Empress Yuanxian (元獻皇后; 699 — 729) also known as Yang Guipin was a Chinese imperial consort of Emperor Xuanzong and the mother of

Emperor Suzong of Tang Emperor Suzong of Tang (''yihai'' day, 711 – 16 May 762; r. 756 – 762), personal name Li Heng, né Li Sisheng (), known as Li Jun () from 725 to 736, known as Li Yu () from 736 to 738, known briefly as Li Shao () in 738, was an emperor of t ...

Background

Lady Yang was from the Yang family of Hongnong, an imperial clan of the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...

. Her great-grandfather Yang Shida (楊士達) was a high -level official during Sui and had been given the title Prince of Zheng (鄭王). He was also the brother of Lady Yang, the mother of

Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705, ruling first through others and then (from 690) in her own right. From 665 to 690, she was first empres ...

. Her father Yang Zhiqing (楊知慶) was a general of the imperial guards during the Tang dynasty. Her sister was the wife of former Crown Prince

Li Chongjun Li Chongjun (李重俊) (died 7 August 707), formally Crown Prince Jiemin (節愍太子), was a crown prince of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, during the second reign of his father Emperor Zhongzong. He was made crown prince because the onl ...

who was beheaded in a power struggle with Empress Wei,

Princess Anle Princess Anle (; 684? – 21 July 710), personal name Li Guo'er (), was a Chinese princess of the Tang Dynasty. She was the youngest daughter of Emperor Zhongzong and his wife Empress Wei. Popular history holds that she was doted upon heavily b ...

, and imperial consort

Shangguan Wan'er Shangguan Wan'er (664–21 July 710) was a Chinese politician, poet, and imperial consort of the Wu Zhou and Tang dynasties. Described as a "female prime minister," Shangguan rose from modest origins as a palace servant to become secretary an ...

. Her sister was honored as Crown Princess Jiemin.

Imperial Consort

Lady Yang became a concubine of

Li Longji Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (; 8 September 685 – 3 May 762), personal name Li Longji, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756 CE. His reign of 44 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. In the earl ...

, the son of Emperor Ruizong with the title of ''liangyuan'' (良媛). She became pregnant when Li Longji was locked in a power struggle with his aunt, Emperor Ruizong's sister

Princess Taiping Princess Taiping (, lit. "Princess of Great Peace", personal name unknown, possibly Li Lingyue (李令月)) (after 662 – 2 August 713) was a royal princess and prominent political figure of the Tang dynasty and her mother Wu Zetian's Zhou dynas ...

. Princess Taiping had placed many associates in the crown prince's palace to spy on Li Longji and that she did not want him to have many sons. She gave birth to a son named Li Sisheng. After Li Longji defeated his political rivals, he ascended to the throne as Emperor Xuanzong. He honored Lady Yang with the honorable title of ''Guipin''. Her son was raised by Li Longji's official wife, Empress Wang. She gave birth to a daughter, Princess Ningqing, who later married Zhang Ji (張垍), the second son of Zhang Yue, a prominent government official. Yang Guifei died in 729 at the age of 30. Her relatives, Consort Wu and

Yang Guifei Yang Yuhuan (; 26 June, 719 – 15 July 756Volume 218 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' recorded that Yang was killed on the ''bingshen'' day of the 6th month of the 1st year of the Zhide era of Tang Suzong's reign. This date corresponds to 15 Jul 756 on t ...

were the favorites of Emperor Xuanzong. Yang Guifei's cousin

Yang Guozhong Yang Guozhong () (died July 15, 756Volume 218 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' recorded that Yang was killed on the ''bingshen'' day of the 6th month of the 1st year of the Zhide era of Tang Suzong's reign. This date corresponds to 15 Jul 756 on the Gregori ...

later sparked the

An Lushan rebellion The An Lushan Rebellion was an uprising against the Tang dynasty of China towards the mid-point of the dynasty (from 755 to 763), with an attempt to replace it with the Yan dynasty. The rebellion was originally led by An Lushan, a general office ...

. Li Sisheng, now Li Heng, was supported as the next emperor after defeating the rebels. Emperor Xuanzong became a

Taishang Huang In Chinese history, a ''Taishang Huang'' or ''Taishang Huangdi'' is an honorific and institution of a retired emperor. The former emperor had, at least in name, abdicated in favor of someone else. Although no longer the reigning sovereign, ther ...

, or retired emperor. He posthumously honored Yang Guipin as Empress Yuanxian.

In popular culture

*Portrayed by Liu Tingyu in the 2003 Chinese television series '' Women of the Tang Dynasty''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yuanxian, Empress 7th-century Chinese women 7th-century Chinese people Tang dynasty imperial consorts Tang dynasty empresses