Prince Zhanghuai

For the 6th century general, seeLi Xian (Northern Zhou general).

Li Xian
Crown Prince Zhanghuai
Figures in a cortege, from a mural of Li Xian's tomb atQianling Mausoleum,dated 706 AD; each figure measures approximately 1.6 m (63 in) in height.
Crown Prince of theTang dynasty
Reign	675–680
Predecessor	Li Hong
Successor	Emperor Zhongzong of Tang
Prince of Yong Ung Vương
Reign	673–675
Prince of Pei phái vương
Reign	662–673
Prince of Lu lộ vương
Reign	655–662
Born	(655-01-29)29 January 655
Died	13 March 684(684-03-13)(aged 29)
Spouse	Lady Fang (Princess of Yong) Lady Zhang (Liangdi)
Issue	Li Guangshun, Prince of Lu Li Shouli Li Shouyi, Prince of Bi Princess Changshun
Father	Emperor Gaozong of Tang
Mother	Wu Zetian

Li Xian(Chinese:Lý hiền;pinyin:Lǐ Xián;Wade–Giles:Li Hsien) (29 January 655 – 13 March 684),courtesy nameMingyun(Chinese:Minh duẫn;pinyin:Míngyǔn), formallyCrown Prince Zhanghuai(Chinese:Chương hoài Thái Tử;pinyin:Zhānghuái Tàizǐ), namedLi De(Chinese:Lý Đức;pinyin:Lǐ Dé) from 675 to 680, was acrown princeof theChineseTang dynasty.He was the sixth son ofEmperor Gaozong,and the second son of his second wifeEmpress Wu(later known as Wu Zetian). He was known for writing commentaries for theBook of Later Han,the official history of theEastern Han dynasty.He became crown prince in 675 after his older brotherLi Hong's death (which traditional historians believed to be a poisoning by Empress Wu), but soon fell out of favor and generosity with Empress Wu herself and that's what caused his downfall. In 680, Empress Wu had her associates accuse Li Xian of treason, and he was demoted to commoner rank and exiled. In 684, after Emperor Gaozong's death, Empress Wu, thenempress dowager,had her associate Qiu Shenji ( khâu thần tích ) visit Li Xian to force him to commit suicide.

In 706, his younger brotherEmperor Zhongzongprovided Li Xian with an honorable burial by interring his remains at theQianling Mausoleum.

Background

"Poloplayers at their game ", detail on the west wall of a tomb pathway of Prince Zhanghuai's tomb, interred in 706 AD during the Tang dynasty. The tomb is part of the largerQianling Mausoleumnear modern-dayXi'an(formerlyChang'an,the Tang capital).

Li Xian was born on 29 January 655, as the sixth son ofEmperor Gaozongand the second son of his then-favorite concubineConsort Wu(later known as Wu Zetian). There were, however, persistent rumors inside the palace that he was not actually born of Consort Wu but of her older sisterWu Shun(who was later created the Lady of Han).

In 655, the same year that his mother Consort Wu displaced Emperor Gaozong's first wifeEmpress Wangasempress,Li Xian was created the Prince of Lu. In 656, he was initially titularly given the post of prefect of Qi Prefecture ( Kỳ Châu, roughly modernBaoji,Shaanxi), and then the dual posts as prefect of the capital prefecture Yong Prefecture ( Ung Châu, roughly modernXi'an,Shaanxi) and commandant at You Prefecture ( U Châu, roughly modernBeijing).

It was said that his behavior was elegant, even in his youth, and, according to a comment that Emperor Gaozong made to thechancellorLi Ji,he had studied theClassic of History,Classic of Rites,Analects,and a number of ancient poems and could remember them clearly. In 661, his title was changed to Prince of Pei, and he was given the titles of commandant at Yang Prefecture ( Dương Châu, roughly modernYangzhou,Jiangsu) and major general, but he continued to also serve as prefect of Yong Prefecture. At this time, he had the literarily talented officialWang Boon staff.

