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Chinese emperor

Emperor Daizong was the eldest son of Emperor Suzong – the first emperor of the Tang dynasty to succeed as the eldest child. During the Anshi Rebellion (which Emperor Suzong's entire reign was dedicated to fighting), he served as a general of Tang and Huige joint operations that recaptured the capital Chang'an and the eastern capital Luoyang from the rebel state of Yan, and the Anshi Rebellion was finally put down early in his own reign, in 763. However, thereafter, the Tang state was plagued by warlords such as Tian Chengsi, Li Baochen, and Liang Chongyi who essentially governed their realms as independent states while only pledging nominal loyalty to the emperor. This would prove disastrous for future generations as subsequent Tang emperors were unable to remove or control these warlords and the central government's power was thus slowly eroded and diminished. The power of the warlords would not prevent the Tang western territories from being overrun by Tibetan invasions and eventually lost to the Tibetan Empire, which even managed to capture Chang'an in 763 for a short period before being expelled. Emperor Daizong was credited for removing the corrupt eunuch Li Fuguo, who had placed him on the throne using their own power and political influence, later the rest of Emperor Daizong's reign would also see dominance by such individuals as the eunuchs Cheng Yuanzhen and Yu Chao'en, as well as the chancellor Yuan Zai. It is also worth noting that Emperor Daizong became the first Tang emperor to succeed to the throne as a result of maneuvers by eunuchs. Emperor Daizong was himself also said to be overly devout in Buddhism.

Daizong's father, Li Jun, was the Prince of Zhong under his father Emperor Xuanzong when Daizong was born. His mother was Li Jun's concubine Consort Wu. He was the oldest of Emperor Xuanzong's over 100 grandsons. In 740, by which time Li Jun (whose name had been changed to Li Heng by that point) was crown prince, Li Chu was created the Prince of Guangping. That year, his mother Consort Wu died. Emperor Xuanzong chose for him, as his wife and princess, Lady Cui the daughter of the Lady of Han, a sister of Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine Consort Yang Yuhuan; however, his oldest son Li Kuo was born of a concubine, Consort Shen.

After Emperor Suzong assumed imperial title, he considered making Li Tan the supreme commander of the armed forces, but his advisor Li Mi pointed out that Li Chu was older and that naming Li Tan the supreme commander would cause confusion as to who would be his heir. Emperor Suzong agreed and made Li Chu the supreme commander instead. Subsequently, Li Chu and Li Mi were entrusted with the keys of the makeshift palace, and one would always be on duty to be ready to receive important military reports. In fall 757, troops from Huige, whose Bayanchur Khan Yaoluoge Moyanchuo had answered Emperor Suzong's request for help, arrived under the command of Yaoluoge Moyanchuo's son. When Li Chu met the Huige prince, he offered for them to be sworn brothers. The prince was very pleased and honored Li Chu as an older brother. Thereafter, the joint Tang and Huige troops proceeded toward Chang'an and, after defeating Yan forces at Xiangji Temple (香積寺), near Chang'an, recaptured Chang'an. Emperor Suzong had promised that Huige forces would be allowed to pillage Chang'an, but at the earnest pleas of Li Chu, the Huige prince agreed to wait until capturing Luoyang, which had become the Yan capital, to carry out the pillage. The people of Chang'an, believing that Li Chu had saved them from a deadly Huige rampage, welcomed him in a grand procession and proclaimed, "The Prince of Guangping is truly a leader to be loved by both the Han and the barbarians." Meanwhile, when Pugu Huai'en advocated quick advances to try to capture the Yan generals An Shouzhong (安守忠) and Li Guiren (李歸仁), Li Chu, pointing out that his own troops were tired, stopped him. (Upon the recapturing of Chang'an, Li Mi resigned and became a hermit, depriving Li Chu of an ally.) Subsequently, Li Chu, Guo Ziyi, and Pugu, along with Huige forces, continued to proceed toward Luoyang. They first attacked Shancheng (陝城, in modern Sanmenxia, Henan) and initially could not succeed, but when Huige forces engaged, Yan forces were thrown into a panic and fled. Hearing the news, An Lushan's son and successor An Qingxu, who had become the emperor of Yan, abandoned Luoyang and fled. Li Chu had the people gather up a large cache of silk to bribe the Huige prince, and only thereafter did the rampage end. He also changed Li Chu's name to Li Yu. In 762, Emperor Suzong had become seriously ill. After Emperor Xuanzong died in summer 762, Emperor Suzong, in mourning, grew worse. He had Li Yu assume regent powers. By this point, Empress Zhang and Li Fuguo were no longer allies, and Empress Zhang summoned Li Yu, wanting an alliance with him to kill Li Fuguo and his subordinate Cheng Yuanzhen. Li Yu refused, pointing out that this would cause alarm to the very ill Emperor Suzong. Empress Zhang then entered into an alliance with Li Yu's younger brother Li Xi (李係) the Prince of Yue, and they tried to set a trap for Li Fuguo, with 200 strong eunuchs loyal to her and Li Xi ready to act against Li Fuguo. On May 14, 762, she issued an order in Emperor Suzong's name, summoning Li Yu into the palace. However, Cheng received this news and reported this to Li Fuguo and Li Yu, and Cheng then escorted Li Yu to the imperial guard headquarters. Imperial guards commanded by Li Fuguo and Cheng then entered the palace and arrested Empress Zhang, Li Xi, and their associates. It was said that with Emperor Suzong resting at Changsheng Hall (長生殿), the soldiers dragged Empress Zhang and the attending ladies in waiting and eunuchs away from his presence. Emperor Suzong was said to be left alone without attendants. He died on May 16. Li Fuguo executed Empress Zhang, Li Xi, and Li Xian (李僩) the Prince of Yan. On May 18, Li Yu ascended the throne (as Emperor Daizong).

