Li Bi or Li Mi (; 722 – April 1, 789), courtesy name Changyuan (), formally the Marquess of Ye County (), was a Chinese historian, poet, and politician during the Tang dynasty. Li was a trusted advisor and close friend to Emperor Suzong of Tang, whom he aided in suppressing the An Lushan Rebellion, and later served as chancellor and chief civil official under Emperor Dezong. An accomplished man of letters, Li was a dedicated Taoist practitioner who cut an unusual figure at court, disentangling himself from political intrigue by leading an eremitic lifestyle and often eschewing high office to serve as personal counsellor to Emperor Suzong and his successors, Emperor Daizong and Emperor Dezong. Li's strategies helped stabilize the Tang state during a chaotic era marked by rebellion, warfare, and tension with foreign powers, though his influence and perceived eccentricity drew criticism from contemporary rivals and some traditional historians. Li is one of the 40 prominent figures memorialized in the Wu Shuang Pu by Jin Guliang.
Background Li Bi was born in 722, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. His family was from the Tang dynasty capital Chang'an, but his ancestors claimed order from Liaodong Peninsula ,he was 4×-great-grandson of Li Bi,who is one of the Eight Zhuguo Of Western Wei. Li Bi's father Li Chengxiu () was a county magistrate.New Book of Tang, vol. 72.
During Emperor Xuanzong's reign It was said that Li Bi could read and write by age six, and that in his youth, he was known for his intelligence and dexterity. That year, when Emperor Xuanzong put out a general order requesting people to recommend those well-versed in Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, the officials all recommended those whom they knew. An eight-year-old named Yuan Chu (), a grandson of the great scholar Yuan Banqian () and a cousin to Li Bi (Yuan Chu's mother was a sister to Li Chengxiu), particularly impressed Emperor Xuanzong. When Emperor Xuanzong asked Yuan Chu whether he knew anyone else like him, Yuan Chu replied that Li Bi was one. Emperor Xuanzong thus summoned Li Bi. When Li Bi arrived, Emperor Xuanzong was playing Go with the high-level official Zhang Shuo the Duke of Yan, and Zhang, wanting to test the child, asked to make up a poem comparing Go to life and recite it. Zhang then recited the poem that he thought of on the spot, and Li Bi immediately followed with one of his own. Both Emperor Xuanzong and Zhang were amazed, and Zhang congratulated Emperor Xuanzong on finding a divine child. Emperor Xuanzong gave Li Bi an award and honored his household.New Book of Tang, vol. 139 . He also had Li Bi associate with his son Li Jun the Prince of Zhong.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 218.
Li Bi became learned in the Confucian classics and the histories, but was particularly well-learned in the I Ching. He was also a talented writer and wrote poems well, and he had great ambitions to assist emperors. He was honored by officials such as Zhang Jiuling, Wei Xuxin (), and Zhang Tinggui ().Old Book of Tang, vol. 130 . Zhang Jiuling, in particular, treated him as a friend notwithstanding the age and position differences. Li Bi, however, did not like to be restricted by governmental regulations, and as he grew older often journeyed among Mount Song, Mount Hua, and the Qinling Mountains, seeking out for the alchemist arts that could lead to longevity. During the middle of Emperor Xuanzong's Tianbao era (742–756), Li Bi submitted a petition from Mount Song discussing the affairs of state. Emperor Xuanzong, remembering the meetings when he was young, summoned him to Chang'an and made Li Bi an attendant to Li Jun – whose name had been changed to Li Heng by that point and who had become crown prince. However, after Li Bi wrote some poems satirizing such powerful figures as Yang Guozhong and An Lushan, Yang became displeased and requested that Li Bi be exiled to Qichun Commandery (蘄春, in modern Huanggang, Hubei). Only after a pardon was Li Bi allowed to return to Chang'an. Thereafter, he took no governmental positions and became a hermit at Yingyang (潁陽, in modern Zhengzhou, Henan).
During Emperor Suzong's reign In 755, An Lushan rebelled at Fanyang, and by summer 756, forces of his new state of Yan reached Chang'an, forcing Emperor Xuanzong to flee to Chengdu. Li Heng, however, did not follow Emperor Xuanzong to Chengdu, but instead fled to Lingwu, where he was declared emperor (as Emperor Suzong). He summoned Li Bi to Lingwu to serve as an advisor, and Li Bi did so. It was said that they spent so much together discussing the affairs of the military and the state that they often slept in the same bedroom, just like the times when Emperor Suzong was just a prince. It was said that Emperor Suzong consulted Li Bi on every matter, including military commissions. He wanted to make Li Bi Zhongshu Ling () – the head of the legislative bureau of government () and a post considered one for a chancellor – but Li Bi declined, stating, "I find it much more honored that Your Imperial Majesty treats me as a guest and a friend, than as a chancellor. Why do you want me to take an inferior position?"
