He Kui 何夔

He Kui, courtesy name Shulong, was a man of Yangxia County in Chen Commandery. His great-grandfather He Xi rose to the post of General of Chariots and Cavalry under Emperor An of Han. He Kui lost his father as a child and lived with his mother and elder brother, and was praised for his filial piety and brotherly love. He was eight chi three cun tall, with a stern and dignified appearance. Fleeing the disorders, he went to Huainan. Records, Wei 12 §41

When Yuan Shu reached Shouchun he summoned him; He Kui did not respond, but in the end he was detained by Yuan Shu. A long while later Yuan Shu, together with Qiao Rui, besieged Qiyang, which held out firmly for Cao Cao. Because He Kui was a man of that commandery, Yuan Shu wanted to coerce him into persuading Qiyang. He Kui told Yuan Shu's strategist Li Ye the old story of Liu Xiahui, who on hearing of a plot to attack another state said, 'I have heard that one does not consult a benevolent man when attacking a state; why has this talk come to me?', and then fled and hid on Mount Qian. Realizing that He Kui would never serve him, Yuan Shu gave up. Because the mother of Yuan Shu's elder cousin Yuan Yi, Administrator of Shanyang, was a cousin of He Kui's father, Yuan Shu resented He Kui but did not harm him. Records, Wei 12 §41–42

In the 2nd year of Jian'an (197) He Kui decided to return home, and reckoning that Yuan Shu would surely pursue him in haste, he escaped by back roads and reached his home commandery the following year. Soon afterward Cao Cao summoned him and made him a clerk on the staff of the Minister of Works. When rumors spread that Yuan Shu's army was in disorder, Cao Cao asked whether they could be believed. He Kui answered that Heaven helps those who follow what is right and men help those who keep faith, and that Yuan Shu, who had the substance of neither yet hoped for the help of Heaven and men, would certainly fall into disorder. Cao Cao said that a ruler who loses worthy men in governing a state perishes, and since He Kui had not served Yuan Shu, it was only natural that Yuan Shu was in disorder. Records, Wei 12 §43–44

Cao Cao was strict by nature and often had his staff beaten when they made mistakes in official business. He Kui always carried poison with him, vowing that he would rather die than suffer disgrace, so he was never beaten. Later he went out to serve as Prefect of Chengfu. Records, Wei 12 §44

He was transferred to Administrator of Changguang. The commandery bordered the mountains and the sea, the Yellow Turbans had not yet been pacified, and many local strongmen had rebelled, to whom Yuan Tan had even granted official posts. When Guan Cheng of Changguang County led a following of more than 3,000 households in banditry, those in council wanted to raise troops and attack them. He Kui said that they had not been born loving disorder but had grown used to it and could not return of their own accord; if pressed with troops, they would join forces and fight, and even a victory would harm officials and commoners, so it would be better to win them over gradually with kindness. He sent the Assistant of the commandery Huang Zhen to explain to them what would bring success and what failure, and Guan Cheng and the others all asked to submit. The bandits of Mouping under Cong Qian, also several thousand strong, he attacked and pacified, leading the commandery troops together with Zhang Liao. Records, Wei 12 §45–46

When Wang Ying of Dongmou led a following of more than 3,000 households and coerced Changyang County into rebellion, He Kui sent the officer Wang Qin and others with a stratagem to break them up, and within a month all was pacified. Records, Wei 12 §47

At this time Cao Cao first drew up new regulations and sent them down to the provinces and commanderies, and collected taxes along with silk floss and silk. He Kui, considering that the commandery had only just been established and had recently been through war, so that it should not suddenly be governed by the law, submitted a memorial. The six counties under his charge, he wrote, had only just had their boundaries fixed and were suffering famine as well, so applying the prohibitions uniformly would end in executing those who did not comply; following the rules used for distant regions and newly established states, the senior officials should be allowed to handle the minor affairs of the people as circumstances required, and after about three years, when the people were settled in their livelihoods, they could be governed by the law. Cao Cao followed his advice. Records, Wei 12 §48–50

He Kui was summoned back to take part in the Chancellor's military affairs. When the sea bandit Guo Zu raided the borders of Le'an and Jinan and the provinces and commanderies suffered from him, Cao Cao, because He Kui had earlier enjoyed authority and trust in Changguang, appointed him Administrator of Le'an, and within a few months of his taking office all the cities were pacified. Records, Wei 12 §50

Entering the court, he became Officer of the Eastern Bureau of the Chancellor. He Kui told Cao Cao that since the outbreak of war, men had been employed without examining their roots, so that each had drawn in his own kind; from now on, those to be employed should first have their conduct examined in their home villages, with the order of elder and younger observed; the law concerning those who vouched for a recommendation and deliberately misrepresented the facts should be put in order so that the officials concerned would bear separate responsibility; and the court officials who received orders to make selections together with the Eastern Bureau should each be held responsible. Cao Cao approved. Records, Wei 12 §51–53

When the state of Wei was founded he was appointed Supervisor of the Imperial Secretariat. When Cao Pi became Crown Prince, Liang Mao was made his Grand Tutor and He Kui his Junior Tutor, and the two tutors were charged with selecting the officials of the Crown Prince's and the marquises' households together with the Eastern Bureau of the Imperial Secretariat. When Liang Mao died, He Kui took his place. When He Kui was transferred to Minister Coachman, the Crown Prince, wishing to bid him farewell, made preparations to entertain him a day in advance and even sent a letter inviting him, but He Kui, saying that the state had fixed rules, did not go in the end. Records, Wei 12 §53

Chen Shou wrote that such was his adherence to what was right, yet in an age that esteemed frugality and thrift he was the most extravagant. When Cao Pi took the throne he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Chengyang Village with a fief of 300 households. Falling ill, he repeatedly asked to resign his post, but an edict replied by citing his merit in assisting the sovereign and told him to rest at ease. When he died he was given the posthumous name Marquis Jing. The Records does not record the year of his death. His son He Zeng succeeded him and became Minister over the Masses in the Xianxi era. Records, Wei 12 §54–56

In his assessment, Chen Shou said that Xu Yi, He Kui and Xing Yong valued and esteemed sternness and became famous figures of their time. The biography of Yuan Huan records that Yuan Huan's younger cousin Yuan Ba and He Kui of the same commandery were well known in their time, and that their sons Yuan Liang and He Zeng, together with Yuan Kan, also enjoyed equal fame. Records, Wei 12 §99Records, Wei 11 §13