Portrait: AI-generated imagined likeness

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang

Emperor · Monarch · Poet

Years: 685–762
Birthplace: China
Birth polity: Tang dynasty
Era: Medieval
Field: Politics
Occupations: Emperor · Monarch · Poet

Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. He led the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty during the Kaiyuan era, but in his later years he gave important support to the Yang Guifei family and An Lushan, and was forced to abdicate during the Anshi Rebellion. He is a person who thinks about the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty. It was also a turning point in the flourishing Tang culture.

View in catalog

Historical context

Places

Chang'an
Work

Events

Kaiyuan era prosperity
713–741
Political event · Leader
An Lushan Rebellion
755–756
War · Subject

Origins

Origins map

Birth country

Birth country: China

Map: Natural Earth (PD)

Biography

Early life

He was born into the Tang imperial family Li Longji and ascended the throne after a political upheaval within the imperial court. In the Tang Dynasty after Wu Zetian, the challenge was to rebuild the power relationship between the imperial family, maternal relatives, and bureaucrats.

Achievements

After acceding to the throne, the bureaucracy and finances were put in place during the Kaiyuan era, and the national power and culture of the Tang Dynasty greatly developed. Poetry, music, and international exchange flourished, and Chang'an became the center of Eurasian urban culture.

Character & anecdotes

Hyeonjong is talked about in contrast to the image of a great ruler in the first half and the mismanagement in the second half. The story with Yang Guifei is famous in literature, but the background was the growing power of the Jiedozhi and the laxity of court politics.

Historical Impact

If you study Xuanzong, you will understand that the height and decline of the Tang Dynasty were connected within the reign of a single person. He is an important figure who sees both cultural prosperity and changes in military and financial structures. A structure in which prosperity turns into crisis is also conceivable.