Liu Bei (161 - 21 June 223 CE) was a warlord; military general and later as Emperor Zhaolie the founder of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. Despite having a later start than his rivals and lacking both the material resources and social status they commanded; Liu overcame his many defeats to carve out his own realm; which at its peak spanned modern day Sichuan; Guizhou; Hunan; part of Hubei and part of Gansu.