Lü Kai

史载（Historical Record）

Lü Kai, styled Jiping, was a native of Buwei in Yongchang (present-day Baoshan, Yunnan); his family was said to be a clan of the descendants of Lü Buwei of the Qin dynasty who had migrated there. In his early years he served in the commandery as an Aide of the Five Offices, Officer of Merit, and other posts ^c:843.

In the third year of Zhangwu (223), after the founding sovereign of Shu Han, Liu Bei, died at Yong'an, the powerful magnates of the southern part of Yi Province, such as Yong Kai, on hearing the news, believed that Shu Han's strength was failing and so raised troops in rebellion, their arrogance and defiance growing daily more pronounced. The Area Commander Li Yan had repeatedly written to Yong Kai to persuade him, setting out the advantages and disadvantages, but Yong Kai replied with a single letter whose words betrayed his contempt for the Shu Han regime, declaring: "Heaven has no two suns, the earth no two kings; now that the realm stands as a tripod and there are three legitimate calendars, distant men are bewildered and do not know where to turn," and turned instead to surrender to Eastern Wu ^c:843. Eastern Wu appointed Lü Kai in absentia as Grand Administrator of Yongchang, intending to split Shu Han's rule over Nanzhong. However, Yongchang Commandery lay to the west of Yi Province, with difficult communications, cut off from the Shu Han heartland, and the commandery's grand administrator had already been replaced. At this critical juncture, Lü Kai, together with the commandery aide Wang Kang and other loyal and righteous men, led the officials and people to seal the borders tightly and firmly resist Yong Kai's rebellion ^c:843. Yong Kai repeatedly issued proclamations to Yongchang Commandery, attempting to shake its soldiers and people. But Lü Kai and the others held their isolated city for more than ten years, and in the face of the advance of the rebel armies of Yong Kai and Gao Ding from the northeast, they steadfastly held to their principles, refusing to have dealings with the rebels ^c:4878.

In the third year of Jianxing (225), Chancellor Zhuge Liang campaigned south to suppress Yong Kai. While the main army was still on the march, Yong Kai had already been killed by Gao Ding's troops. After Zhuge Liang reached Nanzhong, he submitted a memorial to the court extolling the loyalty and steadfastness of Lü Kai, Wang Kang, and the others, saying: "The Yongchang commandery officials Lü Kai, the commandery aide Wang Kang, and others have held to their loyalty in a remote and cut-off land for more than ten years; Yong Kai and Gao Ding pressed them from the northeast, yet Kai and the others kept their principles and would not have dealings with them. I did not expect that the customs of Yongchang should be so honest and upright!" ^c:4878 Zhuge Liang therefore appointed Lü Kai as Grand Administrator of Yunnan and enfeoffed him as Marquis of Yangqian. However, Lü Kai was soon afterward killed by rebelling Yi tribesmen. His son Lü Xiang inherited his title and held the post of Grand Administrator of Yongchang in hereditary succession. The Lü family held office generation after generation, and their descendants, in the Jin dynasty, when Li Xiong broke into Ningzhou, still refused to submit and held the commandery firm, displaying the family's tradition of loyalty and righteousness ^c:4878.

演中（In the Novel）

In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Lü Kai's image is further dramatized, becoming an important counselor and guide during Zhuge Liang's southern campaign. He first appears at the time of Zhuge Liang's southern campaign, when the Grand Administrator of Yongchang, Wang Kang, recommended Lü Kai to Kongming, praising him as a lofty gentleman of Yongchang and saying that the city of Yongchang had remained safe entirely thanks to Lü Kai's efforts ^c:4879.

After Kongming summoned Lü Kai and asked him for a strategy to pacify the barbarians, Lü Kai presented a map called the "Pointing-at-the-Palm Map for Pacifying the Barbarians," which depicted in detail the geographical layout of the Nanzhong region and the places where troops could be garrisoned and battle joined—the fruit of years of secretly sending men deep into barbarian territory to investigate. Kongming was overjoyed at this, and at once appointed Lü Kai as Instructor of the Marching Army and concurrently as guide officer, having him play a key role in the southern campaign ^c:4879.