Around this time, the princes were apparently often engaged incockfighting.Wang Bo wrote a playful piece entitled theDeclaration Against the Prince of Zhou's Cock( hịch Chu Vương gà văn ) (the Prince of Zhou was Li Xian's brotherLi Xiǎn(note different tone), later named Li Zhe), which, however, when Emperor Gaozong read it, caused Emperor Gaozong to be angry, as he believed this would cause discord between his sons, and therefore expelled Wang from the Pei mansion.

In 672, Li Xian's title was changed to Prince of Yong, and he was given the titles of commandant at Liang Prefecture ( Lương Châu, roughly modernWuwei, Gansu), but continued to also serve as general and prefect of Yong Prefecture. His name was also changed to Li De. In 674, his name was changed back to Li Xian.

As crown prince

From Paludan's source: "In this mural foreign ambassadors are being received at court. The two elegantly clad figures on the right are fromKorea,the bare-headed, large-nosed figure in the center is an envoy from the west. Mural from Li Xian's tomb, Qianling Mausoleum,Shaanxi,706. "

From Paludan's source: "A group of palace ladies in the gardens while a hoopoe flies by. Mural, tomb ofGaozong's 6th son, Li Xian, Qianling, Shaanxi, 706. "

In 675, Li Xian's older brotherLi Hongthecrown princedied—a death that traditional historians generally believed to be a poisoning ordered by Empress Wu. On July 3,Li Xian was created crown prince to replace Li Hong. Emperor Gaozong soon ordered that much of government matters be ruled on by Li Xian, But because most of the imperial work was done by Empress Wu, his decisions were under her mother's control. But Li Xian was praised for making good decisions. Also around this time, Li Xian led a group of scholars, includingZhang Da'an,Liu Nayan ( Lưu nột ngôn ), Ge Xiyuan ( cách hi nguyên ), Xu Shuya ( hứa thúc nha ), Cheng Xuanyi ( thành huyền một ), Shi Cangzhu ( sử tàng chư ), and Zhou Baoning ( chu bảo ninh ), in writing commentaries for theBook of Later Han,the official history of theEastern Han dynasty,written by theLiu SongscholarFan Ye.

Meanwhile, Li Xian's relationship with Empress Wu began to deteriorate, as Li Xian had heard the rumors that he was actually the son of Lady of Han, and had become fearful. Empress Wu, detecting this, had her literary staff write two works entitled,Good Examples for Shaoyang( thiếu dương chính phạm, "Shaoyang" being an oblique term for a crown prince) andBiographies of Filial Sons( hiếu tử truyền ) and gave them to Li Xian, and further wrote a number of letters rebuking Li Xian, making him more fearful. At the same time, Empress Wu relieved his duties as head of many government decisions and changed all of Li Xian's previous policies. Further, when the sorcerer Ming Chongyan ( minh sùng nghiễm ), who was well-trusted by Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu, was assassinated in 679, Empress Wu suspected Li Xian—as Ming had been known to repeatedly make comments to Empress Wu that included, "The Crown Prince cannot bear the responsibilities of state. The Prince of Ying [(i.e., Li Xian's younger brotherLi Zhe,later Emperor Zhongzong] has an appearance most similar toEmperor Taizong([Emperor Gaozong's father]), "and" The Prince of Xiang [(i.e., Li Xian's younger brotherLi Dan,later Emperor Ruizong)] has the most honorable appearance. "

