Liu Jili

Biodata

Background / History

Family and northern exile

Jili belongs to the branch of the Liu Clan of Pengcheng associated with his great-uncle Liu Kui, a trusted minister of Emperor Yuan. Liu Kui sought to strengthen imperial authority and discipline the aristocratic clans. During the Wang Dun Rebellion, he became a principal target and fled north to Later Zhao with more than two hundred relatives. His subsequent condemnation, rather than public exoneration, left the branch politically marginalized in the south 35 37.

Jili was born north of the Yellow River and lived with his father at an official posting in Henan. After his father died, he fled south with a single slave retainer, approximately three years before his audience with Xie An. He initially approached the Jiankang branch descended from Liu Ne, but left after relatives disparaged him for not being born to his father’s principal wife 11 35.

Poverty in Jingkou

Jili subsequently depended on Lord Ying’s household, helping sell mats and make baskets. When someone accused him of pocketing money, Liu Agan and his father did not defend him. He left in anger without returning to his quarters, begged a fishing net and an axe, and began supporting himself alone 11.

Before that break, he met Liu Acheng at a Jingkou market and exchanged his bamboo flute for sandals. He attempted to compete with Acheng’s sandal-and-mat business, but his inferior goods and Acheng’s musical attraction drew customers away. Despite their rivalry, he warned Acheng that musical talent could not secure gentlemanly standing without family connections—and might instead expose him to exploitation by aristocratic households 5 7.

Acheng and Liu Huzi later encountered him fishing in a stream. Acheng persuaded Huzi to invite him into their camp, emphasizing his knowledge of local terrain, tiger habitats, and equipment markets. Jili offered his catch to Liu Rengong and received permission to stay and assist with the tiger hunt 11 12.

Tiger hunt and aristocratic humiliation

Jili guided the hunters to Master Du Ming’s private market, where their attempts to obtain suitable weapons initially met resistance. Master Xu eventually gave him the long spear he was holding and supplied additional weapons for the hunting party 12 13.

After Jili reported blood and tiger hairs at a pit, the hunters pursued the wounded animal onto Flower Mountain, where it disrupted a Xie family gathering. Jili warned the men to avoid offending the aristocrats and presented their intervention as an accidental encounter while gathering firewood. Nevertheless, the household’s treatment enraged him; he threw down his bloodstained club and walked away 15 16.

Afterward, he questioned how Acheng could endure humiliation to obtain winter cloth for the camp’s women and children. Their conversation exposed both his desire to restore his family’s standing and his difficulty separating wounded pride from practical necessity 17.

Keeping the refugee camp alive

When Liu Rengong and other groups prepared to leave, Jili remained with Acheng. He initially questioned whether supporting a camp dominated by women and children could advance their ambitions. Acheng argued that keeping them alive would establish the two men’s reputation among Jingkou’s influential groups 23 24.

The reduced camp faced a shortage of workers and mounting insecurity. During the punishment of captured thieves, Jili killed Wang Longneck with his spear, though he needed several thrusts. He then reported the fatal incident to the commandery authorities, using his own white-register residence information and gentry identity to open official proceedings 25 26.

As core group head, he inspected woodpiles and helped arrange campfires and patrol routes. Attempts to sell premium firewood failed, and Lu Song’s visit secured only limited registration rather than winter relief. Jili and Acheng therefore turned to Jiankang for a market 26 27.

In Jiankang, Jili recognized Steward Qian from Flower Mountain and helped Acheng follow him to Changgan Lane. The resulting negotiations led to a supply partnership linking the refugee camp, the Way of the Celestial Masters, and the Xie residence. Jili recorded inventories, prepared a trade list, and proposed obtaining tools so the refugees could gather, hunt, fish, and collect firewood. The business earned enough to sustain the camp through winter 28 29 30 31.

His concern for displaced people also grew more explicit. He proposed admitting workers expelled from the garrison and later objected to the apparent contradiction between rescuing outsiders and expelling troublesome Pengcheng neighbors 33 34.

Recommendation and study under Cai Mo

When finally received by Xie An, Jili deliberately restrained his temper, recognizing that another outburst could damage his companions’ prospects. He explained his family history and declared his ambition to “sweep Great Jin clean.” Xie An gave him a recommendation letter and visiting card for Cai Mo, advising him to study the practical workings of Confucian teachings 35.

Cai Mo accepted him as a student. Before leaving the camp for Jiankang, Jili promised Acheng that he would look after the camp and help Liu Huzi whenever needed. The villagers’ shehuo farewell moved both Jili and Acheng to tears 36 37.

Jili remained steadfastly beside Cai Mo during the latter’s political ordeal and established himself as his personal disciple. In a letter, he invited Acheng to join him, believing Cai Mo’s students would gain opportunities after the Northern Expedition had run its course. Acheng later continued consulting him about Jiankang affairs and potential participants in the Shangsi gathering 45 49.

Appearance

Jili is tall, heavily built, and repeatedly described as stooped or hunchbacked. He often holds his head high despite his posture, particularly when asserting his dignity 5 11 35.

• Large stature: His height and enormous build attract notice 5 35.
• Hunched posture: Visible both at the market and while fishing 5 11.
• Initially impoverished clothing: His old hemp shirt tears when he hurriedly dresses; Acheng supplies a vine belt and later repairs its fastening 11 12.
• Later winter clothing: Acheng gives him the longer of two acquired outfits; he subsequently wears boots as well 14 23.

