The throne has been passed down since ancient times. According to the patriarchal law, the succession to the throne follows the principle of "the father dies and the son succeeds, and the brother dies and the brother dies". When the new emperor ascends the throne, he will be crowned prince among the eldest sons or virtuous sons of the concubines to stabilize the country and the people' hearts. If the emperor really had no sons, his throne passed to his brother. For example, the Emperor Tianqi in the late Ming Dynasty had no heirs, so he passed the throne to his younger brother Chongzhen. Generally speaking, the succession of fathers and sons is a common phenomenon in the inheritance of the throne, and the death of brothers and brothers is an accidental phenomenon in the inheritance of the throne.
However, in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the imperial succession of the Tang Dynasty had a very special situation: the inheritance of the imperial throne was chaotic, so that there was a strange incident of uncles inheriting the throne of their nephews.
Li Chun (778-820), also known as Emperor Xianzong of Tang
Chaotic succession to the throne in the middle and late Tang Dynasty
Before Tang Xianzong, the succession of the Tang Dynasty throne was basically normal. Except for the two brothers Tang Zhongzong and Tang Ruizong who ascended the throne twice because of Wu Zetian, the Shenlong coup and the Tang Long coup, the Tang Dynasty's imperial throne until Tang Xianzong mostly followed the traditional principle of father's death and son's succession.
However, after Emperor Xianzong of Tang, the succession to the throne of the Tang Dynasty changed dramatically:
In 820, Tang Xianzong, who founded Yuan and Zhongxing, died suddenly and violently, and his throne passed to the crown prince Li Heng (Tang Muzong).
In 824, Li Heng died, and the throne passed to the greedy crown prince Li Zhan (Tang Jingzong).
In 826, Li Zhan was killed by the eunuch Liu Keming, and Li Heng's younger brother, Li Ang (Emperor Wenzong of Tang), the second son of Emperor Muzong of Tang, ascended the throne.
In 840, Li Ang died, and Li Ang's younger brother, Li Heng's fifth son Li Yan (Emperor Wuzong of Tang), ascended the throne.
During the reign of Emperor Wuzong of Tang, he revitalized the Tang Dynasty, curbed eunuchs internally, expelled Qiu Shiliang from the imperial court, and reused Li Deyu to rectify corruption. He quelled the rebellion of the clan towns, defeated the Uighur army at Hushan, and actively planned operations against the western region. Tang Wuzong created the extremely eye-catching Huichang Zhongxing in the middle and late Tang Dynasty. If Tang Wuzong had not died, It was possible for Tang to return to the "Sheng Tang Dynasty".
But the good times did not last long, and in 846 AD, Tang Wuzong suddenly died. However, his throne was very unexpectedly passed to Tang Wuzong's uncle, Tang Xianzong's thirteenth son, Tang Muzong's younger brother Li Chen (Tang Xuanzong). After the Tang Dynasty emperor turned around in the tang muzong vein, it was very unexpectedly transmitted to the tang Xuanzong Li Chen's vein. Thereafter, until the fall of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty was controlled by the descendants of Li Chen, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.
Li Ang of Tang Wenzong (November 20, 809 – February 10, 840), formerly known as Li Han
Through the above analysis, we can see that in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, there was a strange phenomenon of frequent "brothers and brothers" and nephews inheriting the throne.
Brother and brother: Tang Jingzong's throne was inherited by his younger brother Tang Wenzong, and Tang Wenzong's throne was inherited by his younger brother Tang Wuzong. Emperor Zhaozong of Tang was succeeded by his younger brother Emperor Zhaozong of Tang.
Nephew passed on to uncle: after Tang Wuzong's death, his uncle Li Chen sat on the dragon chair.
Moreover, the inheritance of the Tang Dynasty throne is still in chaos.
After Tang Muzong, although his throne was passed in the hands of the three brothers Li Zhan, Li Ang, and Li Yan, these three brothers were a good villain of Tang Muzong. If Emperor Wuzong of Tang succeeded to the throne after his death, the throne would remain in the hands of Emperor Muzong of Tang.
