Moved by Liu's sincerity, Zhuge left the mountain and used his wisdom to help Liu found the Shu Kingdom, even though he could have helped far more powerful warlords who founded the Wei and Wu kingdoms.

Liu became the first emperor of the Shu Kingdom and Zhuge served as premier for 13 years until his death.

Before Liu's death, he said if his son proved to be a hopeless, weak-minded person, Zhuge could become the emperor. Liu's son did prove to be a poor emperor. But Zhuge offered help instead of dethroning him.

Zhuge excelled at managing state affairs and commanding the army. Shu was the weakest of the three kingdoms. During his tenure, however, southwestern China, which was the territory of the kingdom, enjoyed political stability and economic prosperity. He died of overwork at the age of 53 on the last of his five expeditions to northern China. Trying to realize Liu's unfulfilled dream of reunifying China, Zhuge led the expeditions that were aimed at conquering the more powerful Wei Kingdom which brought about the end to the Eastern Han Dynasty.

In the Hall of Zhuge Liang in the museum, the seated statues of Zhuge, his son and his grandson are enshrined. The son died at the age of 37, along with Zhuge's grandson, in 263 during the battle against the invading Wei troops that eventually toppled the Shu Kingdom. The son had turned down the invading Wei troop commander's offer to be named king if he surrendered.