Emperor Xuānzong Of Tang
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Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (27 July 810 – 7 September 859) was an
emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
of China's
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...
, reigning from 25 April 846 until his death. Personally named Li Yi, later renamed Li Chen (), and known before his reign as the Prince of Guang, he was considered the last capable emperor of Tang China. Succeeding emperors after Xuanzong would either be too young or be dominated by
eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...
s or warlords. Emperor Xuanzong was the 13th son of Emperor Xianzong () and an uncle of the previous three emperors, Emperor Jingzong, Emperor Wenzong, and Emperor Wuzong. To distinguish Emperor Xuanzong from his ancestor Emperor Xuánzong (personal name Li Longji), as their temple names are rendered identically in
Wade–Giles Wade–Giles ( ) is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from the system produced by Thomas Francis Wade during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert Giles's '' A Chinese–English Dictionary'' ...
and when
pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...
tonal marks are not used, Xuanzong is occasionally referred to as Xuanzong II in western sources; in Chinese, however, their memorial titles (宣宗 for him and 玄宗 for Li Longji) are clearly distinct and this device is not used.


Background

Li Yi was born in 810, at Daming Palace (), as the 13th of 20 known sons of then-reigning Emperor Xianzong.''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 175. His mother was Emperor Xianzong's concubine Consort Zheng, who had previously been a concubine of the warlord Li Qi and who, after imperial forces defeated Li Qi in 807, was taken into Emperor Xianzong's palace to be a servant girl to Emperor Xianzong's wife Consort Guo, but who at some point bore Li Yi for Emperor Xianzong. After Emperor Xianzong died in 820, Li Yi's older brother Li Heng, born of Consort Guo, became emperor (as Emperor Muzong), and in 821, when Emperor Muzong created a number of his sons and brothers to be imperial princes, Li Yi was created the Prince of Guang.


As imperial prince

In Li Yi's youth, he was said to be shy and a poor speaker, and (falsely) considered by others to be unintelligent. Later, during the reigns of Emperor Muzong's sons Emperor Wenzong and Emperor Wuzong, Li Yi was said to try to hide himself from the political scene, and rarely spoke anything at all. When the emperors visited the imperial princes' residences, known as the Sixteen Mansions, they would, as a game, try to get Li Yi to speak, and they referred to him as "Uncle Guang." It was said that Emperor Wuzong, who had an outgoing personality, particularly disrespected Li Yi. In early 846, Emperor Wuzong became extremely ill and was himself rendered mute. The palace eunuchs gathered and decided on Li Yi as Emperor Wuzong's successor, probably because they considered him simple-minded and therefore easier to control. They had an edict issued in Emperor Wuzong's name creating Li Yi
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, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...
, changing his name to the more auspicious Li Chen, and investing him with authority over imperial affairs. It was said that when Li Chen met the officials in his new role as crown prince, they were astonished that the apparent simpleton exhibited punctilious adherence to the complex ritual expressions of grief for Wuzong, and immediate knowledgeable management of the court's pending business. Apparently, Li Chen's simple-mindedness had been an affectation, to make himself appear harmless during the dangerous intrigues of his predecessors' reigns. Soon thereafter, Emperor Wuzong died, and Li Chen took the throne (as Emperor Xuanzong).


