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95-504: Li was the seventh daughter of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang and the second daughter of Empress Wei . She married Wu Yanji (武延基), Prince of Wei, a grandnephew of Wu Zetian . The cause of Princess Yongtai's death is widely disputed. According to her brother 's biography in both the Old and New Books of Tang, she, her husband and her brother were found to have criticised Wu Zetian's lovers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong and were caned to death. In

190-485: A concubine, Li Chongmao the Prince of Wen, was named emperor, with Empress Wei retaining power as empress dowager and regent. Less than a month later, Princess Taiping and Li Dan's son Li Longji the Prince of Linzi rose in rebellion and killed Empress Wei and Li Guo'er. Subsequently, Li Dan took the throne again, displacing Emperor Shang. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Zhongzong was buried in an imperial burial. As Empress Wei

285-670: A coup and killed Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong. They forced Wu Zetian to yield the throne back to Wu Xiǎn, and he returned to the throne, restoring the Tang dynasty. He created Crown Princess Wei empress again. He also posthumously honored her father Wei Xuanzhen as the Prince of Shangluo and her mother Lady Cui as the Princess of Shangluo, reburying them in grand ceremonies. In addition, he posthumously honored Li Chongrun as Crown Prince Yide and Li Xianhui as Princess Yongtai, reburying them with ceremonies due emperors. After Emperor Zhongzong

380-509: A daughter of his grandaunt the Princess Changle and her husband, the general Zhao Gui ( 趙瓌 ), as his wife and princess. Emperor Gaozong had often shown favors to Princess Changle, and this displeased Empress Wu. In 675, on account of this, she had Princess Zhao accused of crimes and put into solitary confinement at the bureau of eunuchs. She was given raw vegetables and raw meat for her to cook them herself. However, sometime later,

475-817: A famine in the Guanzhong region (i.e., the region around the capital Chang'an ), Emperor Gaozong took up residence at the eastern capital Luoyang , leaving Li Zhe in charge of Chang'an, assisted by the chancellors Liu Rengui, Pei Yan , and Xue Yuanchao . it was said that while Li Zhe was in charge of Chang'an, he often spent his time on games and hunting, and Xue often advised him against spending time in this manner. When Emperor Gaozong heard this, he rewarded Xue and summoned Xue to Luoyang. In 683, Emperor Gaozong became ill at Luoyang, and he summoned Li Zhe to Luoyang, leaving Li Chongrun nominally in charge of Chang'an, assisted by Liu. After Li Zhe arrived at Luoyang, Emperor Gaozong transferred imperial powers to him (probably on

570-471: A father, and Emperor Zhongzong created Zhou the Duke of Ru'nan. Despite Li Chongjun's status as crown prince, Li Guo'er and her husband Wu Chongxun often humiliated and harassed him, sometimes referring to him as a slave. Further, Li Guo'er was continuing to try to persuade Emperor Zhongzong to depose Li Chongjun and create her crown princess instead. Li Chongjun finally erupted in anger in fall 707, rising with

665-581: A long sloping entrance tunnel lined with frescoes, leading to an ante-chamber and the tomb chamber itself, 12 metres below ground level with a high domed roof. Most of the contents, including the frescoes, are now in the Shaanxi History Museum . The frescoes depicted the four deities , ceremonial weaponry, daily life in the imperial court, and celestial bodies . The tomb also provides an example of Tang dynasty architecture, with depictions of buildings and caisson motifs . The main subject of

760-634: A number of officials in Empress Dowager's faction as well as her clan, while displaying Empress Dowager Wei's body on the street. At the urging of Princess Taiping, Li Longji, and Li Longji's brother Li Chengqi , Li Dan soon took the throne from Li Chongmao and again became emperor (as Emperor Ruizong). Empress Dowager Wei was posthumously reduced to commoner rank. Emperor Ruizong still buried her with honors (so some historians refer this as evidence that she never poisoned Zhongzong), but not with honors due an empress, rather with honors due an official of

855-491: A poisoning she carried out together with her daughter Li Guo'er the Princess Anle — made her the empress dowager , and she took formal power as regent de jure during the minority of Emperor Shang of Tang . After a reign of seventeen days as regent, she was overthrown and killed in a coup led by Emperor Zhongzong's nephew Li Longji (the later Emperor Xuanzong) and Emperor Zhongzong's sister Princess Taiping . It

950-404: A post considered one for a chancellor. He also wanted to make the son of his wet nurse an official of the fifth rank. Pei Yan resisted both commissions, and Pei told him: "Although Wei Xuanzhen is your wife's father, he has been promoted too fast, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to convince the public.". As they argued, Emperor Zhongzong, in anger, remarked, "What would be wrong even if I gave

1045-446: Is no set pattern to bad and good fortune. Since we will all die one day anyway, why hasten death? At this point, they were deeply in love with each other, and at another point, he told her: If we will see the light of day again, I will not stop you from doing anything. While Li Zhe was in exile, people who rebelled against or plotted against Empress Dowager Wu often used him as a symbol of their resistance. For example, when Li Jingye

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1140-430: Is no set pattern to bad and good fortune. Since we will all die one day anyway, why hasten death? At this point, they were deeply in love with each other, and at another point, he told her: If we will see the light of day again, I will not stop you from doing anything. While they in exile, she gave birth to their youngest daughter, Li Guo'er —whose name Guo'er meant, "child who was wrapped" and referred to how, when she

