Family background

Lu Kai was from Wu County, Wu Commandery, which is present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu. The Lu clan, which he was from, was one of the four most influential clans in Wu Commandery and also in the Jiangdong (or Wu) region at the time. He was also a relative of Lu Xun, the third Imperial Chancellor of Eastern Wu.

Service under Sun Quan

Lu Kai started his career around the time Sun Quan established the independent state of Eastern Wu in 222 near the beginning of the Three Kingdoms period. He first served as the Chief of Yongxing County (永興縣; present-day Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang) and later as the Chief of Zhuji County, before he was commissioned as a Commandant Who Establishes Martial Might (建武都尉) and given command of troops. While serving in the military, Lu Kai was often seen reading books. He was particularly interested in the Taixuanjing and fortune-telling / divination.

During the Chiwu era (238–251) of Sun Quan's reign, Lu Kai was appointed as the Administrator (太守) of Dan'er Commandery (儋耳郡; around present-day Danzhou, Hainan). He led Wu forces to attack Zhuya (朱崖; present-day Haikou, Hainan) and succeeded in conquering it for Wu. As a reward for his achievement, he was promoted from Commandant to Colonel under the title "Colonel Who Establishes Martial Might" (建武校尉).

Service under Sun Liang

In 255, during the reign of the second Wu emperor Sun Liang, Lu Kai led Wu forces to attack bandits led by Chen Bi in Lingling Commandery (零陵郡; around present-day Yongzhou, Hunan) and succeeded in eliminating Chen Bi and the bandits. He was then promoted to Lieutenant-General and appointed as the Area Commander of Baqiu (巴丘; present-day Yueyang, Hunan), in addition to being enfeoffed as a Marquis of a Chief District. He was subsequently reassigned to serve as the Area Commander of the Right Section of Wuchang (武昌; present-day Ezhou, Hubei).

During Sun Liang's reign, Lu Kai participated in a military campaign against Wu's rival state, Wei, at Shouchun (壽春; present-day Shou County, Anhui). After he returned from the Shouchun campaign, he was promoted to the rank of General, first under the title "General Who Defeats Wei" and later "General Who Pacifies Distant Lands".

Service under Sun Xiu

After Sun Xiu came to the throne on 30 November 258, he appointed Lu Kai as General Who Attacks the North and granted him the nominal appointment of Governor of Yu Province, which was actually the territory of Wu's rival state Wei.

Service under Sun Hao

When Sun Hao became emperor of Wu on 3 September 264 following Sun Xiu's death, he reassigned Lu Kai to the position of General Who Guards the West, granted him the appointment of Governor of Jing Province, and ordered him to station at Baqiu (巴丘; present-day Yueyang, Hunan). He also elevated Lu Kai from the status of a district marquis to a county marquis under the title "Marquis of Jiaxing" (嘉興侯).

Advising Sun Hao against relocating the imperial capital

In late September or October 265, Sun Hao relocated the Wu imperial capital from Jianye (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu) to Wuchang (武昌; present-day Ezhou, Hubei). His decision to relocate the imperial capital became a heavy burden on the people of Yang Province as they were hard-pressed into providing supplies and resources for the relocation process. At the same time, the Wu government's numerous policy failures had also imposed hardships on the people and forced them into severe poverty. Around this time, Lu Kai wrote a memorial to Sun Hao to dissuade him from relocating the imperial capital, and to advise him to rule with benevolence.

Dissuading Sun Hao from attacking the Jin dynasty

In February or March 266, Sun Hao sent Ding Zhong (丁忠) as his emissary to make peace with the Jin dynasty, which replaced Wu's rival state Wei on 4 February 266. After Ding Zhong returned from his mission, he urged Sun Hao to launch an attack on the Jin dynasty's Yiyang Commandery (弋陽郡; around present-day Xinyang, Henan) because he saw that the Jin defences were inadequate. When Sun Hao called for an imperial court session to discuss this issue, Lu Kai spoke up:

The Wu general Liu Zuan urged Sun Hao to seize this opportunity to launch an attack, and suggested that they send spies to assess the situation in Yiyang Commandery first. Although Sun Hao wanted to heed Liu Zuan's suggestion, he eventually dropped the idea after considering the recent fall of Wu's ally state Shu in 263.

