Emperor Dezong of Tang facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Emperor Dezong of Tang 唐德宗
Emperor of the Tang dynasty
Reign	June 12, 779 – February 25, 805
Predecessor	Emperor Daizong
Successor	Emperor Shunzong
Born	May 27, 742
Died	February 25, 805(805-02-25) (aged 62)
Consorts	Empress Zhaode (died 786)
Issue	See § Family
Full name Family name: Lǐ (李) Given name: Kuò (适) Era dates Jiànzhōng (建中) 780–783 Xīngyuán (興元) 784 Zhēnyuán (貞元) 785–805 Posthumous name Emperor Shenwu Xiaowen (神武孝文皇帝) Temple name Dézōng (德宗)
Dynasty	Tang (唐)
Father	Emperor Daizong
Mother	Empress Ruizhen

Emperor Dezong of Tang (born May 27, 742 – died February 25, 805) was a powerful ruler of the Tang dynasty in China. His personal name was Li Kuo. He was the oldest son of Emperor Daizong.

Emperor Dezong ruled for 26 years. This was one of the longest reigns in the Tang dynasty. Only Emperor Xuanzong and Emperor Gaozong ruled for longer.

When he first became emperor, Dezong was very careful with money. He tried to make the government's finances better. He even brought in new tax laws. However, his efforts to control powerful local leaders, called warlords, led to many rebellions. These uprisings almost destroyed his rule and the Tang dynasty.

After these tough times, Emperor Dezong became more cautious. He let the warlords have more power. He also started to trust eunuchs a lot, which made their influence grow. Later in his reign, he became very suspicious of officials. He didn't give much power to his top advisors, known as chancellors.

Early Life and Family

Li Kuo was born in 742. This was during the time his great-grandfather, Emperor Xuanzong, was emperor. Li Kuo's father was Li Chu, who was then a prince. Li Kuo was Li Chu's oldest son.

His mother was a royal lady named Consort Shen. He was born in the Crown Prince's palace in the capital city, Chang'an. Later that year, he was given the title Prince of Fengjie.

When the Anshi Rebellion started in 755, Emperor Xuanzong fled. Li Kuo's father and grandfather also had to move to safer places. Li Kuo likely stayed with his father. His mother, Consort Shen, was captured by the rebels. She was never found, even after the rebellion ended.

Becoming Crown Prince

After the capital, Chang'an, was taken back from the rebels, Li Kuo's father became the crown prince. In 762, his father became Emperor Daizong.

Emperor Daizong gave Li Kuo important military titles. He was made Prince of Yong. Li Kuo was sent to help recapture the eastern capital, Luoyang. During this time, he met a leader from the Huige people. Li Kuo treated him as an equal, which made the Huige leader angry. The Huige were helping the Tang dynasty, so their help was very important. This incident made Li Kuo dislike the Huige people.

In 764, Li Kuo was officially made the crown prince. This meant he was next in line to become emperor. His activities as crown prince were not often written about. However, in 778, he helped reveal that a corrupt official was doing wrong.

In 779, Emperor Daizong became sick. Li Kuo briefly took over as a temporary ruler. When his father died, Li Kuo became the new emperor, known as Emperor Dezong.

Emperor Dezong's Early Rule

When Emperor Dezong became emperor, he quickly made many changes. He wanted to show he was different from his father.

• He removed a powerful advisor, Chang Gun.
• He reduced the power of a great general, Guo Ziyi.
• He released many animals from the royal zoo.
• He sent many palace ladies away to save money.
• He stopped eunuchs from receiving gifts when they delivered messages.
• He took back control of a region called Xichuan. Its governor had been acting too independently.
• He changed the tax system. This new system, called the Law of the Two Taxes, aimed to tax merchants more and reduce the burden on farmers.

Emperor Dezong also continued to search for his lost mother, Consort Shen. He gave many honors to her family. Several times, people claimed to be his mother, but they were found to be fakes. His real mother was never found.

Dealing with Warlords

When Emperor Dezong started his rule, four major regions were controlled by powerful military governors, or warlords. These warlords acted almost like independent rulers. They wanted to pass their power down to their children.

In 781, one warlord, Li Baochen, died. Emperor Dezong refused to let Li Baochen's son take over. He wanted to show that the central government was in charge. This angered the other warlords. They prepared for war against the emperor.

