Li Yannian

Li Yannian came from Zhongshan in the Western Han, from a family of professional entertainers, and was famed for his singing and his new, inventive melodies. Castrated for an offence, he served in the imperial kennels until his sister became Emperor Wu's favourite, Lady Li, and he rose to rank and favour. According to the Treatise on Rites and Music of the Han shu, when Emperor Wu established the Music Bureau he made Li Yannian Chief Commandant of Harmonious Tones; Sima Xiangru and dozens of others wrote poems, Li fitted them to the pitch-pipes and the eight timbres, and the result was the Nineteen Songs for the suburban sacrifices. After Lady Li's death he and his brother Li Ji were executed and the family fell.