Song Qiqiu (887–959), courtesy name Zisong, formally Duke Chouliao of Chu (楚醜繆公), was the chief strategist of Emperor Liezu of Southern Tang (Xu Zhigao/Li Bian), the founding emperor of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Southern Tang.

[2] In 906, Zhennan was conquered by Yang Wo, the ruler of rival Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu).

[3] With the Zhongs thus no longer in control, Song Qiqiu became impoverished, and was forced to follow a group of people to head to Huainan proper to try to make a living.

He eventually was forced to work for a house of prostitution run by a Lady Wei, apparently at Sheng Prefecture (昇州, in modern Nanjing, Jiangsu).

Song offered his poems to Xu Zhigao through the officer Yao Kezhan (姚克瞻) to show his talent.

[5] Still, only after Xu Wen's death in 927[6] was Song promoted, eventually to be the deputy minister of defense (兵部侍郎, Bingbu Shilang).

As a result, Xu Zhigao demoted Zhou out of the headquarters to serve as the deputy military prefect of Chi Prefecture (池州, in modern Chizhou, Anhui).

Indeed, later in the year, Xu Zhigao summoned Song back to Jinling to serve as his deputy in his position as the supreme commander of all circuits, but gave him no real responsibilities.

"[10] Still, around this time, Xu Zhigao did agree to a suggestion of Song's — to establish friendly relations with Khitan, to plan a possible invasion of the Central Plains (then ruled by Later Jin).

When he subsequently held a banquet for high-level officials, Li Decheng, at the banquet, stated that all who were there were happy that he accepted the throne, except for Song Qiqiu, and then gave Emperor Liezu the letter that Song wrote him, trying to stop him from urging Emperor Liezu to take the throne.

[1][11] When Song again objected in 938 that, as Left Prime Minister, he should be allowed to participate in the governance, Emperor Liezu gave the excuse that the office building had not been built yet.

The next day, Emperor Liezu wrote a personal letter to Song, stating, "You, Zisong, have long known our temper.

[13] After Song arrived at Zhennan, he built a large mansion for himself and lived luxuriously, purportedly at the people's detriment.

While Emperor Yuanzong had disliked Song Qiqiu because Song had often praised Li Jing's younger brother Li Jingda the Prince of Xuancheng and hinted that Li Jingda would be a more appropriate heir, Song nevertheless regained a foothold in the Southern Tang imperial government because he was in an alliance with three officials who served on Emperor Yuanzong's staff while he was an imperial prince — Chen Jue, Feng Yanji, and Wei Cen (魏岑) — whom he trusted.

Further, Emperor Yuanzong had wanted to have senior officials who were well-respected by the people as his chancellors, so he recalled Song and Zhou Zong, who had also been made a military governor, to the imperial government to serve as chancellors, with Song given the titles of Taibao (太保) and Zhongshu Ling (中書令, head of the legislative bureau).

Further, by this point, Chen was no longer in the imperial government (having left governmental service to observe a mourning period for his mother).

Emperor Yuanzong thus made Song the military governor of Zhenhai Circuit (鎮海, headquartered at Run Prefecture).

In 944, he further ordered that most matters should be ruled on by Li Jingsui, with Wei Cen and Cha Wenhui (查文徽), the deputy chiefs of staff, as the only officials who would be permitted to see the emperor on a regular basis.

Once he issued this edict, however, there was much opposition,[13] and Song submitted a petition from his retirement at Qingyang also urging against it, thus impressing Emperor Yuanzong.

[1] Around this time, Southern Tang was faced with the issue of what to do with the remnants of its southeastern neighbor Min, which Southern Tang forces had destroyed in 945 by capturing its capital Jian Prefecture (建州, in modern Nanping, Fujian), as Min's prior capital Fu Prefecture (福州, in modern Fuzhou, Fujian) remained under control of Li Hongyi, a former Min general who had nominally submitted to Southern Tang but who was controlling the Fu region as his own private domain.

Humiliated, Chen, on the way back to Jinling, decided to forge an imperial edict ordering Southern Tang forces to converge on Fu against Li Hongyi.

[15] Song apparently remained at Zhennan until 951, when Emperor Yuanzong recalled him to Jinling to again serve as Taifu,[16][17] and also created him the Duke of Chu and gave him the honorary title of military governor of Dongchuan Circuit (東川, headquartered in modern Mianyang, Sichuan, then ruled by Later Shu).

[1] However, Southern Tang suffered repeated defeats, and its main garrison on the Huai, Shou Prefecture (壽州, in modern Lu'an, Anhui), became desperately sieged by Later Zhou.

Emperor Yuanzong executed Li Deming, and that, for the time being, ended hopes of a negotiated peace between Southern Tang and Later Zhou.

In winter 958, Emperor Yuanzong thus acted, exiling Chen, executing Li Zhenggu, and ordering Song back into retirement at Mount Jiuhua, albeit with his titles still intact.

After Song reached Mount Jiuhua in spring 959, Emperor Yuanzong had his mansion securely guarded, only allowing food to be passed through a hole in the wall.

Song lamented and believed that this was divine retribution for his suggestion to have Yang Pu's family put under secure guard, and thereafter hanged himself.