As two advisers of the Ming Dynasty, who is better, Li Shanchang or Liu Bowen?

When Zhu Yuanzhang first established the Ming Dynasty, there were many talents around him. Some of them are good at fighting, some are good at writing and ink, and some like watching stars. Among these talents, Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen are the most outstanding. They are both counselors and at the same time, so the people at that time and later generations like to compare them together. Through comparison, we can find that both of them are very powerful. The difference is that one is good at making suggestions and the other is better at putting ideas into practice.

Liu Bowen is a famous counselor. He was good at astrology and divination, and made many ingenious plans for Zhu Yuanzhang. Among the people, Liu Bowen is much more famous than Li Shanchang. It can be said that when it comes to Liu Bowen, people can immediately think of an old fairy with gray hair and closed eyes. There are numerous rumors about Liu Bowen among the people, and many stories without sources can be blamed on him. With the help of contemporary film and television dramas, people have left a stereotype in their minds that Liu Bowen is better than Li Shanchang.

However, if we combine history books, we will find that this stereotype is extremely superficial. Not to mention the truthfulness of the rumors about Liu Bowen, we can see that Li Shanchang is superior to Liu Bowen by simply comparing the comments made by many historians. The description of Liu Bowen in Ming History is very conservative, not as harsh as in folklore. For Li Shanchang, historians have never been stingy with praise, and compared with Xiao He. As can be seen from Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude, he was obviously biased towards Li Shanchang, which also led to the difference in treatment between Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang and historians preferred Li Shanchang, before the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Liu Bowen's help to Zhu Yuanzhang was unmatched by Li Shanchang. Zhu Yuanzhang listened to Liu Bowen's ideas every time he marched and fought, and Liu Bowen always talked about Zhu Yuanzhang's heart, which also proved from the side that Liu Bowen would be more severe if he simply compared strategies. But Liu Bowen rarely put his ideas into practice, and Li Shanchang is much better at this point.