Li Kui (chancellor)
Encyclopedia
Li Kui (713 – May 17, 784), courtesy name Duanqing (端卿), was an official of the Chinese
dynasty Tang Dynasty
, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Suzong
.
. He was from a prominent clan that, by Li Kui's time, was domiciled in Zheng Prefecture (鄭州, in modern Zhengzhou
, Henan
) but which traced its ancestry to a line of prominent officials of Northern Wei
, who in turn traced their ancestry to Li Fan (李翻), a son of Li Gao
, the founder of the Sixteen Kingdoms
state Western Liang
. (The Tang Dynasty
imperial clan also traced its ancestry to Li Gao, through Li Gao's second son and successor Li Xin
.) After Northern Wei, Li Kui's ancestors served as officials of Sui Dynasty
and Tang Dynasty. Li Kui was said to be intelligent, dextrous, and studious in his youth, and he was capable in writing.
s and was made the sheriff of Chenliu County (陳留, in modern Kaifeng
, Henan
). After he submitted his writing to Emperor Xuanzong, Emperor Xuanzong, apparently impressed, issued an edict allowing him to work at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng) on a trial basis. He was subsequently made You Shiyi (右拾遺), a junior official at the legislative bureau, and then successively served in the higher offices of You Bujue (右補闕) and Zhuzuo Lang (著作郎) at the legislative bureau, and then as Zhi Zongzi Biaosu (知宗子表疏), the official in charge of receiving and acting on submissions from members of the imperial clan at the ministry of imperial clan affairs (宗正寺, Zongzheng Si). Later, he was promoted to be Sixun Yuanwai Lang (司勳員外郎), a junior official at the ministry of civil service affairs (吏部, Libu), and then the higher office of Kaogong Langzhong (考功郎中) at the ministry of civil service affairs, in charge of evaluating the officials' performance. He was also involved in drafting edicts for Emperor Xuanzong. After the general An Lushan
rebelled in 755 and forced Emperor Xuanzong to flee to Jiannan Circuit (劍南, headquartered in modern Chengdu
, Sichuan
), Li Kui accompanied Emperor Xuanzong to Jiannan and was made Zhongshu Sheren (中書舍人), a mid-level official at the legislative bureau.
Li Heng
, however, did not follow him to Chengdu and instead fled to Lingwu, where he was declared emperor (as Emperor Suzong), an act that Emperor Xuanzong recognized when he heard the news. After Emperor Suzong recaptured and returned to Chang'an in 757, his wife Empress Zhang
became a dominating figure at court. She wanted her son Li Zhao (李佋) the Prince of Xing, who was only several years old at that point, to be made crown prince. Emperor Suzong, however, was instead considering his oldest son Li Chu
the Prince of Cheng, who had contributed much to his campaigns to recapture Chang'an and the eastern capital Luoyang
. Emperor Suzong consulted Li Kui and stated to him, "The Prince of Cheng is the oldest and had accomplished much. I want to create him crown prince. What do you think, sir?" Li Kui got up and bowed to Emperor Suzong, stating: "This is great blessing to the state. I am uncontrollably happy." Li Kui's comments affirmed Emperor Suzong's thoughts, and he created Li Chu crown prince in summer 758. In spring 759, when the officials who wanted to flatter Empress Zhang proposed that she be given a special honorific epithet of Yisheng (翊聖, meaning, "one who assists the holy one"). When Emperor Suzong consulted Li Kui on whether this was appropriate, Li Kui opposed, pointing out that the only prior instance when such an epithet was given to a living empress was to Empress Wei
, the powerful and corrupt wife of Emperor Suzong's granduncle Emperor Zhongzong
. After a lunar eclipse
— which indicated divine displeasure with the empress — occurred around the same time, Emperor Suzong tabled the proposal.
By this point, Li Kui also had the additional office of deputy minister of rites (禮部侍郎, Libu Shilang). He was displeased with how the officials in charge of the imperial examinations at the time were making their testing questions test highly obscure facts, and he believed that this led to the selection of examinees who were not necessarily talented or capable in writing. He therefore, at the examinations, made the Confucian classics, histories, and qieyun
references available to the examinees for them to look through the books during examination. He was much praised for this reform. It was also said that Li Kui was handsome in appearance and capable in rhetoric. Emperor Suzong once told him, "You, sir, are the highest grade in your clan's prominence, in your appearance, and in your writing.