Thereafter, when Emperor Suzong wanted to make his son Li Tan the Prince of Jianning, who was known for his military talent, the supreme commander of the armed forces, Li Bi pointed out that awkwardness would then come to the issue of imperial succession given that Li Tan was younger than his brother Li Chu the Prince of Guangping. Emperor Suzong agreed and gave the title of supreme commander to Li Chu instead. Li Tan, however, did not resent Li Bi for this and thanked Li Bi for his suggestion. It was said that at that time, the soldiers, whenever they saw Emperor Suzong and Li Bi surveying the troops together, the soldiers would comment: "The one who wears the yellow robe is the holy one [(i.e., emperor)]. The one who wears the white robe is the mystical one." Emperor Suzong, hearing this, told Li Bi to put on the purple robe of a high-level official, and Li Bi reluctantly agreed. Subsequently, Emperor Suzong gave him the title of imperial advisor (侍謀軍國, Shimou Junguo) as well as Li Chu's secretary general. From that point on, he and Li Chu would rotate to be on duty at the army headquarters, ready to act on the generals' reports; when Li Chu was attending to Emperor Suzong, Li Bi would be at headquarters, and when Li Bi was attending to Emperor Suzong, Li Chu would be at headquarters. Emperor Suzong also gave the keys to the makeshift palace to Li Chu and Li Bi. Whenever there were generals' requests that needed immediate action, Li Chu and Li Bi would act on them, and whenever further approval from Emperor Suzong were necessary, they would take them to the palace and submit to Emperor Suzong through a slot in the door. In fall 756, at Li Bi's suggestion, Emperor Suzong moved his headquarters from Lingwu to Pengyuan (彭原, in modern Qingyang, Gansu), to better coordinate the troops coming to his aid.
Also in fall 756, however, Li Bi and Li Tan both offended Emperor Suzong's favorite concubine Consort Zhang. Emperor Suzong had been considering creating Consort Zhang empress, but, as Li Bi advised him that it was inappropriate to do so before he had a chance to seek the approval of Emperor Xuanzong (whom he honored as Taishang Huang (retired emperor)), he decided to wait. Meanwhile, however, around this time Emperor Xuanzong sent Consort Zhang a saddle with seven kinds of jewels studded on it as a gift. Li Bi opined that in the difficult times, it would be inappropriate for her to use such a luxurious item, and therefore suggested instead that the jewels be removed and rewarded to those soldiers with accomplishments. Emperor Suzong agreed – and Li Tan publicly praised the decision, causing Consort Zhang to thereafter bear much resentment toward Li Bi and Li Tan. Meanwhile, in winter 756, after the chancellor Fang Guan failed to recapture Chang'an and suffered heavy losses, Emperor Suzong initially wanted to punish Fang, but at Li Bi's intercession, did not do so.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 219.
Meanwhile, Li Bi also suggested to Emperor Suzong his plan of destroying Yan:
That the major generals Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi be sent to the region north of the Yellow River to engage the Yan generals Shi Siming, Zhang Zhongzhi, so that Shi and Zhang would be unable to move south. That meanwhile, Emperor Suzong himself not attack, but continue to stay close to Chang'an, so that the Yan generals An Shouzhong () and Tian Qianzhen (), then at Chang'an, would be unable to move east. That Li Guangbi and Guo then launch periodic attacks against Yan troops, such that the Yan forces would be forced to constantly move and become worn out. That in spring 757, Li Tan be sent to join Li Guangbi to capture Fanyang, and then the Tang armies could then converge toward An Lushan's capital at Luoyang and attack it.
Emperor Suzong was happy about the plan. Meanwhile, however, Consort Zhang entered into an alliance with Emperor Suzong's trusted eunuch Li Fuguo, and together the two became powerful inside the palace, purportedly carrying out much misdeeds. Li Tan considered trying to kill them, and despite Li Bi's advice to the contrary, Li Tan did not stop his planning. In 757, Consort Zhang and Li Fuguo struck first, accusing Li Tan of plotting to kill Li Chu, and Emperor Suzong, believing their accusation, forced Li Tan to commit suicide. This caused Li Chu and Li Bi to be fearful of her as well, although at Li Bi's urging, Li Chu did not himself try to kill them. Around this time, Emperor Suzong also consulted Li Bi on what his thoughts were on how to reward the generals after Yan's destruction, and Li Bi advocated that the generals be given fiefdoms so that they would want to pass them to their descendants. (Emperor Suzong initially agreed, but the plan was never actually implemented in Emperor Suzong's reign or after.)
Later in spring 757, Emperor Suzong advanced to Fengxiang (鳳翔, in modern Baoji, Shaanxi). Aid troops from Anxi Circuit (安西, headquartered in modern Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, as well as Xiyu states, were arriving, and Li Bi, as he had previously suggested, advocated that the troops be sent to attack Fanyang first, to root out Yan's power base, before attempts should be made to recapture Chang'an and Luoyang. This time, however, Emperor Suzong overruled him, stating that he wanted to capture Chang'an as soon as possible to welcome Emperor Xuanzong back to the capital, despite Li Bi's objections that doing so would prolong the rebellion in that the Anxi and Xiyu troops could not bear the heat and would be worn out after recapturing Chang'an and Luoyang. (As it turned out, whether it was due to Emperor Suzong's decision to overrule Li Bi or not, the rebellion would not be completely put down until 763.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 222.)
In summer 757, with major aid from Huige, Tang forces commanded by Li Chu recaptured Chang'an. Emperor Suzong entered Chang'an and sent messengers to bring Li Bi to Chang'an. Upon Li Bi's arrival in Chang'an, Emperor Suzong informed Li Bi that he had sent messengers to Emperor Xuanzong requesting that he return to Chang'an and offering the throne back to Emperor Xuanzong. Li Bi pointed out that this would cause Emperor Xuanzong to be apprehensive as to Emperor Suzong's sincerity, and as Li Bi predicted, Emperor Xuanzong initially not only declined but further requested to remain in Jiannan Circuit (劍南, headquartered in modern Chengdu). Only after Emperor Suzong, at Li Bi's suggestion, had the government officials make a joint submission to Emperor Xuanzong no longer mentioning the return of the throne, did Emperor Xuanzong agree to depart Jiannan to return to Chang'an.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 220.