Li Kui is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Classic Chinese Novels. Nicknamed "Black Whirlwind", he ranks 22nd among the 36 Heavenly Spirits, the first third of the 108 Heroes.
Fictional biography
Background A native of Baizhang Village () in Yishui County (in present-day Linyi, Shandong), Li Kui flees his hometown after committing manslaughter. He ends up in Jiangzhou (; present-day Jiujiang, Jiangxi), where he serves as a jailer under the warden Dai Zong.
Meeting Song Jiang Li Kui gets to know Song Jiang, the eventual chief of the outlaws at Liangshan Marsh, when the latter is exiled to Jiangzhou for killing his mistress Yan Poxi in Yuncheng County. At the time, Song Jiang has just befriended Dai Zong and received the privilege of being able to freely travel around Jiangzhou while serving his sentence. Dai Zong introduces Song Jiang to Li Kui, and the two men take to each other as Song Jiang appreciates Li Kui's forthrightness while Li Kui admires Song Jiang's generosity.
Fight with Zhang Shun While the three of them are having a meal, Song Jiang has a craving for fish. Since the fish served at the restaurant is not fresh, Li Kui volunteers to get fresh fish from the riverside market, and ends up getting into a fight with the fishmongers when he tries to snatch fish from them before it is ready for sale. The fishmongers' leader, Zhang Shun, confronts Li Kui and fights with him, but Li effortlessly beats him. Dissatisfied, Zhang Shun challenges Li Kui to fight him again, luring him onto a boat. Li Kui, who does not know how to swim, finds himself at a huge disadvantage when Zhang Shun rocks and overturns the boat, causing him to fall into the water. In the water, Zhang Shun easily beats up a now helpless Li Kui and continuously drags him underwater, nearly drowning him. Luckily, Dai Zong and Song Jiang show up and stop the fight. Li Kui and Zhang Shun make peace with each other and become close friends.
Becoming an outlaw
Song Jiang is arrested after writing a seditious poem in a drunken stupor and thrown into prison. Dai Zong attempts to save him by secretly collaborating with the outlaws at Liangshan Marsh to trick Cai Jiu, Jiangzhou's governor, into sending Song Jiang to the capital Dongjing (; present-day Kaifeng, Henan) and giving the outlaws a chance to save him en route. However, the ruse fails and Dai Zong ends up being arrested and imprisoned as well. During this time, Li Kui takes good care of Song Jiang and Dai Zong, who have been severely tortured. Cai Jiu then sentences Song Jiang and Dai Zong to public execution by beheading.
Luckily for Song Jiang and Dai Zong, the Liangshan outlaws have realised the mistake in their ruse, and have shown up in full force in Jiangzhou. Together with Li Kui, the outlaws storm the execution ground and save Song Jiang and Dai Zong. Li Kui goes on a bloody rampage, hacking anyone who stands in his way – regardless of whether it is an enemy or just an innocent bystander – until the outlaws' chief Chao Gai stops him from continuing with the indiscriminate slaughter. When they are all besieged by government forces at a temple beside the river, Li Kui is the first to charge out and fight the enemy, driving them back. Just then, Zhang Shun and his friends show up in boats and ferry Li Kui, Song Jiang, Dai Zong and the outlaws safely to Liangshan Marsh. There, Li Kui and the others become part of the Liangshan outlaw band. Li Kui later helps Song Jiang take revenge by dismembering Huang Wenbing, the man who reported the seditious poem to the authorities and urged Cai Jiu to torture and execute Song Jiang.
Fetching his mother and slaying four tigers After becoming an outlaw, Li Kui returns to his hometown to fetch his mother to join him at Liangshan. En route, he encounters Li Gui, who is impersonating him to rob unwary travellers on a remote pathway. Li Kui, after defeating the imposter, intends to kill Li Gui for smearing his name. However, Li Gui begs for his life, saying he has an elderly mother to feed. Li Kui, moved by Li Gui's filial piety, spares his life and gives his some money before letting him go. Shortly afterwards, Li Kui reaches a house, not knowing it is Li Gui's, and overhears a conversation between Li Gui and his wife about how to capture him and hand him over to the authorities for a reward. Infuriated, Li Kui dashes out and kills Li Gui, but Li Gui's wife manages to escape.
Upon reaching home, Li Kui meets his elder brother Li Da, who, afraid of being implicated, rushes off to get their neighbours to help him apprehend his outlaw brother. Li Kui flees with his mother, who has become blind, and carries her on his back while travelling off the beaten path to avoid attracting attention. In the wilderness, Li Kui's mother complains of thirst, so Li Kui leaves her while he searches for a water source. When he returns, he is shocked to realise that his mother has been killed and eaten by tigers. Overwhelmed with grief, he follows the blood trail to the tigers' den, where he slays four tigers, including two cubs. Later, he meets some hunters, who are impressed with his feat and take him to the nearby town.
Squire Cao, a wealthy gentry man in the town, pretends to praise Li Kui and treat him hospitably. In fact, Cao has met Li Gui's widow earlier and she has secretly pointed out that Li Kui is the outlaw who killed her husband. Cao tricks Li Kui, who is still grieving and has let down his guard, into consuming an alcoholic drink spiked with menghanyao (), causing him to feel dizzy and become unconscious. After that, Cao sends his servant to report to the authorities, who send the constable Li Yun and his men to escort Li Kui as a captive back to the county office.