Also in spring 759, Emperor Suzong, as a part of his reorganization of his chancellors, removed Miao Jinqing
and Wang Yu
from their chancellor posts and replaced them with Li Kui, Lü Yin
, Li Xian
, and Diwu Qi
. In Li Kui's case, he was given the post of Zhongshu Shilang (中書侍郎), the deputy head of the legislative bureau, which was not itself a chancellor post, but given the additional de facto chancellor designation of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事), making him a chancellor. He was also put in charge of editing the imperial history. At that time, there were much banditry within the city of Chang'an itself, and the powerful eunuch Li Fuguo
wanted to commission several hundred soldiers from part of the imperial guard corps, the Yulin Army (羽林軍), to patrol the streets at night. Li Kui opposed this, pointing out that the Yulin Army and another part of the imperial guards corps, the Jinwu Guards (金吾衛), which were already responsible for patrolling the streets, served as counterweights to each other, and allowing the Yulin Army to patrol the streets throw the balance out of whack. Emperor Suzong agreed and tabled Li Fuguo's proposal. Nevertheless, it was also said that Li Kui did not dare to offend Li Fuguo, and despite the fact that Li Kui's clan was prominent, he bowed to Li Fuguo whenever he saw Li Fuguo, and referred to Li Fuguo as "Father Five" (五父) (as Li Fuguo was fifth in his birth rank).
As chancellor, it was said that Li Kui was capable and decisive, but that he was also grasping onto fame and fortune, drawing criticism for doing so. He was also criticized for the fact that his brother Li Jie (李楷) was also capable, but during Li Kui's term as chancellor, was stuck at a position that lacked actual power with Li Kui doing nothing about it. Meanwhile, Lü, who was removed from his chancellor position in 760, was sent out to be the military governor (Jiedushi
) of Jingnan Circuit (荊南, headquartered in modern Jingzhou
, Hubei
) and was gaining a good reputation at the position. Li Kui, who did not get along with Lü while both were chancellor, was concerned that Lü might return to the capital to be chancellor again, submitted an accusation that Lü, who had recently had proposed having eight prefectures added to his circuit, was overly ambitious; Li Kui also sent officials to Lü's circuit to try to find faults with Lü. When Lü reported this to Emperor Suzong, Emperor Suzong, displeased, demoted Li Kui to be the secretary general of Yuan Prefecture (袁州, in modern Yichun, Jiangxi
). (Only after Li Kui was demoted was his brother Li Jie promoted.)
for promotion. Li Kui, whose own clan was prominent and who looked down on those with humble origins — which was the case with Yuan Zai — refused, and stated to Miao:
This caused Yuan to have much resentment toward Li Kui. As Yuan became a powerful chancellor during Emperor Daizong's reign, he gave Li Kui an honorable post with little power or salary — acting Mishu Jian (秘書監), the head of the archival bureau (秘書省) — and then ordered that Li Kui be sent to the region between the Yangtze River
and the Huai River
, on the excuse that Li Kui was ill and needed to tend to his illness. It was said that because the position lacked salaries and Li Kui lacked savings, his large household became so poor that members even had to beg for food. Li Kui moved from prefecture to prefecture, as he would move whenever the prefect would dishonor him. Only after Yuan was executed in 777 was Li Kui again given a substantive position — the prefect of Mu Prefecture (睦州, in modern Hangzhou
, Zhejiang
). He later returned to Chang'an to serve as the principal of the imperial university (國子監, Guozi Jian) and minister of rites (禮部尚書, Libu Shangshu).
(as Emperor Dezong). Li Kui continued to serve as minister of rites, but the powerful chancellor Lu Qi
was jealous of his reputation and seniority. In 783, after the Tufan emissary Qujiazan (區頰贊) arrived in Chang'an to negotiate a border realignment treaty with Tang and after the treaty was completed, at Lu's instigation, Emperor Dezong made Li Kui emissary to Tufan to escort Qujiazan back to Tufan. Li Kui, then 70, stated to Emperor Dezong, "I do not fear going that far a distance, but I am afraid that I would die on the way and not complete my task." Emperor Dezong, who was saddened by the remarks, told Lu, "Li Kui is too old." Lu responded, "An emissary to a far-away foreign state needs to have a good reputation. Further, if Li Kui, who is this old, is sent as an emissary, then in the future, no official younger than Li Kui would dare to refuse such a task." When Li Kui got to Tufan, its king Trisong Detsen
asked, "I heard that there is a Li Kui who is the most able of officials in Tang. Are you that person, lord?" Li Kui was afraid that this meant that Trisong Detsen intended to detain him, and therefore responded, "That Li Kui would never be willing to come here." On his way of returning from Tufan in 784, he died at Feng Prefecture (鳳州, in modern Baoji
, Shaanxi
). He was buried with honor and given the posthumous name
Gong (恭, meaning "respectful").