Early reign

Emperor Xuanzong honored his mother Consort Zheng as empress dowager. Immediately after taking the throne, Emperor Xuanzong acted against the powerful chancellor Li Deyu, who had dominated the court during Emperor Wuzong's reign, as he despised Li Deyu for monopolizing power. Emperor Xuanzong removed Li Deyu from his chancellor position and sent him out of the capital
Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...
to serve as the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (荊南, headquartered in modern Jingzhou,
Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...
), and also removed Li Deyu's fellow chancellor Zheng Su. Over the next few years, Emperor Xuanzong purged those officials he considered sympathetic to Li Deyu, and further pursued charges against Li Deyu based on Li Deyu having executed the minor official Wu Xiang () on charges that should not have warranted death (Li Deyu was resentful of Wu Xiang's uncle Wu Wuling []). Li Deyu was repeatedly demoted and sent farther and farther away from Chang'an, eventually dying in exile around the new year 850 in Yai Prefecture (崖州, in modern Haikou, Hainan). These actions were considered to have largely ended the factionalism among imperial officials known as the Niu–Li factional strife, which had plagued the imperial government ever since the reign of Emperor Muzong.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 249. A number of policies that Emperor Wuzong and Li Deyu had pursued, including persecution against
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
and alliance with the Yenisei Kirghiz, were reversed. In Li Deyu's place, Emperor Xuanzong installed Bai Minzhong as the leading chancellor, and over the next few years, Bai recommended a number of other officials, including fellow chancellor Ma Zhi. Meanwhile, Emperor Xuanzong also turned his attention to the
Tibetan Empire The Tibetan Empire (,) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. It expanded further under the 38th king, Trisong De ...
, which had fallen into intense civil war after the death of its king Langdarma in 842. Starting in 848, and over a period of several years, Emperor Xuanzong commissioned border troops to recapture various prefectures lost to the Tibetan Empire since the An Lushan Rebellion, taking the region constituting modern eastern
Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...
, southern Ningxia, and western Sichuan. Further, after the ethnic
Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...
Zhang Yichao seized control of the Hexi Corridor from Tibetan officials and submitted to Emperor Xuanzong in 851, Tang had largely reversed the losses to the Tibetan Empire. However, he initially had little success with rebellions by the Tanguts. After he came to realize that the Tanguts were repeatedly rebelling because of mistreatment by Tang officials, he modified the policies to install officials who were known for mild temper and honesty in the Tangut regions, and he further put Bai in charge of the operations against the Tanguts, giving him a large staff that included many well-known imperial government officials. With Bai overseeing the operations, the Tanguts largely submitted in 851. Bai, however, was not returned to chancellorship within Emperor Xuanzong's lifetime, and was effectively replaced by Linghu Tao. Emperor Xuanzong was said to govern diligently, paying much attention to how his capable ancestor Emperor Taizong ruled and trying to follow Emperor Taizong's examples. He also took the time and effort to familiarize himself with imperial officials' capabilities, as well as the customs of the various prefectures throughout the realm, such that he could properly commission officials based on their abilities and review whether they were governing capably. He also encouraged frugality, and tried to demonstrate it by reducing the expenditures for the wedding of his favorite daughter Princess Wanshou to the imperial official Zheng Hao (). It was said that throughout his reign, the imperial clan members and their relatives all carefully obeyed laws. In 848, Emperor Muzong's mother Grand Empress Dowager Guo—whom Empress Dowager Zheng had previously been a servant for—died. Traditional historians noted that popular perception at the time was that Emperor Xuanzong might have murdered her. (It had said that she was depressed over Emperor Xuanzong's disrespect toward her, because Empress Dowager Zheng had resented her, and also because he suspected her and Emperor Muzong of having instigated the death of Emperor Xianzong at the hands of the eunuch Chen Hongzhi ().) Initially, he would refuse to allow Grand Empress Dowager Guo to be buried with Emperor Xianzong or to be enshrined in Emperor Xianzong's temple, but eventually allowed her to be buried with Emperor Xianzong. (He would still refuse to enshrine her, however, with Emperor Xianzong, during his lifetime.)


