Emperor Ai of Tang (27 October 89226 March 908), also known as Emperor Zhaoxuan of Tang (), born Li Zuo, later known as Li Chu (), was the last emperor of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. He reigned—as but a

puppet ruler A puppet ruler is a person who has a title indicating possession of political power, but who, in reality, is either loyal to or controlled by outside individuals or forces. Such outside power can be exercised by a foreign government, in which case ...

—from 904 to 907. Emperor Ai was the son of Emperor Zhaozong. He was murdered by

Zhu Wen Emperor Taizu of Later Liang (), personal name Zhu Quanzhong () (December 5, 852 – July 18, 912), né Zhu Wen (), name later changed to Zhu Huang (), nickname Zhu San (朱三, literally, "the third Zhu"), was a Chinese military general, mona ...

. Emperor Ai ascended the throne at the age of 11 after his father, the Emperor Zhaozong, was assassinated on the orders of the paramount warlord

Zhu Quanzhong Emperor Taizu of Later Liang (), personal name Zhu Quanzhong () (December 5, 852 – July 18, 912), né Zhu Wen (), name later changed to Zhu Huang (), nickname Zhu San (朱三, literally, "the third Zhu"), was a Chinese military general, mona ...

in 904, and while Emperor Ai reigned, the Tang court, then at

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

, was under the control of officials Zhu put in charge. In 905, under the instigation of his associates Liu Can and Li Zhen, Zhu had Emperor Ai issue an edict summoning some 30 senior aristocrats at Baima Station (白馬驛, in modern

Anyang Anyang (; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively. It had a ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

), near the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...

; the aristocrats were thereafter ordered to commit suicide, and their bodies were thrown into the Yellow River. He could do nothing to stop Zhu from murdering his brothers and mother in the same year. Less than two years later in 907, Zhu made his final move against Emperor Ai himself, forcing the young emperor to abdicate to him. In Zhu's new Later Liang, the former Tang emperor carried the title of Prince of Jiyin, but in 908, Zhu had the prince poisoned, at the age of 15.

Background

Li Zuo was born in 892, at the main palace at the Tang imperial capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...

. His father Emperor Zhaozong was already emperor at that point, and he was Emperor Zhaozong's ninth son. His mother was Consort He, who had previously given birth to an older brother of his,

Li Yu, Prince of De Li Yu (李裕) (died March 17, 905), né Li You (李祐) (name changed 897), briefly Li Zhen (李縝) (from 900 to 901), formally the Prince of De (德王), was an imperial prince of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. He was the oldest son of the ...

, who was Emperor Zhaozong's oldest son. In 897, Li Zuo was created an imperial prince, along with his brothers Li Mi () and Li Qi (); Li Zuo's title was Prince of Hui. Later in the year, with Li Yu having been created

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

earlier in the year, their mother Consort He was created empress.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 261. By 903,

the military governor (''

Jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate", ...

'') of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

), already previously one of the most powerful warlords in the Tang realm, had taken Emperor Zhaozong's court at Chang'an under control, in alliance with the

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Cui Yin Cui Yin (崔胤) (854''New Book of Tang'', vol. 223, part 2.-February 1, 904''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 264.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Chuixiu (垂休), nickname Zilang (緇郎), formally the Duke of Wei (魏 ...

. That year, Emperor Zhaozong was prepared to give Zhu the title of Deputy Generalissimo of All Circuits, with one of his sons serving, titularly, as Generalissimo, and he initially wanted to give that title to Li Yu as Li Yu was older. However, Zhu wanted a younger prince to serve as Generalissimo to avoid diverting the focus of authority, so Cui, under Zhu's orders, recommended Li Zuo. Emperor Zhaozong agreed and made Li Zuo Generalissimo. In 904, Zhu forced Emperor Zhaozong to move the capital from Chang'an to

, which was even more firmly under his control. Later that year, fearing that the adult Emperor Zhaozong would try to rise against him while he was away on campaigns against other warlords, he had Emperor Zhaozong assassinated. Bypassing Li Yu and the other older princes, he had an edict issued in Emperor Zhaozong's name creating Li Zuo crown prince and changing his name to Li Chu. Shortly after, Li Chu took the throne (as Emperor Ai). Empress He, who survived the assassination, was honored

empress dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother) () is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere. The title was also g ...

