Emperor Zhaozong of Tang facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Emperor Zhaozong of Tang唐昭宗 |
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| Emperor of the Tang dynasty | |||||||||||||||||
| Reign | April 20, 888 – December 1, 900 | ||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Emperor Xizong | ||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Emperor Ai | ||||||||||||||||
| Reign | January 24, 901 – September 22, 904 | ||||||||||||||||
| Born | Li Jie March 31, 867 |
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| Died | September 22, 904 (aged 37) | ||||||||||||||||
| Burial | He Mausoleum (和陵) | ||||||||||||||||
| Consorts | Empress Xuanmu (m. –904) | ||||||||||||||||
| Issue | See § Family | ||||||||||||||||
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| House | Li | ||||||||||||||||
| Dynasty | Tang | ||||||||||||||||
| Father | Emperor Yizong | ||||||||||||||||
| Mother | Empress Gongxian | ||||||||||||||||
| Tang Zhaozong | |||||||||
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| Chinese | 唐昭宗 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | "Manifest Ancestor of the Tang" | ||||||||
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| Li Jie | |||||||||
| Chinese | 李傑 | ||||||||
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| Li Min | |||||||||
| Chinese | 李敏 | ||||||||
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| Li Ye | |||||||||
| Chinese | 李曄 | ||||||||
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Emperor Zhaozong of Tang (born March 31, 867 – died September 22, 904) was one of the last emperors of China's Tang dynasty. He was born Li Jie, but his name was later changed to Li Min, and then to Li Ye. He ruled from 888 to 904. For a short time in 900, powerful court officials called eunuchs removed him from power, but he was back on the throne in 901. Emperor Zhaozong was the seventh son of Emperor Yizong and the younger brother of Emperor Xizong. Sadly, he was later killed by a powerful military leader named Zhu Wen. Zhu Wen would go on to start his own new dynasty, the Later Liang.
During Emperor Zhaozong's time, the Tang dynasty was in great trouble. Rebellions were happening all over the country, and the government had lost most of its control. Emperor Zhaozong tried hard to save the dynasty, but his efforts often didn't work. His attempts to regain power from strong regional leaders, known as warlords, only made them stronger. Eventually, the warlord Zhu Wen took control of the government. In 904, Zhu Wen had Emperor Zhaozong killed. This was a step toward Zhu Wen taking over the Tang throne completely. Zhu Wen also killed many of the emperor's top advisors, including the chancellor, Cui Yin. Zhu then put Zhaozong's 13-year-old son on the throne as a puppet emperor, Emperor Ai. By 907, Zhu Wen took the throne himself, ending the Tang dynasty and starting the Later Liang dynasty. Emperor Zhaozong ruled for almost 16 years and was buried in the He Mausoleum. He was 37 years old when he died.
Contents
Early Life and Rise to Power
Li Jie was born in 867 in the capital city of Chang'an. His father was Emperor Yizong. His mother was a concubine named Consort Wang. She came from a simple background.
In 872, when Li Jie was young, his father made him the Prince of Shou. Later, in 877, his older brother Li Yan became Emperor Xizong. Li Jie was given important honorary titles. He was also named a military governor of a region called Lulong, though another warlord actually controlled it. Li Jie was very close to Emperor Xizong. He even fled Chang'an with the emperor when a rebel army, led by Huang Chao, attacked the city in 880. During this escape, 13-year-old Li Jie asked a powerful eunuch named Tian Lingzi for a horse, but Tian refused. This made Li Jie very angry at Tian.
In 888, after the rebels were defeated, Emperor Xizong became very ill. The emperor's officials wanted his older brother, Li Bao, to become the next emperor. However, a powerful eunuch named Yang Fugong wanted Li Jie to take the throne. Emperor Xizong then made Li Jie the crown prince. Soon after, Emperor Xizong died. Li Jie changed his name to Li Min and became Emperor Zhaozong. During the time of mourning, the chief minister, called a chancellor, Wei Zhaodu, helped rule the country.
Emperor Zhaozong's Reign
Early Challenges and Campaigns
When Emperor Zhaozong became emperor, people had high hopes for him. He was seen as smart, handsome, and determined. He wanted to bring back the power the emperor had lost during his brother's rule. Soon after taking the throne, he changed his name again to Li Ye.
One of his first actions was to try and remove Chen Jingxuan, a military governor who was protecting the eunuch Tian Lingzi. Emperor Zhaozong still disliked Tian. When Chen refused to leave his post, Emperor Zhaozong ordered a military campaign against him.