1235-481: Is not known when Empress Wei was born. She was the sister of Buddhist monk Jingjue (淨覺), who was regarded as the author of Lengqie shizi ji . During the reign of her husband's grandfather Emperor Taizong , her grandfather Wei Hongbiao ( 韋弘表 ) served as the military advisor to Emperor Taizong's son Li Ming ( 李明 ) the Prince of Cao. When Emperor Zhongzong, then using the name Li Zhe, was crown prince , he married her as his second wife (his first wife, Princess Zhao,

1330-445: The Princess Anle , as heir to Emperor Zhongzong, thought that Li Chongmao, born of Zhongzong and a concubine and who was only 16 years old, would be easy to control and allow her to preserve her power. The scheme failed, however, when Princess Taiping , the sister of Emperor Zhongzong, launched a coup two weeks later with her nephew Li Longji (later Emperor Xuanzong ), son of the abdicated Emperor Ruizong, and overthrew Empress Wei and

1425-644: The Princess Anle . He was relatively similar to his father. Of course, Emperor Gaozong was able to make decisions, although he did it slowly in government affairs, but various debilitating diseases until his death became the main reason for handing over power to his wife Empress Wu. In contrast, Emperor Zhongzong likely had depression due to his long duration under house arrest; this encouraged him to hand over power to his wife and daughter. In 710, Emperor Zhongzong died, allegedly poisoned by Empress Wei, who then installed his son, Li Chongmao, as Emperor Shang . Empress Wei, who had failed to install her daughter Li Guo'er,

1520-531: The Zizhi Tongjian , the three were forced to commit suicide. In contrast, the epitaph from her tomb states that she died in childbirth . After Wu Zetian's death, when her father again came to the throne, she and her brother were reburied in grand tombs in the Qianling Mausoleum in 705. Li's tomb was discovered in 1960, and excavated from 1964. Among the Qianling Mausoleum burials, Li's is

1615-495: The Central Palace (the residence of the empresses), he had Li Zhe briefly exercise imperial powers, also, the chancellors aligned with Empress Wu were also responsible for helping him. In 682, Li Zhe's second wife, Crown Princess Wei , gave birth to a son, Li Chongzhao . Emperor Gaozong was pleased, and he created Li Chongzhao the unprecedented title of "Deputy Crown Prince" (皇太孫, Huang Taisun ). Later that year, due to

1710-449: The Duke of Ying rose against Empress Dowager Wu later in 684, he declared that his goal was to restore Li Zhe. Other examples included Yang Chucheng ( 楊初成 ) in 687 and Li Yin ( 李諲 ) the Duke of Poyang (Emperor Gaozong's cousin) in 689. In 690, Empress Dowager Wu had Emperor Ruizong yield the throne to her, and she took the throne as "empress regnant" of a new Zhou Dynasty , interrupting Tang. She created Emperor Ruizong crown prince with

1805-465: The Empress always sits behind the curtain and listens to what was going on in court. Looking at the histories of all generations, is there a peaceful life that is not broken by women listening to politics with the emperor? Besides, it is against the laws of nature that yin is superior to yang; it is against the ethics of human relations for a woman to bully her husband. I hope that His Majesty will observe

1900-802: The Empress of Heaven was in power, Li's clan was falling apart. Thanks to the spirit of heaven and earth, His Majesty was restored, but the Wu family still retain the title of Princes and hold prominent official positions, as in the past. This is not what everyone wants to see. I hope that their titles will be lowered to meet the wishes of the empire. Wu Sansi and Empress Wei, who despised Zhang and his colleagues, accused them of being overly arrogant in light of their achievements, and at Wu Sansi's suggestion, Emperor Zhongzong made Zhang, Jing Hui, Huan Yanfan, Yuan Shuji, and Cui Xuanwei princes, ostensibly to honor them, but instead intending to remove them from positions of power. (Emperor Zhongzong, for reasons unclear, also bestowed

1995-461: The Pei mansion. However, in 674, a similar incident happened by Emperor Gaozong's own instigation—as, at an imperial feast, he divided the imperial musicians into two teams and had Li Xián and Li Xiǎn lead the two teams in competition—although he stopped when the chancellor Hao Chujun pointed out the potential for rivalry. Meanwhile, during the years that Li Xiǎn was the Prince of Zhou, he had married

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2090-482: The Prince of Pei had the literarily-talented official Wang Bo on staff, the princes were apparently often engaged in cockfighting . Wang Bo wrote a playful piece entitled the Declaration Against the Prince of Zhou's Cock ( 檄周王雞文 ), which, however, when Emperor Gaozong read it, caused Emperor Gaozong to be angry, as he believed this would cause discord between his sons, and therefore expelled Wang from

2185-595: The Prince of Qiao (born of a concubine), falsely accused Li Chongfu of being complicit in Li Chongrun's death. Emperor Zhongzong demoted Li Chongfu out of the capital to serve as a prefectural prefect, under heavy guard. Emperor Zhongzong initially offered the crown prince position to Li Dan, but after Li Dan declined, created another son by a concubine, Li Chongjun , crown prince. The coup leaders, meanwhile, were trying to curb Wu Sansi's rise, but in turn, Wu Sansi and Empress Wei repeatedly warned Emperor Zhongzong that

2280-453: The Prince of Shao. There are many glorious state paintings of this in the forbidden city. Meanwhile, Wu Zetian, in her old age, had entrusted much of the affairs of state to Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong—something that Li Chongrun discussed with his sister Li Xianhui and her husband, Wu Zetian's grandnephew Wu Yanji (武延基) the Prince of Wei (Wu Chengsi's son) at times. Zhang Yizhi found out and informed Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian, believing that she