En route, Li Kui regains consciousness and realises he is a prisoner. Luckily for him, the Liangshan outlaws have sent the brothers Zhu Gui and Zhu Fu to secretly keep an eye on Li Kui in case he runs into trouble. Zhu Fu, being Li Yun's martial arts apprentice, intercepts the group and pretends to offer them refreshments to congratulate his master on capturing a wanted outlaw. Li Yun and the others unsuspectingly consume the drinks, which have been spiked with menghanyao, and get knocked out. The Zhu brothers then free Li Kui, who kills Squire Cao, Li Gui's wife, and all of Li Yun's men. When Li Kui is about to kill Li Yun as well, Zhu Fu stops him, saying that Li Yun is a righteous man. After Li Yun comes to, he grudgingly accepts his fate and joins the outlaws.
Conflict with Zhu Tong While in Liangshan, Li Kui once accompanies Lei Heng to recruit his friend and ex-colleague Zhu Tong to join Liangshan. Zhu Tong, who has been sentenced to exile in Cangzhou after "negligently" allowing a convicted Lei Heng to escape while escorting him to a prison camp, has earned the favour of Cangzhou's governor and tasked with taking care of the governor's four-year-old son.
When Lei Heng and Liangshan's chief strategist Wu Yong secretly meet Zhu Tong to persuade him to join the outlaws, Li Kui, acting on Wu's secret instruction, abducts the governor's son and kills the boy to force Zhu's hand. Zhu Tong has no choice but to become an outlaw. He blames Li Kui for his plight, and is appeased only after Li kneels and apologises.
Battle of Gaotangzhou Li Kui later stays in the residence of the nobleman Chai Jin, a secret ally of the Liangshan outlaws. Chai Jin travels to Gaotangzhou (; present-day Gaotang County, Shandong) to visit his uncle, with Li Kui accompanying him.
At the time, Chai Jin's uncle is being bullied by Yin Tianxi, a relative of Gaotangzhou's governor Gao Lian. When Chai Jin and Li Kui go to confront him, Yin Tianxi behaves disrespectfully towards Chai and angers Li, who charges forth and beats Yin to death. Chai Jin is arrested and imprisoned by Gao Lian, who completely disregards Chai's status, while Li Kui flees back to Liangshan to report the incident. The outlaws, under Song Jiang's leadership, gather their forces and attack Gaotangzhou to rescue Chai Jin.
However, the outlaws face a setback when Gao Lian uses black magic against them. Song Jiang then sends Dai Zong and Li Kui to Jizhou (; present-day Jizhou, Tianjin) to seek help from Liangshan's sorcerer Gongsun Sheng, who has gone home to visit his mother and continue his training under his master, Taoist Luo.
After Dai Zong and Li Kui find Gongsun Sheng, they are dismayed to learn that Taoist Luo has denied Gongsun's request to leave Jizhou to help the Liangshan outlaws. Acting on impulse, Li Kui sneaks into the sanctum at night and kills Luo. He is shocked to see that Luo is alive and well the next day.
Taoist Luo punishes Li Kui for his impudence by summoning a divine guardian to pick him up and drop him off at Suzhou's administrative office, where Li is mistaken for a demon, beaten up and thrown into prison. Luo ultimately saves Li Kui and allows Gongsun Sheng to leave with Dai Zong and Li Kui on the condition that Gongsun must return to complete his training.
At Gaotangzhou, Gongsun Sheng uses his sorcery to overcome Gao Lian's black magic, allowing the outlaws to defeat the government forces to enter the city. They eventually find Chai Jin hidden at the bottom of a dry well, and Li Kui volunteers to go down to pick him up.
Opposing Song Jiang's quest for amnesty Li Kui is appointed as a commander of the Liangshan infantry after the 108 Heroes are fully assembled. Among the Liangshan heroes, Li Kui is one of the few who, despite having deep respect for their leader Song Jiang, strongly oppose his grand plan to obtain amnesty for the outlaws from the emperor and secure opportunities for them to leave their good names in history by serving the ruling Song dynasty. In his view, the Liangshan heroes are better off being outlaws than being in servitude to the corrupt Song government.
During the Lantern Festival one year, Song Jiang disguises himself and sneaks into the capital Dongjing (; present-day Kaifeng, Henan) to meet Li Shishi, a courtesan whom Emperor Huizong patronises and favours. His plan is to get Li to help the outlaws convey their wish for amnesty to the emperor. However, Li Kui sabotages the meeting by starting a fire and causing chaos in the city, forcing Song Jiang to leave under the other outlaws' protection.
When Emperor Huizong finally issues an edict offering amnesty to Liangshan, the mission fails because the outlaws are outraged at the emissary's condescending attitude and the edict's harsh wording. Li Kui, in a fit of anger, hits the emissary and tears up the edict.
After this incident, Song government forces attack Liangshan but suffer crushing defeats at the hands of the outlaws. After that, the emperor offers them amnesty again, sending a more respectful emissary and a better-worded edict. This time, Li Kui grudgingly accepts amnesty along with the rest of the 108 Heroes.
Campaigns Song Jiang's wish comes true when the emperor sends him and the former outlaws on campaigns against the Liao invaders and rebel forces in Song territory. Li Kui is one of the few survivors after the final campaign against Fang La's rebel forces, which costs the lives of nearly two-thirds of the 108 Heroes. For his contributions, he is appointed by the emperor as a military officer in Runzhou (; present-day Runzhou District, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu). Missing his carefree life in Liangshan, Li Kui shows no interest in the job and spends most of his time drinking.
Death