Quick Answer: Who Was Xuanzong of Tang?
Xuanzong of Tang (唐玄宗, Táng Xuánzōng) was a Chinese emperor who lived from 685 to 762 and ruled from 712 to 756. His reign connects the celebrated culture and government of the early eighth-century Tang dynasty with the military rebellion that drove his court from the capital.[1][5][6]
- Rise: Palace alliances brought him to the throne; removing a rival consolidated his authority.
- Government: Experienced ministers and a flourishing court shaped the early reign.
- Crisis: Rebellion, flight and a new emperor ended his rule in 756.[1][6]
Accession, the beginning of an era and the emperor’s death belong to different dates.
Xuanzong is often remembered through the story of an emperor and his beloved consort. His career also reveals how a ruler gained power, governed through officials and lost command of events when frontier armies and court rivalries converged in rebellion.
From Palace Coups to Personal Rule
His personal name was Li Longji (李隆基, Lǐ Lóngjī). A grandson of Wu Zetian (武则天, Wǔ Zétiān) and son of Ruizong (睿宗, Ruìzōng), he grew up within a ruling family repeatedly divided by struggles over succession.[1]
In 710, he joined his aunt Princess Taiping (太平公主, Tàipíng Gōngzhǔ) against Empress Wei (韦皇后, Wéi Huánghòu). The coup brought his father back to the throne. Ruizong abdicated in his favor in 712, but continued to decide major affairs, leaving political authority divided.[1]
The alliance with Taiping then collapsed. In 713, Xuanzong struck against her supporters, and she died during the purge. His father relinquished the remaining powers. The distinction matters: 712 marks accession, while 713 marks the decisive consolidation of his personal rule.[1]
Kaiyuan Government and the Culture of the Court
Era names organize the reign into periods; they are not additional emperors. The principal sequence is:[1]
| Era | Dates and significance |
|---|---|
| Xiantian (先天, Xiāntiān) | 712–713; the accession and struggle over authority. |
| Kaiyuan (开元, Kāiyuán) | Late 713–741; associated with the early reign’s government and cultural achievement. |
| Tianbao (天宝, Tiānbǎo) | 742–756; the later court and the outbreak of rebellion. |
Yao Chong (姚崇, Yáo Chóng) and Song Jing (宋璟, Sòng Jǐng) were important early ministers. Administration included responses to disruption as well as celebration of prosperity: in 717, tax relief was ordered for places in Henan and Hebei affected by floods and locusts. Relief for these damaged communities is one specific measure behind the broader reputation for capable government.[1]
Court culture also carried political messages. The paper handscroll Ode to Pied Wagtails, attributed to Xuanzong, associates birds with harmony among brothers. Its calligraphy belongs to an imperial language of family unity, made especially pointed by the conflicts through which he had acquired power. The catalogue attribution should be distinguished from certainty that every surviving stroke is his autograph.[5]
Ministers, Frontier Armies and the Road to Rebellion
Later court politics centered on ministers including Li Linfu (李林甫, Lǐ Línfǔ) and, after Li’s death in 752, Yang Guozhong (杨国忠, Yáng Guózhōng). An Lushan (安禄山, Ān Lùshān) accumulated command of three frontier regions. These combined commands placed substantial soldiers and resources under one officer.[1][3]
Military careers and civilian official careers had become increasingly separate before the rebellion. This separation formed part of the institutional setting in which rebellion became possible. An Lushan’s power therefore belonged within changes in the organization of the state, alongside his relationship with the emperor and hostility with court rivals.[4]
Yang Guifei (杨贵妃, Yáng Guìfēi) was Xuanzong’s high-ranking consort, not his empress. Her family’s prominence mattered in court politics. A fuller explanation of the crisis also includes the emperor’s appointments, rivalry among ministers and the concentration of military authority.[1][3]
Flight, Mawei and the Succession of 756
An Lushan rebelled in 755 and captured Luoyang. In 756, the collapse of the defense at Tong Pass exposed the capital, Chang’an. Xuanzong fled toward Sichuan with members of his court and an armed escort.[1]
At Mawei (马嵬, Mǎwéi), the escort killed Yang Guozhong. The troops then refused to continue while Yang Guifei remained alive, and the emperor ordered her death. Armed coercion during the retreat shaped the emperor’s decision.[2]
Meanwhile, his son Li Heng (李亨, Lǐ Hēng) took a different route and became emperor at Lingwu in 756. Known as Suzong (肃宗, Sùzōng), he honored his father as retired emperor. The transfer gave the Tang a new ruler while his father was still fleeing the rebellion.[6]
Retirement, Death and the Making of a Romance
Xuanzong returned after the capital was recovered and lived as a retired emperor until his death in 762. [1][5]
The relationship with Yang acquired another life in Tang poetry. Bai Juyi (白居易, Bái Jūyì) composed Song of Everlasting Sorrow (长恨歌, Cháng Hèn Gē) in 806. The poem moves from courtly pleasure and military catastrophe into grief and an imagined search beyond death. Its supernatural reunion belongs to the poem’s imaginative world, not to an eyewitness account of palace events.[7]
This difference between historical evidence and later storytelling helps explain his divided legacy. Political annals trace appointments, war and succession; a literary work reshapes loss into an enduring emotional narrative. Neither should silently stand in for the other.
FAQs About Xuanzong of Tang
Was Xuanzong also called Li Longji?
Yes. Li Longji was his personal name; Xuanzong is his temple name. They refer to the same Tang emperor.[1]
Did the Kaiyuan era begin when he became emperor?
No. He became emperor in 712. Kaiyuan began late in 713, after he consolidated authority.[1]
Was Yang Guifei an empress?
No. Guifei designated a high-ranking imperial consort. Her prominence did not give her the title of empress.[1][2]
Did Xuanzong die during the rebellion in 756?
No. He lost the throne in 756 but survived as retired emperor until 762.[1][5][6]
Источники
[1] New Book of Tang, chapter 5. Annals of Ruizong and Xuanzong
[2] Old Book of Tang, chapter 9. Annals of Xuanzong, part two
[3] New Book of Tang, chapter 225A. Biography of An Lushan
[4] David A. Graff, Journal of Chinese History. The Reach of the Military: Tang
[5] National Palace Museum. Ode to Pied Wagtails, attributed to Tang Xuanzong
[6] New Book of Tang, chapter 6. Annals of Suzong and Daizong
[7] Bai Juyi. Song of Everlasting Sorrow