Li Xian (Chinese: 李贤, Lǐ Xián, 502–569 CE) was a Northern Zhou general and Governor of Dunhuang.

[3] Li Xian was in charge of defenses on the northern frontier of the Chinese Empire, in contact with the Silk Road.

His 10th generation ancestor was Yidigui, intelligent, generous and full of wisdom, cognizant of the nature of men, who knew Emperor Shengwu the very holy, ruler of the world, leader of all countries with justice, who opened roads among the rocks, went south across the Yin Mountains, used his skills to the utmost, accomplished major service, built the country of the Tuoba, and thereby achieved a great name.

The Longxi Li were also claimed as ancestors by the imperial house of the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE) through a different line, though it was suggested in the 20th century that the Tang imperial house may have actually descended from an eastern lineage, the Zhaojun Li, who intermarried extensively with the "non-Chinese tribal aristocracy.

"[18] The probable Tuoba-Xianbei origins of Li Xian as revealed by his epitaph has led to some scholars suggesting that the rulers of the Tang dynasty had mixed "barbarian" background, rather than being purely Han as suggested by official Tang records, and that they might have modified their genealogy to conceal their part Xianbei heritage while preserving various Xianbei customs.