2375-495: The Prince of Wei and Wu Sansi the Prince of Liang. By 698, however, the chancellor Di Renjie had convinced Wu Zetian that it was to her sons, not her nephews, that she should turn for support. Di's fellow chancellors Wang Fangqing and Wang Jishan , as well as Wu Zetian's lovers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong and her confidant Ji Xu also supported the idea of summoning Li Zhe from exile. In spring 698, Wu Zetian summoned Li Zhe and his family back to Luoyang. Once Li Zhe

2470-567: The Tang general Feng Jiabin ( 馮嘉賓 ), who had been sent to assist Zhongjie. Subsequently, after Emperor Zhongzong recognized Suoge's authority over the Turgesh tribes, hostility ceased, and Suoge again became a Tang vassal. In spring 710, Emperor Zhongzong sent Princess Jincheng, the daughter of his nephew Li Shouli the Prince of Yong (Li Xián's son), to the Tibetan Empire to be married to its emperor, Me Agtsom , cementing peace between

2565-598: The Turgesh ( 突騎施 ) chieftain Suoge ( 娑葛 ), who had just succeeded his father Wuzhile ( 烏質勒 ), was challenged by Wuzhile's subordinate Kül Čor (Quechuo 闕啜) Ashina Zhongjie ( 阿史那忠節 ), Zhongjie, who was unable to prevail over Suoge, bribed Zong and Ji to persuade Emperor Zhongzong to prepare a joint attack against the Turgesh with the Tibetan Empire, despite counsel by the general Guo Yuanzhen against it. When Suoge heard this, he launched an attack preemptively, attacking several key Tang garrisons, capturing Zhongjie, and killing

2660-527: The Zizhi Tongjian: When Wei became the empress again, she intervened in the government, just like Empress Wu in the reign of Emperor Gaozong, and whenever the emperor went to the court, she would listening to government affairs behind a bead curtain at court. Huan Yanfan complained to the emperor about the empress's involvement in government affairs and participation in the court: I found that every time Your Majesty comes to court,

2755-460: The advice of Empress Wu), and soon died. Li Zhe took the throne (as Emperor Zhongzong), but actual powers were entire in the hands of Empress Wu, now empress dowager and regent . After the death of Emperor Gaozong, Emperor Zhongzong ascended the throne, leaving a will on his deathbed which stated: After 7 days, the Crown Prince will sit on the throne in front of my coffin. In the case of

2850-610: The capital in April 698. He was reinstated as crown prince in October 698, taking his brother's place. On 20 February 705, a palace coup deposed Wu Zetian and Emperor Zhongzong was restored as emperor three days later. Emperor Zhongzong reigned for five years but was a totally weak, carefree, cowardly, shy, henpecked weakling and easily influenced ruler. Thus, real power was in the hands of his empress consort, Empress Wei and her lover Wu Sansi (Wu Zetian's nephew) and his daughter Li Guo'er,

2945-742: The chancellor Zong Chuke , Wu Yanxiu, and other officials Zhao Lüwen (趙履溫) and Ye Jingneng (葉靜能) were advising her to take the throne, like Wu Zetian did, and they also advised her to eliminate Li Dan and Princess Taiping. The official Cui Riyong leaked their plan to Li Dan's son Li Longji the Prince of Linzi. Li Longji responded by conspiring with Princess Taiping, Princess Taiping's son Xue Chongjian (薛崇簡), as well as several low level officials close to him— Zhong Shaojing , Wang Chongye (王崇曄), Liu Youqiu , and Ma Sizong (麻嗣宗)—to act first. Meanwhile, Empress Wei's nephews Wei Bo (韋播) and Gao Song (高嵩), who had recently been put in command of imperial guards and who had tried to establish their authority by dealing with

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3040-461: The coup leaders acted on 20 February, killing Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, and then surrounding Wu Zetian. She, in fear, asked, "Who is disturbing me?" Zhang Jianzhi responded, in a formalistic manner: Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong committed treason. Following the orders of the Crown Prince, we have executed them. Because we were afraid that the secret would be leaked, we did not dare to first report to Your Imperial Majesty. We are guilty of

3135-632: The coup leaders were overly powerful and dangerous. In fall 705, Emperor Zhongzong agreed, and created the coup leaders princes under guise of honoring them, but removed them from their chancellor positions. In winter 705, Wu Zetian died. Her "emperor" title was subsequently removed and empress title restored, and Emperor Zhongzong buried her at Qianling , with his father Emperor Gaozong. (Also buried there were Emperor Zhongzong's brother Li Xián, Li Chongrun, and Li Xianhui.) In spring 706, after Emperor Zhongzong's son-in-law Wang Tongjiao (王同皎, husband of Princess Ding'an), who despised Empress Wei and Wu Sansi,

3230-468: The edicts. She also requested to be made his heir, as crown princess—which would be an unprecedented act in Chinese history, although he declined and created her brother Li Chongjun crown prince instead. Zhang Jianzhi saw that it was impossible to persuade Emperor Zhongzong to kill Wu Sansi, so he took the next step and wanted to suppress it from power, so he wrote to Emperor Zhongzong and said: When

3325-496: The emperor stops ! During the mourning period, Pei Yan proposed that the throne be temporarily entrusted to Empress Wu, who was now the empress dowager, until the new emperor's reign and their responsibilities began, as provided for in Emperor Gaozong's will. After the end of mourning, Empress Dowager Wu handed over the throne to Emperor Zhongzong, but she did not hand over the real power, "the great and small affairs of

3420-532: The empire to Wei Xuanzhen? Why would I begrudge the title of Shizhong ? Pei, in fear, informed Empress Dowager Wu, and she was angry to hear this and said, "This apostate boy treats the Tang Dynasty like a childish game, and it forces me to erase a disaster from the world." Just less than two months after Emperor Zhongzong had taken the throne, Empress Dowager Wu summoned the officials and generals and issued an edict deposing Emperor Zhongzong and reducing to

