Li Kui's Road to Redemption

Thinking of Li Kui's appearance during the announcement of names at Donghua Gate, I laughed.

What good guys were there on Liangshan? Back then, the imperial court wanted to kill them, and the common people wanted to kill them too. They didn't even look at what kind of things they did. Calling them bandits now would be an insult. They were a bunch of terrorists, completely without any moral compass!

Are you talking about him?

Li Kui must be called out at Donghua Gate, even if he's last! The image of Black Whirlwind is unremarkable whether he's a bandit, a traitor, or a soldier; it's only interesting if he passes the imperial examination and becomes a civil official! Absolutely no dynastic power struggles! We strongly demand that roll call be conducted at Donghua Gate!

At least 100 of the 108 heroes of the Water Margin are scum.

Of all the dynasties in Chinese history, the emperor of the late Northern Song Dynasty was the most disgusting, without exception. It's one thing for the capital to be captured—even men must die—but his disgraceful behavior before death utterly disgraced the Han people for five thousand years. Zhao Gou must die, and Li Gui should reign supreme.

Li Kui? A psychopathic killer?

Li Kui was originally portrayed as a romantic and talented scholar, but that image was later changed because it didn't fit his behavior. You could even say he was handsome.

In ancient times, officials were chosen based on their appearance. Li Kui was universally acknowledged to be ugly, and even a time traveler with literary talent couldn't change that. Take Zhong Kui, for example; he was a top scholar, yet he was rejected because of his looks and died in a car accident. Military generals have no future, and civil officials will reject you for your appearance. You've already lost half the battle from the start.

Seriously, in ancient times, looks mattered. If you looked like Li Kui, you basically had no other way out except becoming a soldier.