Lü Kuang was a military general serving under the warlord Yuan Shao

Yuan Shao

Yuan Shao was a warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil war that occurred towards the end of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Three Kingdoms era...

 during the late Han Dynasty

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

 period of Chinese history

History of China

Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...

. He was the brother of Lü Xiang

Lu Xiang

Lü Xiang was a military general serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was the brother of Lü Kuang, who also served under Yuan Shao. The brothers surrendered to Cao Cao after Yuan Shao's death. They joined Cao Cao's general Cao Ren in attacking...

, who also served under Yuan Shao.

In fiction

In the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a Chinese historical novel based on the events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, starting in 169 and ending with the reunification of the land in...

by Luo Guanzhong

Luo Guanzhong

Luo Ben , better known by his style name Luo Guanzhong , was a Chinese writer of the early Ming Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was also known as Huhai Sanren...

, Lü Kuang originally served under Yuan Sho. After Yuan Shao's death, the Lü brothers served under Yuan Shang

Yuán Shàng

Yuan Shang , style name Xianfu , was a warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was the third son of the warlord Yuan Shao, and succeeded his father...

, Yuan Shao's third son. During the conflict between Yuan Shang and his older brother Yuan Tan

Yuan Tan

Yuan Tan was the oldest son of the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. After Yuan Shao's death, Yuan Tan split with his youngest brother Yuan Shang over the successorship to their father's realm. Yuan Tan sought help from the warlord Cao Cao and defeated Yuan...

, Yuan Tan sent his best warrior Cen Pi

Cen Pi

Cen Pi is a fictional character in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He was a military general serving under the warlord Yuan Tan. He proved himself to be Yuan's best warrior by slaying many Wuhuan bandit leaders on numerous occasions.When Yuan Tan was at war with Yuan...

 to challenge Yuan Shang's men. Lü Kuang accepted the challenge and defeated and slew Cen after dueling for three rounds. Yuan Shang rewarded the Lü brothers by granting them official seals of generals.

Even after Lü Kuang's display of might, Yuan Shang treated him poorly. When Yuan Shang told the Lü brothers to attack Yuan Tan, Yuan Tan reminded Lü Kuang of their friendship and his position on Yuan Shang's side. The Lü brothers then defected to Yuan Tan.

Yuan Tan originally promised the Lü brothers good pay and treatment but he treated them as equally poor as Yuan Shang later. When Yuan Tan surrendered to the warlord Cao Cao

Cao Cao

Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...

, the Lü brothers accompanied him to meet Cao. Cao eagerly accepted them and rewarded them with silks and jewels. When Cao went to war with the Yuans again later (Yuan Tan betrayed Cao Cao after his surrender), the Lü brothers served as his generals. However, they caused many losses and defections to the Yuans' side. The Lü brothers requested to defend Runan instead after Yuan Tan was killed and Yuan Xi

Yuan Xi

Yuan Xi was the second son of the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Han Dynasty era of Chinese history.Yuan was described in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms as "intelligent but weak and indecisive", in contrast to his older brother Yuan Tan, who was described as...

 and Yuan Shang were on the verge of defeat. From Runan, the Lü brothers led an attack on the warlord Liu Bei

Liu Bei

Liu Bei , also known as Liu Xuande, was a warlord, military general and later the founding emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history...

 at Xinye

Xinye County

Xinye is one of the counties of Nanyang that lies in the southwest of Henan province in central China. Its south is Xiangfan city of Hubei province . Itseast is Tanghe county of Nanyang. Its west is county-level city...

.

The Lü brothers led 10,000 troops to Xinye's fields and challenged Liu's generals to a duel. Zhao Yun

Zhao Yun

Zhao Yun was a military general who lived during the late Han Dynasty and early Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. For most of his career, Zhao served the warlord Liu Bei, playing a part in the establishment of state of Shu Han...

 accepted the challenge and dueled with Lü Kuang. The two fought for 20 rounds with neither side appear to be gaining an advantage. Zhao then lured Lü to chase him and speared Lü in the throat with a surprise attack, killing Lü instantly. Lü Xiang continued fighting Liu Bei's forces until he encountered Zhang Fei, who slew him after a brief fight.