Taizi () was the title of the

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the w ...

imperial China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapt ...

Succession

Traditional

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

political theory favored strict

agnatic primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

, with younger sons displaying filial obedience to the eldest upon the passing of the father. This rather straightforward system was somewhat complicated by

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is marr ...

: since later wives were subordinated to the first, their children even when born first were likewise subordinated to hers. Following Lu Gu's conversion of Liu Bang to Confucianism in the early 1st century BC, Chinese dynasties observed it in theory though not always in practice. Liu Bang himself began to favor Concubine Qi, a later concubine, to his primary empress, Lü Zhi, and doubted the competence of his heir Liu Ying. Even worse conflicts could occur when invaders previously observing their own rules of inheritance began to sinicize, as happened to the 10th-century

Liao dynasty The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...

. Under the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

, the traditional Confucian principles of succession were upheld by the

Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts i ...

's '' Instructions of the Ancestor of the August Ming''. These presented a grave problem when his eldest son died early, leaving a power struggle between a sheltered teenage grandson and his many experienced and well-armed uncles. One of these, the Prince of Yan, eventually overthrew his nephew under the pretense of saving him from ill counsel. His own legitimacy was precariously established: a charred body was procured from the ruins of Nanjing and proclaimed to be the accidentally-killed emperor; the nephew's reign was then condemned and delegitimized and the surviving son kept imprisoned and single; and imperial records were falsified to establish the Prince of Yan as his father's favorite and as a son of the primary wife, giving him primacy over his other brothers.

Names

As ''taizi'', the crown prince would possess a name separate both from his personal name and from his later era name,

temple name Temple names are posthumous titles accorded to monarchs of the Sinosphere for the purpose of ancestor worship. The practice of honoring monarchs with temple names began during the Shang dynasty in China and had since been adopted by other dyna ...

and

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishm ...

Lists

Crown Princes of Zhou

*Jī Xiefu, son of King Ping of Zhou

Crown Princes of Han

* Crown Prince Ying, son of Liu Bang (Emperor Gao), later Emperor Hui * Crown Prince Qi, son of Emperor Wen, later Emperor Jing * Crown Prince Rong, son of Emperor Jing, later demoted to Prince of Linjiang * Crown Prince Che, son of Emperor Jing, originally Prince of Jiaodong and later Emperor Wu * Crown Prince Li, son of Emperor Wu, rebelled and killed * Crown Prince Fuling, son of Emperor Wu, later Emperor Zhao * Crown Prince Shu, son of Emperor Xuan, later Emperor Yuan * Crown Prince Ao, son of Emperor Yuan, later Emperor Cheng * Crown Prince Xin, grandson of Emperor Yuan, originally Prince of Dingtao, later adopted by Emperor Cheng, whom he succeeded as Emperor Ai

Crown Princes of Tang

* Li Jiancheng, son of Tang Gaozu, killed during the Xuanwu Gate Incident * Li Chengqian, son of Tang Taizong, demoted * Li Zhi, son of Tang Taizong, later Emperor Gaozong *

Li Zhong Li Zhong (李忠) (643 – January 6, 665Volume 201 of '' Zizhi Tongjian'' recorded that Li died on the ''wuzi'' day in the 12th month of the 1st year of the Linde era of Tang Gaozong's reign. This date corresponds to 6 Jan 665 on the Gregorian ca ...

, son of Tang Gaozong, forced to commit suicide *

Li Hong Li Hong () (652 – 25 May 675), formally Emperor Xiaojing (孝敬皇帝, literally, "the filial and respectful emperor") with the temple name of Yizong (義宗), was a crown prince (not emperor, despite his formal title) of the Chinese dynast ...

, son of Tang Gaozong, either died of illness or poisoned by mother

Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705, ruling first through others and then (from 690) in her own right. From 665 to 690, she was first empres ...

Li Longji Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (; 8 September 685 – 3 May 762), personal name Li Longji, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756 CE. His reign of 44 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. In the ear ...

, son of Tang Ruizong, later Emperor Xuanzong

Crown Princes of Ming

* Crown Prince Yiwen, son of the

, predeceased his father *Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen, son of Crown Prince Yiwen, later the Jianwen Emperor, posthumously demoted & restored * Crown Prince Hejian, son of the Jianwen Emperor, allegedly burnt to death, posthumously demoted & restored *Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi, son of the

Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...

, later the Hongxi Emperor *Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji, son of the Hongxi Emperor, later the Xuande Emperor *Crown Prince Zhu Qizhen, son of the Xuande Emperor, later the Zhengtong & Tianshun Emperor *Crown Prince

Zhu Jianshen The Chenghua Emperor (; 9 December 1447 – 9 September 1487), personal name Zhu Jianshen, was the ninth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, who reigned from 1464 to 1487. His era name " Chenghua" means "accomplished change". Childhood Zhu Jianshen wa ...

, son of the Zhengtong & Tianshun Emperor, demoted * Crown Prince Huaixian, son of the Jingtai Emperor, demoted & posthumously restored *Crown Prince Zhu Jianshen, restored, later the Chenghua Emperor * Crown Prince Daogong, son of the

Chenghua Emperor The Chenghua Emperor (; 9 December 1447 – 9 September 1487), personal name Zhu Jianshen, was the ninth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, who reigned from 1464 to 1487. His era name " Chenghua" means "accomplished change". Childhood Zhu Jianshen wa ...

, predeceased his father *Crown Prince Zhu Youcheng, son of the Chenghua Emperor, later the Hongzhi Emperor *Crown Prince Zhu Houzhao, son of the Hongzhi Emperor, later the Zhengde Emperor * Crown Prince Aichong, son of the Jiajing Emperor, predeceased his father *

Crown Prince Zhuangjin A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

, son of the Jiajing Emperor, predeceased his father *Crown Prince

Zhu Zaihou Zhu or ZHU may refer to: *Zhu (surname), common Chinese surnames *Zhu River, or Pearl River, in southern China *Zhu (state), ancient Chinese state, later renamed Zou *House of Zhu, the ruling house of the Ming dynasty in Chinese history *Zhu (stri ...

, son of the Jiajing Emperor, later the Longqing Emperor *Crown Prince Zhu Yijun, son of the Longqing Emperor, later the Wanli Emperor *Crown Prince

Zhu Changluo The Taichang Emperor (; 28 August 1582 – 26 September 1620), personal name Zhu Changluo (), was the 15th Emperor of the Ming dynasty. He was the eldest son of the Wanli Emperor and succeeded his father as emperor in 1620. However, his reign c ...

, son of the Wanli Emperor, later the Taichang Emperor *Crown Prince Zhu Youxiao, son of the Taichang Emperor, later the Tianqi Emperor *

Crown Prince Huaichong A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

, son of the Tianqi Emperor, predeceased his father * Crown Prince Daohuai, son of the Tianqi Emperor, predeceased his father *

Crown Prince Xianchong A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

, son of the Tianqi Emperor, predeceased his father * Crown Prince Xianmin, son of the Chongzhen Emperor

Notes

References

{{Reflist Chinese princes Crown princes zh:太子#中国