Li Chongjun
Encyclopedia
Li Chongjun (died 7 August 707), formally Crown Prince Jiemin (節愍太子), was a crown prince
of the Chinese
dynasty Tang Dynasty
, during the second reign of his father Emperor Zhongzong
. He was made crown prince because the only son of his father's wife Empress Wei
, Li Chongrun
, had been killed before his father's return to the throne, but on account of his mother's low birth, he was often humiliated by Empress Wei's daughter Li Guo'er
the Princess Anle and her husband Wu Chongxun (武崇訓). In 707, in anger, he started a coup and killed Wu Chongxun and his father Wu Sansi
the Prince of Dejing, but his subsequent attempt to arrest Empress Wei, Li Guo'er, and Consort Shangguan Wan'er
was thwarted, and he was killed in flight.
(Li Xian), although his younger brother Emperor Shang
was born in either 695 or 698, and so he must be born sometime there before. It is not known who his mother was other than that she was not Emperor Zhongzong's wife Empress Wei
. It is further unknown whether he was born before or during Emperor Zhongzong's brief first reign in 684, or during his exile from 684 to 698. However, upon the recall of Li Xian, then carrying the title of Prince of Lulin during the reign of Li Chongjun's grandmother Wu Zetian
, to the capital Luoyang
, Wu Zetian created Li Chongjun the Prince of Yixing.
In 705, Li Xian was restored to the throne after Wu Zetian was overthrown in a coup. He created Li Chongjun the Prince of Wei and made him the prefect of Luo Prefecture (洛州, i.e., Luoyang). He was also made a general and the commandant at Yang Prefecture (揚州, roughly modern Yangzhou
, Jiangsu
), although he remained at Luoyang and did not report to Yang Prefecture.
. It was said that he was intelligent and decisive, but because he lacked good teachers, he did not act properly. Emperor Zhongzong made his brothers-in-law Yang Shenjiao (楊慎交) the husband of Princess Changning and Wu Chongxun the husband of Li Guo'er the Princess Anle his advisors. It was said that all Yang and Wu did were to play sports with Li Chongjun and were not carrying out actions to educate or protect him. His staff members Yao Ting (姚珽) and Ping Zhenshen (平貞慎) did frequently advise him to act properly, and Li Chongjun treated them with respect, but could not carry out their suggestions.
At that time, Wu Chongxun's father Wu Sansi
the Prince of Dejing was a lover of Empress Wei and a trusted advisor to Emperor Zhongzong, and shortly after Li Chongjun was created crown prince, he persuaded Li Chongjun to suggest that five officials who had been instrumental in returning Emperor Zhongzong to the throne but who had subsequently lost out to Wu Sansi in a power struggle -- Jing Hui
, Huan Yanfan
, Zhang Jianzhi
, Yuan Shuji
, and Cui Xuanwei
-- be killed and their clans be slaughtered. Emperor Zhongzong did not accept the suggestion, although subsequently the five were all either killed cruelly or died in exile.
Meanwhile, because Li Chongjun was not born of Empress Wei, she disliked him. Further, Wu Chongxun and Li Guo'er both often humiliated Li Chongjun, sometimes even calling him "slave" on account of his mother's lower birth. Li Guo'er, Emperor Zhongzong's favorite daughter, also often suggested to Emperor Zhongzong that he depose Li Chongjun and make her crown princess. In fall 707 (by which time the capital had moved back to Chang'an
), Li Chongjun's anger erupted, and he, the ethnically Mohe general Li Duozuo
, and his father's cousin Li Qianli (李千里) the Prince of Cheng rose in rebellion, along with other generals Li Sichong (李思沖), Li Chengkuang (李承況), Dugu Yizhi (獨孤褘之), and Shazha Zhongyi (沙吒忠義). They took a group of imperial guards and attacked Wu Sansi's mansion, killing him and Wu Chongxun. They then attacked the palace, seeking to arrest Empress Wei, Li Guo'er, and Emperor Zhongzong's concubine Consort Shangguan Wan'er
(who also had an affair with Wu Sansi). The imperial guards at the palace defended against the attack, and Li Chongjun hesitated—hoping to be able to converse with Emperor Zhongzong himself to plead his case. The eunuch Yang Sixu (楊思勗) took the opportunity to counterattack and kill Li Chongjun's forward commander, Li Duozuo's son-in-law Ye Huli (野呼利). Emperor Zhongzong then spoke to Li Chongjun's soldiers, urging them to desert. The soldiers thereafter turned against Li Chongjun and killed Li Duozuo, Li Chengkuang, Dugu, and Shazha; in a separate attack, Li Qianli and his son Li Xi (李禧) the Prince of Tianshui were killed in battle. Li Chongjun fled with some 100 soldiers toward the Qinling Mountains
, but soldiers deserted on the way, and by the time he reached Hu (戶縣, near Chang'an), he only had several soldiers with him. As they were resting under a tree, the soldiers killed him and surrendered.