Reign

At the time Emperor Ai took the throne, one of the chancellors was Zhu Quanzhong's close associate Liu Can. Liu, not from an aristocratic family, resented the traditional aristocrats, and he advocated to Zhu that the senior aristocrats should be slaughtered to prevent them from resisting Zhu. Zhu agreed, and in 905, under edicts issued in Emperor Ai's name, some 30 of them were gathered at Baima Station and ordered to commit suicide; their bodies were then thrown into the

. The victims included the former chancellors

Pei Shu Pei Shu (裴樞) (841'' Old Book of Tang'', vol. 113.-July 5, 905''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 265. Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Jisheng (紀聖)'' New Book of Tang'', vol. 140. or Huasheng (化聖),

Dugu Sun Dugu Sun () (died July 5, 905''Zizhi Tongjian'', :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷265, vol. 265.Academia Sinica]Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Yousun (又損),''New Book of Tang'', vol. 75. was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty, serv ...

, Cui Yuan (died 905), Cui Yuan, Lu Yi, and Wang Pu, as well as the senior officials Zhao Chong () and Wang Zan (). Around the same time, nine of Emperor Ai's brothers, including Li Yu, were also killed on Zhu's orders. Meanwhile, Liu, as well as Zhu's other close associates at the Luoyang court, Jiang Xuanhui () the director of palace communications and Zhang Tingfan () the commander of the imperial guards, were preparing ceremonies to have Emperor Ai yield the throne to Zhu. Pursuant to past precedents on dynastic transitions, they first had Emperor Ai issue edicts to create Zhu the Prince of Wei (魏王) and bestow on him the

nine bestowments The nine bestowments () were awards given by Chinese emperors to officials, ostensibly to reward them for their accomplishments. While the nature of the bestowments was probably established during the Zhou Dynasty, there was no record of anyone r ...

—but Zhu, wanting the throne even faster and believing false accusations by Wang Yin () and Zhao Yinheng that Jiang, Liu, and Zhang were intentionally slowing the transition down with these ceremonial formalities, then had Jiang, Liu, and Zhang put to death. Wang and Zhao then falsely accused Empress Dowager He, who had been cooperating with Jiang in the hopes that she and the young emperor would be spared, of carrying on an affair with Jiang. She was therefore also killed, and Emperor Ai was forced to posthumously had her defamed and demoted to commoner rank, although he was still allowed to mourn for her. In 907, under advice from his ally Luo Shaowei the military governor of Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern

Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shando ...

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

), Zhu finally resolved to take the throne. Later in the year, he had the young emperor yield the throne to him, ending Tang and starting a new Later Liang as its Emperor (Taizu)—although several regional warlords, including

Li Keyong Li Keyong () (October 24, 856 – February 24, 908) was a Chinese military general and politician of Shatuo ethnicity, and from January 896 a Prince of Jin (, ''Jin Wang''), which would become an independent state after the fall of the Tang dyn ...

Li Maozhen Li Maozhen (; 856 – May 17, 924), born Song Wentong (), courtesy name Zhengchen (), formally Prince Zhongjing of Qin (), was the only ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Qi (901–924). He had become a powerful w ...

Yang Wo Yang Wo () (886 – June 9, 908), courtesy name Chengtian (), formally Prince Wei of Hongnong (), later further posthumously honored King Jing of Wu () and then as Emperor Jing of Wu () with the temple name Liezu (), was the first independent ruler ...