However, after the death of Tang Wuzong, with Tang Muzong's thirteenth brother Li Chen the Prince of Guang sitting on the dragon chair, Tang Muzong 's first pulse and the dragon chair 'goodbye' and Xuanzong Li Chen's one pulse became the "great emperor" of the imperial family. In other words, tang xianzong here appeared the strange phenomenon that the descendants of two sons (Tang Muzong and Tang Xuanzong) successively took charge of the "Tang Dragon Chair". After Tang Xuanzong ascended the throne, in order to reflect the legitimacy of his ascension to the throne, he not only canceled the sacrifice to his brother Tang Muzong, but also desperately commemorated his father, Tang Xianzong, as if he were the legitimate successor of Tang Xianzong's cause.
Li Heng (711–762), also known as Emperor Suzong of Tang
So, why did there be such a chaotic succession to the throne in the late Tang Dynasty? So that there are frequent strange phenomena of brothers and nephews being inherited by uncles?
First, the root cause of the chaos in the succession of the Imperial Throne in the Tang Dynasty: eunuchs held great power in the imperial government and had military power, and eunuchs could kill the emperor or depose the emperor.
Eunuch politics is a cancer in the politics of the middle and late Tang Dynasties, starting from Li Heng, Emperor Suzong of Tang, there are ghosts of eunuchs in the inheritance of the imperial throne.
Li Heng was able to sit on the dragon chair in the Anshi Rebellion, inseparable from the help of the eunuch Li Fuguo, who reused Eunuchs such as Li Fuguo and Cheng Yuanzhen after Li Heng ascended the throne, opening a precedent for tang eunuchs to chaotic government. After Li Heng's death, his eldest son Li Yu was supported by the eunuch Li Fuguo in 762. However, Li Yu, who was intent on revitalizing the Tang Dynasty, took steps to drive the eunuchs Li Fuguo, Yu Zhao'en, and Cheng Yuanzhen out of the imperial court one after another, reusing the powerful minister Yuan Zai. During the 17 years of the reign of Emperor Li Yu of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty not only quelled the Anshi Rebellion, but also had the possibility of reviving the dead, because Li Yu carried out drastic reforms of the Tang Dynasty's Caoyun and Salt Administration.
Above: Yu Chao'en (722-770)
In 779, Li Yu died, and because Li Yu had eliminated the eunuch forces during his lifetime, the crown prince Li Shi naturally ascended the throne under normal circumstances. As Li Shi's reign reign re-expanded the power of the Shen Ce Army, with eunuchs serving as lieutenants in the Left and Right Shen Ce Army, tang eunuchs regained control of the imperial court. Li Shi planted a malignant tumor in the politics of the Tang Dynasty.
Eunuchs who master the army can openly intervene in politics! Tang Shunzong Li Xuan wanted to engage in the "Yongzhen Reform", but due to the resolute opposition of the eunuch Ju Wenzhen, the Yongzhen Reform ended in failure, and Li Xuan was forced to abdicate. After Tang Xianzong Li Chun ascended the throne, he aimed to revitalize the Tang Dynasty, strengthen the centralization of power, and suppress the eunuch forces to a certain extent. But in 820, Tang Xianzong died suddenly. Tang Xianzong's was probably killed by eunuchs.
After Emperor Xianzong of Tang, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was either supported by eunuchs or killed by eunuchs. Emperor Muzong of Tang ascended the throne with the support of Liang Shouqian and Wang Shoucheng as emperor. Tang Jingzong was killed by the eunuch Liu Keming. Emperor Wenzong of Tang was proclaimed emperor by the eunuchs Wang Shoucheng and Liang Shouqian, and later by the eunuch Qiu Shiliang, who called himself "inferior to Emperor Xian of Han". Tang Wuzong was supported by the eunuch Qiu Shiliang to ascend the throne as emperor, Tang Xuanzong was supported by the eunuch Ma Yuanzhen to ascend the throne as emperor, Tang Yizong was supported by the eunuch Wang Zongshi to ascend the throne as emperor, Tang Yizong was supported by the eunuch Tian Ziling to ascend the throne as emperor, and Tang Zhaozong was supported by the eunuch Yang Fugong to ascend the throne as emperor.
Above: Li Yan (862-888), also known as Emperor Xianzong of Tang
Second, due to the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the emperor generally did not reign long, and the emperor was young. In order to avoid courtiers believing that eunuchs supported the younger prince and "blackmailed the son of heaven and ordered the princes", the eunuchs would choose the older emperor's younger brother or uncle to ascend the throne.
