Li Qi

Li Qi (; 871 – October 26, 930?), courtesy name Taixiu (台秀), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty and its successor states Later Liang and Later Tang of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, serving as a chancellor during Later Liang. Background and service during the Tang dynasty Li Qi was born in 871, during the reign of Emperor Yizong of Tang. His ancestors had been Tang dynasty officials for generations, and his fifth-generation ancestor Li Cheng (李憕) was particularly well known for his faithfulness to Tang during the An-Shi Rebellion, during the early stage of which he served as the defender of the eastern capital Luoyang and was killed by An Lushan for refusing to surrender, after An captured the city. Li Qi's father Li Hu (李縠) served as a secretary to Wang Duo, who was the overall commander of Tang forces against the great rebellion led by Huang Chao during the reign of Emperor Yizong's son Emperor Xizong. When Li Qi was 12, he was already writing poems well enough that he became known to Wang, but Wang had some suspicions whether the child actually wrote the poems himself, or someone else wrote them for him. On one occasion, when Wang invited Li Hu to a meal at his office, he secretly sent a messenger to go test Li Qi, requiring him to write a poem dedicated to the three great subjects who helped Emperor Gao of Han in establishing the Han dynasty (i.e., Xiao He, Han Xin, and Zhang Liang). Li Qi wrote the poem quickly. Wang was greatly shocked by the child's talent and was particularly impressed with the final stanza, and he stated, "This child has great talent. He will dominate the field of literature." During the subsequent reign of Emperor Xizong's brother Emperor Zhaozong, the official Li Xi and Li Xi's son were both well known for their literary abilities. At that time, Li Qi was 17, and he submitted a scroll of his poems to Li Xi. Li Xi read his poems and was surprised. He welcomed Li Qi into his mansion and stated to him, "I had been disappointed that, in the recent years, when the literati wrote poems, they only wrote several lines without giving their poems titles. You, son, not only wrote beautiful sentences, but wrote just as beautiful titles. I am afraid of you." After this incident, Li Qi became even more well-known. At some point, he passed the imperial examinations in the Jinshi class.