Li Ke ( ; 619 – 10 March 653), posthumously known as the Prince of Yùlín (鬱林王), often known by his greater title as the Prince of Wú (吳王), was an imperial prince of the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

. As a highly honored son of Emperor Taizong, he was one time considered a possible candidate as

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 wi ...

after both his older brother

Li Chengqian Li Chéngqián (李承乾) (618 – 5 January 645), courtesy name Gaoming (高明), formally Prince Min of Hengshan (恆山愍王), was a crown prince of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. He was Emperor Taizong's oldest son and first crown prince, but wa ...

and younger brother Li Tai were both deposed in 643, but eventually, his younger brother

Li Zhi Li Zhi may refer to: *Emperor Gaozong of Tang (628–683), named Li Zhi, Emperor of China *Li Ye (mathematician) (1192–1279), Chinese mathematician and scholar, birth name Li Zhi *Li Zhi (philosopher) (1527–1602), Chinese philosopher from the M ...

, as a son of Emperor Taizong's wife

Empress Zhangsun Empress Zhangsun (長孫皇后, personal name unknown, presumably Wugou (無垢) (15 March 601 – 28 July 636), formally Empress Wendeshunsheng (文德順聖皇后, literally "the civil, virtuous, serene, and holy empress") or, in short, Empre ...

, was created crown prince and inherited the throne after Emperor Taizong's death in 649 (as Emperor Gaozong), under the insistence of Li Zhi's uncle and Emperor Taizong's brother-in-law

Zhangsun Wuji Zhangsun Wuji (; died 659), courtesy name Fuji (輔機), formally the Duke of Zhao, was a Chinese politician who served as a chancellor in the early Tang dynasty. He was Empress Zhangsun's brother, which made him a brother-in-law of Emperor Tai ...

. Zhangsun, however, detested Li Ke, and in 653, he implicated Li Ke in a plot by the official Fang Yi'ai (房遺愛) and had Emperor Gaozong order Li Ke to commit suicide.

Early life

It is not known exactly when Li Ke was born, but he was likely born around 619,This is based on the historical records on the birthdates of his older brother

and younger brother Li Tai, both born around that time as well, although the historical records as to Li Chengqian's and Li Tai's birth dates are themselves in conflict. See those articles for details. as he was the third son of

Li Shimin Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty ...

the Prince of Qin, a son of Emperor Gaozu. His mother was Li Shimin's

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

Consort Yang, a daughter of Emperor Yang of Sui, making Li Ke a Sui Dynasty imperial descendant through his mother. (Consort Yang would later give birth to a younger brother of Li Ke's, Li Yin (李愔).) In 620, Emperor Gaozu created Li Ke the Prince of Changsha, at the same time that his brothers

and Li Tai were also created imperial princes.

During Emperor Taizong's reign

In 626, Li Shimin, in an intense rivalry with his older brother

Li Jiancheng Li Jiancheng (; 589 – July 2, 626, formally Crown Prince Yin (, literally, "the hidden crown prince"), nickname Vaishravana (; Sanskrit: Vaiśravaṇa), was the first crown prince of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. He was the oldest son of the foun ...

the

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 wi ...

and fearing that Li Jiancheng was about to kill him, ambushed Li Jiancheng and another brother,

Li Yuanji Li Yuanji (李元吉) (603 – 2 July 626The date of the incident at Xuanwu Gate was the fourth day of the sixth month of the ''Wude'' era, which translates to July 2, 626, according to the Academia Sinicabr>), formally Prince La of Chao (巢剌� ...

the Prince of Qi, who supported Li Jiancheng, at Xuanwu Gate and killed them. He then effectively forced Emperor Gaozu to first create him crown prince and then yield the throne to him (as Emperor Taizong). He created Li Ke the Prince of Han, and in 627 changed Li Ke's title to Prince of Shu, and while initially he was not commissioned with a post outside the 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 S ...

, eventually he was made the commandant at Qi Prefecture (齊州, roughly modern Jinan, Shandong). In 636, his title was changed to Prince of Wu, and he was made the commandant at An Prefecture (安州, roughly modern

Xiaogan Xiaogan () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Hubei province, People's Republic of China, some northwest of the provincial capital of Wuhan. According to the 2020 census, its population totaled 4,270,371, of whom 988,479 lived in the built ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...

). While at An Prefecture, in 637 Li Ke often out on hunt, damaged people's houses and many farmland, the assistant imperial censor Liu Fan (柳范) submitted an accusation. As a result, Li Ke received excoriation from his father, and was removed from his post, and 300 households were removed from his fief. In 643, with Li Chengqian, then crown prince, and Li Tai, locked in an intense rivalry, Li Chengqian plotted to overthrow Emperor Taizong and was deposed. Emperor Taizong initially wanted to make Li Tai crown prince, but soon, believing that Li Tai's machinations were responsible for Li Chengqian's downfall, exiled Li Tai as well and created their younger brother, his ninth son

the Prince of Jin, the new crown prince, believing Li Zhi to be kind. (Li Chengqian, Li Tai, and Li Zhi were all born of Emperor Taizong's wife

.) Later, however, he began to believe that Li Zhi's personality was too weak and worried that he would not be appropriate as an emperor, he showed this his worry once, said he may considered making Li Ke crown prince instead. Li Zhi's uncle

opposed this immediately, and Emperor Taizong did not do so, but an enmity thereafter developed between Zhangsun Wuji and Li Ke.