As Left Imperial Chancellor

Around September or October 266, Sun Hao appointed Lu Kai as Left Imperial Chancellor (左丞相) and Wan Yu as Right Imperial Chancellor (右丞相).

As Sun Hao was known for his dislike of receiving feedback about himself, his subjects did not dare to defy him when they spoke to him. Lu Kai, however, told the emperor: "If a ruler and his subjects don't understand each other, when something unexpected happens, everyone will be at a loss on what to do." Sun Hao listened to Lu Kai and allowed feedback from him.

At the time, Sun Hao had an attendant, He Ding (何定), who was notorious for fawning on the emperor, speaking ill of officials behind their backs, and giving unfair preferential treatment to those who were close to him. Lu Kai once reprimanded him: He Ding bore a grudge against Lu Kai for this, and he constantly thought of ways to get back at Lu Kai. However, Lu Kai remained unfazed and continued to perform his duties in a professional and impartial manner. He continued to show his sincerity and loyalty towards Sun Hao by being candid and not mincing his words whenever he gave advice to the emperor.

Alleged plot to overthrow Sun Hao

According to one account, sometime in January or early February 267, Lu Kai plotted with Ding Feng and Ding Gu (丁固) to overthrow Sun Hao while he was visiting the imperial ancestral temple, and replace him with Sun Xiu's son. Lu Kai then secretly instructed an official to recommend Ding Feng to lead the 3,000 imperial guards escorting Sun Hao to the temple. However, Sun Hao rejected the suggestion and chose Liu Ping (留平) instead. Lu Kai and the others then contacted Liu Ping and asked him to join the plot. Although Liu Ping refused to participate, he also promised them that he would not reveal anything. Without Liu Ping's help, the plot could not be carried out. Around the same time, an imperial clerk Chen Miao warned Sun Hao that there were ominous signs (e.g. dark clouds but no rain, winds changing direction) so Sun Hao, being superstitious, ordered his guards to be on high alert.

The Wu Lu recorded that Lu Kai had instructed his son Lu Yi (陸禕) to secretly contact Liu Ping and ask him to join their plot. However, before Lu Yi could tell him, Liu Ping, who was not on good terms with Ding Feng, smiled and told Lu Yi: "I heard that a wild boar broke into Ding Feng's camp. That is a bad omen." Lu Yi thought that Liu Ping already knew, so he became fearful and did not dare to say anything about the plot.

Death

When Lu Kai became critically ill in 269, Sun Hao sent Dong Chao (董朝), the Prefect of the Palace Writers, to visit Lu Kai and hear his last words. Lu Kai said:

Lu Kai died sometime between 11 December 269 and 8 January 270 at the age of 72 (by East Asian age reckoning).

Family

Lu Kai's son, Lu Yi (陸禕), also served in the state of Eastern Wu like his father. He started his career as a Gentleman of the Yellow Gate before enlisting in the Wu army and rising through the ranks to become a Lieutenant-General. After his father's death, Lu Yi was reassigned to serve in the imperial palace, where he became an attendant to the crown prince.

During this time, the state historian Hua He wrote a memorial to the emperor Sun Hao as follows: "Lu Yi is physically tough, exceptionally talented, and strong in willpower. He will make a brilliant military commander; even Lu Su could not have been better than him. When he was summoned to the Imperial Capital, he passed by Wuchang but he did not stop to visit his family there and did not take any military equipment and supplies from Wuchang. He shows decisiveness and determination in leading troops, and great integrity in performing his duties. Xiakou is a strategic location near the border that will come under attack by enemy forces, so we need a competent commander to lead the defence. After careful consideration, I think there is no better person suitable for this task than Lu Yi."