Eunuchs choose emperors, and generally do not follow the fixed principle of father and son. This was extremely evident in the succession to the throne in the late Tang Dynasty. For the eunuchs, Tang Jingzong, Tang Wenzong, and Tang Wuzong did not reign for a long time, and their princes were very young, although the eunuchs held the power of the forbidden army, but if the eunuchs supported the young "doll emperor" to ascend the throne and take power themselves, this caused the outside world and the ministers to create the illusion that the eunuchs controlled the army and "blackmailed the son of heaven and ordered the princes", and then they were resolutely opposed by the courtiers. The eunuch himself had no fertility, and naturally it was impossible to change the Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, in order to reduce the resistance to controlling the government and win the support of some ministers, once the old emperor died and the emperor was young, the eunuch chose the older emperor's younger brother, or the emperor's uncle, to ascend the throne.
- Li Chen (chén) of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (810–859)
Third, Li Chen was able to sit on the dragon chair as the "Imperial Uncle", ostensibly because the eunuchs supported Li Chen's ascension to the throne, but in fact it was probably a conspiracy carefully planned by Li Chen.
According to the book "Research on the Political Situation of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang", Tang Xuanzong was ostensibly embraced by the eunuch Ma Yuanzhen to ascend the throne, much like the ascension of other emperors of the middle and late Tang Dynasties, but in fact, the truth behind Tang Xuanzong Li Chen's ascension to the throne is not so simple.
First, let's take a look at the Zizhi Tongjian's account of March 846:
In the beginning, Xianzong Na Li's concubine Zheng Shi (郑氏) gave birth to Wang Yi(王怡). When Yi was young, everyone in the palace thought that he was not wise, and after Taihe, Yi Zi tao hid, lived in groups, and did not try to speak. Emperor Wenzong's sixteen house feasts were set to tempt him to laugh and call uncle Guang. Sexually heroic, especially disrespectful. And the upper sickness, the day can not be spoken. The eunuchs secretly decided on the forbidden policy, Xin You, and the next edict said: "The crown prince Chong young, must choose the virtuous, the light king Yi can be established as the emperor's uncle, change his name, and respond to the military and state government orders and power sentences." "When the uncle sees a hundred officials, he mourns and is full of sorrow; he adjudicates on the affairs of the people, and he is wise, and people know that there is hidden virtue."
The Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang record this period of Tang Xuanzong's ascension to the throne as much the same. This historical material tells posterity two clues:
1, Tang Xuanzong is very clever, his self-preservation pretends to be stupid, but in fact he is a talent of the heavens and the earth.
2, Tang Xuanzong ascended the throne as a eunuch and had nothing to do with Tang Xuanzong himself.
In fact, Li Chen was able to cultivate obscurity for decades and finally ascended the throne, which shows that he is an extremely intelligent and politically sophisticated person. The process of ascending the throne was so ridiculous that it was all run by eunuchs, and the credibility of this historical material was much lowered. This historical material is likely to be a false historical material fabricated by Li Chen after he ascended the throne to publicize his talents and then leave all the responsibility for his ascension to the throne to the eunuchs.
Above_ A sequel to the Compilation of Tang Dynasty Epitaphs
So, how did Tang Xuanzong ascend the throne? According to the "Tomb Record of Meng Xiurong, The Supervisor of the Tang Dynasty Zhenwu Linsheng and Other Prefectures" collected in the "Sequel to the Compilation of Tang Dynasty Epitaphs", we can find such a thing:
In 846, Li Chen, who had just ascended the throne, called back Meng Xiurong, who had been demoted to Luoyang, and gave him green clothes. It shows that Meng Xiurong has made meritorious contributions to Li Chen. Meng Xiurong was demoted to Luoyang by Emperor Wuzong of Tang in September 845, and Li Chen called Meng Xiurong back as soon as he ascended the throne, and Meng Xiurong probably gave Li Chen a meritorious service before September 845. And Meng Xiurong is a member of the Qiu Shiliang Group, which shows that Li Chen and the Qiu Shiliang Group are more or less connected.
Emperor Wuzong of Tang did drive out Qiu Shiliang and also drove Meng Xiurong to Luoyang. This showed that Tang Wuzong could not tolerate the activities of the eunuch clique in the imperial palace. During the reign of Emperor Wuzong of Tang, Li Yan also asked his loyalists to tie up Li Chen, who was still the King of Guang, and send him to the toilet to be killed, and it can be seen from this incident that Li Yan is likely to suspect that Li Chen is secretly colluding with Meng Xiurong and other enemies who are dissatisfied with Li Yan, and is ready to rebel at the right time to drive Li Yan off the dragon chair, and behind Li Chen's pretending to be crazy and stupid is a political conspiracy against Li Yan of Wuzong.
