People
Li Longji: Emperor Xuanzong, Tang Glory, and Crisis
Li Longji (李隆基, 685-762), known by his temple name Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, ruled from 712 to 756. His early reign brought the Kaiyuan era, remembered as a high point of Tang administration, wealth, and culture. His late reign ended in the An Lushan Rebellion, a crisis that permanently weakened the dynasty. Both parts belong to his record.
Key Facts
- Identity
- sixth emperor of the Tang Dynasty, known as Emperor Xuanzong
- Chinese Name
- 李隆基
- Pronunciation
- Lǐ Lóngjī
- Ethnicity
- Han Chinese
- Lived
- 685-762 CE
- Dynasty
- Tang Dynasty; ruled 712-756
- Known For
- The Kaiyuan prosperity and the crisis of the An Lushan Rebellion
- Historical Role
- The ruler who led Tang to a cultural and political high point, then saw its central power fracture
Quick Answer
Li Longji reached the throne through palace coups that ended a long period of royal-family conflict. In his first decades as emperor, he chose experienced ministers, strengthened administration, and presided over an era of extraordinary Tang confidence.
Later, the balance changed. Frontier commanders gained too much independent military power, court politics grew less disciplined, and the rebellion led by An Lushan began in 755. Xuanzong fled the capital and gave up the throne the next year.
Early Life
Li Longji was a son of Emperor Ruizong, a grandson of Li Zhi, Emperor Gaozong, and a great-grandson of Wu Zetian. He grew up after the fall of Wu's Zhou dynasty, when Tang politics was still shaped by rapid changes of ruler, regents, and palace factions.
In 710 he joined allies in a coup against the faction of Empress Wei. Two years later, he took the throne when his father abdicated. In 713, he defeated the political network of his aunt Princess Taiping, finally giving the young emperor control over the palace guards and the central government.
Rise to Power
Xuanzong began by giving major responsibility to ministers such as Yao Chong and Song Jing. They reduced patronage, tightened official discipline, and concentrated on practical concerns including grain, taxation, appointments, and frontier security.
This did not make the emperor a passive figure. His ability to select, support, and sometimes replace ministers was part of why the early Kaiyuan period became stable. It also contrasted sharply with the court politics of his final years.
Timeline
685
Li Longji was born
He was a son of Emperor Ruizong and grandson of Wu Zetian.
710
He helped remove Empress Wei's faction
The coup allowed Ruizong to return to the throne.
712
He became Emperor Xuanzong
Ruizong abdicated in favor of Li Longji.
713
He defeated Princess Taiping's faction
Xuanzong secured direct control over the court.
Kaiyuan era
Tang reached a high point
Administrative reform and cultural confidence marked the early reign.
755
The An Lushan Rebellion began
A major frontier revolt broke the stability of the Tang state.
756
Xuanzong abdicated
His son Suzong took the throne after the emperor fled west.
Major Achievements
1. He ended a cycle of palace conflict
The coups of 710 and 713 were violent, but they ended years of conflict involving Empress Wei, Princess Taiping, and rival royal factions. They gave the emperor control over the palace guards and made sustained administrative reform possible.
2. He supported early Kaiyuan reforms
Xuanzong's early ministers cut some unnecessary offices, resisted favoritism, and improved the government's response to problems such as locust outbreaks and grain supply. The Kaiyuan prosperity was not created by one man, but his choices at the top enabled capable officials to work.
3. He presided over cultural flourishing
Tang cities, poetry, music, religion, and visual culture flourished in Xuanzong's reign. The emperor himself supported court music and training at the Pear Garden. This cultural memory is one reason the era remains central to ideas of "High Tang."
4. He maintained a powerful frontier system, with a hidden cost
Tang military power remained formidable early in Xuanzong's reign. Yet the empire increasingly relied on powerful regional military governors. That helped meet immediate frontier needs but weakened the court's ability to restrain commanders far from the capital.
Why Is Li Longji Important?
Li Longji embodies both the confidence and the vulnerability of the Tang state. His early reign shows what strong appointments, administrative attention, and political stability could achieve. His later reign shows how quickly those gains could become fragile when military power, patronage, and court decision-making moved out of balance.
The An Lushan Rebellion did not happen because of one personal mistake. It grew from the enlarged power of frontier armies, fiscal pressure, and failures of central oversight. Xuanzong's late choices mattered because they did too little to correct those structural problems.
Important People Around Li Longji
Yao Chong and Song Jing were the leading ministers of the early Kaiyuan period. They helped turn the end of palace conflict into a workable program of government.
Li Linfu was Xuanzong's dominant late chancellor. He maintained an appearance of order, but his removal of competitors weakened the court's internal checks and marked a sharp change from the appointment politics of early Kaiyuan.
Princess Taiping was Xuanzong's aunt and his most important royal rival. Her defeat in 713 ended a competing center of power within the imperial family.
Yang Guifei was Xuanzong's favored consort in his late reign. Her relationship with the emperor has often been made into a simple explanation for Tang decline, but the rise of her relatives and the wider politics of appointments mattered more than romance alone.
An Lushan commanded several frontier regions. Xuanzong's trust in him, together with the court's inability to control frontier armies, allowed one rebellion to become an empire-wide crisis.
Mistakes and Controversies
It is misleading to blame the An Lushan Rebellion entirely on Yang Guifei. Xuanzong did grow less attentive to government and made serious choices about court favor and military command, but the rebellion also depended on long-term changes in the army, frontier policy, and finances.
The term "Kaiyuan prosperity" can also hide tensions already present in the empire. Territorial commitments, landholding, taxation, and military costs were changing before the crisis. Xuanzong's early success did not solve every problem, and his later government weakened some of the checks that might have contained them.
Sources and Historical Tradition
Xuanzong's reign is recorded in the Old Book of Tang, the New Book of Tang, and Sima Guang's later chronological history, the Zizhi Tongjian. These works establish the main sequence of the early reforms, late court politics, the rebellion, and the emperor's flight.
They also often frame Xuanzong through a sharp contrast between a brilliant beginning and a disastrous end. Poetry and later stories about Yang Guifei add another powerful layer of memory. They are valuable, but they should not replace the military and administrative history of the period.
Death and Legacy
When An Lushan's forces threatened Chang'an in 756, Xuanzong fled toward Sichuan. His son Li Heng became Emperor Suzong at Lingwu, and Xuanzong was thereafter emperor emeritus. He died in 762.
His memory remains divided because the historical evidence is divided between two real achievements: the prosperity of the early reign and the catastrophic collapse of the late one. He is therefore essential to understanding how the Tang moved from its strongest century into a long decline.
Simple Summary
- Li Longji was Emperor Xuanzong, the sixth Tang emperor.
- He came to power through coups that ended royal-family conflict.
- His early Kaiyuan reign is remembered as a high point of Tang rule and culture.
- His later choices coincided with the growth of unchecked frontier military power.
- The An Lushan Rebellion forced him to flee and abdicate in 756.
FAQ
Who was Li Longji?
Li Longji was Emperor Xuanzong, the sixth emperor of the Tang Dynasty. He ruled from 712 to 756.
What was the Kaiyuan prosperity?
It was the period of administrative stability, economic strength, and cultural flourishing in the early reign of Emperor Xuanzong.
Why did the An Lushan Rebellion happen under Xuanzong?
Frontier commanders had grown too powerful, while court politics and central oversight weakened. Xuanzong's late choices did not correct those problems.
Did Yang Guifei cause the An Lushan Rebellion?
No. Her position and the rise of her relatives mattered at court, but the rebellion had deeper military, fiscal, and political causes.