3515-664: The ethnically Mohe general Li Duozuo and Emperor Zhongzong's cousin Li Qianli (李千里) the Prince of Cheng. Li Chongjun's forces killed Wu Sansi and Wu Chengxu, and next headed to the palace, hoping to capture Consort Shangguan and Empress Wei. However, after Li Duozuo's son-in-law Ye Huli (野呼利) was killed by the eunuch guard commander Yang Sixu (楊思勗), Li Chongjun's army collapsed, and he was soon killed by his own subordinates. (Li Guo'er soon married Wu Chengxun's cousin Wu Yanxiu (武延秀).) Although Wu Sansi died, but Empress Wei's power

3610-633: The experience and lessons of the rise and fall of chaos in ancient and modern times, always keep in mind the society and the people, and urge the empress to strictly abide by the empress's duty, devote herself to it, and not to interfere in the affairs of the state. Zhang Jianzhi and his colleagues next wanted to suppress the power of that the Wu clan princes had, but at this time, Emperor Zhongzong's concubine Consort Shangguan Wan'er , who had been Wu Zetian's secretary and who had carried on an affair with Wu Zetian's nephew Wu Sansi, helped kindle an affair between Wu Sansi and Empress Wei as well. (Emperor Zhongzong

3705-460: The first period, he did not have actual power, which was in the hands of his mother, Empress Wu Zetian and he was overthrown on her orders after opposing his mother. During his second reign, most of the power was in the hands of his consort Empress Wei . Emperor Zhongzong was the son of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Empress Wu (later known as Wu Zetian ), and during the reign of his father, Emperor Zhongzong's mother Empress Wu, not Emperor Gaozong,

3800-517: The frescoes is women, the majority of whom are shown without make-up and wearing no jewellery. There are also several carved human figures, who seem to be ladies-in-waiting . 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 and seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling briefly in 684 and again from 705 to 710. During

3895-448: The generals Li Sichong ( 李思沖 ), Li Chengkuang ( 李承況 ), Dugu Yizhi ( 獨孤禕之 ), and Shazha Zhongyi ( 沙吒忠義 ), along with Emperor Zhongzong's cousin Li Qianli ( 李千里 ) the Prince of Cheng and Li Qianli's son LI Xi ( 李禧 ) the Prince of Tianshui. They attacked Wu Sansi's mansion and killed Wu Sansi and Wu Chongxun, and then marched on to the palace, trying to seize Consort Shangguan, Empress Wei, and Li Guo'er. The rebels hesitated at attacking

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3990-403: The great disrespect of moving troops within the palace, and should be executed 10,000 times. Wu Zetian subsequently tried to have Li Xiǎn returned to the palace of the Crown Prince, but the coup leaders ignored her. While the coup leaders allowed Wu Zetian to retain the title of "emperor," they had her put under house arrest at the secondary palace Shangyang Palace ( 上陽宮 ) and forced her to yield

4085-560: The guards harshly, had alienated the guards, and the guard officers Ge Fushun (葛福順), Chen Xuanli (陳玄禮), and Li Xianfu (李仙鳧) thereafter also joined the plot. Without first informing Li Dan, the conspirators rose on July 21, first killing Wei Bo, Gao, and Empress Wei's cousin Wei Xuan (韋璿). They then attacked the palace. When Empress Dowager Wei panicked and fled to an imperial guard camp, a guard beheaded her. Li Guo'er, Wu Yanxiu, and Lady Helou were killed as well. Li Longji soon slaughtered

4180-581: The house that his uncle Li Tai had been placed after Li Tai was deposed in 643. Li Zhe was constantly in fear in exile, as Empress Dowager Wu had previously shown willingness to kill her own children—having forced his older brother Li Xián to commit suicide in 684 and having been rumored to have poisoned another older brother, Li Hong , in 675—and whenever there would be imperial messengers arriving from then-capital Luoyang , he would consider committing suicide, fearing that they brought orders for even worse fates. Princess Wei would repeatedly tell him: There

4275-541: The imperial guards, to secure power, before she announced Emperor Zhongzong's death two days after his death. By an edict that Princess Taiping and Consort Shangguan drafted (and later revised by Empress Wei's cousin Wei Wen ), Emperor Zhongzong's son Li Chongmao the Prince of Wen was created crown prince, and Li Chongmao then took the throne (as Emperor Shang) on July 8. Empress Wei retained power as empress dowager . Meanwhile, Empress Dowager Wei's clan members, along with

4370-448: The kitchen stopped to have smoke and steam come out of it, and when Empress Wu had her confinement house opened, Princess Zhao was seen dead inside, having starved to death. Empress Wu also demoted Zhao Gui to be the prefect of Kuo Prefecture (括州, roughly modern Lishui , Zhejiang ) and ordered Princess Changle to accompany her husband to Kuo Prefecture, and further ordered that neither Zhao Gui nor Princess Changle would be allowed to enter

4465-433: The largest belonging to a woman. It had been robbed in the past, probably soon after the burial, and items in precious materials taken, but the thieves had not bothered with the over 800 pottery tomb figures , and the extensive frescoes were untouched. The robbers had left in a hurry, leaving silver items scattered around, and the corpse of one of their number. The tomb had a flattened pyramid rising 12 metres above ground, and

4560-479: The major affairs of state, and there were rumors that they were seeking to displace Li Xiǎn. The chancellors Zhang Jianzhi and Cui Xuanwei , along with other officials Jing Hui , Huan Yanfan , and Yuan Shuji plotted to overthrow her and the Zhang brothers. They persuaded the generals Li Duozuo and Li Dan (李湛, note different character than the Prince of Xiang) to join the plot. With agreement from Li Xiǎn as well,

