[3] His ancestor, Zhuge Feng (諸葛豐), was a Western Han dynasty official who served as Colonel-Director of Retainers (司隷校尉) under Emperor Yuan (r. 48–33 BCE).
One of his cousins, Zhuge Gui (諸葛珪), served as an assistant official in Taishan Commandery (泰山郡; around present-day Tai'an, Shandong) during the late Eastern Han dynasty under Emperor Ling (r. 168–189 CE).
Sometime in the mid-190s, the warlord Yuan Shu appointed Zhuge Xuan as the Administrator (太守) of Yuzhang Commandery (豫章郡; around present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi).
As Zhuge Xuan was reluctant to transfer power to Zhu Hao, the latter allied with Liu Yao, the Inspector of Yang Province, to attack him.
[2] The Zizhi Tongjian by Sima Guang endorsed the Xiandi Chunqiu account up to the point where Zhu Hao allied with Liu Yao to force Zhuge Xuan out of Yuzhang Commandery.