《资治通鉴·魏纪·魏纪一》
蜀汉昭烈帝刘备对汉朝而言，虽然自称是西汉中山靖王的后代，然而属关系太疏远了，已说不清有多少代，处于什么名分和地位，就同南朝宋高祖刘裕自称是西汉楚元王的后代，南唐烈祖李自称是唐朝吴王李恪的后代一样，真假难辨，所以不敢把刘备与东汉光武帝刘秀继承西汉政权，东晋元帝司马睿继承西晋政权相比拟，让他承继汉朝的遗统。
昭烈之汉，虽云中山靖王之后，而族属疏远，不能纪其世数名位，亦犹宋高祖称楚元王后，南唐烈祖称吴王恪后，是非难辨，故不敢以光武及晋元帝为比，使得绍汉氏之遗统也。
Liu Bei, Emperor Zhaolie of Shu Han, although he claimed to be a descendant of Liu Shang, King of Zhongshan Jing in Western Han Dynasty, his relationship was too distant. It is unclear how many generations he had been in what name and status. It was the same as Liu Yu, the founding emperor of Song Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty, who claimed to be a descendant of Liu Yuan, King of Chu in the Western Han Dynasty. Li, the founding ancestor, claimed to be a descendant of Li Ke, King of Wu in the Tang Dynasty, and it is difficult to distinguish between true and false, so I dare not compare Liu Bei with Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, who inherited the Western Han regime, or Sima Rui, Emperor Yuan of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, who inherited the Western Jin regime, so that he could inherit the Han regime. legacy.