During Emperor Gaozong's reign

Emperor Taizong died in 649 and was succeeded by Li Zhi (as Emperor Gaozong). As the emperor's older brother, Li Ke was given the highly honored, although without actual power, position of ''Sikong'' (司空), and made the commandant at Liang Prefecture (梁州, roughly modern

Hanzhong Hanzhong (; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gansu to the west. The founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, was once enfeoffed as th ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

). In 652, Emperor Gaozong's sister Princess Gaoyang, Princess Gaoyang's husband Fang Yi'ai (son of the deceased chancellor Fang Xuanling), the general Xue Wanche (薛萬徹), Emperor Gaozong's uncle Li Yuanjing (李元景) the Prince of Jing, and another brother-in-law Chai Lingwu (柴令武), were accused of a treasonous plot to overthrow Emperor Gaozong and make Li Yuanjing emperor. Fang Yi'ai knew that Zhangsun feared and was jealous of Li Ke and had long wanted to find a way to kill Li Ke to remove any hopes from the people that Li Ke would become emperor. He therefore claimed that Li Ke was part of the plot as well, hoping to ingratiate Zhangsun sufficiently to be spared. In spring 653, Emperor Gaozong, at Zhangsun's urging, issued an edict to execute Fang Yi'ai, Xue, and Chai, while ordering Li Yuanjing, Li Ke, and Princesses Gaoyang and Baling (Chai's wife) to commit suicide. (Emperor Gaozong initially wanted to spare Li Yuanjing and Li Ke, but did not do so when

Cui Dunli Cui Dunli (崔敦禮) (596 – August 29, 656 ), né Cui Yuanli (崔元禮), courtesy name Anshang (安上), formally Duke Zhao of Gu'an (固安昭公), was an official, general, and diplomat of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, serving as chancellor du ...

the minister of defense opposed it.) When Li Ke was about to do so, he cursed Zhangsun, stating: Zhangsun also had Consort Yang and Li Yin reduced to commoner rank and exiled to Ba Prefecture (巴州, roughly modern

Bazhong Bazhong () is a prefecture-level city in north-eastern Sichuan province, China. Its population was 2,712,894 at the 2020 census whom 1,064,766 lived in Bazhou and Enyang urban districts. History Bazhong became a prefecture-level city in 1993. Its ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

), and Li Ke's four sons, Li Ren (李仁), Li Wei (李瑋), Li Kun (李琨), and Li Jing (李璄) were exiled to the modern

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

region. Li Ke's young fourth daughter was sent to Xianling (tomb of

Emperor Gaozu of Tang Emperor Gaozu of Tang (7 April 566 – 25 June 635, born Li Yuan, courtesy name Shude) was the founding emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, reigning from 618 to 626. Under the Sui dynasty, Li Yuan was the governor in the area of modern-day ...

) to be kept under house arrest till 689, upon which time she was created Princess Xin'an. In 660, after Zhangsun's own downfall (at the hands of Emperor Gaozong's powerful wife

Empress Wu The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

and her associates), Li Ke was posthumously created the Prince of Yulin, but was not given a

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 ...

, nor was his son permitted to inherit the title; rather, Li Rong (李榮), the grandson of

Li Xiaogong Li Xiaogong (591–640), posthumously known as Prince Yuan of Hejian, often referred to by his earlier title as the Prince of Zhao Commandery, was an imperial prince and general of the Tang dynasty. He was a son of a cousin of Emperor Gaozu (Li ...

the Prince of Hejian, was adopted into Li Ke's line and took the title of Marquess of Yulin. Eventually, however, after Li Rong was deposed for an unrelated reason, Li Ren (later known as Li Qianli (李千里)) was permitted to inherit the title, and around 705, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong's son Emperor Zhongzong, Li Ke was posthumously honored again with the title of ''Sikong'' and reburied with honor.

Personal information

*Father **

Emperor Taizong of Tang Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty ...

*Mother **Consort Yang, daughter of Emperor Yang of Sui *Wife **Lady Yang Qingxue **Lady Xiao *Issue and Descendants **Li Jing, had one son: ***Li Chan, Duke of Wu **Princess Xin'an, fourth daughter (b. 648, d. 717), married Yuan Sizhong (元思忠), descendant of

Tuoba Huang Tuoba Huang (拓拔晃) (428 – July 29, 451''wuchen day'' of the 6th month of the 1st year of the ''Zhengping'' era, per Emperor Gongzong's biography in ''Book of Wei''), Xianbei name Tianzhen (天真), formally Crown Prince Jingmu (景穆太子 ...

and had three sons: ***Yuan Shouyi ***Yuan Guan ***Yuan Gui

Ancestry

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Ke 619 births 653 deaths Tang dynasty imperial princes Emperor Taizong of Tang