4655-474: The most major, powerful and dominant figure at court, along with her daughter Li Guo'er, who now carried the title of Princess Anle and formed a faction that wielded strong control over the court and consolidated her power. The only mother-daughter rival for dominate the emperor's grace and power was the Emperor Zhongzong's sister, Princess Taiping , who also had great favor with Emperor Zhongzong and

4750-453: The much more important post of being prefect of Yu Prefecture ( 豫州 , roughly modern Zhumadian , Henan ) (fourth rank, first class, second division). In 682, she gave birth to their only son, Li Chongzhao . Sometime during her stint as crown princess, she also gave birth to at least one daughter (the later Princess Changning ) and possibly another (Li Xianhui, the later Princess Yongtai ). Emperor Gaozong died in late 683, and Li Zhe took

4845-495: The new year 709, when Emperor Zhongzong offered to have her old wet nurse Lady Wang marry the widower chancellor Dou Chongyi , Dou, seeing the opportunity for even more power, gleefully agreed notwithstanding Lady Wang's otherwise low status. Meanwhile, Empress Wei and the Princesses Changning and Anle were also building many Buddhist temples. By fall 710, it was said that Empress Wei had been having affairs with

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4940-702: The nominal commander of the forces defending against a major Göktürk incursion on 26 October, it was said that as soon as he was named the commander, men swarmed to enlist. Before, less than 1000 men joined after more than a month of recruitment; the numbers swelled to more than 50000 after the announcement. In 699, fearing that after her death the Li and Wu clans would not be able to keep peace with each other, Wu Zetian had Li Xiǎn, Li Dan, Princess Taiping, and her husband Wu Youji (Wu Zetian's nephew) swear an oath to each other. In 701, Li Chongzhao (now named Li Chongrun to observe naming taboo for Wu Zetian (whose personal name

5035-496: The official Zhou Lizhen (周利貞) to have the five of them killed cruelly (although Zhang and Cui were already dead by the time that Zhou reached them). Meanwhile, to avenge her mother's and brothers' deaths, Empress Wei had Emperor Zhongzong order Zhou Rengui (周仁軌), the commandant at Guang Prefecture (廣州, roughly modern Guangzhou , Guangdong ), to attack Ning Chengji and his brothers; Zhou defeated Ning and slaughtered his people. In gratitude, Empress Wei bowed to Zhou, honoring him like

5130-453: The officials Ma Qinke ( 馬秦客 ) and Yang Jun ( 楊均 ). She wanted to be Empress Regnant like Wu Zetian, and Li Guo'er wanted to be crown princess—a request that Emperor Zhongzong had repeatedly rebuffed. According to traditional historians, they thus decided to have Emperor Zhongzong killed. They accomplished this by putting poison in a cake, and after Emperor Zhongzong ate the cake, he died on 3 July, 710. Initially, Emperor Zhongzong's son by

5225-433: The officials Ma Qinke (馬秦客) and Yang Jun (楊均), and Ma and Yang were concerned that if the affairs became known they would be killed. Meanwhile, Li Guo'er hoped that if Empress Wei became the sovereign she would be crown princess. They conspired to poison a cake, and after Emperor Zhongzong ate the cake, he died, on July 3, 710. Empress Wei did not initially announce his death, but instead a number of her cousins in charge of

5320-741: The officials and generals and issued an edict deposing Emperor Zhongzong and reducing to the title of Prince of Luling. She instead created his younger brother Li Dan the Prince of Yu emperor (historically known as Emperor Ruizong). Li Chongzhao, who had been given the title of Deputy Crown Prince by Emperor Gaozong, was reduced to commoner rank and Wei Xuanzhen, along with his family, were exiled to Qin Prefecture (欽州, roughly modern Qinzhou , Guangxi ). Empress Dowager Wu soon ordered that Li Zhe and his family first be delivered to Fang Prefecture (房州, in modern Shiyan , Hubei ), and then Jun Prefecture (均州, also in modern Shiyan), to be held under house arrest at

5415-431: The palace, and the imperial guards fought back. After the eunuch Yang Sixu ( 楊思勗 ) killed Li Duozuo's son-in-law Ye Huli ( 野呼利 ), and Emperor Zhongzong made a personal appeal to the coup forces, the coup forces turned against Li Chongjun, killing the generals commanding them. Li Chongjun fled but was killed in exile. Subsequently, the senior chancellor Wei Yuanzhong , whose son Wei Sheng ( 魏升 ) had been forced to join

5510-481: The palace. In 676, when the Tibetan Empire attacked Tang's western prefectures, Li Xiǎn and his younger brother Li Lun , the Prince of Xiang, were nominally put in charge of the two armies that were actually commanded by the generals Liu Shenli ( 劉審禮 ) and Qibi Heli ( 契苾何力 ), but neither Li Xiǎn nor Li Lun actually set out with the troops. In 677, Li Xiǎn had his title changed to Prince of Ying. His name

5605-437: The provinces and placed under house arrest. Six years later, Emperor Ruizong relinquished the throne to his mother and Empress Dowager Wu officially proclaimed herself empress regnant , while Emperor Ruizong was made crown prince. By 698, the court was caught in the middle of a bitter power struggle. In an attempt to secure her prominence, Empress Wu liberated the former emperor from his 14 years of seclusion and recalled him to

