Li Zi

Li Zi (李滋) (died 897), formally the Prince of Tong (通王), was an imperial prince of the Chinese Tang dynasty. He was the favorite son of Emperor Xuānzong, but was unable to take the throne after Emperor Xuānzong's death, as his older brother Li Wen (Emperor Yizong) was chosen by the eunuch Wang Zongshi (王宗實), who overpowered other eunuchs who supported Li Zi. Later, during the reign of Emperor Yizong's son (Li Zi's nephew) Emperor Zhaozong, Emperor Zhaozong tried to commission imperial princes to command armies to counteract the powerful warlords (jiedushi) and eunuchs. In response, in 897, when Emperor Zhaozong had to flee to the domain of one of the warlords, Han Jian, Han falsely accused 11 imperial princes, including Li Zi, of treason, and massacred them without approval from Emperor Zhaozong.

Background It is not known when Li Zi was born, but as his oldest brother Li Wen was born in 833, and Li Zi was already born by the time that his father Li Chen became emperor (as Emperor Xuānzong) in 846, he must have been born between those dates. When Emperor Xuānzong became emperor, he created five of his sons imperial princes, including Li Zi, who was created the Prince of Kui. Li Zi was Emperor Xuānzong's third son. His mother's name is lost to history.

Failure to succeed to the throne As Li Zi was Emperor Xuānzong's favorite son, Emperor Xuānzong repeatedly considered creating him crown prince, but as Li Zi was not the oldest son, he hesitated, and went throughout his reign without designating an heir. In 859, when Emperor Xuānzong grew seriously ill due to the side effects of the immortality pills that were given to him by the alchemists Li Xuanbo , Yu Zizhi , and Wang Le , he entrusted Li Zi to three eunuchs that he favored—the directors of palace communications Wang Guizhang and Ma Gongru , and the liaison with imperial officials Wang Jufang . The three eunuchs were suspicious of Wang Zongshi, who commanded the Left Shence Army , and they issued an edict in Emperor Xuānzong's name, sending Wang Zongshi out of the capital Chang'an to serve as the eunuch monitor of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu). Wang Zongshi initially was set to report to Huainan after receiving the edicts, but his deputy Qi Yuanshi reminded him that he had not seen Emperor Xuānzong for a month and that he could not be sure that it was Emperor Xuānzong who actually wished him gone. With Qi's support, Wang Zongshi forced his way into the palace and found that Emperor Xuānzong had already died. He arrested Wang Guizhang, Ma, and Wang Jufang on charges of falsifying the imperial edict, and then sent soldiers to the Sixteen Mansions to welcome Li Wen to the palace. He then issued an edict in Emperor Xuānzong's name creating Li Wen crown prince. Soon thereafter, Li Wen (whose name was changed to Li Cui) took the throne (as Emperor Yizong). and that statement was incorporated into the Zizhi Tongjian. However, as those records were inconsistent with Li Zi's biography in the New Book of Tang,

Emperor Zhaozong sought immediate aid from another warlord, Li Keyong, the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi), while preparing to flee to Hedong. Once he left Chang'an, however, he hesitated at the long trek to Hedong's capital Taiyuan, and when Han Jian the military governor of nearby Zhenguo Circuit (鎮國, headquartered in modern Weinan, Shaanxi) personally met him and persuaded him to go to Han's headquarters at Hua Prefecture instead, he agreed, and he took his train there.

Later in the year, after Li Jiepi, who had previously gone to Hedong to seek aid from Li Keyong, returned to Hua Prefecture—thus exposing the fact that Li Keyong would be unable to come to the emperor's or the princes' aid—Han submitted further accusations that Li Jiepi and Li Sizhou were plotting treasons. Emperor Zhaozong tried to ignore Han's accusations, but Han and the eunuch Liu Jishu then surrounded the provisional Sixteen Mansions. They seized Li Zi, Li Sizhou, Li Jiepi, Li Yun the Prince of Dan, as well as the Princes of Yi, Mu, Ji, Shao, Peng, Han, and Chen, took them to nearby Shiti Valley , and killed them there.

Notes and references

Old Book of Tang, vol. 175. New Book of Tang, vol. 82. Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 248, 249, 260, 261.