Qiu Shiliang (781-843), courtesy name Kuangmei, was a native of Xingning, Xunzhou (present-day Xingning, Guangdong).
Moreover, after Tang Xuanzong ascended the throne, he also wrote Shinto inscriptions for Qiu Shiliang, a eunuch suppressed by Tang Wuzong, and promoted Qiu Shiliang's son, which further showed that Li Chen used pretending to be crazy and foolish as a cover before ascending the throne, and colluded with Qiu Shiliang's henchmen to prepare for rebellion. Although this conclusion is only a speculation, it can be seen from the series of clues above that Li Chen's collusion with the Qiu Shi Liangyu Party to overthrow Li Yan is likely to exist.
Emperor Wuzong of Tang, Li Yan and Li Deyu, had joined forces to suppress the Qiu Shiliang clique, take control of the Northern Prefecture, which was originally controlled by eunuchs, and firmly grasp the imperial power in the hands of the emperor. Although Qiu Shiliang left the palace, Qiu Shiliang's Yu Party hated Li Yan and Li Deyu to the bone, and after Li Yan's death, qiu Shiliang's Yu Party needed to find a suitable politician to sit in Beiya and launch a political counterattack against Li Deyu. It just so happened that li Chen demoted Li Deyu to an official as soon as he ascended the throne, and the purpose of qiu Shiliangyu was achieved. What Li Chen did was the behavior that the Qiu Shi LiangYu Party wanted to see.
Li Deyu (787-850), ziwen rao, small character Tailang
More importantly, during Li Deyu's reign, he severely cracked down on hanlin scholars who were active in the political arena during the periods of Tang Muzong and Tang Wenzong, who turned to the Qiu Shi Liangyu Party in terms of political tendencies and hated Tang Wuzong and Li Deyu to the bone. After The death of Emperor Wuzong of Tang, these civil officials, together with the eunuch Qiu Shi Liangyu, launched a frenzied counterattack against Li Deyu, and almost all of Li Chen's policies during Li Chen's reign were contrary to Li Yan's li deyu junchen.
This further amply proves that Li Chen's ascension to the throne is likely a political conspiracy jointly committed by Li Chen and the eunuch Qiu Shi liangyu party clique, as well as Hanlin scholars. Li Chen was an abnormal usurper of the throne. As for Xuanzong Li Chen's pretense of being stupid, it was just his deception to confuse Li Yan.
Li Yan (李炎, 1 July 814 – 22 April 846) of Tang Wuzong, was originally known as Li Yan (李瀍).
Why did Emperor Xuanzong of Tang want to usurp the throne and ascend the throne? The reason for this was that he was very dissatisfied with his brother Tang Muzong and his descendants, and tang Xianzong's death was inseparable from Li Heng and Empress Guo, which made Li Chen hate Tang Muzong and his descendants to the bone. For the next 26 years, Li Chen had been pretending to be foolish, hoping to one day inherit the throne and take political revenge on Tang Muzong and his descendants.
After 26 years of meticulous preparation behind pretending to be stupid and pretending to be stupid, Li Chen finally relied on his political intrigue to sit on the dragon chair with the help of eunuchs and Hanlin scholars. Immediately, a frenzied counterattack was launched against the political influence of Tang Muzong and Empress Guo. Tang Xuanzong even ordered that courtiers were not allowed to sacrifice to Tang Muzong. This is tantamount to portraying the history of Tang Muzong and his descendants as "politically alternative", which is similar to zhu Di's failure to recognize Zhu Yunjiao's Jianwen years after he ascended the throne.
After Tang Xuanzong ascended the throne, the "anti-Huichang government" made the achievements of the reforms just achieved during the Tang Wuzong period lose again, laying the final foreshadowing for the demise of the Tang Dynasty. Although Tang Xuanzong ostensibly worked hard to learn from Tang Taizong to govern the country, and was called "Little Taizong" by later generations, the actual results of the "rule of the great middle" were somewhat exaggerated.
author:
Chastity
Correction/Editing:
Lilith
Resources:
[1] Old Book of Tang, New Book of Tang, Zizhi Tongjian
[2] "Research on the Political Situation of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty", Huang Lou, Tianjin Ancient Books Publishing House
The text was created by the History University Hall team, and the picture originated from the Internet and the copyright belongs to the original author