Li Jue (Tang Dynasty)

Li Jue (李珏 or 李玨) (784?-852?), courtesy name Daijia (待價), formally Duke Zhenmu of Zanhuang (贊皇貞穆公), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Wenzong and (briefly) Emperor Wenzong's brother Emperor Wuzong. He was considered one of the leaders of the Niu Faction in the Niu-Li Factional Struggles.

Li Jue was born in 784, or possibly 785, during the reign of Emperor Dezong. He claimed ancestry from the eastern branch of the prominent Li clan of Zhao Commandery (趙郡, in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei), which claimed ancestry from the Warring States period state Zhao's prominent general Li Mu. However, Li Jue's ancestry was not conclusively traceable past his fifth-generation ancestor Li E (李諤), who held a ducal title during Tang Dynasty's predecessor dynasty Sui Dynasty. His grandfather Li Guangchao (李光朝) served as a military advisor to a prefectural prefect, while his father Li Zhongshu (李仲塾) served as an assistant to the director of the iron and salt monopolies.

In his youth, Li Jue's family lived in Huaiyin (淮陰, in modern Huai'an, Jiangsu). He lost his father early, and he was said to have served his mother with well-known filial piety. After attaining adulthood, he passed the imperial examinations, in the Mingjing class, which was not considered as prestigious as the Jinshi class. When the former chancellor Li Jiang, who was then the prefect of Hua Prefecture (華州, in modern Weinan, Shaanxi), saw Li Jue, he stated to Li Jue that it was inappropriate for someone as talented as he to have only passed the Mingjing class, so he recommended Li Jue to enter the Jinshi examinations, and Li Jue passed with high scores. The military governor (Jiedushi) of Heyang Circuit (河陽, headquartered in modern Jiaozuo, Henan), Wu Chongyin, subsequently invited Li Jue to serve on his staff. After Li Jue later passed a special examination for those making good rulings, he was made the sheriff of Weinan County (渭南, in modern Weinan). He was eventually made You Shiyi (右拾遺), a low-level advisory official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng).

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