early envoy to China who did much to introduce Chinese culture to the comparatively primitive Japanese state. In 717, when Chinese culture under the great T'ang dynasty (618–907) was at its height, Kibi traveled there as a student. Upon his return to Japan, he received an audience with the empress Kōken and so impressed her with his talent and character that she sent him back to China as a special envoy of the Japanese government. Later, Kibi became an adviser to the empress, helping her prepare new legislation and reforms. He achieved the high post of minister of the right in 766.