Li Cong () (died 752), né Li Sizhi (), known as Li Tan () from 725 to 736, posthumously honored Crown Prince Jingde () and then Emperor Fengtian (奉天皇帝, literally, "the emperor who submitted to Heaven"), was an imperial prince of the Chinese

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

. He was the oldest son of Emperor Xuanzong but, despite that status, was never made

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 wife ...

, bypassed in favor of his younger brothers Li Ying and Li Heng (the later Emperor Suzong). After Li Heng became emperor, he posthumously honored Li Cong as an emperor.

Background

It is not known when Li Sizhi was born, but it is known that he was the oldest son of

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 earl ...

, then the Prince of Linzi under Li Longji's uncle Emperor Zhongzong. His mother Consort Liu, who would eventually receive the imperial consort rank of ''Huafei'' (), the third highest rank for imperial consorts,''

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kin ...

''
vol. 51
. later bore two more sons for Emperor Xuanzong, Li Wan () the Prince of Rong (né Li Sixuan () and Li Sui () the Prince of Yi (né Li Wei (). In 710, after Li Longji's father Li Dan became emperor (as Emperor Ruizong), Li Longji was created

, and his sons were created princes. Li Sizhi was created the Prince of Xuchang.

During Emperor Xuanzong's reign

In 712, Emperor Ruizong yielded the throne to Li Longji, who took the throne as Emperor Xuanzong. Li Sizhi's title was upgraded to Prince of Tan. In 715, however, he was bypassed for the crown prince position when his younger brother Li Siqian the Prince of Ying was selected, as Li Siqian's mother Consort Zhao was then Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine. In 716, Li Sizhi was made the

Protectorate General to Pacify the West The Protectorate General to Pacify the West (Anxi Grand Protectorate), initially the Protectorate to Pacify the West (Anxi Protectorate), was a protectorate (640 – ) established by the Chinese Tang dynasty in 640 to control the Tarim Basin. Th ...

and received the title of "Comforter of the Non-Han of the Hedong modern Shanxi)">Shanxi.html" ;"title="modern Shanxi">modern Shanxi) Guannei [(i.e., Guanzhong)], and Longyou [(modern eastern Gansu)] Regions" (安撫河東關內隴右諸蕃大使, ''Anfu Hedong Guannei Longyou Zhufan Dashi''), although there was no evidence that he actually left the capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...

. In 725, Li Sizhi's name was changed to Li Tan, and his title was changed to Prince of Qing. In 727, Li Tan became the military governor (''

jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", " legate ...

'') of Hexi Circuit (河西, modern central and western Gansu) as well as the commandant at Liang Prefecture (涼州, roughly modern

Wuwei, Gansu Wuwei () is a prefecture-level city in northwest central Gansu province. In the north it borders Inner Mongolia, in the southwest, Qinghai. Its central location between three western capitals, Lanzhou, Xining, and Yinchuan makes it an important ...

), but, as was the case with 10 other brothers of his who received similar titles, did not actually take up the command. In 736, Li Tan's name was changed to Li Cong. In 737, Li Siqian (the heir), whose name had been changed to Li Ying, was forced to commit suicide after false accusations of treason by Emperor Xuanzong's then-favorite concubine Consort Wu, who wanted her son Li Mao () the Prince of Shou to be crown prince. However, Emperor Xuanzong subsequently selected another son, Li Yu the Prince of Zhong, crown prince, bypassing Li Cong again in the process. Later when Chancellor

Li Linfu Li Linfu () (died January 3, 753), nickname Genu (), formally the Duke of Jin (), was a Chinese historian, musician, and politician during the Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor for 18 years (734–752), during the reign of Emperor Xuanzo ...

tried to depose the new Crown Prince Li Yu, he tried to persuade Emperor Xuanzong to create Li Cong as Li Cong was the eldest, but Emperor Xuanzong silently replied, "Cong, my eldest son, in early years when he hunted in the imperial garden, his face was hurt and badly injured." The emperor was implying that someone with a disfigured face was not fit to rule, and this might be the reason why Li Cong was always bypassed and never became crown prince. Though Li Linfu still insisted on deposing Li Yu, Emperor Xuanzong never replaced him, as Li Yu always behaved courteously. In 742, Li Cong became military governor of Hedong Circuit.

Posthumous honors

Li Cong died in 752. Emperor Xuanzong, still emperor at that time, posthumously honored him as Crown Prince Jingde, even though he was never crown prince. As he was sonless, he adopted Li Ying's son Li Qiu (), and Li Qiu inherited his title of Prince of Qing. In 756, after Li Yu, whose name was by then changed to Li Heng, became emperor (as Emperor Suzong), Li Cong was further posthumously honored as Emperor Fengtian. His wife Princess Dou was posthumously honored Empress Gongying, and they were reburied with honors due emperor and empress.

Notes

References

* ''

''
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* '' New Book of Tang''
vol. 82
* ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynas ...

'', vols.

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. {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Cong 752 deaths Tang dynasty jiedushi of Hexi Circuit Tang dynasty jiedushi of Hedong Circuit Tang dynasty imperial princes Year of birth unknown Emperor Xuanzong of Tang