The mystery of Zhuge Liang's true burial place

Among the mausoleums in China, where Zhuge Liang's grave is actually buried is still a question that posterity has no answer to.

Zhuge Liang, with the title Khong Minh, was a politician, military commander, and a famous technical inventor of the Shu Han Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period.
He helped Liu Bei build the Shu Han dynasty, forming the Three Kingdoms cauldron, the Shu - Wu alliance against Wei. He is considered one of the greatest and most outstanding strategists of his time, even compared to another talented strategist, Sun Tzu.

However, during the year the campaign against Cao Wei that he launched was unsuccessful, finally, at the age of 53, Khong Minh became seriously ill and died in the camp in 234 AD.


Zhuge Liang's entire life is associated with many anecdotes, devoted to the cause of reviving the Shu Han Dynasty. When he died, where his real burial place was is still a question that posterity has not yet found.

According to his will, after his death, he wanted to place his grave at Dinh Quan mountain. The mountain belongs to present-day Hanzhong city in Shaanxi province, China. Because the top of the mountain is very flat and can station tens of thousands of troops, it is called Dinh Quan.
The mountain terrain is very complex with undulating mountain slopes, which is considered very good for feng shui. Right at the foot of the mountain, visitors will see Zhuge Liang's grave site and the temple named after him.

According to legend, due to predicting destiny, before his death, Zhuge Liang left his last words to Liu Shan, including a request for a burial place. He advised that after his death, the soldiers would put his body in a coffin and carry it back to Hanzhong. Wherever the rope breaks, the grave will be placed there.

True to the deceased's wishes, Luu Thien sent four soldiers to carry the coffin and move south. They walked for 4 days and nights until they were exhausted, but the rope tying the coffin was not broken. Because they were so tired, the group of soldiers negotiated with each other to find an open area, buried the coffin and hurriedly returned.
Returning earlier than expected made Luu Thien suspicious. He thought that the ropes and shields were new so they could not break easily in a few days, so he ordered the interrogation of 4 soldiers. After the incident was revealed, all four people were beheaded for lese majeste. But since then, no one knows where Zhuge Liang's real grave is located.
Besides, there are other anecdotes about Khong Minh's grave. That's the story of the soldiers carrying the coffin for many days without the rope breaking, but when they reached Dinh Quan Mountain, it suddenly broke. Soldiers quickly dug graves around, enough space to fill the entire coffin. The place where the grave is located is not sealed, nor does it leave any easily detectable signs.
To prevent grave robberies, people also built many fake graves around it. The tomb today is still called "The real grave of Zhuge Liang", in fact it is not the real grave. According to Chinese legend, the tomb with the inscription "Mo Vu Hau" is the actual resting place of Confucius.

Today, there is a tomb named "Mo Vu Hau" located in the northwest corner of Dinh Quan mountain, with an area of ​​more than 300 acres. But experts say that even this place is not a real tomb. According to Zhuge Liang's plan, his true resting place has not yet been discovered and may never be found.
Throughout China, people also built many temples to commemorate this talented general. Among them, the most famous is the temple in Mien district, at the foot of Dinh Quan mountain. Next is Wuhou Temple in Chengdu; Vu Hau temple in Bach De citadel, Chongqing.