Emperor Zhongzong presented Li Chongjun's head to the imperial ancestral temple (in other words, treating him as having committed treason), and then also presented it to the caskets of Wu Sansi and Wu Chongxun. He then hung Li Chongjun's head on the government wall. None of Li Chongjun's staff members, fearful that they would be accused of treason themselves, dared to approach Li Chongjun's body, but the secretary general of Yonghe County (永和, in modern Linfen
, Shanxi
), Ning Jiaxu (甯嘉勗), took off his own shirt, wrapped Li Chongjun's head in it, and wept bitterly—and as a result was demoted to be the secretary general of the distant Xingping County (興平, in modern Foshan
, Guangdong
). After Emperor Zhongzong's death in 710, Empress Wei was overthrown in a coup led by Li Chongjun's cousin Li Longji
the Prince of Linzi and Li Chongjun's aunt Princess Taiping
, and Li Longji's father and Li Chongjun's uncle Li Dan
the Prince of Xiang became emperor (as Emperor Ruizong). Emperor Ruizong restored Li Chongjun's title as crown prince, reburied him with honors due a crown prince, and gave him the posthumous name
of Jiemin (meaning "self-controlled and suffering").
.
Chongjun had a son named Li Zonghui(李宗晖). Zonghui would be created Prince of Huyang during the reign of his grand-uncle Emperor Ruizong of Tang
and serve as Taichangyuanwaiqing(太常员外卿) in the Tianbao era of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang
.
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
of the Chinese
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
dynasty Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
, during the second reign of his father Emperor Zhongzong
Emperor Zhongzong of Tang
Emperor Zhongzong of Tang , personal name Lǐ Xiǎn , at times during his life Li Zhe and Wu Xian , was the fourth Emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling briefly in 684 and again from 705 to 710.Emperor Zhongzong was the son of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Empress Wu...
. He was made crown prince because the only son of his father's wife Empress Wei
Empress Wei (Zhongzong)
Empress Wei was an empress of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. She was the second wife of Emperor Zhongzong, who reigned twice, and during his second reign, she tried to emulate the example of her mother-in-law Wu Zetian and seize power...
, Li Chongrun
Li Chongrun
Li Chongrun , né Li Chongzhao , formally Crown Prince Yide , was an imperial prince of the Chinese dynasties Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty. He was the only son of Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Zhongzong's second wife Empress Wei...
, had been killed before his father's return to the throne, but on account of his mother's low birth, he was often humiliated by Empress Wei's daughter Li Guo'er
Princess Anle
Princess Anle , personal name Li Guo'er , was a princess of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. She was the youngest daughter of Emperor Zhongzong and his wife Empress Wei who was greatly favored by her parents and therefore grew very powerful and corrupt during her father's second...
the Princess Anle and her husband Wu Chongxun (武崇訓). In 707, in anger, he started a coup and killed Wu Chongxun and his father Wu Sansi
Wu Sansi
Wu Sansi , formally Prince Xuan of Liang , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and his aunt Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, becoming an imperial prince and chancellor during the reign of Wu Zetian and subsequently, while only briefly chancellor during the second reign of Wu Zetian's son...
the Prince of Dejing, but his subsequent attempt to arrest Empress Wei, Li Guo'er, and Consort Shangguan Wan'er
Shangguan Wan'er
Shangguan Wan'er , imperial consort rank Zhaorong , posthumous name Wenhui , was the granddaughter of Shangguan Yi and was one of the women most famous in Chinese history for her talent...
was thwarted, and he was killed in flight.
Background
It is not known when Li Chongjun was born, but it was recorded that he was the third son of Emperor ZhongzongEmperor Zhongzong of Tang
Emperor Zhongzong of Tang , personal name Lǐ Xiǎn , at times during his life Li Zhe and Wu Xian , was the fourth Emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling briefly in 684 and again from 705 to 710.Emperor Zhongzong was the son of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Empress Wu...
(Li Xian), although his younger brother Emperor Shang
Emperor Shang of Tang
Emperor Shang , also known as Emperor Shao , personal name Li Chongmao , was an emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling briefly in 710....
was born in either 695 or 698, and so he must be born sometime there before. It is not known who his mother was other than that she was not Emperor Zhongzong's wife Empress Wei
Empress Wei (Zhongzong)
Empress Wei was an empress of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. She was the second wife of Emperor Zhongzong, who reigned twice, and during his second reign, she tried to emulate the example of her mother-in-law Wu Zetian and seize power...