5700-564: The rebellion, was exiled and killed in exile at the instigation of two chancellors aligned with Empress Wei and Li Guo'er, Zong Chuke and Ji Chuna . However, attempts by Empress Wei's party to implicate Li Dan and Princess Taiping were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, the court was dominated by a number of powerful women, including Li Guo'er, Princess Changning (Emperor Zhongzong's and Empress Wei's older daughter), Empress Wei's sister Lady of Cheng, Consort Shangguan, Consort Shangguan's mother Lady Zheng of Pei, senior ladies in waiting Chai and Helou,

5795-429: The same. Wu Zetian finally agreed, and in 698 recalled Li Zhe and his family back to Luoyang, then the capital. Shortly thereafter, Li Dan offered to yield the crown prince position to Li Zhe, and Wu Zetian agreed, creating Li Zhe crown prince on 24 October, demoting Li Dan to the rank of Prince of Xiang. She also changed his name back to Li Xiǎn, and subsequently changed his surname to Wu. Subsequently, when she named him

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5890-415: The son of his wet nurse an official of the fifth rank—were opposed by the chancellor Pei Yan . As they argued, Emperor Zhongzong, in anger, remarked: What would be wrong even if I gave the empire to Wei Xuanzhen? Why do you care about Shizhong so much? Pei, in fear, informed this to Empress Dowager Wu. Just less than two months after Emperor Zhongzong had taken the throne, Empress Dowager Wu summoned

5985-440: The sorceress Diwu Ying'er ( 第五英兒 ), and Lady Zhao of Longxi. These women were openly accepting bribes, and were able to recommend a number of people to be officials, directly commissioned by Emperor Zhongzong without approval from the legislative (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng ) and examination (門下省, Menxia Sheng ) bureaus. The civil service system was said to be overrun with corruption and running into near collapse. In winter 708, after

6080-426: The sorceress Diwu Ying'er (第五英兒), and Lady Zhao of Longxi, were all powerful and corrupt, selling offices at will. They, along with Emperor Zhongzong's sister Princess Taiping , were often involved in partisan struggles, a phenomenon that Emperor Zhongzong was concerned about, but could do little to curb. Empress Wei's power was such that the emperor did not even dare to make decisions without her opinion and in around

6175-505: The state depended on the Empress Dowager's decision, not the Emperor's". Emperor Zhongzong, in spring 684, made his wife, Crown Princess Wei, empress consort , and he was very impressed by Empress Wei, and she told him: "You are the Son of Heaven. Why do you have to listen to the Empress Dowager in everything? Do you want to be a puppet emperor?" Emperor Zhongzong felt that what the empress said

6270-410: The surname of Wei on Huan, "honoring" him by merging his clan with Empress Wei's.) Soon, the five princes were made prefectural prefects and sent out of Luoyang. In spring 706, after Emperor Zhongzong's son-in-law Wang Tongjiao (王同皎), who despised Empress Wei and Wu Sansi, was accused of plotting to kill them, Empress Wei and Wu Sansi took this opportunity to implicate Jing, Cui, Huan (whose Wei surname

6365-446: The throne (historically known as Emperor Zhongzong). However, actual power was in the hands of his mother Empress Wu, now empress dowager . In spring 684, Emperor Zhongzong made Crown Princess Wei the empress . He soon wanted to promote Wei Xuanzhen to be Shizhong (侍中), the head of the examination bureau of government (門下省, Menxia Sheng ) and a post considered one for a chancellor . This move, as well as another wish of his—to make

6460-421: The throne to Li Xiǎn, who was formerly emperor, and he was restored to the throne (as Emperor Zhongzong). Emperor Zhongzong once again ascended to the throne, which is different from the first time he was a puppet. This time he truly mastered the power and quickly used it handily. Once restored, Emperor Zhongzong initially put the five coup leaders in prominent positions. However, Empress Wei, once restored, became

6555-604: The throne to her, interrupting the Tang dynasty and establishing her own Zhou dynasty with her as "emperor" (thereafter known as Wu Zetian). She created the now-removed Li Dan as her crown prince, but constantly suspected him of secretly plotting against her, and in 693, she killed his wife Crown Princess Liu and concubine Consort Dou, and further investigated him for treason, stopping the investigation only when his servant, An Jinzang , cut open his own belly to swear that Li Dan would never commit treason. She nevertheless repeatedly considered replacing him with her nephews Wu Chengsi

6650-488: The throne, she attained the same position and influence that Wu Zetian had achieved after more than 20 years of struggle towards the end of her husband Emperor Gaozong's life in 674. However, he was never able to legitimize herself as well as Wu Zetian, who legitimized her intervention in government affairs as a right and duty during the reign of her husband, Emperor Gaozong. According to the Song dynasty historian Sīmǎ Guāng 司马光 in

6745-427: The title of Prince of Luling. As generals loyal to her physically removed Emperor Zhongzong from the throne, he struggled and asked, "What crime have I committed?" Empress Dowager Wu responded, "You wanted to give the empire to Wei Xuanzhen. How can that not be a crime?" She had him put under arrest, and she made Li Lun (now named Li Dan), Prince of Yu, the new emperor (as Emperor Ruizong) on 27 February. Li Chongzhao

6840-423: The tomb regime, austerity policies must be maintained, and the chancellors Pei Yan , Liu Rengui , Liu Jingxian , and Guo Zhengyi are in charge of assisting the emperor, every important issue should be discussed with the Empress of Heaven, and done by arbitration her. If there is something in the army and government that can't be decided quickly, then the decision is the responsibility of the Empress of Heaven, and

