he goes up and introduces himself, only to be disappointed again. It is Zhuge Liang’s friend Cui Zhouping. After a long conversation, Liu Bei remarks on how the ways of talented people like Zhuge Liang are different from normal people.

After many days, Liu Bei sends people to ask whether or not Zhuge Liang has come back. To his excitement, Zhuge Liang did indeed come back. Liu Bei hurries to go and visit him, much to the dismay of Zhang Fei, who doesn’t get why they are putting in so much effort for a farmer. Liu Bei is angered by the mere thought that Zhuge Liang could be untalented, so he lectures Zhang Fei in an insulting tone about respecting talented people and tells Zhang Fei that if he is afraid of the cold, he doesn’t have to come. Zhang Fei wants to help his brother, so he comes.

On the way, they stop by a cabin and hear poems being recited from the inside of the cabin. Liu Bei gets his hopes up- what if this is Zhuge Liang and his friends? But to his dismay again, none of them are Zhuge Liang. Walking towards Wolong hill again, Liu Bei feels incredibly disappointed. However, the same kid says that Zhuge Liang is indeed home, so he feels a sliver of hope. Upon asking, however, he is disappointed again- it is just Zhuge Jun, the younger brother of Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Jun informs Liu Bei that Zhuge Liang has just been invited to go on a trip with his friends, and that they could be doing anything. Zhang Fei is angry that they missed Zhuge Liang again and wants to leave, but Liu Bei tells him to wait.

Liu Bei leaves a note for Zhuge Liang and leaves. Upon leaving, he meets a person walking back, and yells out excitedly, “Xiansheng, it’s dangerous to stay out in the snow! I have been waiting for a while now!” However, it is not Zhuge Liang, it is just a family friend of his.

Suddenly, it is early spring again. Liu Bei asks a fortune teller to choose an auspicious date. Before that date, he fasts for three days and changes into fancier clothing, preparing to meet Zhuge Liang. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are not happy with this decision and advise him against visiting, with Zhang Fei even threatening to tie Zhuge Liang back with a rope, only being prevented by the now very annoyed Liu Bei.

Liu Bei returns to Wolong hill again. The kid informs him that Zhuge Liang is home, but is sleeping. Upon asking if he can wake Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei refuses, not wanting to disturb his sleep. Zhang Fei is annoyed that his elder brother is not being respected by a farmer. Two hours pass. Zhang Fei is enraged and threatens to commit arson, only stopped by Guan Yu, who is equally annoyed.

Two more hours pass and Zhuge Liang finally awakens. After getting ready, Zhuge Liang introduces himself and tells Liu Bei that he is untalented and not worthy of the effort dedicated to finding him. After all, why give up diamonds for a piece of stubborn rock?

Liu Bei says that talented people should not stay in the mountains and forests. Zhuge Liang laughs and asks what Liu Bei’s life goals are. Upon hearing them, Zhuge Liang tells Liu Bei that the world will be split to three and he, along with Cao Cao and Sun Quan, will have to fight. The only places suitable for taking are Jing Zhou and Xi Chuan.

Liu Bei is amazed- he had never seen anyone so talented! He requests that Zhuge Liang go back to Xinye with him. However, Zhuge Liang says that he is used to the life of a farmer and does not want to go. Hearing this, Liu Bei starts crying until his tears make his clothes all wet. Zhuge Liang understands that Liu Bei is incredibly loyal and is willing to work “like dogs and horses” for Liu Bei.

Liu Bei is incredibly happy and brings the gifts he prepared for Zhuge Liang ahead of time. Zhuge Liang doesn’t accept them until Liu Bei says that it is simply a gift from his heart, not because he wants Zhuge Liang to stay.

Liu Bei stays at Zhuge Liang’s place for a night and then they set off, together, for Xinye. Liu Bei treats Zhuge Liang like a teacher, even to the point where they eat on the same table and sleep on the same bed.

Fanon
XuanLiang is one of the more popular ships in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms fandom. Many fans interpret “Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage” as a romantic proposal- others see it as extreme care for the state of the country. This ship is rivaled by the more popular LiuGuanZhang (the sworn brothers) because they have more interaction and also because of the Oath of the Peach Garden. Another close rivaling ship is YunLiang (Zhao Yun x Zhuge Liang), although not as popular as XuanLiang, having only 206 fanfictions on AO3, 8 less than XuanLiang.

These two are known to be close and are often seen together. When Zhuge Liang acts like a diplomat to Wu, Liu Bei worries that something might have happened to him. Liu Bei also initially refuses to let Zhuge Liang go back to Eastern Wu because he fears that the Generals of Wu may harm him.

Since the fandom is small and generally limited to the Chinese-speaking population, fanart and fanfiction is limited. The fandom also has a lot of older people, most hesitant to accept slash shipping. Some of the only content in English is published by non-native speakers jumping over the firewall, or more rarely Chinese Americans. There are 218 fanfictions of AO3, but almost all of them are in Chinese. Fanart is also limited and most artists post their art on Weibo, but there is a small proportion who post their art on platforms like twitter.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

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Trivia

 * Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei exist in real history, but most shippers do not ship the ship in real life, rather they ship it in the book that popularized three kingdoms, Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
 * The book was written more than 600 years ago.