李贤 / Li Xian (taiwei, late Han)
李贤 / Li Xian enters the wiki through Hanji 901 as the ill taiwei who attends the 172 CE court meeting over 窦皇太后’s burial status. He brings poison and tells his wife that if the empress dowager cannot share sacrificial honor with 汉桓帝, he will not return alive.
After 陈球 / 陈求 first argues for the burial, Li Xian publicly supports the proposal and submits a memorial to 汉灵帝. His argument uses precedent and role order: Dou had been empress dowager, had supported Ling’s accession, and should not be stripped of posthumous status because the Dou family lost a political struggle.
The episode makes Li Xian a focused case of 赴死式直谏 and 帝后合葬名分. His death-facing posture is not about battlefield courage; it is about preserving the ritual and political meaning of a deceased empress dowager when 赵忠, 曹节, and 王甫 prefer a demotion.
This page is disambiguated from 李暹 / Li Xian, the later Li Jue-side military actor in the 195 CE imperial-relocation branch.
Connections
- Hanji 901 - source episode.
- 窦妙 / 窦皇太后 and 汉桓帝 - burial-dispute center.
- 陈球 / 陈求 - first speaker whose proposal Li Xian reinforces.
- 汉灵帝 - ruler who accepts Li Xian’s memorial.
- 赴死式直谏, 帝后合葬名分, 礼制政治秩序, and 名器合法性 - concepts grounded by his argument.
- 李暹 / Li Xian - same romanization but different Chinese name and historical branch.