Late reign

One of the major themes later in Emperor Xuanzong's reign was the high-level officials' concerns that he was not creating a
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, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...
, as this refusal to do so left the imperial succession uncertain. The issue was raised repeatedly, including by chancellors Wei Mo, Pei Xiu (Tang dynasty), and Cui Shenyou, but he rebuffed all of them, leading to Pei's resignation and Cui's removal. (The reason why Emperor Xuanzong repeatedly refused to create a crown prince was said to be his disfavor for his oldest son Li Wen the Prince of Yun and favor for his third son Li Zi the Prince of Kui. He wanted Li Zi to be his heir, but was hesitant to create Li Zi crown prince because Li Zi was not the oldest.) Emperor Xuanzong was said to be careful in promoting and rewarding officials, such that it was not often that he rewarded officials with the highly honorable red and purple uniforms, and was also said to be fair in his promotions such that he did not unjustly favor those who were close to him. Further, he punished those who were close to him when they deserved to be punished, and did not spare them on account of their closeness to him. In order to make sure that the prefects that he commissioned were suitable for the prefectures, he required that they report to Chang'an to meet with him before heading to their posts. It was also said that he was stern, even with the chancellors, such that even though Linghu Tao was chancellor for 10 years, he continued to fear the emperor. Meanwhile, Emperor Xuanzong also considered curbing the eunuchs' power, but could not think of a good way of doing so. On one occasion, when he conferred with the imperial scholar Wei Ao (), Wei told him that he was already the emperor who had exerted the most power over the eunuchs within recent memory—to which Emperor Xuanzong, appearing stressed, stated, "You are not correct. In reality, I am still fearful of them." He tried to promote eunuchs that he trusted such that they would wield power, but according to himself, this tactic was not particularly successful, as the eunuchs that he promoted, once they became highly ranked, joined with the less obedient powerful eunuchs as well. At one point, he discussed with Linghu the possibility of massacring the eunuchs, which Linghu opposed because Linghu feared that the innocent as well as the guilty would be harmed; Linghu instead suggested gradually reducing the eunuchs' numbers. Linghu's proposal was leaked to the eunuchs, and the eunuchs were said to continue to despise the imperial officials because of this. Late in Emperor Xuanzong's reign, he came to favor certain alchemists who had promised him immortality, taking regularly the cinnabar-based pills which they manufactured and prescribed. It was said that as a result of
poisoning Poisoning is the harmful effect which occurs when Toxicity, toxic substances are introduced into the body. The term "poisoning" is a derivative of poison, a term describing any chemical substance that may harm or kill a living organism upon ...
by these pills, he became paranoid and easily angered, and by 859, as a further side effect of the consumption of these toxic, mercurial elixirs, he had developed a large ulcerous boil on his back, rendering him bedridden and unable to conduct meetings with his chancellors and other officials. He entrusted Li Zi to three high-level eunuchs that he favored—the directors of palace communications ('' Shumishi'') Wang Guizhang () and Ma Gongru () and the director of the southern court affairs (宣徽南院使, ''Xuanhui Nanyuanshi'') Wang Jufang (). After Emperor Xuanzong died, Wang Guizhang, Ma, and Wang Jufang did not initially announce his death, and were set to send one of the eunuch commanders of the Shence Armies (), Wang Zongshi (), who was not on good terms with them, out of Chang'an to Huai'nan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou,
Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...
) to serve as the eunuch monitor for Huai'nan. Wang Zongshi, however, reacted by intruding into the palace; finding that Emperor Xuanzong had already died from Chinese alchemical elixir poisoning, he arrested Wang Guizhang, Ma, and Wang Jufang for falsely issuing edicts, and then put them to death. He welcomed Li Wen to the palace, and then issued an edict in Emperor Xuanzong's name creating Li Wen crown prince and changing his name to Li Cui. The next day, Emperor Xuanzong's death was announced, and Li Cui became emperor (as Emperor Yizong).


Relations with Muslims

During Sulaiman al-Tajir's stay at the city of
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
he noted that the Chinese used fingerprint records to maintain the identities of newly arrived foreigners and charged extortionate rates for imported goods, and that the route to China by sea was dangerous due to piracy and frequent rain. He mentioned that the local
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
populace of
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
had their own
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
and bazaars. He mentioned that the Muslim community had its own
Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...
and Judge (appointed by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang). He also observed the manufacturing of
porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...
, the granary system of
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
, and how its municipal administration functioned.


Legacy

Because of the prosperity of Emperor Xuanzong's reign, it was said that in subsequent years, including after Tang's eventual fall in 907, the people missed him bitterly, referring to him as "Little Taizong." The lead editor of the '' Old Book of Tang'', the Later Jin chancellor Liu Xu, wrote of Emperor Xuanzong in glowing terms, while lamenting that much of the records from his reign had been lost by the time of Later Jin such that he could not write more. The lead editor of the '' New Book of Tang'', Ouyang Xiu, however, commented that Emperor Xuanzong, while having good judgment, lacked kindness or grace.''New Book of Tang'', vol. 8. During Emperor Xuanzong's reign, Chinese chemists first experimented with fireworks."The Evolution of Fireworks"
Smithsonian Science Education Center. ssec.si.edu.


