Li Song (politician)

Li Song (李崧) (d. December 12, 948), nickname Dachou (大醜), was an official of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period states Later Tang, Later Jin, and Later Han, as well as the Khitan Liao Dynasty. He was particularly prominent during Later Jin, when he served as chief of staff (Shumishi) and chancellor. During Later Han, he was falsely accused of treason and executed.

It is not known when Li Song was born, but it is known that he was from Raoyang (饒陽, in modern Hengshui, Hebei). His father Li Shunqing (李舜卿) was the tactical officer at Shen Prefecture (深州, in modern Hengshui), which Raoyang belonged to. He had at least two younger brothers, Li Yu (李嶼) and Li Yi (李㠖). It was said that he was intelligent in his youth, and was writing artful texts even when he was in his teenage years, surprising his family members. Once he reached adulthood, he became an officer at Shen Prefecture. (Historical descriptions do not give dates, or even the sovereigns that he was under, during these events.)

However, it is known that by 923 — at which time Li Cunxu had declared himself emperor of a new Later Tang and had commissioned his oldest son Li Jiji the defender of Zhending (真定, in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei) and the director of Xingsheng Palace (興聖宮) — Li Song was serving on Li Jiji's staff as an officer. At that time, Li Jiji's secretary Li Rao (李蕘) was in charge of Li Jiji's correspondences. Li Song had seen some of Li Rao's writings and considered them poorly written, He secretly spoke with the head of Li Jiji's household, Lü Rou (呂柔), stating, "The Lord Chancellor [(as Li Jiji carried an honorary chancellor title)] is the Emperor's son. The whole realm looks at him. Both his correspondences and his records need to be logically and properly written. The drafts written by Censor Li [(as Li Rao carried an honorary censor title)] lacked perfection." Lü asked Li Song to try to write for Li Jiji on a trial basis, and then showed what Li Song had written to Li Cunxu's secretaries Lu Zhi (盧質) and Feng Dao, both of whom praised Li Song's writing. Li Song was therefore soon promoted to be the surveying officer for Xingsheng Palace, and put in charge of Li Jiji's correspondences. After Li Cunxu conquered archrival Later Liang later in the year and made Luoyang his capital, he gave Li Song the title of Xielü Lang (協律郎).

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