A father lifts his child to touch the character xi (happiness), to wish the family well for the Chinese New Year.[Photo by Zhang Guofang/China Daily]

His devotion to his country, as expressed in the document, influenced patriots of later generations, the most well-known being Yue Fei (1103-1142), a national hero of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279).

Yue's famous poem The Whole River Red can be seen on a wall as visitors enter the main entrance of the Temple of Marquis Wu.

The poem shows the general's determination to wipe out those who toppled his emperor and removed the royal family of the Northern Song Dynasty, and reclaim the vast tracts of land lost to his enemies.

Liu's mausoleum is 12 meters high and overgrown with greenery. He and his two empresses are buried there.

A legend about the mausoleum goes: After the Shu Kingdom collapsed, a grave robber broke into the mausoleum and found it lit with countless candles. Inside, Liu, Zhuge and Liu's two sworn brothers were drinking wine.

Seeing the unexpected visitor, Liu offered him a drink and gave him a jade girdle.

As soon as the thief drank the wine and donned the girdle, a clap of thunder drove him out of the mausoleum. All at once, the wine turned into poison and the girdle became a snake.

News spread quickly about the robber's demise and nobody has since dared to rob the mausoleum.