Emperor Dezong sent his armies to fight them. At first, his forces were very successful. It looked like he would soon bring all the regions back under central control.

However, things quickly went wrong. Emperor Dezong angered two important generals, Zhu Tao and Wang Wujun. He didn't give them the rewards they felt they deserved. As a result, Zhu and Wang joined forces with the other warlords. They rebelled against the emperor. These four rebel generals even claimed princely titles, showing they were breaking away from the Tang government.

To pay for these wars, Emperor Dezong added new taxes. These taxes were very heavy and made people unhappy. An important advisor, Lu Zhi, warned the emperor that the country was close to full rebellion. But Emperor Dezong did not listen.

Major Rebellions and Challenges

In November 783, soldiers from Jingyuan rebelled in the capital, Chang'an. They were angry about their pay and food. Emperor Dezong had to flee the palace with his family. The soldiers supported Zhu Tao's brother, Zhu Ci, as their new leader. Zhu Ci soon declared himself emperor of a new state.

Zhu Ci's army attacked Emperor Dezong's temporary refuge. The city almost fell. Luckily, General Li Huaiguang arrived and forced Zhu Ci to retreat.

However, Emperor Dezong then upset Li Huaiguang by refusing to meet him. Li Huaiguang felt disrespected. He secretly started talking with Zhu Ci. On March 20, 784, Li Huaiguang also rebelled and joined Zhu Ci. Emperor Dezong had to flee again, this time to Liang Prefecture.

Many of Li Huaiguang's officers did not follow him. They stayed loyal to Emperor Dezong. This weakened Li Huaiguang's forces. Zhu Ci then treated Li Huaiguang as a subordinate, not an equal. Angry, Li Huaiguang retreated to his base.

General Li Sheng led a final attack on Chang'an. On June 12, his forces entered the city. Zhu Ci fled and was soon killed by his own soldiers. On August 3, Emperor Dezong returned to Chang'an.

Li Huaiguang continued to resist, but his forces were eventually defeated. He died, and his army rejoined the Tang dynasty. Another rebel leader, Li Xilie, was poisoned by his own general in 786. His general then rejoined the Tang side. By this time, the empire was officially back under Emperor Dezong's control.

Later Years and Key Issues

The long wars had weakened the Tang empire. The Tufan forces, a neighboring power, took advantage of this. They often attacked Tang territory.

Emperor Dezong became very suspicious of his generals. He feared they would become too powerful. He removed important generals like Li Sheng and Ma Sui from their military commands.

He brought in a new chief advisor, Li Mi. Li Mi suggested that soldiers should settle in the border regions with Tufan. This would help defend the borders. Li Mi also suggested a marriage alliance with the Huige people. Emperor Dezong initially hated the Huige, but he agreed. With the Huige fighting Tufan, and another group, Nanzhao, also turning against Tufan, the Tufan attacks on Tang began to lessen.

Emperor's Spending Habits

Emperor Dezong started to demand many gifts from regional governors for his own use. Li Mi tried to stop this by giving the emperor a set amount of money each year. But Emperor Dezong still secretly demanded more gifts. Li Mi became sad about this but didn't dare to speak up again.

After Li Mi died in 789, another advisor, Lu Zhi, tried to make big changes. He wanted to improve the government and regain control over the regional governors. However, Lu Zhi soon lost favor with the emperor. He was removed from his position and exiled in 795.

Growing Power of Eunuchs

After Lu Zhi was removed, Emperor Dezong trusted his chief advisors less and less. He started to pick all officials himself. But since he couldn't know everyone, he relied on recommendations from a few trusted officials and powerful eunuchs. These eunuchs became very influential. They could even cause chief advisors to lose their jobs.

Emperor Dezong also became more open to receiving gifts from regional governors. The governors would send large amounts of money to protect their positions and gain the emperor's favor.

Eunuchs also became the commanders of the Shence Army, a powerful military force. Many military governors had started as Shence Army soldiers. This made the eunuchs' power grow even more.

In 799, a warlord named Wu Shaocheng began attacking nearby regions. Emperor Dezong ordered other military governors to fight him. But these generals couldn't work together. They were defeated. Emperor Dezong finally pardoned Wu Shaocheng in late 800 to end the fighting.