. It is further unknown whether he was born before or during Emperor Zhongzong's brief first reign in 684, or during his exile from 684 to 698. However, upon the recall of Li Xian, then carrying the title of Prince of Lulin during the reign of Li Chongjun's grandmother Wu Zetian
Wu Zetian
Wu Zetian , personal name Wu Zhao , often referred to as Tian Hou during the Tang Dynasty and Empress Consort Wu in later times, was the only woman in the history of China to assume the title of Empress Regnant...
, to the capital Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
, Wu Zetian created Li Chongjun the Prince of Yixing.
In 705, Li Xian was restored to the throne after Wu Zetian was overthrown in a coup. He created Li Chongjun the Prince of Wei and made him the prefect of Luo Prefecture (洛州, i.e., Luoyang). He was also made a general and the commandant at Yang Prefecture (揚州, roughly modern Yangzhou
Yangzhou
Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou to the east, and Zhenjiang across...
, Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
), although he remained at Luoyang and did not report to Yang Prefecture.
As crown prince
In 706, Li Chongjun was created crown princeCrown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
. It was said that he was intelligent and decisive, but because he lacked good teachers, he did not act properly. Emperor Zhongzong made his brothers-in-law Yang Shenjiao (楊慎交) the husband of Princess Changning and Wu Chongxun the husband of Li Guo'er the Princess Anle his advisors. It was said that all Yang and Wu did were to play sports with Li Chongjun and were not carrying out actions to educate or protect him. His staff members Yao Ting (姚珽) and Ping Zhenshen (平貞慎) did frequently advise him to act properly, and Li Chongjun treated them with respect, but could not carry out their suggestions.
At that time, Wu Chongxun's father Wu Sansi
Wu Sansi
Wu Sansi , formally Prince Xuan of Liang , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and his aunt Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, becoming an imperial prince and chancellor during the reign of Wu Zetian and subsequently, while only briefly chancellor during the second reign of Wu Zetian's son...
the Prince of Dejing was a lover of Empress Wei and a trusted advisor to Emperor Zhongzong, and shortly after Li Chongjun was created crown prince, he persuaded Li Chongjun to suggest that five officials who had been instrumental in returning Emperor Zhongzong to the throne but who had subsequently lost out to Wu Sansi in a power struggle -- Jing Hui
Jing Hui
JIng Hui , courtesy name Zhongye , formally Prince Sumin of Pingyang , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong...
, Huan Yanfan
Huan Yanfan
Huan Yanfan , courtesy name Shize , formally Prince Zhonglie of Fuyang , briefly known during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang as Wei Yanfan , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong...
, Zhang Jianzhi
Zhang Jianzhi
Zhang Jianzhi , courtesy name Mengjiang , formally Prince Wenzhen of Hanyang , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving as chancellor during the reigns of Wu Zetian and her son Emperor Zhongzong...
, Yuan Shuji
Yuan Shuji
Yuan Shuji , formally Prince Zhenlie of Nanyang , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong...
, and Cui Xuanwei
Cui Xuanwei
Cui Xuanwei , né Cui Ye , formally Prince Wenxian of Boling , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Wu Zetian and her son Emperor Zhongzong...
-- be killed and their clans be slaughtered. Emperor Zhongzong did not accept the suggestion, although subsequently the five were all either killed cruelly or died in exile.
Meanwhile, because Li Chongjun was not born of Empress Wei, she disliked him. Further, Wu Chongxun and Li Guo'er both often humiliated Li Chongjun, sometimes even calling him "slave" on account of his mother's lower birth. Li Guo'er, Emperor Zhongzong's favorite daughter, also often suggested to Emperor Zhongzong that he depose Li Chongjun and make her crown princess. In fall 707 (by which time the capital had moved back to Chang'an
Chang'an
Chang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...
), Li Chongjun's anger erupted, and he, the ethnically Mohe general Li Duozuo
Li Duozuo
Li Duozuo , formally the Prince of Liaoyang , was an ethnically Mohe general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty...
, and his father's cousin Li Qianli (李千里) the Prince of Cheng rose in rebellion, along with other generals Li Sichong (李思沖), Li Chengkuang (李承況), Dugu Yizhi (獨孤褘之), and Shazha Zhongyi (沙吒忠義). They took a group of imperial guards and attacked Wu Sansi's mansion, killing him and Wu Chongxun. They then attacked the palace, seeking to arrest Empress Wei, Li Guo'er, and Emperor Zhongzong's concubine Consort Shangguan Wan'er
Shangguan Wan'er
Shangguan Wan'er , imperial consort rank Zhaorong , posthumous name Wenhui , was the granddaughter of Shangguan Yi and was one of the women most famous in Chinese history for her talent...
