| NAME | |
|---|---|
| Chinese Name | 任夔, 任夔, Rèn Kuí |
| Nickname | Junior general under Wu Lan |
| Other name | Nhậm Khuê |
| INFORMATION | |
| Birth Place | Unknown |
| Died | 218 |
| Death Reason | Killed by Cao Hong (曹洪, Tào Hồng) at Xiabian in the Hanzhong campaign (218; ROTK Ch.69 close). |
| CAREER | |
| Allegiance | Liu Bei / Shu |
| Battles | Hanzhong Campaign — Xiabian (下辩), 218 |
Biography & Historical Record
Ren Kui (任夔, Nhậm Khuê) was a junior general (牙将) under Liu Bei (刘备, Lưu Bị) in the Hanzhong war. He has no courtesy name in the records. In Jian’an 23 (218), Liu Bei sent Wu Lan (吴兰, Ngô Lan) and Lei Tong (雷铜, Lôi Đồng) into Wudu while Zhang Fei (张飞, Trương Phi) and Ma Chao (马超, Mã Siêu) threatened the Wei rear. Cao Hong (曹洪, Tào Hồng) broke Wu Lan at Xiabian (下辩) and killed Ren Kui. Sanguozhi Wei Shu 1 (武帝纪) writes: “Cao Hong defeated Wu Lan and beheaded his general Ren Kui and others.” Wu Lan later died among the Di. Lei Tong also fell in the same campaign.
The novel places that death at the close of Chapter 69 — not in a separate “appearance chapter,” and not in the Guan Lu (管辂) half of the same hui. After the Xu capital fire and Cao Cao’s reward to the diviner, the narrator cuts to Hanzhong: Cao Hong reaches Xiabian; Ma Chao makes Wu Lan his vanguard. Wu Lan wants to pull back when he meets Cao Hong. Ren Kui answers that if they do not blunt the newcomers’ edge they will have no face before Mengqi (孟起). He charges with a spear. Cao Hong meets him with a blade, kills him in three bouts, and drives Wu Lan back. Ma Chao rebukes Wu Lan for fighting without orders. Cao Hong, remembering Guan Lu’s warning that a great general will fall in this theatre, withdraws to Nanzheng rather than press Ma Chao; Zhang He (张郃, Trương Cáp) then mocks the omen and asks to take Baxi — the hinge into Chapter 70.
So the catalog’s “Chapter 69” is right for Luo Guanzhong and wrong if read as the Guan Lu court scenes alone. History dates the death to spring 218; the novel folds it into the same hui as the Geng Ji plot and the diviner, then uses Cao Hong’s fear of the omen to start Zhang He’s Baxi disaster.
Role in Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Chapter 69 (Guan Lu Reads the Changes and Knows the Hidden; Five Loyalists Die Striking the Han Traitor — closing movement): At Xiabian, Wu Lan (吴兰, Ngô Lan) meets Cao Hong’s column and wants to retire. Ren Kui (任夔, Nhậm Khuê) refuses the slight, rides out, and dies under Cao Hong’s blade in three clashes. Wu Lan is routed, reports to Ma Chao (马超, Mã Siêu), and is ordered to hold the pass and write to Chengdu. Cao Hong will not chase a silent Ma Chao because of Guan Lu’s prophecy; Zhang He (张郃, Trương Cáp) takes that hesitation as superstition and volunteers for Baxi against Zhang Fei (张飞, Trương Phi).
Ren Kui (任夔, Nhậm Khuê) — Historical & Literary Timeline
Liu Bei opens the Hanzhong war
Zhang Fei and Ma Chao move on Wudu/Xiabian; Wu Lan and Lei Tong are pushed forward. Ren Kui serves in Wu Lan’s command.
Charges Cao Hong and dies
Against Wu Lan’s wish to withdraw, Ren Kui rides out so as not to shame Ma Chao; Cao Hong kills him in three bouts.
Cao Hong breaks Wu Lan
Sanguozhi: Cao Hong defeated Wu Lan and beheaded Ren Kui. Wu Lan fled to the Di and was killed; Lei Tong perished in the same year.
Key Relationships
Family
- No father, mother, spouse, or children are named in Sanguozhi or the novel. Kin unknown — do not invent.
Friends
- Wu Lan (吴兰, Ngô Lan): Immediate commander. Wants to retire at first contact; after Ren Kui’s death he is blamed by Ma Chao and later dies among the Di (history).
- Ma Chao (马超, Mã Siêu): Theatre commander at Xiabian; Ren Kui’s stated motive is not to lose face before Mengqi.
- Liu Bei (刘备, Lưu Bị): Overall lord of the Hanzhong offensive.
- Lei Tong (雷铜, Lôi Đồng) and Zhang Fei (张飞, Trương Phi): Fellow Shu columns in Wudu/Baxi in the same year.
Enemies
- Cao Hong (曹洪, Tào Hồng): Kills Ren Kui in the novel in three bouts; historically the commander who broke Wu Lan and beheaded Ren Kui.
Other
- Zhang He (张郃, Trương Cáp): After the killing, mocks Cao Hong for fearing Guan Lu (管辂, Quản Lộ)’s omen and asks to attack Baxi — the next chapter’s disaster.
- Xiahou Yuan (夏侯渊, Hạ Hầu Uyên): Holds other Hanzhong approaches while Cao Hong fights at Xiabian.
In Novel
Chapter 69
- Ren Kui (任夔, Nhậm Khuê): Junior general under Wu Lan (吴兰, Ngô Lan) at Xiabian. When Wu Lan wants to fall back from Cao Hong (曹洪, Tào Hồng), Ren Kui says the enemy has just arrived and that if they do not blunt that edge they cannot face Ma Chao (马超, Mã Siêu). He gallops out with a spear. Cao Hong meets him with a sabre, kills him in three exchanges, and routs Wu Lan. Ma Chao blames Wu Lan for fighting without orders. Cao Hong, wary of Guan Lu (管辂, Quản Lộ)’s prophecy of a slain great general, will not pursue; Zhang He (张郃, Trương Cáp) then asks to take Baxi. This is the chapter’s closing military beat, not the Guan Lu court narrative that opens the hui.
In History
Summary
- Ren Kui (任夔, Nhậm Khuê) was a general under Wu Lan in Liu Bei’s Hanzhong offensive. He was killed when Cao Hong broke Wu Lan at Xiabian in 218.
Year: 217–218 AD
- Liu Bei advanced on Hanzhong. Zhang Fei and Ma Chao shifted toward Gushan; Wu Lan held Xiabian. Cao Xiu (曹休) urged Cao Hong to strike before the Shu columns joined.
Year: 218 AD (spring)
- Sanguozhi Wei Shu 1: “Cao Hong defeated Wu Lan and beheaded his general Ren Kui and others.” Shu Shu 2: Wu Lan, Lei Tong, and others sent into Wudu “were all destroyed by Cao Cao’s army.” Wu Lan fled to the Di and was killed by Qiang Duan (强端).
Historical Record
- Sanguozhi 1 (武帝纪); Sanguozhi 32 (先主传); Zizhi Tongjian Jian’an 23. The novel (end of Ch.69) adds the three-bout duel and Ren Kui’s “face before Mengqi” speech; the death at Cao Hong’s hands matches the chronicle.
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