Princess Jinyang (), born Li Mingda (); (633– 644) was a princess of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

, a daughter of Emperor Taizong. She may have been the only princess of China to be raised by the emperor himself, after the death of her mother.

Biography

Li Mingda was the nineteenth daughter of

Emperor Taizong of Tang Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty fo ...

and the third daughter of

Empress Zhangsun Empress Zhangsun (長孫皇后, personal name unknown, presumably Wugou (無垢) (15 March 601 – 28 July 636), formally Empress Wendeshunsheng (文德順聖皇后, literally "the civil, virtuous, serene, and holy empress") or, in short, Empr ...

. While Empress Zhangsun died on July 28, 636. Li Mingda, being a toddler, was too young to understand her mother's death, and when she was older and learned the truth, she often felt sad about that. She and her brother

Li Zhi Li Zhi may refer to: *Emperor Gaozong of Tang (628–683), named Li Zhi, Emperor of China *Li Ye (mathematician) (1192–1279), Chinese mathematician and scholar, birth name Li Zhi *Li Zhi (philosopher) (1527–1602), Chinese philosopher from the M ...

were both raised by their father Emperor Taizong. When Li Zhi was 14, he had to go to his manor. Li Zhi and Li Mingda did not want to leave each another, which made Emperor Taizong cry Li Mingda was good at

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

. Once she made a replica of her father's work, no one could distinguish which was by her and which was Taizong's original work. Li Mingda had a similar personality to her mother Empress Zhangsun, being intelligent, tactful and calm. When Emperor Taizong was angry at someone, she would slowly calm him down. Due to this, she was appreciated by the officials. Li Mingda died at the age 12. When she died, Emperor Taizong was so affected by grief that he did not eat properly for thirty days until he became emaciated. Many ministers tried to encourage him to get better, and Taizong said "Do you think I don't know grief has no benefits? But I can't stop it, and I don't know the reason why."《舊唐書·諸帝公主傳》：「朕渠不知悲愛無益？而不能已，我亦不知其所以然。」 Li Mingda was buried beside a temple.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jinyang, Princess 633 births 644 deaths Tang dynasty princesses 7th-century Chinese women 7th-century Chinese people Emperor Taizong of Tang Daughters of emperors Chinese royalty who died as children