Royals › Monarch / Emperor
Li Dan
Tang emperor Ruizong, youngest son of Gaozong and Wu Zetian, who reigned twice, first as his mother's figurehead and again after the 710 coup, before abdicating to Li Longji
In a side chamber of a palace, a yellow ceremonial robe embroidered with a dragon hangs on a wooden stand, its hem worked with waves and rocks, before a carved folding screen, while a black lacquer chest sits on a low table by a lattice window and no person is in view.
Also known as Tang Ruizong · Xu Lun · Lun
- Roles
- Monarch / Emperor
Li Dan, first named Xulun, was born at Chang'an in 662, the eighth son of Emperor Gaozong and the youngest child of Wu Zetian. In 684 his mother deposed his brother Zhongzong and set him on the throne under the era name Wenming, yet he was kept in a side palace with no voice in government. When she declared herself emperor in 690 he was reduced to imperial heir and given the surname Wu, and after Zhongzong was recalled as crown prince in 698 he became Prince of Xiang. In 710 Zhongzong died suddenly; Li Dan's son Li Longji and Princess Taiping killed Empress Wei, and Li Dan was enthroned a second time, proclaiming the Jingyun era. In 712 he handed the throne to Li Longji and became retired emperor. He died in 716 with the temple name Ruizong and was buried at the Qiaoling tomb in present-day Pucheng, Shaanxi, where rows of stone figures still line the spirit road.
Life and times
Dates 662 CE–716 CE