At the same time, a rebel leader named Qin Zongquan was defeated by Zhu Quanzhong, another powerful military governor. Qin Zongquan was then sent to Chang'an and executed.
Even though the eunuch Yang Fugong helped Emperor Zhaozong become emperor, conflicts soon started between them. Emperor Zhaozong wanted to build a strong imperial army directly under his control. This army grew to 100,000 soldiers by 890.
The emperor's advisors suggested using this new army to fight Li Keyong, one of the most powerful warlords. Emperor Zhaozong agreed, even though he had doubts. The imperial army, along with other warlords' forces, attacked Li Keyong. However, the imperial army suffered many defeats. Li Keyong's forces were too strong. By late 890, the imperial army was completely defeated. Emperor Zhaozong was forced to give Li Keyong back his titles. This campaign ended in disaster for the emperor.
The campaign against Chen Jingxuan also struggled. The imperial army had surrounded Chen's city, causing a terrible famine, but they couldn't capture it. Emperor Zhaozong decided to end this campaign too. He pardoned Chen and recalled his general. However, a warlord named Wang Jian continued the siege. In 891, Chen surrendered to Wang, who then took control of the region.
Conflicts with Warlords
The defeat against Li Keyong made the tension between Emperor Zhaozong and Yang Fugong worse. Yang Fugong retired, but rumors spread that he was planning a rebellion. Emperor Zhaozong sent guards to attack Yang Fugong's home. Yang Fugong and his relatives fled and started a rebellion.
Li Maozhen, a military governor of Fengxiang, and his allies offered to fight against Yang Fugong. Emperor Zhaozong was hesitant to give Li Maozhen more power. But Li Maozhen attacked anyway, forcing the emperor to approve him as commander. By 892, Yang Fugong's rebellion was crushed, and he was executed.
Li Maozhen then wanted to add more land to his territory. Emperor Zhaozong tried to prevent this by giving the land to someone else. This led to another campaign against Li Maozhen. However, the imperial army was not strong or experienced. They were quickly defeated by Li Maozhen's forces. Li Maozhen marched towards Chang'an, demanding the death of the chancellor who advised the emperor. Emperor Zhaozong had to give in. After this, Li Maozhen and his allies had a lot of influence over the government.
In 895, a dispute over who would succeed a warlord named Wang Chongying caused more trouble. Emperor Zhaozong supported one candidate, but Li Maozhen and his allies supported another. When the emperor made his choice, Li Maozhen and his allies marched on the capital again. They killed two chancellors, Wei Zhaodu and Li Xi.
This angered Li Keyong, who then attacked Li Maozhen's allies. Emperor Zhaozong feared that Li Maozhen and his allies wanted to capture him. He fled into the mountains with his officials. Li Keyong defeated Li Maozhen's allies, and Li Maozhen and Han Jian apologized to the emperor. Emperor Zhaozong returned to Chang'an. He rewarded Li Keyong but stopped him from attacking Li Maozhen further, fearing Li Keyong would become too powerful.
Flight to Hua Prefecture
With Li Keyong gone, Li Maozhen became arrogant again. He attacked Chang'an in 896. Emperor Zhaozong tried to get help from Li Keyong, but he couldn't. The emperor prepared to flee to Li Keyong's territory. However, another warlord, Han Jian, persuaded him to go to Hua Prefecture instead.
Once at Hua Prefecture, Emperor Zhaozong was effectively under Han Jian's control. Han forced the emperor to get rid of his imperial guards. He also killed 11 imperial princes.
Emperor Zhaozong made peace with Li Maozhen in 898. The warlords then repaired the palaces in Chang'an, and Emperor Zhaozong returned to the capital. However, he now had no army of his own, only the eunuch-controlled Shence Armies.
Removal and Restoration
A chancellor named Cui Yin hated the eunuchs and was allied with Zhu Quanzhong. By 900, Emperor Zhaozong trusted Cui and planned with him to get rid of the eunuchs. When another chancellor disagreed, Cui accused him of working with the eunuchs. Emperor Zhaozong ordered that chancellor and two powerful eunuchs to die. Cui then became the most powerful figure in the court.
The eunuchs became afraid of Emperor Zhaozong, who was often depressed and unpredictable. Four top eunuchs, including Liu Jishu, plotted to remove him. In 900, after an incident where the emperor killed some palace staff, Liu Jishu led troops into the palace. They forced Emperor Zhaozong to give up his throne to his son, Li Yu, Prince of De. Emperor Zhaozong and his wife, Empress He, were put under house arrest. Li Yu was made emperor, but the eunuchs controlled everything.
