This temple is dedicated to Zhuge Liang, the Chancellor of the state of Shu-Han during the Three Kingdoms period, and the master statesman and strategist of Chinese history. Zhuge Liang's particular connection to the region is that Hanyuan lies on the route of his southern campaign of 225 CE, when he led armies against the rebelling "southern barbarians" (Yi people) . Zhuge Liang captured the rebel leader Meng Huo seven times, releasing and recapturing him until Meng finally, fully, and sincerely surrendered. Zhuge Liang then was able to turn over control of the area not to an occupying army, but to the local inhabitants who were now loyal to Shu-Han; thus the strategy was to win "hearts and minds" through cooptation rather than military domination . This story of wisdom and reason being more effective than force alone is memorialized in the temples to Zhuge Liang, which are themselves part of a network of temples designed to harmonize ethnic relations on the frontier (see the analysis associated with this feature for a brief discussion of these temples in Hanyuan).