Liu Shan (pronunciationⓘ, 207–271),[1][a] courtesy name Gongsi, was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period.

As he ascended the throne at the age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Liang and Imperial Secretariat Li Yan.

Liu Shan eventually surrendered to Wei in 263 after Deng Ai led a surprise attack on the Shu capital Chengdu.

Widely known to later generations by his infant name "Adou" (阿斗), Liu Shan was commonly perceived as an incapable ruler.

Its author Chen Shou noted in his postface that Zhuge Liang did not employ scribes at Liu Shan's court, contrary to tradition.

Zhuge Liang recommended many trusted officials, including Fei Yi, Dong Yun, Guo Youzhi and Xiang Chong into key positions.

During Zhuge Liang's regency, the government was largely efficient and not corrupt, allowing the relatively small state of Shu to prepare itself for military campaigns.

Jiang Wan was a capable administrator, and he continued Zhuge Liang's domestic policies, leaving the government largely efficient.

Not having much military aptitude, however, he soon abandoned Zhuge Liang's aggressive foreign policy towards Wei, and indeed in 241 withdrew most of the troops from the important border city of Hanzhong to Fu County (涪縣; in present-day Mianyang, Sichuan).

Huang Hao was viewed as corrupt and highly manipulative in domestic matters, and the governmental efficiency that was achieved during Zhuge Liang's and Jiang Wan's regencies began to deteriorate.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wei advised Liu Shan to execute Huang Hao, but the emperor denied the request, saying that the eunuch was but a servant who ran errands.

Fearing retaliation, Jiang Wei left Chengdu to garrison troops at Tazhong (沓中; northwest of present-day Zhugqu County, Gansu).

However, Huang Hao persuaded Liu Shan with fortunetelling to take no action on Jiang Wei's requests for war preparations.

The plan, however, had a fatal flaw — it assumed that Wei forces would siege the border cities, which, instead, Deng Ai and Zhong Hui ignored, and they advanced instead on Yang'an Pass (陽安關; in present-day Hanzhong, Shaanxi), capturing it.

Jiang Wei was able to meet their troops and initially repel them, but Deng Ai led his army through a treacherous mountain pass and deep into Shu territory.

Faced with the prospect of defending Chengdu against Deng Ai's troops with no defences, Liu Shan took the advice of Secretary Qiao Zhou and promptly surrendered.

He advised Zhong Hui to falsely accuse Deng Ai of treason and arrest him, and, with their combined troops, rebel against Sima Zhao.

The Chronicle of Han and Jin  [zh] by Xi Zuochi records an incident which has become the most famous tale to be associated with Liu Shan: One day, the Wei regent Sima Zhao invited Liu Shan and his followers to a feast, during which Sima Zhao arranged to have entertainers perform traditional Shu music and dance.

Former Shu official Xi Zheng then advised Liu Shan that the appropriate response was to lament how far he had been removed from his family tombs.

He was seen as an incompetent ruler, more interested in satisfying his desires than looking after his country and was held responsible for appointing corrupt officials to position of power.

[17] This statement about the impressive natural defenses of the region is repeated by Li Te, when he led his clan back to Yi Province.

[18] As previously stated, Sima Zhao thought of Liu Shan's attitude as pleasure seeker, saying that even someone as talented as Zhuge Liang couldn't assist and safeguard him forever so even less Jiang Wei.

[21] After Chen Zhi's death in 258, Huang Hao was controlling the politics of the State and none among the people of Shu did not miss Dong Yun.

[23] Sun Sheng evaluated Liu Shan as a mediocre and ignorant ruler and denounced him for surrendering so quickly during the Conquest of Shu by Wei in 263 rather than use the local rugged terrain along with other armies in his government to resist the invaders.

Moreover, surrounding Liu Shan were not only evil courtiers, but also many competent and talented officers like Jiang Wan, Fei Yi and Dong Yun.

He cleverly retook direct control of state affairs after the death of Zhuge Liang and appointed Jiang Wan and Fei Yi so that the two could keep each other in check.

In 238, Cao Wei made war with Gongsun Yuan and many people in Shu Han believed it was a good chance for northern expansion.

However, Liu Shan carefully instructed Fei Yi to attack only in combination with Eastern Wu, and only when Cao Wei was unprepared.

In particular, Liu Shan's surrender is often compared favorably with that of Gongsun Yuan, a regional warlord who attempted to retake power by allying with Eastern Wu, which eventually resulted in the extermination of his clan, and a bloody massacre of his population base at Liaodong.

In the novel, Liu Shan is generally portrayed as an incapable ruler who was easily swayed by words, especially those from the eunuch Huang Hao, whom he favoured.