东汉末年，天下大乱。刘备依附荆州牧刘表，驻守新野，兵少将寡，又缺少能为他筹划全局的谋士。他四处寻访人才，却一直没有遇到合适的人。
In the last years of the Eastern Han, the realm was in turmoil. Liu Bei depended on Liu Biao, the governor of Jing Province, and was stationed at Xinye with few troops and officers — and, worse, without an adviser who could plan on a grand scale. He searched everywhere for talent, but had not yet found the right person.
谋士徐庶很受刘备器重。他告诉刘备：“隆中有一位诸葛亮，字孔明，人称‘卧龙’。这个人有经天纬地之才，您应该亲自去见他。”
One adviser, Xu Shu, was highly valued by Liu Bei. He told him: “In Longzhong there is a man named Zhuge Liang, whose courtesy name is Kongming and whom people call the ‘Crouching Dragon’. He has the talent to order heaven and earth — you should go to see him in person.”
刘备带着随从和礼物，第一次来到隆中。诸葛亮的茅屋很简陋，门前很安静，可是主人出门了，他们只好回去。
Taking attendants and gifts, Liu Bei made his first journey to Longzhong. Zhuge Liang’s thatched cottage was plain and the gate was quiet, but the master was away, so they had to turn back.
过了些日子，刘备再次前往，却又扑了个空。随从们开始不耐烦，觉得为一个书生这样奔波不值得。刘备却说，求贤访能，贵在诚心，不能怕麻烦。
Some days later Liu Bei went again, only to come away empty-handed once more. His attendants began to lose patience, thinking it was not worth so much trouble for a scholar. Liu Bei answered that in seeking the capable, sincerity matters most, and one must not shrink from effort.
第三次，刘备终于见到了诸葛亮。诸葛亮年纪很轻，却谈吐从容。刘备诚恳地说：“汉室衰败，我想伸张大义，却屡屡失败。请您告诉我，该怎么办？”
On the third visit, Liu Bei finally met Zhuge Liang. The young man was calm and assured in conversation. Liu Bei said earnestly: “The Han house is failing. I want to uphold the great cause, yet I keep failing. Please tell me what I should do.”
诸葛亮分析天下大势：曹操已经拥有百万之众，又挟天子以令诸侯，不能与他正面争锋；孙权占据江东，已历三代，只能联合，不能图谋。
Zhuge Liang analysed the balance of power: Cao Cao already commanded a host of a million and used the emperor to order the lords, so he could not be confronted head-on; Sun Quan held Jiangdong across three generations, so he could be allied with but not plotted against.
他建议刘备先取荆州为家，再取益州立业，守住险要，西边与各族和好，南边安抚夷越，对外联合孙权，对内修明政治；等天下有变，再从荆州、益州两路出兵。
He advised Liu Bei to first take Jing Province as a base and then Yi Province for a lasting foundation, guard the strategic passes, make peace with the peoples to the west, soothe the Yi and Yue to the south, ally with Sun Quan abroad and set his government in order at home — then, when the realm changed, march out from both Jing and Yi.
刘备听了，连声称赞，说：“我得到孔明，就像鱼得到了水。”诸葛亮从此出山辅佐刘备。多年以后，他在《出师表》中回忆“三顾臣于草庐之中”。人们也用“三顾茅庐”来称赞求贤的诚意和耐心。
Liu Bei praised him again and again, saying: “With Kongming, I am like a fish that has found water.” Zhuge Liang left his cottage and served Liu Bei from then on. Years later, in the Memorial on Dispatching the Army, he recalled how the Former Lord had “visited my thatched cottage three times”. People also use 三顾茅庐 to praise sincerity and patience in seeking talent.