During the southern campaign, Lü Kai repeatedly offered Zhuge Liang advice on geography and customs. For example, when the Shu army reached the Xi'er River and was blocked because the current was swift and there were no boats or rafts, Lü Kai advised using the giant bamboo that grew abundantly upstream to build a bamboo bridge, successfully solving the problem of getting the army across the river ^c:4880. In addition, when Meng Huo retreated to hold the Tulong Cave and the Shu army was blocked on the steep mountain paths, Lü Kai, though not fully knowing the detailed route, was still able to provide a clue about the existence of a small path through the cave, prompting Zhuge Liang to send Wang Ping to find another way ^c:8920.

In the engagement with the rattan-armor troops of the Wuge Kingdom, the Shu army first encountered the impenetrable rattan armor and the deadly poison of the Peach-Leaf Foul Water, and Wei Yan was badly defeated. Kongming once again asked Lü Kai and the local natives for a countermeasure. Lü Kai explained in detail the habits of the Wuge people, the properties of the rattan armor, and the toxicity of the Peach-Leaf Foul Water, and advised withdrawing the army, holding that even a complete victory would be of no benefit. However, Kongming was fully confident, declaring that he already had a strategy to pacify the barbarians—showing that in the novel Lü Kai serves more as a figure who provides intelligence and advice than as a decision-maker ^c:845.

关键关系

* Yong Kai: Lü Kai's resolute enemy. In history, Lü Kai and Wang Kang together resisted Yong Kai's rebellion, holding Yongchang Commandery for more than ten years ^c:843. In the novel, Yong Kai is one of the chief leaders of the rebellion in Zhuge Liang's southern campaign, while Lü Kai assisted Zhuge Liang in suppressing his rebellion (novel-only).
* Shu Han: The regime to which Lü Kai was loyal. As a Shu Han commandery official, in the hour of the state's peril he held the frontier and defended Shu Han's rule over Nanzhong ^c:843.
* Zhuge Liang: Lü Kai's direct superior and the chief object of his counsel. In history, after his southern campaign Zhuge Liang greatly praised Lü Kai's loyalty and rewarded and enfeoffed him ^c:4878. In the novel, Lü Kai was even more an important guide and counselor in Zhuge Liang's southern campaign, providing him with geographical intelligence and advice on customs ^c:4879.
* Wang Kang: Lü Kai's colleague and comrade-in-arms. In history, the two together led the officials and people to seal the borders and resist Yong Kai ^c:843. In the novel, Wang Kang is the Grand Administrator of Yongchang who recommended Lü Kai to Zhuge Liang ^c:4879.
* Lü Xiang: Lü Kai's son. In history, Lü Xiang inherited Lü Kai's title and held the post of Grand Administrator of Yongchang in hereditary succession, continuing the family's loyalty and righteousness ^c:4878.

标志性场景

* Sealing the borders to resist the rebels and holding Yongchang firm: This is Lü Kai's most representative deed in history. While Yong Kai rebelled and Yongchang Commandery was cut off from Shu Han, Lü Kai and Wang Kang led the officials and people in resolute resistance against the rebel armies for more than ten years, displaying the lofty loyalty and principle of "holding to loyalty in a cut-off land" ^c:4878.
* Presenting the "Pointing-at-the-Palm Map for Pacifying the Barbarians": In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Lü Kai presented to Zhuge Liang the "Pointing-at-the-Palm Map for Pacifying the Barbarians" that he had drawn, detailing the geography of Nanzhong, providing important strategic basis for Zhuge Liang's southern campaign, and marking the beginning of his being relied upon by Zhuge Liang ^c:4879 (novel-only).
* Building a bamboo bridge over the Xi'er River: In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, when the Shu army was blocked crossing the Xi'er River, Lü Kai advised using the giant bamboo that grew abundantly locally to build a bamboo bridge, successfully solving the problem of getting the army across, reflecting his familiarity with Nanzhong's geography and his ability to solve practical problems ^c:4880 (novel-only).
* Explaining the rattan-armor troops and Peach-Leaf Foul Water: In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, when the Shu army encountered the rattan-armor troops and Peach-Leaf Foul Water of the Wuge Kingdom, Lü Kai explained in detail to Zhuge Liang the characteristics of these foreign peoples and the perilous local environment, and though he advised withdrawing the army, he also provided important reference information for Zhuge Liang's eventual pacification of the southern barbarians ^c:845 (novel-only).