Lai Min ( 160s – 260s), courtesy name Jingda, was an official and scholar of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Life Lai Min was from Xinye County (), Yiyang Commandery (), which is present-day Xinye County, Henan. He was born sometime in the 160s during the Eastern Han dynasty. His ancestor was Lai Xi (來歙; died 35 CE), an official who served under Emperor Guangwu ( 25–57 CE), the first Eastern Han emperor. His father, Lai Yan (), was known for being studious and hospitable towards retainers. Lai Yan served as a government official and rose to the position of Minister of Works () during the reign of Emperor Ling ( 168–189).(華嶠後漢書曰：豔好學下士，開館養徒衆。少歷顯位，靈帝時位至司空。) Hua Jiao's Houhanshu annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 42.(來敏字敬達，義陽新野人，來歙之後也。父豔，為漢司空。) Sanguozhi vol. 42.
When chaos broke out towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, Lai Min and his elder sister fled south to Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan) to evade trouble. Lai Min's elder sister married Huang Wan (), a nephew of Lady Huang, the paternal grandmother of Liu Zhang, the Governor of Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing). When Liu Zhang heard that they were in Jing Province, he sent people to fetch them to Yi Province. Lai Min followed his sister to Yi Province, where Liu Zhang treated him like a guest.(漢末大亂，敏隨姊奔荊州，姊夫黃琬是劉璋祖母之姪，故璋遣迎琬妻，敏遂俱與姊入蜀，常為璋賔客。) Sanguozhi vol. 42. It is unknown if this Huang Wan was the same person as the Eastern Han official with the same name, who was a grandson of Huang Qiong (黄琼), per vol.61 of Houhanshu; Huang Qiong's grandson died in prison at Chang'an after Li Jue and Guo Si seized control of the city.
Lai Min was known for being well read, well-versed in the Zuo Zhuan, and for specialising in lexicographical works such as the Cangjiepian and Erya. In particular, he enjoyed studying ancient Chinese script styles.(涉獵書籍，善左氏春秋，尤精於倉、雅訓詁，好是正文字。) Sanguozhi vol. 42. He frequently debated with Meng Guang, another guest scholar living in Yi Province, over the Spring and Autumn Annals (Chunqiu) as each of them preferred a different commentary on the Chunqiu: Lai Min and Meng Guang specialised in the Zuo Zhuan and Gongyang Zhuan respectively. Meng Guang was notorious for being loud and annoying during his debates with Lai Min.(好公羊春秋而譏呵左氏，每與來敏爭此二義，光常譊譊讙咋。) Sanguozhi vol. 42.
In 214,Zizhi Tongjian vol. 67. after the warlord Liu Bei seized control of Yi Province from Liu Zhang, he recruited Lai Min to serve in the education office of his administration.(先主定益州，署敏典學校尉， ...) Sanguozhi vol. 42. During this time, Lai Min worked with a group of scholars on the codification of procedures and rituals. However, the project ended up dissolving into squabbles.
Following the end of the Eastern Han dynasty in 220, Lai Min served in the state of Shu Han, founded by Liu Bei in 221, during the Three Kingdoms period.Zizhi Tongjian vol. 69. Liu Bei appointed him as Household Steward () to take care of Liu Shan, the Crown Prince. When Liu Bei died in 223, Liu Shan succeeded his father as the emperor of Shu.Zizhi Tongjian vol. 70. After his coronation, Liu Shan appointed Lai Min as a General of the Household () in the Huben (虎賁; "Rapid as Tigers") division of the imperial guards.(... 及立太子，以為家令。後主踐阼，為虎賁中郎將。) Sanguozhi vol. 42.
Between 227 and 234, Zhuge Liang, the Imperial Chancellor of Shu, launched a series of military campaigns against Shu's rival state, Wei.Zizhi Tongjian vols. 70–72. Hanzhong Commandery served as the base for launching each campaign. During this time, Zhuge Liang summoned Lai Min to Hanzhong Commandery and appointed him as an Army Libationer () and General Who Assists the Army () to assist him in the campaigns. Lai Min was later stripped of his appointments for committing an offence.(丞相亮住漢中，請為軍祭酒、輔軍將軍，坐事去職。) Sanguozhi vol. 42. Zhuge Liang wrote in a memo why he decided to fire Lai Min:
Following Zhuge Liang's death in 234,Zizhi Tongjian vol. 72. Lai Min returned to Chengdu, the Shu imperial capital, to serve as the Empress's Chamberlain (). He was fired again later. After some time, he was recalled back to serve as a Household Counsellor (), but was removed from office again shortly after. Throughout his career, he was demoted or fired several times, either because he had no filter when he spoke or because he behaved inappropriately.(亮卒後，還成都為大長秋，又免，後累遷為光祿大夫，復坐過黜。前後數貶削，皆以語言不節，舉動違常也。) Sanguozhi vol. 42.
At the time, Lai Min's old debating rival, Meng Guang, was as equally notorious for being unbridled in his speech and was, in some ways, worse than Lai Min in this regard. Meng Guang not only carelessly divulged state secrets (probably due to a slip of the tongue), but also discussed politics in an inappropriate setting. Nevertheless, both of them got off lightly because they held much prestige among the literati for their status as learned Confucian scholars.(時孟光亦以樞機不慎，議論干時，然猶愈於敏，俱以其耆宿學士見禮於世。) Sanguozhi vol. 42. Lai Min, in particular, came from an elite family background and had previously served as an attendant to the Shu emperor Liu Shan when the emperor was still crown prince, therefore he was able to return to service every time after he got fired.(而敏荊楚名族，東宮舊臣，特加優待，是故廢而復起。) Sanguozhi vol. 42.
After Lai Min's string of incidents, the Shu government specially appointed him as General Who Behaves Cautiously (). The name of his position was meant to remind him to be mindful of his speech and conduct.(後以敏為執慎將軍，欲令以官重自警戒也。) Sanguozhi vol. 42. He died sometime between 258 and 263 at the age of 97 (by East Asian age reckoning).
Family Lai Min's son, Lai Zhong (), was known for being well-versed in Confucian studies and resembling his father in character. Lai Zhong and Xiang Chong once praised the Shu general Jiang Wei, who was so pleased that he recruited them to serve as Army Advisers () under him.(子忠，亦博覽經學，有敏風，與尚書向充等並能協贊大將軍姜維。維善之，以為參軍。) Sanguozhi vol. 42.
See also Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms
Notes
References
Chen, Shou (3rd century). Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).
Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu). Sima, Guang (1084). Zizhi Tongjian.