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The article explores the memory of the Nanzheng (Southern Expeditions) to the ethnic frontiers of China by Chinese ruler Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdom Period. Particular focus is given to how the folklore, oral history and legends of Zhuge Liang's expedition have evolved among southwestern Chinese ethnic groups by examining the interpretations of people living in Kangding, China, and the Yi and Han people. The author contrasts the nationalistic interpretation of the expedition by the Chinese government with the historical memory of ethnic groups in the country.