6935-598: The two states. Meanwhile, there had been accusations made by individuals such as Lang Ji ( 郎岌 ) and Yan Qinrong ( 燕欽融 ) that Empress Wei was committing adultery, and that her partisans, including Li Guo'er, her new husband Wu Yanxiu (武延秀, a grandnephew of Wu Zetian), and Zong Chuke, were planning to overthrow the Tang dynasty. Emperor Zhongzong ordered Lang executed, but became displeased when Zong had Yan killed without Emperor Zhongzong having decided to do so. This caused Empress Wei and her partisans to begin to become apprehensive. Empress Wei was, meanwhile, having affairs with

7030-544: The unusual title Huangsi ( 皇嗣 ), and initially, Li Zhe's status was not changed. In 697, during a major Khitan incursion, led by the khan Sun Wanrong , Sun issued a declaration questioning why Wu Zetian was keeping Li Zhe in exile. Thereafter, the chancellor Di Renjie often counseled Wu Zetian to recall Li Zhe, which fellow chancellors Wang Fangqing and Wang Jishan also agreed with. Further, Wu Zetian's close associate Ji Xu also advocated it and further persuaded her lovers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong to advocate

7125-820: The way to exile, Princess Wei gave birth to a daughter. There was nothing to wrap the baby with, so Li Zhe took off his own shirt and wrapped the baby in it. To commemorate this, the daughter was subsequently named Li Guo'er (Guo'er meaning "the child that was wrapped"). Li Zhe and Princess Wei both greatly favored this child born in distress. Li Zhe was constantly in fear in exile, as Empress Dowager Wu had previously shown willingness to kill her own children—having forced Li Xián to commit suicide in 684 and having been rumored to have poisoned another son, Li Hong , in 675—and whenever there would be imperial messengers arriving from then-capital Luoyang , he would consider committing suicide, fearing that they brought orders for even worse fates. Princess Wei would repeatedly tell him: There

7220-515: The young emperor. Emperor Ruizong, the father of Li Longji and the older brother of Princess Taiping, was restored as emperor. Li Xiǎn was born in 656, as the seventh son of his father Emperor Gaozong and the third son of his mother, Emperor Gaozong's second wife Empress Wu (later known as Wu Zetian). In 657, he was created the Prince of Zhou and nominally made the prefect of the eastern capital prefecture Luo Prefecture (洛州, roughly modern Luoyang , Henan ). In 661, when his older brother Li Xián

7315-572: Was Wu Zhao) and now carrying the title of Prince of Shao), Li Zhe's daughter Li Xianhui the Princess Yongtai, and Li Xianhui's husband Wu Yanji ( 武延基 ) the Prince of Wei (Wu Zetian's grandnephew), were accused of secretly disparaging Wu Zetian's relationships with Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong. In anger, Wu Zetian ordered the three of them to commit suicide. In spring 705, Wu Zetian was seriously ill, and Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong were attending to her and, at her direction, handling

7410-626: Was accused of plotting to kill Wu Sansi and depose Empress Wei, Wang and his alleged coconspirators were executed, and subsequently, Wu Sansi and his associates accused Jing Hui, Huan Yanfan, Zhang Jianzhi, Yuan Shuji, and Cui Xuanwei of being complicit in Wang's plot. The five princes were exiled and subsequently died or were killed in exile. In 707, Li Chongjun, angry that Li Guo'er and her husband Wu Chongxun (武崇訓, Wu Sansi's son) had repeatedly humiliated him and tried to get Li Guo'er created crown princess to displace him, rose in rebellion with Li Duozuo and

7505-447: Was also changed to Li Zhe. He was also made the prefect of the capital prefecture Yong Prefecture (雍州, roughly modern Xi'an , Shaanxi ). By 680, Li Xián, who was then crown prince , had lost Empress Wu's favor. After she suspected him of having had her trusted sorcerer Ming Chongyan ( 明崇儼 ) assassinated, she had him investigated for treason, and subsequently, he was found guilty. He was reduced to commoner rank and exiled, and Li Zhe

7600-490: Was an empress consort of the Chinese Tang dynasty . She was the second wife of Emperor Zhongzong , who reigned twice, and during his second reign, she tried to emulate the example of her mother-in-law Wu Zetian and seize power. She was de facto in charge of the governmental affairs during her husband's reign, though she was not formally regent. Emperor Zhongzong's death in 710 — a death traditionally believed to be

7695-596: Was back in Luoyang, Li Dan offered to yield the crown prince position to his older brother, and Wu Zetian agreed. In fall 698, she created Li Zhe crown prince and had him change his name back to the original name Li Xiǎn (note different tone than his brother) (although she soon also had him change his surname to her surname Wu—thus making him Wu Xiǎn). Princess Wei again became crown princess. Her son Li Chongzhao—who had by now changed his name to Li Chongrun to observe naming taboo for Wu Zetian's personal name Zhao—was created

7790-404: Was being criticized, in fall 701, ordered Li Chongrun, Li Xianhui, and Wu Yanji to commit suicide. Li Chongrun's death would leave Crown Princess Wei without a son, as his other sons Li Chongfu , Li Chongjun , and Li Chongmao were all born of concubines. In spring 705, with Wu Zetian being ill, the officials Zhang Jianzhi , Cui Xuanwei , Jing Hui , Huan Yanfan , and Yuan Shuji initiated

7885-640: Was born, Li Zhe was required to take off his shirt and wrap her in the shirt. Li Zhe and Princess Wei both greatly favored this child born in distress. Meanwhile, while Li Zhe and Princess Wei were in exile, so were Wei Xuanzhen and his family. After Wei Xuanzhen died soon thereafter, a local tribal chief, Ning Chengji (寧承基), demanded to marry Princess Wei's younger sister. When Princess Wei's mother Lady Cui refused, Ning killed her and her four sons Wei Xun (韋洵), Wei Hao (韋浩), Wei Dong (韋洞), and Wei Ci (韋泚). While Li Zhe and Princess Wei were in exile, Empress Dowager Wu had, in 690, forced Li Zhe's brother Li Dan to yield

