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Li Cunxu
Shatuo prince of Jin who destroyed the Later Liang and founded the Later Tang in 923, then lost his throne and life in a mutiny led by a former actor
Mural of the event “Later Tang Conquers Later Liang”, which this person took part in.
After the establishment of Zhu Wen's Later Liang, it and the northern Shatuo military bloc Later Tang waged decades of bloody contention for hegemony. The two sides fought multiple rounds of extremely brutal tug-of-war for control of the Central Plains central axis.
Also known as Li Yazi · Houtang Zhuangzong · Guang Sheng Shen Min Xiao Huang Di · Li Tianxia
Li Cunxu, childhood name Yazi, was a Shatuo Turk and the eldest son of Li Keyong, Prince of Jin. Succeeding his father in 908, he broke the Liang siege of Luzhou, routed the Liang army at Baixiang, destroyed Liu Shouguang at Youzhou and took Weibo. In 923 he proclaimed himself emperor of Tang at Weizhou; that winter he took Bianzhou, the last Liang emperor Zhu Youzhen killed himself, and the court moved to Luoyang. In 925 Li Jiji and Guo Chongtao conquered the Former Shu for him, but he later had Guo killed on slander. He loved to act alongside players, took the stage name Li Tianxia and made actors provincial governors. In 926 the Weibo troops mutinied, Li Siyuan joined them, and the former actor Guo Congqian rose in Luoyang; the emperor, temple name Zhuangzong, died from a stray arrow. Ouyang Xiu's preface to the actors' chapter of the New History of the Five Dynasties cites him to show that toil raises a state and idleness ruins a man.
Life and times
- 885 CEBorn
Tang
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms - 923Later Tang Conquers Later Liang
Took partage 38Li Cunxu's Shatuo cavalry struck Kaifeng, driving the Later Liang emperor to suicide as Later Tang took control of the Yellow River basin.- Li Cunxu Wins at Baixiang911age 26Jin King Li Cunxu's Shatuo cavalry defeated the Later Liang royal guards at Baixiang in 911 CE, turning the tide of the Five Dynasties wars.
- Li Cunxu's Eight-Day March on KaifengLater Tang troops dashed 500 li across eastern plains in eight days, storming Kaifeng and terminating the Later Liang in 923 CE.
- Guo Congqian's Xingjiao Gate Mutiny926age 41In 926 Guo Congqian, a former actor commanding a palace guard unit, attacked the Xingjiao Gate in Luoyang, and Later Tang Emperor Zhuangzong died of an arrow wound.
- Li Cunxu Wins at Baixiang
- 926 CEDied
Works
Literature · Lyrics2- Ru Meng Ling (Once I Feasted in the Deep Cave of Peach Spring)Five Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Cunxu's lyric of a feast and a tearful parting, which gave the Ru Meng Ling tune its name
- Yi Ye Luo (A Single Leaf Falls)Five Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Cunxu's self-composed lyric of an autumn night, cold moon on painted towers and memories
Family tree
- Direct kin