Li Fuguo effectively took over the control of the imperial government, going as far as telling Emperor Daizong: an assassin got into Li Fuguo's mansion and killed him, taking his head and an arm away as well. Emperor Daizong formally issued an order seeking the arrest of the assassin, and buried Li Fuguo in a grand ceremony, after having a wooden head and wooden arm carved to be buried with the rest of the body. ), who had also received an alliance proposal from Shi Chaoyi. Yaoluoge Yidijian thus initially rejected Emperor Daizong's proposal and advanced south to aid Shi Chaoyi, but after further persuasion by Pugu Huai'en, whose daughter he had married, he agreed with the Tang proposal. In winter 762, the joint Tang and Huige forces recaptured Luoyang, forcing Shi Chaoyi to flee. (Shi Chaoyi would eventually commit suicide in spring 763, ending Yan.) In fall 763, Emperor Daizong faced two new additional threats. Pugu, whom two other generals Xin Yunjing (辛雲京) and Li Baoyu and the eunuch Luo Fengxian (駱奉仙) had suspected of plotting rebellion, was angry at the suspicion on him and, after submitting a number of accusatory petitions, began to act independently of the imperial government. Meanwhile, though, Tibet, which had begun to seize Tang western prefectures one by one during the Anshi Rebellion, launched a sudden attack on Chang'an. At that time, with Cheng in power and the generals hating him for his previous accusations against the generals Lai Tian (來瑱) and Li Huairang (李懷讓) that led to their deaths, when Emperor Daizong sought emergency aid from the provincial generals, none came to his aid, and on November 16, he was forced to abandon Chang'an and flee to Shan Prefecture (i. e., Shancheng). Tibetan forces declared Emperor Suzong's cousin Li Chenghong the Prince of Guangwu the Emperor of Tang, although they withdrew within the course of a month due to the Tang people's resistance efforts and counterattacks commanded by Guo Ziyi. Emperor Daizong was able to soon return to Chang'an. Still, much territory had fallen into Tibetan hands and Tang forces were not able to counterattack. As the popular sentiment at the time blamed Cheng for the disaster, he stripped Cheng of his posts and sent him back to his home. Soon thereafter, the most powerful figures at court became the chancellor Yuan Zai, who flattered Emperor Daizong, and the eunuch Yu Chao'en, who commanded the imperial guards.

Meanwhile, by this point, Emperor Daizong, who had previously favored Taoism, had begun to become a devout Buddhist due to the influences of his chancellors Yuan Zai, Wang Jin, and Du Hongjian. Yuan, in particular, advocated the belief that it was by the blessings of the Buddha that Tang was able to survive the Anshi Rebellion and Pugu's rebellion. As a result, Emperor Daizong's policies began to be heavily influenced by Buddhist principles, and he honored the Buddhist monk Bukong with great honors, including creating him a duke. The temples at Chang'an became very wealthy, and Emperor Daizong further ordered that monks and nuns not be subject to physical punishments. With the emperor and the chancellors all devout Buddhists, Buddhism became the leading influence in the empire. (Traditional historians, such as the Song dynasty historian Sima Guang, ascribed the poor governance and justice system during Emperor Daizong's time to this.)

Portrayed by Ren Jialun in The Glory of Tang Dynasty. (2017)