Li Shangjin (李上金) (? - 690) was the third son of
Emperor Gaozong of Tang
Emperor Gaozong of Tang (21 July 628 – 27 December 683), personal name Li Zhi, was the third emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, ruling from 649 to 683; after January 665, he handed power over the empire to his second wife Empress Wu (the f ...
. His mother was a palace maid surnamed Yang (楊). When Gaozong ascended the throne, Shangjin was created Prince of Qi (杞王). In 652, he was appointed governor of Yizhou (益州) in titular. In 666, he was appointed prefect of
Shou (寿州), then prefect of
Lu (漉州). But as his mother was disliked by
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 ...
, some officials falsely accused Shangjin to please her, and Shangjin was removed from his office. Shangjin was then sent to Li Prefecture (澧州, in modern
Changde
Changde ( ) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Hunan province, People's Republic of China. In addition to the urban districts, Changde also administers the county-level city of Jinshi City, Jinshi and six counties. Changde is adjacent ...
,
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
).
In 682, Empress Wu pretended to be so friendly that she recalled Shangjin and allowed him to attend political affairs, along with his younger half-brother
Li Sujie Li Sujie (李素節) (646 – 690-692), formally the Prince of Xu (許王), was an imperial prince of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. He was the fourth son of Emperor Gaozong, born of his one-time favorite Consort Xiao. After Consort Xiao and Em ...
Prince of Poyang (鄱陽王) born by the late
Consort Xiao Consort Xiao may refer to:
*Empress Xiao (Sui dynasty) (566–648), wife of Emperor Yang of Sui
* Pure Consort Xiao (died 655), concubine of Emperor Gaozong of Tang
* Empress Zhenxian (died 847), concubine of Emperor Muzong of Tang
* Xiao Wen (died ...
. But soon she appointed Shangjin as prefect of
Mian (沔州), Sujie as prefect of Yue Prefect (岳州), and would never allow them to attend political affairs. In 684, Shangjin returned to the capital for the funeral of his father along with Sujie,
Princess Yiyang (義陽公主) and
Princess Xuancheng
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning wiktionary:principal, principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. ...
(宣城公主). Both the two princesses were also born by Consort Xiao. In the same year Shangjin was recreated Prince of Bi (畢王), later Prince of Ze (澤王) and appointed as prefect of
Suzhou
Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...
(蘇州). In the following year he was appointed as prefect of
Chen. In 689, he was appointed as ''Taizi Zuoweishuai'' (太子左卫率) and prefect of
Suizhou
Suizhou (), formerly Sui County (), is a prefecture-level city in northern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan province to the north and east.
Etymology
The Sui in Suizhou is derived from the ancient 'Suishizu' () .
Ad ...
(隨州).
In 690,
Wu Chengsi
Wu Chengsi (Chinese: 武承嗣; Pinyin: Wǔ Chéngsì) (died July 22, 698), formally Prince Xuan of Wei (魏宣王), was a nephew of the Chinese sovereign Wu Zetian and an imperial prince of the Wu Zhou dynasty. He participated in her planning in t ...
, nephew of Empress Wu, instructed
Zhou Xing accuse Shangjin and Sujie of treason, and they were recalled to Luoyang. When hearing Sujie had been strangled, Shangjin was so afraid that he hanged himself.
Shangjin had seven sons. After his death, they were all exiled to
Xianzhou Xianzhou or Xian Prefecture () was a '' zhou'' (prefecture) in imperial China in modern Shanxi, China. It existed (intermittently) from 859 to 1151.
Geography
The administrative region of Xianzhou in the Tang dynasty is in modern central Shanxi. It ...
and six of them (Yizhen, Yimei, Yizhang, Yihuan, Yijin and Yisui; 李義珍、李義玫、李義璋、李義環、李義瑾、李義璲) died there. When Shangjin's another younger half-brother
Emperor Zhongzong of Tang
Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (26 November 656 – 3 July 710), personal name Li Xian, and at other times Li Zhe or Wu Xian, was the fourth Emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling briefly in 684 and again from 705 to 710. During the first pe ...
(born by Empress Wu) held power, Shangjin was rehabilitated, and his only living son Yixun (李義珣) succeeded his title as Prince of Ze. But in ''
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 ...
'', Shangjin had nine sons named Yiyu, Yijin, Yichen, Yizhen, Yixian, Yiwei, Yimei, Yigui and Yixun (李義瑜、李義璡、李義琛、李義珍、李義现、李義玮、李義玫、李義珪、李義珣), and Yiyu was created Prince of Changping.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Shangjin
7th-century births
690 deaths
Suicides by hanging in China
Suicides in the Tang dynasty