Meanwhile, Li Xian was also known for his liking of music and women. (Some historians, pointing to oblique references that he was "particularly close" to a number of male servants, also believe that he likedsexual relations with both women and men.) When Empress Wu heard this, she had people report the news to Emperor Gaozong, who then ordered an investigation, led by the officialsXue Yuanchao,Pei Yan,andGao Zhizhou.When they searched the crown prince's stables, they found several hundred suits of black armor, and they believed this to be evidence of a coup. After interrogation, one of Li Xian's favorite servants, Zhao Daosheng ( Triệu nói sinh ), admitted to assassinating Ming on Li Xian's orders. Emperor Gaozong, who had favored Li Xian, considered pardoning him, but Empress Wu refused, and she asked him to be quiet. On September 20, 680,Emperor Gaozong deposed Li Xian and reduced him to commoner rank, delivering him from the eastern capitalLuoyang(where Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu had long taken up residence) to the capitalChang'anto be imprisoned there. His close associates were executed, and the seized armor was burned publicly to demonstrate Li Xian's treason. Li Zhe was created crown prince to replace him.

After removal

In 683, Li Xian was moved from Chang'an to Ba Prefecture ( ba châu, roughly modernBazhong,Sichuan). In 684, after Emperor Gaozong's death, Li Zhe initially took the throne (as Emperor Zhongzong), but soon was deposed himself due to signs of disobedience to Empress Wu (nowempress dowager), and Li Dan became emperor instead (as Emperor Ruizong), although Empress Dowager Wu retained all powers asregent.In spring 684, she sent the general Qiu Shenji to Ba Prefecture with the order of, "Examine the house of Li Xian the former crown prince to prevent external attacks." However, she hinted to him that he should have Li Xian killed. When he got to Ba Prefecture, he placed Li Xian into a small room and forced him to commit suicide. When news of Li Xian's death arrived at Luoyang, Empress Wu publicly blamed Qiu and demoted him to the post of prefect of Die Prefecture ( điệp châu, roughly modernGannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,Gansu), while publicly mourning Li Xian and posthumously creating him the title of Prince of Yong. (Qiu was soon recalled to Luoyang to again be general.) After Empress Wu's death in 705 and the restoration of Emperor Zhongzong to the throne, Emperor Zhongzong had Li Xian's casket returned to Chang'an, to be buried near the tomb of Emperor Gaozong. After Emperor Ruizong became emperor again in 710, he had Li Xian's crown prince title restored.

Ancestry

16. Li Bing, Duke Ren of Tang

8.Emperor Gaozu

17. Duchess Dugu

4.Emperor Taizong

18. Dou Yi, Duke of Shenwu

9. Empress Taimushunsheng

19. Princess Xiangyang of Northern Zhou

2.Emperor Gaozong

20. Zhangsun Si

10. Zhangsun Sheng

5.Empress Wendeshunsheng

22.Gao Jingde or Gao Mai

11. Lady Gao

1.Li Xian, Crown Prince Zhanghuai

24. Wu Jian

12. Wu Hua

25. Lady Song

6.Wu Shiyue, Duke Ding of Ying

13. Lady Zhao

3.Empress Wu Zetian

28.Yang Shao

14. Yang Da

7. Lady Yang

Family

Wife

Princess Fang of Yong→Crown Princess→commoner→Princess of Yong (again)→Princess Dowager of Bin→Crown Princess Jing(posthumous)

Concubine

Consort Zhang

Issue

1. Li Guangshun( Lý quang thuận ), Prince of Le'an, later emigrated to Yifeng and killed. Posthumously honored Prince of Ju
2. Li Shouli( Lý thủ lễ ), bornLi Guangren( Lý quang nhân ), born by Consort Zhang. He would be created Prince of Bin and treated as son of an emperor when his cousinEmperor Xuanzongwas reigning
3. Li Shouyi( Lý thủ nghĩa ), Prince of Qianwei, later emigrated to Guiyang and died there. Posthumously honored Prince of Bi
4. Lady Changxin( trường tin quận chúa ), she was demoted toxianzhu(literallymistress of prefecture), and her later fate was unknown

None of the sons was born by Princess Fang. Whether Princess Fang mothered Lady Changxin was also unknown.

References

• Old Book of Tang,vol. 86.
• New Book of Tang,vol. 81.
• Zizhi Tong gian,vols.200,202,203.