Chongling (崇陵), the tomb of Emperor Dezong, in Jingyang County, Shaanxi

By this time, the Tufan threat had greatly reduced. This was thanks to victories by Tang generals and the Nanzhao king, who became a Tang ally.

Final Years

Emperor Dezong's oldest son, Li Song, the Crown Prince, became close to some younger officials. These officials planned to make many changes when Li Song became emperor.

In late 804, Li Song suffered a stroke. He became partly paralyzed and couldn't speak. In early 805, Emperor Dezong became very sad because of his son's illness. He also fell ill and died on February 25, 805. Despite his severe illness, Li Song became the next emperor, known as Emperor Shunzong.

Challenges During Dezong's Reign

Emperor Dezong's time as ruler saw three main problems that affected future Tang emperors.

Dealing with Military Governors

Early in his reign, Dezong tried to control the fanzhen. These were large areas ruled by military governors who had become very powerful after the An Lushan rebellion. These leaders collected taxes, had their own armies, and passed their power down in their families. They often didn't obey the central government.

Dezong tried to stop this by refusing to let a warlord's son inherit his father's position. This angered other warlords, who rebelled. Dezong was forced to flee his palace. He had to give up his plans to remove the warlords. In 784, he even issued a statement blaming himself for the revolts.

Dezong's failure to control these warlords weakened the Tang dynasty's central power. This problem led to more rebellions later and eventually contributed to the dynasty's end.

Reliance on Eunuchs

Dezong saw how powerful eunuchs became during his father's rule. At first, he kept them at a distance. But when he was forced to flee his capital in 782, he felt abandoned by his generals. Only a few eunuchs stayed loyal to him.

After returning to Chang'an, Dezong greatly rewarded these loyal eunuchs. He gave them important military and government jobs. Over time, the eunuchs' power grew immensely. Some eunuchs later became so powerful that they could choose or remove emperors. Dezong's son and grandson, and other later emperors, were even murdered or removed by eunuchs.

From Frugal to Greedy

Dezong started his reign by trying to save money. He stopped wasteful government spending. He also freed hundreds of palace girls to reduce costs. These actions were praised, but they only lasted a few years.

The rebellions forced Dezong to flee Chang'an in 784. During his time in exile, he realized how important wealth was. After he returned, he reversed many of his earlier rules. With the help of eunuchs, Dezong began to gather a huge personal fortune. This was often done through demanding gifts or bribes. This created a bad atmosphere where wealth, not skill, brought power.

Chancellors During Reign

Family

Emperor Dezong had many children. Here are some of them:

• Empress Zhaode, from the Wang clan (died 786)
  • Li Song, who became Emperor Shunzong (761–806). He was the first son.
  • Princess Hanzhenmu (762–784). She was the first daughter.
    • She married Wei You.
• Worthy Consort Wei, from the Wei clan
• Consort Wang, from the Wang clan
• Gracious Consort, from the Xiao clan
• First Imperial Concubine, from the Wang clan
• Lady of Complete Countenance, from the Wu clan
• Other Children (mothers unknown)
  • Li Chen, Prince Tong (771–798). He was the third son.
  • Li Liang, Prince Qian. He was the fourth son.
  • Li Xiang, Prince Su (779–782). He was the fifth son.
  • Li Qian, Prince Zi (born 779). He was the sixth son.
  • Li Yin, Prince Dai (born 779). He was the seventh son.
  • Li Jie, Prince Zhao. He was the ninth son.
  • Li E, Prince Qin. He was the tenth son.
  • Li Xian, Prince Zhen (801–833). He was the 11th son.
  • Princess Weixianmu
    • She married Wang Shiping, son of Wang Wujun, in 786.
  • Princess Zhengzhuangmu (died 799)
    • She married Zhang Maozong, son of Zhang Xiaozhong, in 787.
  • Princess Linzhen
    • She married Xue Zhao.
  • Princess Yongyang. She was the tenth daughter.
    • She married Cui Yin.
  • Princess Puning. She was the 11th daughter.
  • Princess Yanxiangmu (died 808)
    • She married Tun Bagha Tarkhan in 788.
  • Princess Yichuan
  • Princess Yidu (772–803). She was the fourth daughter.
    • She married Liu Yu in 796.
  • Princess Jinping