Emperor Taishang, as the name suggests, is the emperor and his father. We can basically tell the famous emperors in history, but how much do you know about the famous Emperor Taishang in history?
The first, King Xiang of Qinzhuang. It is estimated that few people know this name, but when it comes to his son, everyone must know that it is the famous Qin Shi Huang. King Xiang of Qin zhuang was the one who was a hostage in the Zhao kingdom, and qin shi huang posthumously honored him as emperor taishang after he ascended the throne, and he was also the first official emperor in history. However, this person had already died when he was crowned emperor, but he was posthumously honored.
The second was another well-known emperor, Liu Taigong, the father of Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gaozu, who was also the first Emperor Taishang in history who had not been an emperor.
The reason why Liu Taigong was named Emperor Taishang was very simple, because after Liu Bang established the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Taigong was still alive, and as a son of man, there was no reason for a father to salute his son; but Liu Bang was also an emperor, and he was supposedly the lord of the world. In order to allow Liu Taigong to accept Liu Bang's worship, Liu Bang specially honored Liu Taigong as emperor taishang in order to block the mouths of those who said "heaven has no two days".
The third famous Emperor Taishang was the Sui Emperor Yang Guang, didn't he expect it? In our general impression, although the two great unified dynasties of Qin and Sui are very powerful, they all died in the second and had a very short life; in fact, whether it is Qin or Sui, there are three. Qin III was the infant prince of Qin, and Sui III was The Sui Gong Emperor Yang You.
In 617, Li Yuan raised an army at Jinyang and in just half a year he invaded the Sui capital Daxing (also in Xi'an, Shaanxi, but in the northwest). At that time, the Sui Emperor Yang Guang was still in Jiangdu, and Li Yuan felt that the time had not yet come, so he made Yang Guang's grandson Yang You the Sui Gong Emperor, nominally the emperor, but in fact Li Yuan's puppet, and established the Sui Emperor Yang Guang as the Emperor Taishang. The following year, Yang Guang died in the Jiangdu Mutiny, and Yang You was immediately forced to abdicate, and the Tang Dynasty was established.
What is more interesting is that when Li Yuanyao respected Yang Guang as the Emperor Taishang, he did not expect that the feng shui would take turns, and just 6 years later, Li Shimin, the king of Qin, launched the "Xuanwumen Change" and forced Li Yuan to make himself crown prince. Not long after, perhaps forced, or perhaps Li Yuan himself felt that being the emperor was not interesting, anyway, the throne came to Li Shimin, and Li Yuan also became the Emperor Taishang.
The fifth more famous Emperor Taishang should be regarded as the top three Taishang Emperors mentioned in history, Emperor Huizong of Song. In 1126 AD, that is, the first year of Jing Kang, the Jin soldiers approached the city, and the Northern Song Dynasty was crumbling. In order to evade responsibility, Emperor Huizong of Song gave the throne to the crown prince Zhao Heng, that is, Zhao Huan.
Unexpectedly, the following year, in 1127 AD, the Jing Kang Disaster broke out, and whether you were the emperor or the Emperor Taishang, the Jin soldiers all went north together and captured the Jin Kingdom; even the harem women and courtiers could not avoid it, and more than 3,000 Song Dynasty dignitaries and nobles all became prisoners of the Jin Kingdom.
The sixth famous Emperor Taishang should be the one we are most familiar with, that is, the Qianlong Emperor. Qianlong was bent on aligning himself with his grandfather Kangxi, and his reign was no exception. Kangxi reigned for 61 years, the highest of China's feudal dynasties; in order not to cross this age, Qianlong gave the throne to the fifteenth son of the emperor, later the Jiaqing Emperor, in 60 years, and became the Emperor Taishang who enjoyed his old age.
However, if it is said that it is too high the emperor, how can Qianlong really delegate power? Even if the Jiaqing Emperor ascended the throne, it was Qianlong who was really in charge of state affairs, and even matters such as the draft should be the same as usual. It was not until Qianlong's death in 1799 that the Jiaqing Emperor, who had been a puppet emperor for four years, finally came to power and became the supreme ruler of the country.
After looking at the above-mentioned more famous Emperor Taishang, we find that those who are Emperor Taishang, except for the exception of Qianlong, are basically forced to make their own decisions out of necessity, and it seems that the emperor's old father is not so good.
References: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, Old Book of Tang, History of song