Chancellors during reign

* Li Deyu (846) * Li Rangyi (846) * Li Hui (846–847) * Zheng Su (846) * Bai Minzhong (846–851) * Lu Shang (846–847) * Cui Yuanshi (847–848) * Wei Cong (847–848) * Ma Zhi (848–849) * Zhou Chi (848–849) * Cui Xuan (849–855) *
Wei Fu Wei Fu (; died July 14, 850''Zizhi Tongjian'', :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷249, vol. 249.), courtesy name Xiangzhi (), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor of Tang Dynasty, chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xuānzon ...
(849–850) * Cui Guicong (850–851) * Linghu Tao (850–859) * Wei Mo (851–857) *
Pei Xiu Pei Xiu (224–3 April 271), courtesy name Jiyan, was a Chinese cartographer, geographer, politician, and writer of the state of Cao Wei during the late Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty (265–420), Jin dynasty of China. He was very m ...
(852–856) * Zheng Lang (856–857) * Cui Shenyou (856–858) * Xiao Ye (857–859) * Liu Zhuan (858) * Xiahou Zi (858–859) * Jiang Shen (858–859)


Family


Consorts and issue

* Empress Yuanzhao, of the Chao clan () ** Li Cui, Yizong (; 833–873), 1st son ** Princess Wanshou (/万寿公主), 1st daughter *** Married Zheng Hao of Xingyang (/荥阳 郑颢; 817–860) in 850, and had issue (one son) ** Princess Guangde (/广德公主 d. 880), 4th daughter *** Married Yu Cong of Henan (; d. 881) in 858 * ''Zhaoyi'', of the Wu clan (/昭仪 吴氏) ** Li Zi, Prince of Tong (; 844–863), 3rd son * Jieyu, of the Zhang clan (张婕妤) * ''Jieyu'', of the Liu clan () ** Li Rui, Prince of Zhao (), 8th son * ''Cairen'', of the Shi clan () ** Li Yi, Prince of Qing (/庆王 李沂; 844–860), 4th son * ''Cairen'', of the Qiu clan (; 828–851) ** A daughter ** Li Wen, Prince of Kang (; 851–866), 9th son * Lady, of the Chen clan (/陈氏) ** Li Yong, Prince of Guang (/广王 李澭; 854–877), 11th son * Unknown ** Li Mei, Crown Prince Jinghuai (/靖怀皇太子 李渼; 836–852) ** Li Jing, Prince of Ya (/雅王 李泾; b. 839), 2nd son ** Li Ze, Prince of Pu (/濮王 李泽), 5th son ** Li Run, Prince of E (/鄂王 李润; d. 876), 6th son ** Li Qia, Prince of Huai (/怀王 李洽), 7th son ** ''Li Guan, Prince of Wei'' (/卫王 李灌; d. 860) ** Princess Yongfu (), 2nd daughter ** Princess Qigonghuai (/齐恭怀公主), 3rd daughter *** Married Yan Qi (/严祁) ** Princess Heyi (/和义公主), 4th daughter ** Princess Rao'an (/饶安公主), yth daughter ** Princess Shengtang (), 7th daughter ** Princess Pingyuan (; 834–863), 11th daughter ** Princess Tangyang (/唐阳公主) ** Princess Xuchang Zhuangsu (/许昌庄肃公主) *** Married Liu Zhi of Hedong () ** Princess Fengyang ()


In fiction

Played by Moses Chan, a fictionalized version of Xuanzong was portrayed in 2009 Hong Kong's TVB television series, '' Beyond the Realm of Conscience''.


References


Citations


Sources

* '' Old Book of Tang'', vol. 18, part 2. * '' New Book of Tang'', vol. 8. * '' Zizhi Tongjian'', vols. 241, 248, 249. * 任士英 (2005) ''正說唐朝二十一帝'' Taipei (台北): 聯經. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Xuanzong of Tang 810 births 859 deaths 9th-century Buddhists Chinese Buddhists Chinese Buddhist monarchs Emperors of the Tang dynasty 9th-century Chinese monarchs Tang dynasty Buddhists