Li Yi

Historical Record

Li Yi was a general of the state of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, in the seventh month of the first year of the Zhangwu era (221 CE), Liu Bei, enraged that Guan Yu had been ambushed and killed by Sun Quan, led a great army on an eastern campaign against Wu. Faced with Liu Bei's military move, Sun Quan dispatched the generals Lu Yi (that is, Lu Xun), Li Yi, Liu A, and others to garrison the area of Wu County and Zigui, to resist the advance of the Shu Han army^[1]. In the ensuing fighting, the Shu Han generals Wu Ban and Feng Xi launched an assault from the direction of Wu County and successfully broke the defensive line of Li Yi and the others^[1]. After this engagement, the Shu Han army continued to advance and reached Zigui. The historical record of Li Yi is relatively brief, focused chiefly on this battle resisting Liu Bei's eastern campaign in which he took part. As a member of Sun Quan's faction, he played an important defensive role in the early stage of Liu Bei's campaign against Wu; though he ultimately failed to halt the advance of the Shu Han army, his standing in Wu's military deployment is evident. Concerning Li Yi's life, native place, and whereabouts after this battle, the official histories contain no further detailed record, leaving his historical image rather blurred; he is known to later generations chiefly through his military action in this battle.

In the Novel

(No novel material)

Since Li Yi receives no literary shaping in novels such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he has no independent storyline or notable portrayal in the novel. His appearance in the novel, if mentioned at all, is merely as a background figure in a historical event, similar to the historical record—that is, as a Wu general taking part in the resistance against the Shu Han army in the early stage of Liu Bei's campaign against Wu. The novel usually highlights figures marked by dramatic conflict, heroic deeds, or complex personal relationships, while a general like Li Yi, of whom the historical sources record so little, is generally not given much ink. Therefore the novel's portrayal of Li Yi may be understood as highly consistent with the historical record—or rather, the novel makes no embellishment or fictional treatment departing from history. In reading the novel, the reader will see Li Yi displaying no additional character traits, personal experiences, or distinctive feats; he is merely one member of Wu's defensive system, his role and end no different from what the official histories record.

Key Relationships

* Sun Quan's Faction: Li Yi was a general under Sun Quan, serving the Eastern Wu regime^[1]. During Liu Bei's campaign against Wu, he was ordered to garrison the area of Wu and Zigui to resist the Shu Han army, reflecting his identity as a member of Sun Quan's military system. Together with the generals Lu Yi (Lu Xun), Liu A, and others, he shared the defensive task, making him an important military force of Sun Quan's faction in the early stage of the war.

Iconic Scenes

* The Battle of Wu and Zigui: Li Yi's most notable scene is in the seventh month of the first year of the Zhangwu era (221 CE), when he, together with the generals Lu Yi, Liu A, and others, garrisoned Wu and Zigui to block Liu Bei's great eastern campaign army^[1]. In this battle he clashed with the Shu Han army led by Wu Ban and Feng Xi and was ultimately defeated, allowing the Shu Han army to continue advancing toward Zigui. This is the only military action of Li Yi explicitly recorded in the historical sources, and direct proof of his participation, as a Wu general, in a major historical event.