Zhuge Bagua Village

The name Zhuge Bagua indicates the uniqueness of this coastal Zhejiang Province village in eastern China. Zhuge is the surname of most of the villagers and Bagua describes the layout of the village in the shape of the Bagua or Eight Diagrams from the classic Chinese work, the I Ching or the Book of Changes.

In late 1996, this mysterious hidden village was designated a national key historical and cultural site by the State Council because of its unique, well preserved ancient buildings.

 The Zhuge clan

Portrait of Zhuge Liang

Almost all the 5,000 villagers are direct descendents of Zhuge Liang, a great politician, thinker, and strategist in the Three Kingdoms era over 1,700 years ago. Regarded as an omniscient man in his day, Zhuge Liang once served as the prime minister of the Kingdom of Shu (221-263), advising on foreign and state affairs and predicting the course of events in the country.

Zhuge Liang was a legendary figure in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms - one of the most popular ancient Chinese novels written about 600 years ago. The novel tells the epic story of the Three Kingdoms in the 3rd century and portrays Zhuge Liang as a multi-talented leader and Taoist magician with many supernatural powers, such as controlling the winds and foretelling the future. Much of his ability was based on his vast knowledge of military strategy, mechanical engineering, mathematics, geology, meteorology, and psychology. His story and deeds are known by all Chinese people and his wisdom has been respected for over one thousand years.

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