Emperor Xuanzong of Tang
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the well-known sixth emperor of Tang Dynasty. For his descendant whose temple name is also rendered Xuanzong in pinyin, see Emperor Xuānzong of Tang.
| Emperor Xuanzong of Tang | |
|---|---|
| Birth and death: | 8 September, 685–May 3, 762 |
| Family name: | Li (李) |
| Given name: | Longji (隆基) |
| Dates of reign: | 8 September, 712¹–12 August, 756² |
| Temple name: | Xuanzong (玄宗) |
| Posthumous name: | Emperor Ming³ (明皇) |
| Posthumous name: <center>(full) | Emperor Zhidao Dasheng Daming Xiao |
| General note: Dates given here are in the Julian calendar. They are not in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. | |
Emperor Tang Xuanzong (Chinese: 唐玄宗) (September 8, 685 - May 3, 762), born Li Longji (李隆基), was the sixth emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, reigning from 712 to 756.
Contents |
[edit] Accession to the throne
Born into an era when power was virtually in the hands of his grandmother, the Empress Wu Zetian, Xuanzong became the only glimmer of hope for the restoration of the imperial Li family. His aunt, the Princess Taiping fiercely protected Xuanzong from harm and was credited with taking care of young Xuanzong from the Wu family. In 710 Xuanzong conspired with Princess Taiping (daughter of Empress Wu Zetian) to put an end to Empress Wei's attempted usurpation of power. He killed Empress Wei, the wife of his recently dead uncle Emperor Zhongzong, in a palace coup which placed his own father, Emperor Ruizong, on the throne. He was appointed as the Chancellor for a few months before he became the crown prince. Xuanzong himself succeeded the throne in 712.
[edit] Kaiyuan era
Known also as Tang Minghuang (唐明皇: "the understanding emperor of the Tang"), the early half of his reign (712-730's) saw Tang China reach the height of its powers, in a period known popularly as the Kaiyuan era (開元之治). At the beginning, Xuanzong was a hardworking and diligent emperor. He made sweeping reforms to the bureaucracy, employed capable ministers and also made contacts with foreign ambassadors as far west as the Middle East and greatly expanded China's borders. This period witnessed the nurturing of a cooperative relationship with the Unified Silla state on the Korean peninsula, then under the rule of King Seongdeok. Xuanzong saw in Silla a valuable ally on its flank, particularly against the growing power of the state of Bohai (Balhae), which in 733 had actually launched a seaborne attack on Dengzhou in Shandong. Xuanzong also made progress on the empire's financial system by effectively registering the population resulting in the higher tax revenues. This in turn increased the coffers of the government. He also repaired the Grand Canal system, which has fallen into disrepair during Wu Zetian's reign. Other areas such as Chinese arts and literature reached its zenith point during his reign with famous poets such as Li Bai, Du Fu and Meng Haoran who created some of the most elegant poems since the Han dynasty. He is famous, amongst other things, as being a patron of the arts and for his notorious love affair with Yang Guifei. She was the young wife of his son Prince Shou (壽王), but he decreed their divorce and then entered her into a nunnery for a couple of years so that he could take her as his palace consort without shame. He rebuilt the ancient hot springs palace at the foot of Lishan Mountain for his consort and her sisters, naming it Huaqing Palace. During the beggining of his reign, a lot of the vassals and lands originally controlled during the Taizong and early Gaozong's reign all rebelled during Wu Zetian's later reign. These included Khitans (the ancestors of the later Liao dynasty), Korea (though relationship was still good), Western and Eastern Turks(practically all of North Asia and Mongolia), Tibet (the Tibetans have grown since Taizong's time and is now a major powerhouse in Asia), and Uyghur also rose in power and rebelled. In general, Xuanzong was only left with the central part of China as the Tang Empire at the beggining. In addition, the Silk Road was closed off and the corruption was noticeable(came from Wu Zetian's time). As a whole, Xuanzong was left with a big mess given by Wu Zetian's later reign. Luckily, Xuanzong was diligent and wise enough as a leader. The Tang Army was able to defeat the Khitans, Uyghurs, Tibetans, and Western Turks (but only the Western Turk's land was conquered, the other 3 still continued to war and resist). The Tang noticeably were defeated by the Eastern Turks during the 720s. However, though Tang lost those battles, the Eastern Turks soon dissolved with internal conflict; therefore, the Tang didn't have to do anything. The Tang in general kept good relations with Korea though they aren't vassals. During Xuanzong's reign, the peak of territory included a slightly expanded Mainland China, the land originally held by the Western Turks all the way to the border of Persia, and a tiny little section of land connecting the former W Turk land and Mainland; however, this was enough to reopen the Silk Road for economic trade. As for economy, Xuanzong was able to clean up the corrupt officials left by Wu Zetian. For Kaiyuan period, Xuanzong installed in good officials such as Zhang JiuLing as prime minister that helped the country grow economically.
[edit] Later years (mostly Tian Bao Era)
As Xuanzong turned his attention to pleasure-seeking with Yang and her family, he paid less and less attention to the running of his empire, and much of his power fell into the hands of court officials like the corrupt but competent Li Linfu (who was succeeded by Yang's dissolute cousin Yang Guozhong), and the influential court eunuch Gao Lishi.
At the same time, in 751, after losing the critical Battle of Talas against Persia's new, Ummayad Empire, the Tang started to lose its outer lands. At the same time, the Silk Road was closed off and Tang lost a lot of valuable agricultural lands. In general, the economy immediately started to decline after this major turning point battle.
In the meantime, the Jie Du Shi, (generals) of the outlying provinces (many of which had been recently reconquered) took more and more regional power into their own hands. One of these, a Turkish/Sogdian named An Lushan started the An Lushan Rebellion in Fanyang in 755. The rebels captured the city of Luoyang and the capital Chang'an six months later.
Xuanzong fled to Sichuan during the war, and Yang Guifei and Yang Guozhong, who attempted to flee with him, were killed by the Imperial army for their perceived part in the Emperor's weakness and loss of control.
[edit] Abdication and death
Xuanzong abdicated his position to Suzong, the heir apparent in 756. He was put under house arrest in 760 in his own palace in support by his son and led by Li Fuguo. Still mourning for his lost Lady Yang, he died in 762 shortly before the rebellion was finally quashed. His rule would be the longest of the Tang dynasty, lasting nearly 44 years.
He was deeply criticized by later historians even in Tang Dynasty for corruption and his appointment of Li Linfu to the chancellorship. On the other side, Mao Zedong said that Xuanzong was "half bright, half dark"(一半明一半暗). The strength that Xuanzong had allowed the warlords in the border provinces (Fanzhen) led to a period of increasing conflict and instability which set the stage for the end of the Tang Dynasty and the ensuing Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period.
See also:
- minister Zhang Jiuling
- artist Wu Tao-Tzu
- royalty Princess Taiping
| Preceded by: Li Jiao | Chancellor of China 710 | Succeeded by: Song Jing |
| Preceded by: Emperor Ruizong | Emperor of Tang 712–756 | Succeeded by: Emperor Suzong |
fr:Xuanzong (Tang) ko:당 현종 it:Xuan Zong (imperatore Tang) ja:玄宗 (唐) zh:唐玄宗
