Lĭ Shǒulĭ (672–741) () was the second son of
Li Xián who was also known as Crown Prince Zhanghuai of
Tang
Tang or TANG most often refers to:
* Tang dynasty
* Tang (drink mix)
Tang or TANG may also refer to:
Chinese states and dynasties
* Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...
. Born Li Guangren (李光仁), during the Chuigong era of his youngest uncle
Emperor Ruizong of Tang
Emperor Ruizong of Tang (22 June 662 – 13 July 716), personal name Li Dan, also known at times during his life as Li Xulun, Li Lun, Wu Lun, and Wu Dan, was the fifth and ninth emperor of Tang Dynasty. He was the eighth son of Emperor Gaozong ...
's reign when his grandmother
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 ...
held the real power, he was renamed Shouli and given the post Crown Prince Xima (''Taizi Xima'' 太子洗马).
Childhood
Li Guangren's father, Li Xián, as the heir apparent to his father
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 ...
, was once created Crown Prince but failed in a power struggle against his ambitious mother
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 ...
. He was deposed and exiled to Ba Prefecture with his family, and eventually was forced to commit suicide in 684. In 685, Wu Zetian restored Li Xián to his former title Prince of Yong and recalled his family back to the capital Chang'an, created Guangren Prince of Yong, appointed him as ''Taizi Xima'' and changed his name to Shouli. When Wu Zetian claimed imperial title, she bestowed Li Shouli as well as his elder brother Li Guangshun (李光顺), younger brother Li Shouyi (李守义) and sister Lady Changxin (长信郡主) her surname Wu. However, due to her resentment of Li Xián, Li Shouli and his siblings were all effectively under house arrest along with sons of Ruizong. Guangshun was executed, Shouyi also died early, and Lady Changxin disappeared into history. It was not until Ruizong was recreated Prince of Xiang that Shouli and his cousins were allowed to live outside the palaces. Shouli was appointed as ''Siyi Langzhong''.
According to Confucian succession law, Shouli should have been the heir apparent of Wu Zetian; but as son of a ''deposed'' crown prince, he was effectively barred from the succession while his two younger uncles of Shouli, ''Xiǎn'' (note different tone from that of Shouli's father ''Xián'') and Dan (i.e. Emperor Ruizong), both younger sons of Wu Zetian, were still alive, and Xiǎn, who had briefly reigned as
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 ...
in 684 before being deposed by Wu Zetian, would become her successor and start his second reign.
As Royal Prince
When
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 ...
succeeded the throne for the second time in 705, Shouli was created Prince of Yong, a title formerly held by Li Xián, and appointed as ''Guangluqing''. In 707, one of Shouli's daughters was created
Princess of Jincheng and engaged to
Kridê Zukzän the Lord of Tibet. They would marry in 710 while in the same year that Ruizong would also start his second reign. According to the Will of Zhongzong, Ruizong created Li Shouli Prince of Bin and successively appointed him as governor of
Youzhou
You Prefecture or You Province, also known by its Chinese name Youzhou, was a prefecture ('' zhou'') in northern China during its imperial era.
"You Province" was cited in some ancient sources as one of the nine or twelve original provinces of ...
, titular ''Chanyu Daduhu'', ''Sikong'' (司空) and so on. Unlike his cousin brothers, Shouli loved hunting, having parties, travelling and watching dancings, and did not participate in governance. Sometime after 721,
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang
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 early ...
(son of late Ruizong) recalled Shouli to 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 Shi ...
.
As a royal prince, Shouli was so mediocre and lacking in ability that he could never be compared with neither Li Fan (李范) nor Li Ye (李业) (both younger brothers of Xuanzong). Most of his sons were also mediocre, while most of his daughters were adulterous. In summary, Shouli was unworthy of acclaim. He himself was always extravagant and would deny beneficial advice by relying on his special position as the eldest living cousin brother of Xuanzong.
Forecasting ability
Li Shouli was noted for his ability to forecast the weather. Sometimes it was dark, but Shouli managed to forecast that it would be sunny soon. Sometimes it was continuously hot for about ten days, Shouli also knew it would rain in advance. Li Fan reported this to Emperor Xuanzong, saying Shouli had a knowledge of the weather. When praised by the emperor, Li Shouli explained that it was actually a result of his unfortunate childhood rather than the result of any scholarly research into the weather. He had been always beaten while under house arrest and as a result a thick scar had formed on his back which would become heavy or light as the weather turned rainy or sunny. Li Shouli wept as he explained, gaining Emperor Xuanzong's sympathy.
Ancestry
Offspring
Shouli died in 741 and was posthumously honored with the title ''Taiwei'' (太尉).
[二十九年薨,年七十馀,赠太尉。] He had many concubines who bore him over 60 offspring. Among his sons, Li Chengning (李承寧), born by his consort, was his heir who would succeed him as the next Prince of Bin, while
Li Chenghong
Li Chenghong (李承宏), commonly known as the Prince of Guangwu (廣武王), was an imperial prince of the Chinese Tang Dynasty who was briefly declared emperor in 763 by invading Tibetan forces after they had captured the Tang capital Chang'an.
...
, his eldest son born by his concubine, would briefly be created emperor by the Tibetans in November 763, though he reigned for no more than half a month. Li Chengcai (李承寀) would be created Prince of Dunhuang.
According to the ''New Book of Tang'', names of some other sons of Shouli were also recorded, but they mostly served as officials rather than royal princes: Li Chengqian (李承骞), Li Chengyou (李承宥), Li Chenghuan (李承寰), Li Chengshi (李承寔), Li Chengshi (李承实), Li Chengcong (李承賨), Li Chengrong (李承容), Li Chengtu (李承突), Li Chengwei (李承寪), Chengjun (李承寯) and Li Chengkuan (李承宽).
Besides Princess Jincheng, the second daughter of Shouli was created Princess Huating, and another daughter titled Princess Jianning was married to Pang Jian (庞坚), an official and 4th-generation descendant of early Tang general Pang Yu (庞玉).
References
:
''
Quan Tang Wen
Quán is the Pinyin romanization of the Chinese family names / and , as well as a customary spelling of (pinyin: Guān). All written forms of the name are rare enough that they do not appear in the list of the 100 most common Chinese surnames.
...
'', vol. 99
''
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 ...
'',
vol. 214
{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Shouli
672 births
741 deaths
Tang dynasty imperial princes