Li Jian, in Chinese 李蒹, was a Kirghiz who came to the Tang court as an envoy. An edict of the emperor Xuanzong of the spring of 856 names him as “the Kirghiz Li Jian”.[1] Some Uyghurs accompanied him. Nothing more is known of his mission.[1]

The surname Li is Chinese and not Turkic, and it is the surname of the Tang house. Some scholars take it as pointing to the Kirghiz claim of descent from Li Ling.[1] The edict says that the former Uyghur land was empty, with its walls and towns standing. It does not mention a Kirghiz occupation.[1] The envoy is one of three counted between 847 and 874. Turkic Atlas tells them under the later embassies.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Drompp 1999, p. 396
  2. ^ Drompp 1999, p. 395

Literature

  • Michael R. Drompp, Breaking the Orkhon Tradition: Kirghiz Adherence to the Yenisei Region after A.D. 840 (1999)

Related

What links here2

Battles & Events
Kirghiz campaign against the Shiwei (848) · Kirghiz embassies of the Xiantong era (860–873)

Cite this article

Yavuz, Emre-E. “Li Jian.” Turkic Atlas, revised 8 November 2026. https://turkicatlas.org/persons/li-jian-kirghiz-envoy/

Last revised: 8 November 2026