Personality

Jili is proud of his ancestry and bitter about the gulf between inherited status and his actual poverty. He initially considers an Elite Soldier position beneath his branch’s former standing, yet admits that years of worsening circumstances had nearly extinguished his ambition. Acheng’s example helps revive it 19.

His sensitivity to contempt repeatedly undermines him. He leaves relatives and patrons after insults or accusations, struggles to endure the Xie household’s treatment, and openly acknowledges that his temper may never change. By his audience with Xie An, however, he consciously prioritizes his companions’ interests over his own injured pride 11 16 32 35.

Jili can recognize his own jealousy and revise his judgments. He admits envying Lu Song’s patronage and official position, then reconsiders the apparent success as dependence on Master Du Ming. His compassion likewise becomes more visible through his work for the refugees, his proposal to shelter expelled workers, and his insistence that law cannot be separated from human feeling 27 33 34.

Abilities & Skills

Political and aristocratic knowledge

• Explains aristocratic abuses, the consequences of the Wang Dun and Su Jun rebellions, and the importance of connections in securing recognition as a gentleman 7.
• Understands official career routes, military recruitment, family affiliations, and the internal workings of gentry households between Jingkou and Jiankang 19 27 32.
• Discusses northern contenders including Pu Hong, the Murong, Shi Min, and Li Nong 12 13.
• Supplies Acheng with biographical and political information about Xun Xian 21.

Administration and trade

• Uses his registered residence and social standing to report a case to the commandery offices 26.
• Leads the camp’s core group and helps plan woodpile placement, campfires, and patrol routes 26.
• Records the Celestial Masters’ inventories and converts Acheng’s market analysis into a supply list for the Xie residence 30.
• Arranges for two camp workers to learn charcoal production and proposes tool support for refugee livelihoods 30.

Local knowledge and subsistence

• Knows Jingkou’s terrain, nearby tiger habitats, trap locations, and equipment markets 11 12.
• Finds food and a sheltered overnight stopping place during the journey to Beigu Mountain 19.
• Understands the Wu dialect well enough to interpret local children’s directions in Jiankang 28.
• Supports himself by fishing and has experience selling mats and making baskets 11.

Classical learning and music

• Understands gentry learning unfamiliar to Acheng and Huzi, including the Mao Commentary on the Book of Songs 32.
• Worries that exile and poverty have prevented his branch from preserving its family learning 21.
• Plays the bamboo flute slightly better than Acheng, though neither is especially accomplished 31.
• Performs a tune taught by Acheng to attract Xie An’s attention; Xie An instead asks household musicians to learn it before departing 31.

Combat

• Takes part in the Flower Mountain tiger hunt and carries a bloodstained club afterward 16.
• Wields a military long spear, but his execution of Wang Longneck requires several attempts rather than a clean first strike 25.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Bamboo flute — Traded for sandals at his first meeting with Acheng; he later has a flute for their attempt to attract Xie An 5 31.
• Fishing net and axe — Begged after leaving Lord Ying’s household 11.
• Military long spear — Given to him by Master Xu; later used against Wang Longneck 13 25.
• Wooden club — Used during the tiger encounter on Flower Mountain 16.
• Winter outfit and boots — Acquired during his time with Acheng’s camp 14 23.
• Recommendation letter and visiting card — Provided by Xie An to introduce him to Cai Mo 35.

Relationships

• Liu Acheng / Liu Cheng — Closest partner in refugee relief and trade. Acheng restores his ambition, helps him manage his temper, and continues corresponding with him after their separation 17 19 27 37 45 49.
• Liu Huzi / Liu Jian / Liu Ahu — Clansman and fellow tiger hunter. Their pride initially creates friction, but they eventually acknowledge one another as brothers, and Jili promises future assistance 11 30 37.
• Liu Rengong / Lord Ren — Patron who admits him to the refugee camp. Jili remains behind when Rengong leaves and later discusses bringing him back to manage the settlement 12 23 33.
• Cai Mo — Teacher and political patron. Jili’s steadfast support during Cai Mo’s ordeal establishes his standing as a personal disciple 35 36 45.
• Xie An — Aristocratic intermediary who hears his family history and recommends him to Cai Mo, while privately regarding his ambitions as dangerously fanciful 35 36.
• Liu Agan and Lord Ying — Former patrons whom he resents for allowing accusations of theft to go unanswered 11 19.
• Lu Song — Political interlocutor and trade collaborator. Jili envies his advancement before recognizing the constraints of his dependence on Master Du Ming 13 27 30.
• Steward Qian — Xie household retainer whose recognition in Jiankang opens the way to their supply business 28 29 30.
• Liu Bo — Elder cousin remaining in the north; Jili hopes Later Zhao’s collapse will allow them to reunite 35.

Notable Quotes

“The key is status.” 11

“Reason is reason, and human feeling is human feeling. … The law can't stand apart from human feeling.” 34

“Naturally, to carry on the aspirations of my father and forebears. … To sweep Great Jin clean.” 35

“We belong to the same clan, after all. Brothers needn't stand on ceremony.” 37