Cui Yin, however, worked with Zhu Quanzhong to restore the emperor. He also convinced some Shence Army officers to join their cause. In 901, these officers attacked. They killed the eunuch leaders, and Emperor Zhaozong was put back on the throne. He rewarded the officers by giving them the imperial family name, Li.
Flight to Fengxiang and Zhu Quanzhong's Control
After Emperor Zhaozong was restored, Li Maozhen visited Chang'an to show respect. Cui Yin tried to get control of the Shence Armies to reduce the eunuchs' power. But the officers who helped restore the emperor, and Li Maozhen, opposed this. So, the emperor put other eunuchs in charge of the armies. Cui Yin, worried about the eunuchs, asked Li Maozhen to leave some troops in Chang'an to keep the eunuchs in check. Li Maozhen agreed.
Cui Yin continued to plan against the eunuchs. The eunuchs found out and turned Li Maozhen's soldiers against Cui. Cui, fearing for his life, wrote to Zhu Quanzhong, asking him to bring his army to Chang'an. Zhu agreed.
The eunuchs, hearing of Zhu's approach, believed he would kill them. They, along with some of Li Maozhen's soldiers, seized Emperor Zhaozong and his family. They took them to Fengxiang, Li Maozhen's capital. Cui Yin and most officials stayed in Chang'an. Zhu Quanzhong arrived in Chang'an and then marched to Fengxiang, putting it under siege.
The siege of Fengxiang lasted a long time. Li Maozhen's lands around Chang'an fell to Zhu, and other lands fell to Wang Jian. By 902, Fengxiang was in a desperate situation. In 903, Li Maozhen made peace with Zhu. He surrendered Emperor Zhaozong and his family to Zhu. Li Maozhen also killed the leading eunuchs and the officers who had helped them. Zhu took the emperor back to Chang'an. One of the first things Zhu and Cui did was to kill all remaining eunuchs. This ended the power of the Shence Armies.
End of Reign and Death
After Emperor Zhaozong returned to Chang'an, Zhu Quanzhong's army controlled the capital. Zhu himself went back to his own capital, Daliang. Cui Yin began to suspect that Zhu wanted to take the throne. He tried to rebuild the imperial guards under his own command. This caused a conflict between Zhu and Cui.
In 903, Zhu's nephew died in an accident, and Zhu believed Cui was behind it. In 904, Zhu sent his soldiers to surround Cui's home and kill him. Then, Zhu forced Emperor Zhaozong to move the capital to Luoyang. During the journey, Emperor Zhaozong secretly sent messages to other warlords, asking them to fight Zhu Quanzhong. But no one responded right away.
Zhu Quanzhong had wanted to kill Emperor Zhaozong's oldest son, Li Yu, for a long time. Emperor Zhaozong resisted this. Also, many warlords were calling for the emperor to return to Chang'an. Zhu became worried that Emperor Zhaozong might try to rise against him in Luoyang. So, Zhu decided to remove the emperor. In the fall of 904, Zhu had his associates enter the palace and assassinate Emperor Zhaozong.
Zhu initially blamed the assassination on the emperor's concubines, but later blamed his own associates and forced them to die. Emperor Zhaozong's son, Li Zuo, was made crown prince and then emperor. By 907, Emperor Ai was forced to give up the throne to Zhu, ending the Tang dynasty and starting Zhu's new Later Liang dynasty.
Chancellors During Reign
- Wei Zhaodu (888, 893-895)
- Kong Wei (888-891, 895)
- Du Rangneng (888-893)
- Zhang Jun (888-891)
- Liu Chongwang (889-892)
- Cui Zhaowei (891-895)
- Xu Yanruo (891-893, 894-900)
- Zheng Yanchang (892-894)
- Cui Yin (893-895, 896-899, 900-904)
- Zheng Qi (894)
- Li Xi (894, 895)
- Li Zhirou (895)
- Lu Xisheng (895)
- Wang Tuan (895-896, 896-900)
- Sun Wo (895-897)
- Lu Yi (896, 899-903)
- Zhu Pu (896-897)
- Cui Yuan (896-900, 904)
- Pei Zhi (900-903)
- Wang Pu (901-903)
- Pei Shu (901, 903-904)
- Lu Guangqi (901-902)