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...
dynasty Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Suzong
Emperor Suzong of Tang
Emperor Suzong of Tang , personal name Li Heng , né Li Sisheng , known as Li Jun from 725 to 736, known as Li Yu from 736 to 738, known briefly as Li Shao in 738, was an emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the son of Emperor Xuanzong...
.
Background
Li Kui was born in 713, at the start of the reign of Emperor XuanzongEmperor Xuanzong of Tang
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang , also commonly known as Emperor Ming of Tang , personal name Li Longji , known as Wu Longji from 690 to 705, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756. His reign of 43 years was the longest during the Tang Dynasty...
. He was from a prominent clan that, by Li Kui's time, was domiciled in Zheng Prefecture (鄭州, in modern Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou , is the capital and largest city of Henan province in north-central China. A prefecture-level city, it also serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational centre of the province, as well as a major transportation hub for Central China...
, Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
) but which traced its ancestry to a line of prominent officials of Northern Wei
Northern Wei
The Northern Wei Dynasty , also known as the Tuoba Wei , Later Wei , or Yuan Wei , was a dynasty which ruled northern China from 386 to 534 . It has been described as "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change"...
, who in turn traced their ancestry to Li Fan (李翻), a son of Li Gao
Li Gao
Li Gao , courtesy name Xuansheng , nickname Changsheng , formally Prince Wuzhao of Liang , was the founding duke of the Chinese state Western Liáng...
, the founder of the Sixteen Kingdoms
Sixteen Kingdoms
The Sixteen Kingdoms, or less commonly the Sixteen States, were a collection of numerous short-lived sovereign states in China proper and its neighboring areas from 304 to 439 AD after the retreat of the Jin Dynasty to South China and before the establishment of the Northern Dynasties...
state Western Liang
Western Liang
The Western Liang was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in China. It was founded by the Li family of the Han Chinese. The founder of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan , traced his ancestry to the Western Liang rulers....
. (The Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
imperial clan also traced its ancestry to Li Gao, through Li Gao's second son and successor Li Xin
Li Xin
Li Xin , courtesy name Shiye , nickname Tongzhui , was a duke of the Chinese state Western Liáng. He succeeded his father Li Gao in 417 and aggressively tried to pursue campaigns against rival Northern Liang's prince Juqu Mengxun, but fell into a trap set by Juqu Mengxun in 420 and was killed in...
.) After Northern Wei, Li Kui's ancestors served as officials of Sui Dynasty
Sui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....
and Tang Dynasty. Li Kui was said to be intelligent, dextrous, and studious in his youth, and he was capable in writing.
During Emperor Xuanzong's reign
Toward the end of Emperor Xuanzong's Kaiyuan era (713–741), Li Kui passed the imperial examinationImperial examination
The Imperial examination was an examination system in Imperial China designed to select the best administrative officials for the state's bureaucracy. This system had a huge influence on both society and culture in Imperial China and was directly responsible for the creation of a class of...
s and was made the sheriff of Chenliu County (陳留, in modern Kaifeng
Kaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
, Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
). After he submitted his writing to Emperor Xuanzong, Emperor Xuanzong, apparently impressed, issued an edict allowing him to work at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng) on a trial basis. He was subsequently made You Shiyi (右拾遺), a junior official at the legislative bureau, and then successively served in the higher offices of You Bujue (右補闕) and Zhuzuo Lang (著作郎) at the legislative bureau, and then as Zhi Zongzi Biaosu (知宗子表疏), the official in charge of receiving and acting on submissions from members of the imperial clan at the ministry of imperial clan affairs (宗正寺, Zongzheng Si). Later, he was promoted to be Sixun Yuanwai Lang (司勳員外郎), a junior official at the ministry of civil service affairs (吏部, Libu), and then the higher office of Kaogong Langzhong (考功郎中) at the ministry of civil service affairs, in charge of evaluating the officials' performance. He was also involved in drafting edicts for Emperor Xuanzong. After the general An Lushan
An Lushan
An Lushan was a general who rebelled against the Tang Dynasty in China.His name was also transcribed into Chinese as Āluòshān or Gáluòshān ,...
rebelled in 755 and forced Emperor Xuanzong to flee to Jiannan Circuit (劍南, headquartered in modern Chengdu
Chengdu
Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...
, Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
), Li Kui accompanied Emperor Xuanzong to Jiannan and was made Zhongshu Sheren (中書舍人), a mid-level official at the legislative bureau.
During Emperor Suzong's reign
Emperor Xuanzong's son and crown princeCrown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
Li Heng
Emperor Suzong of Tang
Emperor Suzong of Tang , personal name Li Heng , né Li Sisheng , known as Li Jun from 725 to 736, known as Li Yu from 736 to 738, known briefly as Li Shao in 738, was an emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the son of Emperor Xuanzong...
, however, did not follow him to Chengdu and instead fled to Lingwu, where he was declared emperor (as Emperor Suzong), an act that Emperor Xuanzong recognized when he heard the news. After Emperor Suzong recaptured and returned to Chang'an in 757, his wife Empress Zhang
Empress Zhang (Suzong)
Empress Zhang was an empress of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. She was the second wife of Emperor Suzong and gained great power during his reign, in alliance with the eunuch Li Fuguo, but eventually she and Li Fuguo turned against each other late in Emperor Suzong's reign, as the emperor grew gravely...
became a dominating figure at court. She wanted her son Li Zhao (李佋) the Prince of Xing, who was only several years old at that point, to be made crown prince. Emperor Suzong, however, was instead considering his oldest son Li Chu
Emperor Daizong of Tang
Emperor Daizong of Tang , personal name Li Yu , né Li Chu , was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty....
the Prince of Cheng, who had contributed much to his campaigns to recapture Chang'an and the eastern capital Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
. Emperor Suzong consulted Li Kui and stated to him, "The Prince of Cheng is the oldest and had accomplished much. I want to create him crown prince. What do you think, sir?" Li Kui got up and bowed to Emperor Suzong, stating: "This is great blessing to the state. I am uncontrollably happy." Li Kui's comments affirmed Emperor Suzong's thoughts, and he created Li Chu crown prince in summer 758. In spring 759, when the officials who wanted to flatter Empress Zhang proposed that she be given a special honorific epithet of Yisheng (翊聖, meaning, "one who assists the holy one"). When Emperor Suzong consulted Li Kui on whether this was appropriate, Li Kui opposed, pointing out that the only prior instance when such an epithet was given to a living empress was to Empress Wei
Empress Wei (Zhongzong)
Empress Wei was an empress of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. She was the second wife of Emperor Zhongzong, who reigned twice, and during his second reign, she tried to emulate the example of her mother-in-law Wu Zetian and seize power...
, the powerful and corrupt wife of Emperor Suzong's granduncle Emperor Zhongzong
Emperor Zhongzong of Tang
Emperor Zhongzong of Tang , personal name Lǐ Xiǎn , at times during his life Li Zhe and Wu Xian , was the fourth Emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling briefly in 684 and again from 705 to 710.Emperor Zhongzong was the son of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Empress Wu...
. After a lunar eclipse
Lunar eclipse
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes behind the Earth so that the Earth blocks the Sun's rays from striking the Moon. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, a lunar eclipse can only occur the night of a...
— which indicated divine displeasure with the empress — occurred around the same time, Emperor Suzong tabled the proposal.
By this point, Li Kui also had the additional office of deputy minister of rites (禮部侍郎, Libu Shilang). He was displeased with how the officials in charge of the imperial examinations at the time were making their testing questions test highly obscure facts, and he believed that this led to the selection of examinees who were not necessarily talented or capable in writing. He therefore, at the examinations, made the Confucian classics, histories, and qieyun
Qieyun
The Qieyun is a Chinese rime dictionary, published in 601 CE during the Sui Dynasty. The title Qieyun literally means "cutting rimes" referring to the traditional Chinese fănqiè system of spelling, and is thus translatable as "Spelling Rimes."Lù Făyán was the chief editor...
references available to the examinees for them to look through the books during examination. He was much praised for this reform. It was also said that Li Kui was handsome in appearance and capable in rhetoric. Emperor Suzong once told him, "You, sir, are the highest grade in your clan's prominence, in your appearance, and in your writing.
