than Lu Ji in terms of age. Lu Ji had two sons and a daughter. His elder son, Lu Hong (), served as the South Commandant () of Kuaiji Commandery in Eastern Wu. His younger son, Lu Rui (), was a Changshui Colonel (). Lu Ji's daughter, Lu Yusheng (), was born in Yulin Commandery. Her name was inspired by her place of birth because "Yusheng" means "born in Yu(lin)". She married Zhang Wen's younger brother Zhang Bai (). As Lu Ji died early, his three children – who were still very young when their father died – were adopted and raised by Lu Xun's younger brother Lu Mao. Appraisal Chen Shou, who wrote Lu Ji's biography in the Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi), appraised Lu Ji as follows: "Lu Ji's contributions to Yang Xiong's Taixuanjing were equivalent to Zuo Qiuming's contributions to Confucius's Spring and Autumn Annals and Zhuangzi's contributions to Laozi's Daodejing. When such a great talent like him who was capable of doing better tasks was sent to defend the southern border, his life was ruined!" Pang Tong once described Lu Ji as "a horse that cannot run fast but has strong willpower". A verse from The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars in Lu Ji's honour reads: In Romance of the Three Kingdoms Lu Ji appears briefly in Chapter 43 of the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He is one of the Wu scholars who debate with Zhuge Liang over Sun Quan's decision to ally with Liu Bei against Cao Cao before the Battle of Red Cliffs. Lu Ji argues: "Even though Cao Cao controls the Emperor and holds sway over the lords, he is still a descendant of the chancellor Cao Shen. Liu Bei may be a descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan, but there is no proof for this. As far as we see, he is no more than a straw mat weaver and shoe seller. How can he compete with Cao Cao?" Zhuge Liang replies: "Aren't you the 'Young Man Lu' who hid oranges in his sleeve at Yuan Shu's house? Please sit down and listen to me. Since Cao Cao is a descendant of Chancellor Cao, he is therefore a subject of the Han Empire. However, he monopolises state power and bullies the Emperor. This is a disgrace to his ancestor. He is not only a villain of the Han Empire,