Liu Xi

Historical Record

As for historical records of Liu Xi, there is at present no clear record in the verifiable sources. In official histories such as the Records of the Three Kingdoms, the name Liu Xi does not appear, and his life and deeds cannot be verified. We therefore cannot depict any concrete experience or contribution of Liu Xi from the historical and biographical materials.

In the Novel

In Luo Guanzhong's historical novel the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Xi appears as the son of Liu Fu, his appearance closely tied to Cao Cao's drunken blunder on the eve of the Battle of Red Cliffs. The novel depicts the scene in which Cao Cao, while drunk, mistakenly killed Liu Fu through a misunderstanding. The next day, when Cao Cao sobered up, he deeply regretted his act. It was at this moment that Liu Xi appeared, asking Cao Cao to be allowed to take his father Liu Fu's body back for burial.^[1]

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Xi's appearance serves to advance the plot and to further depict Cao Cao's character. Faced with Liu Xi's request, Cao Cao showed great remorse. He not only wept in regret but also promised to bury Liu Fu with "the generous rites of the Three Excellencies," and dispatched soldiers to escort the coffin home.^[1] On one hand, this episode displays Cao Cao's emotional fluctuation in a particular situation and his impulse to make amends to a subordinate; on the other, it sets the tense atmosphere for the coming Battle of Red Cliffs, for just after Liu Xi handled his father's funeral, the naval commanders Mao Jie and Yu Jin came to seek instructions on dispatching troops, pulling the story's focus back to the war.^[1] Liu Xi's role in the novel, though brief, plays an important part in linking events and displaying character emotion; his image is shaped entirely by the needs of literary creation and has no clear historical record.

Key Relationships

* Liu Fu (kin_of): Liu Xi's only key relationship in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is with his father Liu Fu. In the novel, Liu Fu is a subordinate of Cao Cao who died when Cao Cao killed him by mistake while drunk. As Liu Fu's son, Liu Xi came forward to handle the funeral after his father's death, thereby having direct interaction with Cao Cao.^[1] (novel only) The historical materials contain no record of the father-son relationship between Liu Xi and Liu Fu.

Iconic Scenes

* Requesting to bury his father: Liu Xi's most iconic scene, and his only appearance in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, is his request to the sobered-up Cao Cao to take back his father Liu Fu's body for burial. This scene not only displays Liu Xi as a filial son but also prompts Cao Cao to express his guilt toward Liu Fu and his wish to make amends to Liu Xi.^[1] Cao Cao thereupon promised to bury Liu Fu with "the generous rites of the Three Excellencies" and allotted soldiers to escort the coffin. This scene is the whole of Liu Xi's significance in the novel and the whole expression of his character (novel only).