New History of the Five Dynasties
Yao Ji's background is not clear, as there was no biography of his in the four relevant official histories — the "Old Book of Tang", the "New Book of Tang", the "History of the Five Dynasties", and the "New History of the Five Dynasties". However, it appeared that at some point he served as a staff member to the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (荊南, headquartered in modern Jingzhou, Hubei), as there is an extant poem by the Buddhist monk-poet Guanxiu to Yao congratulating him on being recalled from serving on staff at Jiangling Municipality (江陵), the capital of Jingnan Circuit, back to the capital Chang'an, apparently to serve as a low-level consultant in the imperial government, "Shiyi" (拾遺), but it is not clear when Guangxiu wrote it.