Yi Ji, courtesy nameJibo, was an official serving in the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under the warlordLiu Biao in the late Eastern Han dynasty before coming to serve Liu Bei, the founding emperor of Shu Han. Yi Ji was known as an excellent debater and for advocating Liu Bei's movement through literature and essays. He later helped shape Shu's legal system.
Life
Yi Ji was from Shanyang Commandery, which covered roughly the area around present-day Juye County, Shandong. At a young age, he became a subordinate of Liu Biao, who then held the appointment of General Who Guards the South under the Han central government. Liu Biao later became the Governor of Jing Province so Yi Ji followed him to Jing Province. In the early 200s, when the warlord Liu Bei sought shelter under Liu Biao after his defeat by his rival Cao Cao, Liu Biao offered to let him stay in Xinye County in northern Jing Province. Yi Ji met Liu Bei several times around the time and became an acquaintance of Liu Bei. After Liu Biao's death in 208, his younger son Liu Cong, who succeeded him, surrendered to Cao Cao when Cao led his forces on a campaign in southern China. Yi Ji joined Liu Bei on a journey southward towards Xiakou, which was guarded by Liu Biao's elder son Liu Qi and was independent of Cao Cao's control. Yi Ji became an official under Liu Bei since then. In the 210s, after Liu Bei seized control of Yi Province from its governor Liu Zhang, Yi Ji followed Liu Bei to Chengdu, the capital of Yi Province. Liu Bei, who held the nominal appointment of General of the Left under the Han central government then, appointed Yi Ji as an Assistant Officer of the Household under him. Liu Bei's treatment of Yi Ji was second to that of Jian Yong, Sun Qian and others. Liu Bei later sent Yi Ji as a messenger to Jiangdong to meet the warlord Sun Quan, Liu's ally in their war against Cao Cao. Sun Quan had heard of Yi Ji's debating skills before and he wanted to test Yi. When Yi Ji met Sun Quan, he knelt down to pay his respects. Sun Quan asked: "Are you tired of serving an incompetent lord?" Yi Ji replied: "I just need to kneel down and pay my respects and then stand up. This isn't tiring to me." Such was Yi Ji's wit and tactfulness. Sun Quan was very impressed with him. After the fall of the Han dynasty in 220, Yi Ji served in the state of Shu Han – founded by Liu Bei in 221 – during the Three Kingdoms period. He was promoted to the position of General of Illustrious Writing. He drafted the laws of Shu with Zhuge Liang, Fa Zheng, Mi Zhu, Liu Ba and Li Yan. Besides being an assistant household officer and development, Yi wrote literature and essays focusing on Liu Bei's movement and he thought to have died in the late 220s at the capital during Zhuge Liang's northern campaigns.
Appraisal
, who wrote Yi Ji's biography, commented as follows: "Mi Zhu, Sun Qian, Jian Yong and Yi Ji were refined and cultured persons whose ideas were widely circulated. They were well known for their good observation of the proprieties."