Also in spring 759, Emperor Suzong, as a part of his reorganization of his chancellors, removed Miao Jinqing
Miao Jinqing
Miao Jinqing , courtesy name Yuanfu , formally Duke Wenzhen of Han , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Suzong and Emperor Daizong...
and Wang Yu
Wang Yu
Wang Yu may refer to:* Wang Yu , chancellor of Tang Dynasty* Jimmy Wang Yu , Hong Kong martial arts film actor* Wang Yu , child actress who won the Young Talent Award in Star Awards 2003 for her role as Zoe in the Singaporean drama serial Holland V*Wang Yu , chess Woman Grandmaster from China*...
from their chancellor posts and replaced them with Li Kui, Lü Yin
Lü Yin
Lü Yin , formally Count Su of Xuchang , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Suzong...
, Li Xian
Li Xian (chancellor)
Li Xian , formally the Duke of Liang , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Suzong and Emperor Daizong...
, and Diwu Qi
Diwu Qi
Diwu Qi , courtesy name Yugui , formally the Duke of Fufeng , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who served briefly as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Suzong, but was more known for his influence on financial policies throughout his career, including his advocacy for the...
. In Li Kui's case, he was given the post of Zhongshu Shilang (中書侍郎), the deputy head of the legislative bureau, which was not itself a chancellor post, but given the additional de facto chancellor designation of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事), making him a chancellor. He was also put in charge of editing the imperial history. At that time, there were much banditry within the city of Chang'an itself, and the powerful eunuch Li Fuguo
Li Fuguo
Li Fuguo , né Li Jingzhong , known from 757 to 758 as Li Huguo , formally Prince Chou of Bolu , was a eunuch official during the reign of Emperor Suzong of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty...
wanted to commission several hundred soldiers from part of the imperial guard corps, the Yulin Army (羽林軍), to patrol the streets at night. Li Kui opposed this, pointing out that the Yulin Army and another part of the imperial guards corps, the Jinwu Guards (金吾衛), which were already responsible for patrolling the streets, served as counterweights to each other, and allowing the Yulin Army to patrol the streets throw the balance out of whack. Emperor Suzong agreed and tabled Li Fuguo's proposal. Nevertheless, it was also said that Li Kui did not dare to offend Li Fuguo, and despite the fact that Li Kui's clan was prominent, he bowed to Li Fuguo whenever he saw Li Fuguo, and referred to Li Fuguo as "Father Five" (五父) (as Li Fuguo was fifth in his birth rank).
As chancellor, it was said that Li Kui was capable and decisive, but that he was also grasping onto fame and fortune, drawing criticism for doing so. He was also criticized for the fact that his brother Li Jie (李楷) was also capable, but during Li Kui's term as chancellor, was stuck at a position that lacked actual power with Li Kui doing nothing about it. Meanwhile, Lü, who was removed from his chancellor position in 760, was sent out to be the military governor (Jiedushi
Jiedushi
The Jiedushi were regional military governors in China during the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. Originally set up to counter external threats, the jiedushi were given enormous power, including the ability to maintain their own armies, collect taxes, and pass their...
) of Jingnan Circuit (荊南, headquartered in modern Jingzhou
Jingzhou
Jingzhou is a prefecture-level city in Hubei Province, People's Republic of China. The city is located on the banks of the Yangtze River.Its population is 5,691,707 at the 2010 census whom 1,154,086 in the built up area made of 3 urban districts.-Geography:Jingzhou occupies an area of...
, Hubei
Hubei
' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...
) and was gaining a good reputation at the position. Li Kui, who did not get along with Lü while both were chancellor, was concerned that Lü might return to the capital to be chancellor again, submitted an accusation that Lü, who had recently had proposed having eight prefectures added to his circuit, was overly ambitious; Li Kui also sent officials to Lü's circuit to try to find faults with Lü. When Lü reported this to Emperor Suzong, Emperor Suzong, displeased, demoted Li Kui to be the secretary general of Yuan Prefecture (袁州, in modern Yichun, Jiangxi
Yichun, Jiangxi
Yichun is a mountainous prefecture-level city in the Chinese province of Jiangxi. Yichun literally means "pleasant spring". It is located in the northwest of the province along a river surrouneded by mountains. Its area is 18,669 km²; 50% forested, 35% mountainous. It has a total population...
