Royals › Monarch / Emperor
Li Longji
Tang emperor of the Kaiyuan and Tianbao eras who took power in the coups of 710 and 713 and fled to Sichuan when An Lushan rebelled
Mural of the event “Maritime Silk Road Flourishing”, which this person took part in.
During the High Tang, advances in shipbuilding and navigation transformed the oceanic route from Guangdong across the Indian Ocean to the Persian Gulf into a bustling superhighway.
Also known as Tang Xuanzong · Tang Minghuang · Li Sanlang · Tang Yuanzong
- Roles
- Monarch / Emperor
Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, was the third son of Emperor Ruizong. In 710 he joined Princess Taiping to kill Empress Wei, Princess Anle and Shangguan Wan'er and restore his father, who named him heir; he received the throne in 712, forced Princess Taiping's suicide in 713 and changed the reign title to Kaiyuan. In the Kaiyuan years he relied on the ministers Yao Chong, Song Jing and Zhang Jiuling, registered runaway households, replaced rotating militia with paid guards, and founded the Pear Garden to train musicians. In the Tianbao era he left government to Li Linfu and then Yang Guozhong, made Yang Yuhuan his consort in 745 and gave An Lushan command of three frontier regions. After An Lushan rebelled in 755, Xuanzong fled toward Sichuan the next year; at Mawei the troops forced Yang's death, and his son Li Heng took the throne at Lingwu, making him retired emperor. He died in 762, and Bai Juyi's Song of Everlasting Sorrow retells his romance with Yang.
Life and times
Dates 685 CE–762 CE
- 677Zhaorong Drafts Imperial EdictsTook part
- 709Shangguan Wan'er's Edicts and Collected Worksage 24
- 713Reign of KaiyuanTook partage 28
- 713Kaiyuan Peak Prosperity of High Tangage 28
- 714Maritime Silk Road FlourishingTook partage 29
- c. 725Tang Xuanzong Fengshan at Mount Taiage 40
- 732Emperor Xuanzong Permits Hanshi Tomb Visitsage 47
- c. 734Li Linfu Monopolizes the Chancellorshipage 49
- 740Rainbow Skirt and Feathered RobeIn powerage 55
- c. 740Nishang Yuyi Performed at Pear Gardenage 55
- 745Investiture of Yang Guifei at Huaqingage 60
- 749Geshu Han Takes Shibao Fortressage 64
- 755An Lushan RebellionTook partage 70
- c. 755An Lushan Captures the Two Capitalsage 70
- 756Mawei Mutiny and Death of Yangage 71
- 756Changsheng Vow and Memory of Guifeiage 71
- 756Tong Pass Breaks and Chang'an Fallsage 71