A Dead Zhuge Puts a Living Zhongda to Flight

Also called: Dead Zhuge Scares Off Living Zhongda

An anecdote passed down outside the official histories. It may or may not be true.

An anecdote from the Han-Jin Chunqiu: pursuing the Shu army after Zhuge Liang’s death, Sima Yi pulled back in alarm when it turned to face him.

Not in the main text of the Records of the Three Kingdoms, this anecdote comes from the Han-Jin Chunqiu quoted by Pei Songzhi. When Zhuge Liang died at Wuzhang, the Shu army put itself in order and withdrew. Told of it by local people, Sima Yi (courtesy name Zhongda) gave chase, but when Jiang Wei turned the banners and beat the drums as if to attack, Sima Yi dared not close and fell back. The people said, "A dead Zhuge put a living Zhongda to flight," and Sima Yi answered, "I can reckon with the living, not with the dead."

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms adds a wooden statue of Zhuge Liang seated in a carriage to deceive Sima Yi.