(who also had an affair with Wu Sansi). The imperial guards at the palace defended against the attack, and Li Chongjun hesitated—hoping to be able to converse with Emperor Zhongzong himself to plead his case. The eunuch Yang Sixu (楊思勗) took the opportunity to counterattack and kill Li Chongjun's forward commander, Li Duozuo's son-in-law Ye Huli (野呼利). Emperor Zhongzong then spoke to Li Chongjun's soldiers, urging them to desert. The soldiers thereafter turned against Li Chongjun and killed Li Duozuo, Li Chengkuang, Dugu, and Shazha; in a separate attack, Li Qianli and his son Li Xi (李禧) the Prince of Tianshui were killed in battle. Li Chongjun fled with some 100 soldiers toward the Qinling Mountains
Qinling Mountains
The Qin Mountains are a major east-west mountain range in southern Shaanxi province, China. The mountains provide a natural boundary between the North and South of the country, and support a huge variety of plant and wildlife, some of which is found nowhere else on Earth.To the north is the...
, but soldiers deserted on the way, and by the time he reached Hu (戶縣, near Chang'an), he only had several soldiers with him. As they were resting under a tree, the soldiers killed him and surrendered.
Emperor Zhongzong presented Li Chongjun's head to the imperial ancestral temple (in other words, treating him as having committed treason), and then also presented it to the caskets of Wu Sansi and Wu Chongxun. He then hung Li Chongjun's head on the government wall. None of Li Chongjun's staff members, fearful that they would be accused of treason themselves, dared to approach Li Chongjun's body, but the secretary general of Yonghe County (永和, in modern Linfen
Linfen
-Administrative divisions:The prefecture-level city of Linfen is divided in one district, two cities and fourteen counties. The information here presented uses the metric system and data from 2010 Census.-Pollution:...
, Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
), Ning Jiaxu (甯嘉勗), took off his own shirt, wrapped Li Chongjun's head in it, and wept bitterly—and as a result was demoted to be the secretary general of the distant Xingping County (興平, in modern Foshan
Foshan
Foshan is a city in central Guangdong province in southern China. The prefectural area under the city's jurisdiction over an area of about 3,840 km² and a population of 5.4 million of which 1.1 million reside in the city proper ....
, Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
). After Emperor Zhongzong's death in 710, Empress Wei was overthrown in a coup led by Li Chongjun's cousin Li Longji
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang , also commonly known as Emperor Ming of Tang , personal name Li Longji , known as Wu Longji from 690 to 705, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756. His reign of 43 years was the longest during the Tang Dynasty...
the Prince of Linzi and Li Chongjun's aunt Princess Taiping
Princess Taiping
Princess Taiping was a princess of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and her mother Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty. She was the youngest daughter of Wu Zetian and Emperor Gaozong and was powerful during the reigns of her mother and her elder brothers Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong , particularly...
, and Li Longji's father and Li Chongjun's uncle Li Dan
Emperor Ruizong of Tang
Emperor Ruizong of Tang , personal name Lǐ Dàn , known at times during his life as Li Xulun , Li Lun , Wu Lun , and Wu Dan , was the fifth and ninth emperor of Tang Dynasty...
the Prince of Xiang became emperor (as Emperor Ruizong). Emperor Ruizong restored Li Chongjun's title as crown prince, reburied him with honors due a crown prince, and gave him the posthumous name
Posthumous name
A posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty, nobles, and sometimes others, in East Asia after the person's death, and is used almost exclusively instead of one's personal name or other official titles during his life...
of Jiemin (meaning "self-controlled and suffering").
Ancestry
Personal Information
The consort of Chongjun was surnamed Yang; her younger sister was mother of the future Emperor Suzong of TangEmperor Suzong of Tang
Emperor Suzong of Tang , personal name Li Heng , né Li Sisheng , known as Li Jun from 725 to 736, known as Li Yu from 736 to 738, known briefly as Li Shao in 738, was an emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the son of Emperor Xuanzong...
.
Chongjun had a son named Li Zonghui(李宗晖). Zonghui would be created Prince of Huyang during the reign of his grand-uncle Emperor Ruizong of Tang
Emperor Ruizong of Tang
Emperor Ruizong of Tang , personal name Lǐ Dàn , known at times during his life as Li Xulun , Li Lun , Wu Lun , and Wu Dan , was the fifth and ninth emperor of Tang Dynasty...
and serve as Taichangyuanwaiqing(太常员外卿) in the Tianbao era of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang , also commonly known as Emperor Ming of Tang , personal name Li Longji , known as Wu Longji from 690 to 705, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756. His reign of 43 years was the longest during the Tang Dynasty...
.