When Lu Kai was still alive, he was known for being outspoken and critical of Sun Hao, and for defying the emperor's will on a number of occasions. As a result, Sun Hao secretly bore a grudge against him. At the same time, He Ding (何定), who also hated Lu Kai, constantly spoke ill of Lu Kai in front of the emperor. Sun Hao had long considered getting rid of Lu Kai, but he could not do so because of two reasons. First, Lu Kai held an important office as Left Imperial Chancellor so Sun Hao needed his help to keep the government functioning. Second, Lu Kai's relative Lu Kang was a senior general guarding the border between Eastern Wu and the Jin dynasty, so Sun Hao did not want to antagonise Lu Kang by harming Lu Kai. Therefore, even though Sun Hao deeply resented Lu Kai, he tolerated Lu Kai all these years. After Lu Kai died, Sun Hao sent his family away to the distant Jian'an Commandery (建安郡; covering parts of present-day Fujian).

Lu Kai had a younger brother, Lu Yin, who served as a military general in Eastern Wu.

Lu Kais writings

Memorial on relocating the imperial capital and benevolent rule

Lu Kai then wrote this memorial to Sun Hao around September or October 265 to dissuade the emperor from relocating the imperial capital from Jianye (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu) to Wuchang (武昌; present-day Ezhou, Hubei), and to advise him to rule with benevolence instead of tyranny. A rough translation of the memorial is as follows:

Memorial on 20 ways Sun Hao deviated from Sun Quans practices

Chen Shou, the third-century historian who wrote Lu Kai's biography in the Sanguozhi, mentioned that during his research on information about Lu Kai, he came across a memorial allegedly written by Lu Kai to Sun Hao. This memorial originated from sources in Jing and Yang provinces. However, when Chen Shou cross-checked with sources from the Wu region, he was unable to verify the authenticity of the memorial. Nevertheless, Chen Shou believed that the memorial was authentic from its tone and writing style. He theorised that Lu Kai most probably wrote the memorial but did not present it to Sun Hao and kept it hidden until he finally decided to show it to Dong Chao (董朝) before his death. Chen Shou did not include the memorial in the main text of Lu Kai's biography because of its dubious origin. However, he was impressed after reading the memorial, and believed that it could serve as a lesson for future rulers, hence he included it as an addendum at the end of Lu Kai's biography.

The memorial was Lu Kai's response to a message from Sun Hao relayed to him by Zhao Qin, one of Sun Hao's close attendants, when Lu Kai strongly opposed Sun Hao's decision to relocate the imperial capital from Jianye (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu) to Wuchang (present-day Ezhou, Hubei). The message was: "I will definitely follow in the Previous Emperor's footsteps. What is wrong with that? What you told me doesn't make sense. I decided to move the Imperial Capital because the Imperial Palace in Jianye isn't an auspicious location. Besides, the buildings in the western part of the Imperial Palace are already falling apart. That is why all the more I should relocate the Imperial Capital. What makes you think I shouldn't do that?"

Lu Kai replied:

Other memorials

The Jiang Biao Zhuan (江表傳) recorded two other memorials written by Lu Kai to Sun Hao. Lu Kai wrote the first memorial to urge Sun Hao to mend his ways when he foresaw that Sun Hao would meet his downfall because of his cruelty and extravagance. He wrote the second memorial to dissuade Sun Hao from proceeding with his expensive palace construction/renovation project after Sun Hao refused to listen to him when he first spoke up.

生平

孫權時期

黃武初年（222年－224年）曾先後擔任永寧長、諸暨長，在兩地都有政績。後出任建武都尉，開始領兵。但即使身居武職，陸凱依然保持著讀書的習慣。領兵，但身任武職的他仍手不釋卷，經常閱讀，尤其喜愛揚雄所撰的《太玄經》一書，曾為此書作注。

赤烏五年（242年，魏正始三年，蜀延熙五年），孫權封陸凱為儋耳太守，令他與與將軍聶友率軍三萬進攻朱崖（今雷州半島一帶）、儋耳（今海南島）兩地，戰後於朱崖設郡（郡治今廣東省徐聞縣），陸凱因功升為建武校尉。

赤烏十三年（250年，魏嘉平二年，蜀延熙十三年）十二月，魏將王昶、州泰、王基攻侵犯江陵（今湖北市荊州市），吳國守將朱績被擊敗，孫權派遣陸凱和將軍戴烈前往增援，但無功而返。

孫亮、孫休時期

五鳳二年（255年，魏正元二年，蜀延熙十八年），陸凱率軍赴零陵（郡治今湖南省永州市）討伐山賊陳毖，成功將陳毖斬殺，因功封巴丘督、偏將軍，封都鄉侯，同年又轉為武昌右部督。