7980-525: Was considered unsuitable to be buried with him, Emperor Ruizong was set to bury Emperor Zhongzong's first wife Princess Zhao, whom Emperor Zhongzong had posthumously honored an empress, with him, but Princess Zhao's body could no longer be located. Therefore, a ceremony was held in which her spirit was summoned to accompany Emperor Zhongzong in death. Consorts and Issue: Empress Wei (Tang dynasty) Empress Wei ( Chinese : 韋皇后 ; pinyin : Wéi Huánghòu ; personal name unknown; died July 21, 710)

8075-533: Was created crown prince to replace him. Hao Chujun and another chancellor, Liu Rengui , were made his senior advisors. Emperor Gaozong also recruited the famed hermit scholar Tian Youyan ( 田遊巖 ) to serve as an advisor, although Tian would later draw criticism from others for not having any actual good advice for the crown prince. In 681, after Emperor Gaozong had become ill after consuming pills made by alchemists , Empress Wu rarely allowed anyone to meet with Emperor Gaozong, and all important matters were resolved in

8170-479: Was either unaware of, or implicitly approved of, the affair.) Wu Sansi became a trusted advisor of Emperor Zhongzong. So a Wu and Wei dictatorship group headed by Empress Wei, who controlled the government. Meanwhile, Empress Wei disliked her husband's son Li Chongfu the Prince of Qiao (whose wife was Zhang's niece), and falsely accused him of being implicit in Li Chongrun's death; Emperor Zhongzong responded by exiling Li Chongfu to Jun Prefecture to serve as prefect. It

8265-576: Was even stronger. At that time, the empire was not stable, and there were many disasters of floods and droughts. Empress Wei and her group were only keen to suppress opposing forces, cultivate cronies, and cause chaos in the government, and as always, they did not pay attention to the efficient administration of the empire. It was said by 708, Empress Wei, Li Guo'er, Empress Wei's other daughter Princess Changning, Consort Shangguan, Empress Wei's sister Lady of Cheng, Consort Shangguan's mother Lady Zheng, along with senior ladies in waiting Ladies Chai and Helou,

8360-402: Was in actual control of power as empress consort and power behind the emperor. He succeeded his father in 684, But as emperor, he had no true power, and all authority remained in the firm hands of his mother, Empress Dowager Wu. His mother, however, deposed him less than two months later in favor of his younger brother Emperor Ruizong . The former emperor, demoted to a princely rank, was exiled to

8455-538: Was one of the most powerful women in the court. Also powerful was Wu Zetian's secretary Shangguan Wan'er , whom Emperor Zhongzong took as a concubine , who was also having an affair with Wu Zetian's nephew Wu Sansi the Prince of Liang. Under her introduction, Empress Wei and Wu Sansi also soon started having an affair. With Consort Shangguan's and Empress Wei's influence, Wu Sansi became a powerful and trusted advisor to Emperor Zhongzong. Meanwhile, Empress Wei, disliking Emperor Zhongzong's oldest surviving son Li Chongfu

8550-423: Was reasonable, but there was nothing he could do about it, Empress Wei went on to say: "For now, only by vigorously promoting your own people and cultivating your own power can you compete with the Empress Dowager and formally her government." He was impressed by her words, and wanted to make his father-in-law, Wei Xuanzhen ( 韋玄貞 ) Shizhong ( Chinese : 侍中 ) – the head of the examination bureau of government and

8645-399: Was reduced to commoner rank. Empress Dowager Wu soon ordered that Li Zhe and his family first be delivered to Fang Prefecture (房州, in modern Shiyan , Hubei ), and then Jun Prefecture (均州, also in modern Shiyan), to be held under house arrest at the house that his uncle Li Tai had been placed after Li Tai was deposed in 643. (Subsequently, in 685, he was moved back to Fang Prefecture.) On

8740-435: Was restored to the throne by the coup, he too much indulged his wife Empress Wei, who had shared his hardships, and the power of the government was controlled by Empress Wei's relatives. She like Empress Wu in the time of Emperor Gaozong, who sat behind the curtain behind the throne and decided on important matters, Empress Wei followed the same pattern in the time of Emperor Zhongzong. As a result, with her husband's accession to

8835-412: Was said that both Empress Wei and her daughter Li Guo'er (now with the title Princess Anle and who married Wu Sansi's son Wu Chongxun (武崇訓)) were very powerful and corrupt, offering offices for sale and influencing legal decisions. it was even said that Li Guo'er often wrote edicts in Emperor Zhongzong's name, and then covered up the contents and had him sign them—and that he would do so despite not reading

8930-414: Was starved to death when her mother Princess Changle offended Li Zhe's mother Empress Wu (later known as Wu Zetian) and crown princess. At the time that they were married, Li Zhe's father Emperor Gaozong promoted her father Wei Xuanzhen ( 韋玄貞 ) from being the military advisor to the prefect of Pu Prefecture ( 普州 , roughly modern Ziyang , Sichuan ) (eighth rank, second class, second division) to be

9025-401: Was then stripped), Yuan, and Zhang, of being involved in the plot, and had them further reduced to be prefectural military advisors in distant prefects. Wu Sansi then intentionally inflamed Emperor Zhongzong by having people publicly accuse Empress Wei of adultery and then accusing the five princes of this. Emperor Zhongzong responded by ordering the five of them permanently exiled; Wu then sent

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