Background

Lü Kai was from Buwei County (不韋縣), Yongchang Commandery (永昌郡), which is located northeast of present-day Baoshan, Yunnan. He was allegedly from the same clan as Lü Buwei, a statesman of the Qin state in the Warring States period who was exiled to the Shu region (present-day Sichuan) 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, 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 region (covering parts of present-day Yunnan, Guizhou and southern Sichuan), 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 appointed him as the Administrator of Yongchang Commandery (永昌郡; covering parts of present-day western Yunnan) 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, 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 led an army on a southern campaign into the Nanzhong region to quell the rebellions and deal with intrusions by the Nanman 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 to the Shu emperor Liu Shan 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 in Yunnan), 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 after the end of the Three Kingdoms 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, the founder of the Cheng state, led his forces to invade Ning Prefecture (寧州; covering present-day Yunnan and Guizhou), Lü Kai's descendants refused to surrender and led the people of Yongchang Commandery to resist the invaders.

Appraisal

Chen Shou, who wrote Lu Kai's biography in the Records of the Three Kingdoms (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, 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."

生平

益州郡耆帥雍闓知道劉備於永安逝世後，經常滋擾當地，都護李嚴寫信給雍闓勸說，卻得到雍闓桀慢的回覆。後來雍闓降東吳，東吳任命他為永昌太守。由於永昌位處益州之西，道路阻塞，與蜀漢隔絕，雍闓於是決定進郡，但遭到呂凱及府丞王伉的抵抗，雍闓去函游說亦被呂凱所駁。呂凱為人民所信，而雍闓因被阻不能入郡。

公元225年，諸葛亮南征，討伐雍闓。雍闓死後，諸葛亮上表稱「永昌郡吏呂凱、府丞王伉等，執忠絕域，十有餘年，雍闓、高定偪其東北，而凱等守義不與交通。臣不意永昌風俗敦直乃爾！」並以呂凱為雲南太守，封陽遷亭侯。恰好呂凱被叛夷所害。

子女

呂祥，繼承陽遷亭侯爵位。晉時為南夷校尉。