同年春正月，魏淮南守將毌丘儉、文欽率軍西進，討伐魏國權臣司馬師，與司馬師大軍在樂嘉（今河南省商水縣東）交戰。閏正月，吳國丞相孫峻、驃騎將軍呂據、左將軍留贊等趁機率軍襲擊壽春（今安徽省壽縣），陸凱也受命率軍前往。結果吳軍剛走到東興（今安徽省含山縣西南），就聽說毌丘儉、文欽已經失敗，後來文欽率淮南殘軍數萬人投奔吳國，吳軍與魏軍交戰，互有勝負。戰後，陸凱又升為蕩魏將軍、綏遠將軍。

永安元年（258年，魏甘露三年，蜀景耀元年）十月，孫休繼位，陸凱升為征北將軍，假節，遙領豫州牧。

孫皓時期

元興元年（264年，魏咸熙元年）七月，孫皓繼位，大行奉賞，陸凱被拜為鎮西大將軍，都督巴丘（今湖南省岳陽市），領荊州牧，進封嘉興侯。甘露元年（265年，晉泰始元年），孫皓遷都武昌。這一年，晉國取代了曹魏。

寶鼎元年（266年，晉泰始二年），先前派往晉國的使臣丁忠回到武昌，告訴孫皓晉國疏於防備，勸他趁機襲取弋陽郡（郡治今河南省潢川縣西）。孫皓向群臣徵求意見，陸凱表示了堅決的反對，孫皓表面上聽從了陸凱的意見並未出兵，但最後還是與晉國絕交了。八月，孫皓分置左、右丞相，陸凱出任為左丞相，右丞相則是孫皓的親信萬彧。次年春，孫皓改派右丞相萬彧代替陸凱鎮守巴丘。

陸凱擔任丞相期間，多次上疏直諫，言詞激烈之時，甚至將孫皓與古代亡國的暴君桀、紂相提並論。陸凱反對孫皓的窮兵黷武、苛政酷刑、奢侈享樂，建議他任用賢能，與民休養。同時他自身通曉卜筮，曾利用民謠、天象勸說迷信的孫皓還都建業。據說陸凱曾試圖與右大司馬丁奉、御史大夫丁固合謀廢掉孫皓，後因左將軍留平反對而放棄。

建衡元年（269年，晉泰始五年），陸凱身患重病，孫皓派中書令董朝詢問他還有什麼要說的，陸凱表示何定和奚熙這些人都不值得依賴，勸孫皓重用姚信、樓玄、賀邵、張悌、郭逴、薛瑩、滕脩、陸喜、陸抗。同年十一月，陸凱病逝，享年七十二歲。

孫皓對陸凱屢次拂逆他的旨意早就有所不滿，何定也多次讒言中傷陸凱。但礙於陸凱的身份和他家族勢力的龐大，孫皓對他始終有所忌憚。等到陸凱死後，孫皓便將陸凱在外領兵的兒子陸禕召回；在陸家另一位重臣陸抗於鳳凰三年（274年，晉泰始十年）去世後，孫皓於天冊元年（275年，晉咸寧元年）下令將陸凱全家流放到建安（今福建省福州市）。

評價

• 陳壽評曰：「潘濬公清割斷，陸凱忠壯質直，皆節概梗梗，有大丈夫格業。」（《三國志•吳書•潘濬陸凱傳第十六》）

• 陸機：「大司馬陸公以文武熙朝，左丞相陸凱以謇諤盡規，而施績、範慎以威重顯，丁奉、鐘離斐以武毅稱，孟宗、丁固之徒為公卿，樓玄、賀劭之屬掌機事，元首雖病，股肱猶良。」（《三國志•吳書•三嗣主傳第三》裴松之注引《辨亡論》）

家庭

兄弟

• 陸胤，交州刺史、都亭侯

兒子

• 陸禕，太子中庶子，後被流放

孫子

• 陸仰，吏部郎

曾孫

• 陸伊，揚州主簿

玄孫

• 陸退，字黎明，東晉光祿大夫

注釋