Lü Kai (died 225),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Jiping, was an official of the state of

Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu ( zh, t=蜀, p=Shǔ; Sichuanese Pinyin: ''Su'' < Middle Chinese: *''źjowk'' < Eastern Han Chinese: *''dźok''), was a Dynasties in ...

during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period of China.

Background

Lü Kai was from Buwei County (不韋縣), Yongchang Commandery (永昌郡), which is located northeast of present-day

Baoshan, Yunnan Baoshan ( zh, c=, p=Bǎoshān ; ), historically also Yongchang ( zh, c=, p=Yǒngchāng), is a prefecture-level city in western Yunnan, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China. Baoshan is the second-biggest metropolitan area in western Yunnan ...

. He was allegedly from the same clan as

Lü Buwei Lü Buwei (291–235 BCE) was a Chinese merchant and politician of the Qin state during the Warring States period. Originally an influential merchant from the Wey () state, Lü Buwei met and befriended King Zhuangxiang of Qin, who was then a ...

, a statesman of the

Qin state Qin (, , or ''Ch'in'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. It is traditionally dated to 897 BC. The state of Qin originated from a reconquest of western lands that had previously been lost to the Xirong. Its location at ...

in the

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

who was exiled to the Shu region (present-day

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

) after his fall from power.

Service in Shu Han

Lü Kai started his career as an Officer of Merit (功曹) in the bureau for general purposes in Yongchang Commandery's office. After

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a China, Chinese warlord in the late Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty who later became the founding Emperor of China, emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms of ...

, the founding emperor of the Shu Han (or Shu) state, died in June 223, Yong Kai (雍闓), a tribal chief active in Shu's

Nanzhong Nanzhong () is the ancient name for a region in southwest China that covers parts of present-day Yunnan, Guizhou and southern Sichuan provinces. During the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China, the Nanzhong region was part of the territor ...

region (covering parts of present-day

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

Guizhou ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = Guizhou in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_alt = Map showing the location of Guizhou Province , map_caption = Map s ...

and southern

), became more aggressive and rebellious towards the Shu state. During this time, the Shu general Li Yan wrote a total of six letters to Yong Kai to dissuade him from rebelling but only received an arrogant response from the latter. Yong Kai also pledged allegiance to Shu's ally-turned-rival state Eastern Wu (or Wu); in return, the Wu ruler

Sun Quan Sun Quan (; 182 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumous name, posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime established by hi ...

appointed him as the Administrator of Yongchang Commandery (永昌郡; covering parts of present-day western

) even though Yongchang was under Shu control. Yongchang Commandery was located in the far southwest of Shu and was rather isolated from the Shu imperial capital,

Chengdu Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...

, because the connecting roads were usually difficult to travel on or totally untraversable. When Yong Kai showed up to take control of Yongchang, Lü Kai and his colleague Wang Kang (王伉) refused to recognise his legitimacy and led both the local government and civilians alike to resist Yong Kai and prevent him from entering the commandery. When Yong Kai repeatedly wrote declarations in his attempt to convince everyone that he was the rightful Administrator of Yongchang Commandery, Lü Kai wrote a reply to him as follows: As the people of Yongchang Commandery highly regarded and trusted him, Lü Kai was able to maintain control over Yongchang and fulfil his loyalty as a subject of Shu. In the spring of 225, the Shu regent

Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang () (181September or October 234), also commonly known by his courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman, strategist, and inventor who lived through the End of the Han dynasty, end of the Eastern Han dynasty ( 184–220) and t ...

led an army on a southern campaign into the

region to quell the rebellions and deal with intrusions by the

Nanman The Man, commonly known as the Nanman or Southern Man (, ''lit. Southern Barbarians''), were ancient indigenous peoples who lived in inland South and Southwest China, mainly around the Yangtze River valley. In ancient Chinese sources, the term N ...

tribes. While the Shu army was on its way, Yong Kai was slain by the subordinates of Gao Ding (高定), another rebel leader. By the autumn of 225, Zhuge Liang had completely pacified Nanzhong and restored peace in the area. He then wrote a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

to the Shu emperor

Liu Shan Liu Shan (, 207–271), courtesy name Gongsi, was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. As he ascended the throne at the age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Liang ...

as follows: "Lü Kai, Wang Kang and other officials in Yongchang Commandery maintained their loyalty towards the State despite being stuck in a remote location for over 10 years. When Yong Kai and Gao Ding started rebellions in the northeast, Lü Kai stood by their allegiance to the State and refused to have any dealings with the rebels. I am so surprised that there exists such a culture of loyalty and righteousness here in Yongchang." Lü Kai was later appointed as the Administrator of Yunnan Commandery (雲南郡; covering parts of present-day Chuxiong, Dali and

Lijiang Lijiang ( zh, s= ), formerly romanized as Likiang, is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Yunnan Province, China. It has an area of and had a population of 1,253,878 at the 2020 census whom 288,787 lived in the built-up area (metro) ...

), and enfeoffed as the Marquis of Yangqian Village (陽遷亭侯). Lü Kai's colleague, Wang Kang (王伉), later became the Administrator of Yongchang Commandery and was also enfeoffed as a village marquis.

Death and legacy

Lü Kai was killed by insurgents in Yunnan Commandery. His son, Lü Xiang (呂祥), inherited his peerage as the Marquis of Yangqian Village. Lü Xiang served under the

Jin dynasty Jin may refer to: States Jìn 晉 * Jin (Chinese state) (晉國), major state of the Zhou dynasty, existing from the 11th century BC to 376 BC * Jin dynasty (266–420) (晉朝), also known as Liang Jin and Sima Jin * Jin (Later Tang precursor) ...

after the end of the

period and held the position of Colonel of the Southern Barbarians (南夷校尉). His son and descendants served as the Administrator of Yongchang Commandery generation after generation. In the fourth century, when

Li Xiong Li Xiong (李雄) (274 – 11 August 334), courtesy name Zhongjuan (仲雋), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Wu of Cheng (Han) (成(漢)武帝), was the first emperor of the Ba-Di-led Cheng-Han dynasty and commonly regarded as ...

, the founder of the Cheng state, led his forces to invade Ning Prefecture (寧州; covering present-day

and

), Lü Kai's descendants refused to surrender and led the people of Yongchang Commandery to resist the invaders.

Appraisal

Chen Shou Chen Shou ( zh , t = 陳壽 ; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is best known for his most celebrated work, the ...

, who wrote Lu Kai's biography in the ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''), appraised him as follows: "Lu Kai never differed of his path to integrity... Along with Huang Quan, Li Hui, Ma Zhong, Wang Ping,

Zhang Ni Zhang Ni (190s - 254), courtesy name Boqi, rendered also as Zhang Yi, was a military general of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Famous for his courage and generosity, Zhang Ni made his name known while rescuing a ...

, It was thanks to their qualities that they were all well known through the empire and because they seized the opportunity given to them that they left strong legacies."(評曰：...呂凱守節不回，...咸以所長，顯名發跡，遇其時也。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 43.

Notes

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms ''Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms'' () by Pei Songzhi (372–451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After the fall of the Eastern Jin ...