). (Only after Li Kui was demoted was his brother Li Jie promoted.)
During Emperor Daizong's reign
Several years later — therefore, therefore likely under the reign of Li Chu (whose name had been changed to Li Yu at that point), as Emperor Daizong (Emperor Suzong having died in 762) — Li Kui was slightly promoted, to be the prefect of She Prefecture (歙州, in modern Huangshan, Anhui). However, he would soon be trapped by an action from his past. While he was chancellor, Miao Jinqing had once recommended Yuan ZaiYuan Zai
Yuan Zai , courtesy name Gongfu , formally Viscount Huang of Xuchang and then Viscount Chengzong of Xuchang , was an official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Suzong and Emperor Daizong, becoming particularly powerful during the middle of Emperor...
for promotion. Li Kui, whose own clan was prominent and who looked down on those with humble origins — which was the case with Yuan Zai — refused, and stated to Miao:
This caused Yuan to have much resentment toward Li Kui. As Yuan became a powerful chancellor during Emperor Daizong's reign, he gave Li Kui an honorable post with little power or salary — acting Mishu Jian (秘書監), the head of the archival bureau (秘書省) — and then ordered that Li Kui be sent to the region between the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
and the Huai River
Huai River
The Huai River is a major river in China. The Huai River is located about mid-way between the Yellow River and Yangtze River, the two largest rivers in China, and like them runs from west to east...
, on the excuse that Li Kui was ill and needed to tend to his illness. It was said that because the position lacked salaries and Li Kui lacked savings, his large household became so poor that members even had to beg for food. Li Kui moved from prefecture to prefecture, as he would move whenever the prefect would dishonor him. Only after Yuan was executed in 777 was Li Kui again given a substantive position — the prefect of Mu Prefecture (睦州, in modern Hangzhou
Hangzhou
Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...
, Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
). He later returned to Chang'an to serve as the principal of the imperial university (國子監, Guozi Jian) and minister of rites (禮部尚書, Libu Shangshu).
During Emperor Dezong's reign
Emperor Daizong died in 779 and was succeeded by his son Li KuoEmperor Dezong of Tang
Emperor Dezong of Tang , personally name Li Kuo , was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and the oldest son of his father Emperor Daizong. His reign of 26 years was the third longest in the Tang dynasty...
(as Emperor Dezong). Li Kui continued to serve as minister of rites, but the powerful chancellor Lu Qi
Lu Qi
Lu Qi , courtesy name Ziliang , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Dezong...
was jealous of his reputation and seniority. In 783, after the Tufan emissary Qujiazan (區頰贊) arrived in Chang'an to negotiate a border realignment treaty with Tang and after the treaty was completed, at Lu's instigation, Emperor Dezong made Li Kui emissary to Tufan to escort Qujiazan back to Tufan. Li Kui, then 70, stated to Emperor Dezong, "I do not fear going that far a distance, but I am afraid that I would die on the way and not complete my task." Emperor Dezong, who was saddened by the remarks, told Lu, "Li Kui is too old." Lu responded, "An emissary to a far-away foreign state needs to have a good reputation. Further, if Li Kui, who is this old, is sent as an emissary, then in the future, no official younger than Li Kui would dare to refuse such a task." When Li Kui got to Tufan, its king Trisong Detsen
Trisong Detsen
Trisong Detsän or Trisong Detsen ཁྲི་སྲོང་ལྡེ་བཙན , was the son of Me Agtsom and one of the emperors of Tibet and ruled...
asked, "I heard that there is a Li Kui who is the most able of officials in Tang. Are you that person, lord?" Li Kui was afraid that this meant that Trisong Detsen intended to detain him, and therefore responded, "That Li Kui would never be willing to come here." On his way of returning from Tufan in 784, he died at Feng Prefecture (鳳州, in modern Baoji
Baoji
Baoji is a prefecture-level city in Shaanxi province, China.-Geography:The prefecture-level city of Baoji has a population of 3,716,731 according to the 2010 Chinese census, inhabiting an area of . The city itself has a population of approximately 800,000. Surrounded on three sides by hills,...
, Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
). He was buried with honor and given the posthumous name
Posthumous name
A posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty, nobles, and sometimes others, in East Asia after the person's death, and is used almost exclusively instead of one's personal name or other official titles during his life...
Gong (恭, meaning "respectful").