Li Shiji (594? – 31 December 669), courtesy name Maogong, posthumously known as Duke Zhenwu of Ying, was a Chinese military general and politician who lived in the early Tang dynasty. His original family name was Xú, but he was later given the family name of the Tang imperial clan, Li, by Emperor Gaozu, the Tang dynasty's founding emperor. Later, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong, Li Shiji was known as Li Ji (i.e. the "Shi" in his name was omitted) to avoid naming taboo because the personal name of Emperor Gaozong's predecessor, Emperor Taizong (Li Shimin), had the same Chinese character "Shi". Li Shiji is also referred to as Xu Maogong (his original family name and his courtesy name combined) and Xu Ji in the historical novels Shuo Tang and Sui Tang Yanyi.
Li Shiji was initially a follower of Li Mi, one of the rebel rulers rebelling against the preceding Sui dynasty, and he submitted to the Tang Empire after Li Mi did so, upon which Emperor Gaozu, impressed with his loyalty to Li Mi, granted him the imperial family name "Li". He later participated in destroying Xu Yuanlang and Fu Gongshi, two of the Tang Empire's competitors in the campaign to reunify China.
HistoryLayer draws the world as it was in any year from 123,000 BCE to
2026. Move the slider and the borders redraw for that year; the map
carries 23,890 events, 12,790 people, 837 wars and 13,183 cities, each
one readable in place. Signing in is optional and lets you keep what
you find.