Princess Jincheng (, also ; , 698 – 739), surnamed Li, was an Empress consort of

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

. She was a member of a minor branch of the royal clan of the Chinese

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 ...

Life

Princess Jincheng was a daughter of Li Shouli, a prince of Tang China. She grew up in the court and was regarded by

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 ...

as a foster daughter. Emperor Zhongzong received an ambassador sent by Empress Dowager Khri ma lod of the

Tibetan Empire The Tibetan Empire (, ; ) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of imperial expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. The empire further expanded under the 3 ...

requesting a marriage alliance between the future emperor, Tridé Tsuktsen, and a Tang princess. Emperor Zhongzong conferred the title of Princess Jincheng upon his foster daughter and, in 710, a minister of Tibet arrived to collect her. On his arrival, Emperor Zhongzong entertained the minister by having his sons-in-law play ball sports with him. Princess Jincheng was then married to the

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken diale ...

emperor Me Agtsom, in accordance with the ''

heqin ''Heqin'', also known as marriage alliance, refers to the historical practice of Chinese monarchs marrying princesses—usually members of minor branches of the ruling family—to rulers of neighboring states. It was often adopted as an appeaseme ...

'' policy. The princess is usually regarded as the consort of Me Agtsom. However,

Christopher Beckwith Christopher I. Beckwith (born October 23, 1945) is an American philologist and distinguished professor in the Department of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. He has a B.A. in Chinese from Ohio State Unive ...

has been suggested that Lha, the ''de facto'' Tibetan Emperor who ruled briefly in 704 to 705, was the person who actually received the Princess Jincheng as bride in 710, though this is very unclear. Princess Jincheng was expected to act as an ambassador to the

and assist as a Tang diplomat to the Tibetan court. In one case, she solved a dispute between the Tibetan and Tang envoys by erecting a plaque to mark the two territories. In 723, unhappy with her marriage, Princess Jincheng ask for asylum with the King of Kashmir, but she was persuaded to remain in Tibet. The Emperor Zhongzong, saddened by the loss of his daughter, requested that poems be written in her honor. The poet

Wang Zhihuan Wang Zhihuan (; 688–742), alternatively transliterated as Wang Tsu-huan, was a Chinese poet of the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. He is best known for his ''jueju'' "Climbing Stork Tower" (). Poetry No collection of Wang's poems seems ...

answered with "Beyond the Border", a reference to her trip through

Yumen Pass Yumen Pass (; Uyghur: قاش قوۋۇق), or Jade Gate or Pass of the Jade Gate, is the name of a pass of the Great Wall located west of Dunhuang in today's Gansu Province of China. During the Han dynasty (202 BC – AD 220), this was a pass ...

References

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Works cited

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jincheng, Princess Tang dynasty princesses Tibetan empresses 8th-century Chinese women 8th-century Chinese people 8th-century Tibetan people 698 births 739 deaths Buddhism in Tibet China–Tibet relations