, and Wang Jian, refused to recognize him, and effectively became rulers of their own states ( Jin, Qi, Wu, and

Former Shu Great Shu (Chinese: 大蜀, Pinyin: Dàshǔ) called in retrospect Former Shu (Chinese: 前蜀, Pinyin: Qiánshǔ) or occasionally Wang Shu (王蜀), was one of the Ten Kingdoms formed during the chaotic period between the rules of the Tang dynas ...

, respectively). Of those new states, Jin, Qi, and Wu continued to use Emperor Ai's ''Tianyou''

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of ...

, implicitly still recognizing him as emperor.

Death

He was murdered by

. The new Later Liang emperor created Li Chu the Prince of Jiyin and moved him from Luoyang to Cao Prefecture (曹州, in modern

Heze Heze, formerly known as Caozhou, is the westernmost prefecture-level city in Shandong province, China, it borders Jining to the east and the provinces of Henan and Anhui to the west and south respectively. History Caozhou was at the center ...

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

), and put his mansion under heavy guard, with a fence of thorns surrounding it. In 908, he had Li Chu poisoned to death and gave Li Chu the

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...

of ''Ai'' (哀, "lamentable"). In 928, by which time Li Keyong's adoptive son

Li Siyuan Li Siyuan (李嗣源, later changed to Li Dan (李亶)) (10 October 867 – 15 December 933), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang (後唐明宗), was the second emperor of the Later Tang dynasty of China, reigni ...

was ruling as the emperor of Jin's successor state

Later Tang Tang, known in historiography as the Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China and the second of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Chinese history. The first three of the Later Tang's four ...

(as Emperor Mingzong), which claimed to be the legitimate continuation of Tang Dynasty and which had earlier destroyed Later Liang, Emperor Mingzong's officials suggested that a temple be built to honor Emperor Ai. Emperor Mingzong had such a temple built at Cao Prefecture. In 929, Emperor Mingzong's officials further suggested giving Emperor Ai a more proper (i.e., more Tang-traditional) posthumous name of Emperor Zhaoxuan Guanglie Xiao, with a

temple name Temple names are posthumous titles accorded to monarchs of the Sinosphere for the purpose of ancestor worship. The practice of honoring monarchs with temple names began during the Shang dynasty in China and had since been adopted by other dynas ...

of Jingzong, but they also pointed out that since Emperor Ai's temple was not among the imperial ancestral temples, a temple name was not proper. Therefore, only the new posthumous name was adopted, and the temple name was not.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 276. Traditional histories thus referred to him mostly as Emperor Ai but also at times as Emperor Zhaoxuan.''New Book of Tang'', vol. 10.

Chancellors during reign

* Cui Yuan (died 905), Cui Yuan (904–905) *

(904–905) *

(904–905) * Liu Can (904–905) *

Zhang Wenwei Zhang Wenwei (張文蔚) (died April 25, 908''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 266. Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Youhua (右華), was an official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and Tang's succeeding Later Liang dynasty, ...

(905–907) * Yang She (905–907)

Family

No family recorded in official histories;

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

general Li Gang was claimed to be a descendant through a son named Li Xizhao ()

Ancestry

References

* ''

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

'', vol. 20, part 2. * ''

New Book of Tang The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...

'', vol. 10. * ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

'', vols. 261, 264,

265 __NOTOC__ Year 265 ( CCLXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valerianus and Lucillus (or, less frequently, year 1018 ' ...

, 266. * 任士英 (2005) ''正說唐朝二十一帝'' Taipei (台北): 聯經. , - style="text-align: center;" , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ai Of Tang 892 births 908 deaths 10th-century Chinese monarchs 10th-century murdered monarchs Executed Later Liang (Five Dynasties) people People executed by Later Liang (Five Dynasties) People executed by poison Tang dynasty emperors Rulers deposed as children Child rulers from Asia Later Liang (Five Dynasties) people born during Tang Murdered Chinese emperors