Li Mi's Petition for His Case

(Li Mi chen qing)

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For nearly 2,000 years, Li Mi's famous petition has earned him a reputation for filial devotion in China. Using the illness of his grandmother as an excuse, Li Mi refuses to serve as an official to the new Emperor, because of his loyalty to the former King. Since it is a serious offence to violate an order from the Emperor, Li Mi writes a letter explaining his position. As a grandson, he feels he must devote himself to his grandmother, while as a subject he must remain loyal to his Emperor. Knowing that he cannot satisfy both parties, Li Mi decides to care for his disabled grandmother before taking up the imperial appointment.

Li Mi (A.D. 224–287) was born into a great family, with a father who was a high-ranking official in the Shu Kingdom. Li Mi is unlucky, however, because his father died when Li Mi was only six months old, and his mother remarried when Li Mi was four. Raised by his grandmother, he bcomes known for his devotion to her. History relates that, once his grandmother became sick, Li Mi slept in his clothes and tasted all foods and medications before giving them to his grandmother.

Li Mi studies hard and is made a government official by the Shu King at a young age. In A.D. 267, Emperor Wudi, who unites the Three Kingdoms (including Shu), expresses admiration for Li Mi's reputation and repeatedly issues an imperial order requesting Li Mi to work with the prince in an official capacity. Under pressure from the Emperor, local officials become impatient, and begin to visit Li Mi three times a day, urging him to take the appointment. Li Mi's grandmother is 96 years old, however, and is very sick. Li Mi writes a letter to Emperor Wudi stating his situation and his reason for declining the Emperor's offer. This has become known as Li Mi's Petition.

Emperor Wudi has his reasons to entrust Li Mi with a high-ranking official position: there are still rebels from the old kingdoms in the southern area around the Yangtze River. In order to lessen their resistance, while demonstrating his mercy and generosity, Emperor Wudi adopts a policy of reconciliation towards the subjects and officials of former kingdoms. Knowing of Li Mi's filial devotion — and having inherited Confucianism and the system of family devotion from the Han Dynasty as means of maintaining social order — the Emperor is keen to recruit Li Mi.

Li Mi has more than one reason for declining the Emperor's offer. Although he does indeed feel he must take care of his grandmother, he is also a loyal official of the late Shu Kingdom, which has been conquered and eliminated by the new dynasty. Li Mi was a Shu official in his early twenties, and continues to see the former Shu King as a great ruler. Moreover, he believes in the tradition that "a good servant does not serve two masters" and that "a loyal minister does not serve two kings." In this case, if Li Mi refuses to answer the call to service, he could be accused of "serving two kings", meaning that he is working against Emperor Wudi. This is extremely dangerous. Ignoring his grandmother's condition for an imperial post is not dutiful; declining to serve the emperor is not loyal. This is a real problem. Li Mi builds his fame through the petition he writes, and the many conflicts and emotions of this situation are depicted vividly in this opera play.