Li Yuan

Also known as Zi Shude · Tanggao Zu

Li Yuan, courtesy name Shude, inherited the title Duke of Tang at seven, and his mother was an elder sister of Empress Dugu of Sui. As regent of Taiyuan he rose in revolt at Jinyang in 617 and entered Chang'an that winter, where he enthroned the prince Yang You. In 618 he took the throne from Yang You and founded the Tang with the reign title Wude, and his sons went on to defeat Xue Rengao, Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande. In 621 he replaced the wuzhu coins with the Kaiyuan tongbao, and in 624 he issued new statutes with the equal-field system and a new tax in grain, labor and cloth. After Li Shimin killed the crown prince Li Jiancheng at the Xuanwu Gate in 626, Li Yuan handed him the throne and became retired emperor. He died in the Da'an Palace in 635 and was buried at Xianling, with the temple name Gaozu and the posthumous name Taiwu. Later dynasties kept the word tongbao on their coins.