Do you like Li Dan’s story? Today, the History Encyclopedia editor will provide a detailed interpretation for everyone~
When it comes to Li Dan, everyone knows that he was a puppet emperor who dared not resist Wu Zetian in the slightest, and therefore felt that he was cowardly. However, this cowardly Li Dan is known as the “wisest emperor in the history of the Tang Dynasty”.
Perhaps some people may wonder, where can we tell that Li Dan was the wisest emperor in the history of the Tang Dynasty? In fact, Li Dan’s wisdom is mainly reflected in three aspects. The first aspect is that Li Dan “knows himself”. The second aspect is that Li Dan “knew the situation”, and the third aspect is that Li Dan “knew others”.
Clear self positioning
Li Dan has a clear positioning for himself, and he is very clear about the life he wants. Of course, he didn’t know it from birth, but because he witnessed his brother Li Xian’s tragic experience in his early years.
After the death of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Wu Zetian appointed Li Xian as the emperor and established her own court system. Li Xian was very dissatisfied with his current situation of being on the throne but without real power, and he was always in opposition to Wu Zetian. Later, Li Xian decided to rise up in rebellion and appointed the family of Empress Wei as officials, hoping to establish his own power to confront Wu Zetian.
But later, when the news of Li Xian’s intention to appoint Empress Wei’s father as prime minister reached Wu Zetian’s ears, Wu Zetian immediately ordered the abolition of Li Xian’s emperor and demoted him to the title of Prince of Luling. Li Xian was demoted to the position of Queen of Luling, and not only did his living standards decline significantly compared to in the palace, but he also feared being killed by his mother’s men every day.
Li Dan discovered that his brother Li Xian, who was an emperor, was facing extremely difficult times. Not only did he lack power, but he also suffered a tragic fate for resisting Wu Zetian. Li Xian’s rebellion not only caused him hardship, but also implicated his family. So at that time, Li Dan made up his mind not to get involved in the struggle for imperial power, and only hoped for the safety of his entire family and a prosperous life.
It was precisely because Li Dan had a clear positioning for himself that he later had the correct guidelines for dealing with people and things related to imperial power. This guideline later helped him make quick and correct choices in many situations, which precisely confirmed that Li Dan was very wise to find a clear positioning for himself first.
So, in the turbulent political situation of the Tang Dynasty, Li Dan was able to examine himself through the experience of his brother Li Xian and clarify the life he most wanted, that is, “knowing himself”, which was Li Dan’s first wise move. However, after his brother was demoted, his clear understanding and response to the situation at that time once again demonstrated that he was a wise person.
Clear and compliant with the situation of ‘Wu Zetian’s unshakable position as the sole ruler of the imperial power’
As the saying goes, those who follow the trend will prosper, while those who go against the trend will perish. Li Dan’s second wisdom was that he knew the situation at that time was that “Wu Zetian’s position as the sole ruler of the imperial power was unshakable”, so whenever Wu Zetian made new moves, he would actively cooperate.
After Li Xian was demoted, Wu Zetian needed a new puppet emperor, so she found Li Dan. In fact, Li Dan himself had no intention of getting involved in the struggle for imperial power, but he knew that Wu Zetian needed a step at this moment, so he gladly agreed.
After Li Dan successfully ascended to the throne, he not only failed to find a way to fight for power for himself, but also used various methods to demonstrate his lack of intention towards “imperial power”. Firstly, he never goes out of the palace, let alone inquiring about any political affairs. Secondly, even for small matters in the country, Li Xian would ask Wu Zetian to personally rule and not participate in any political affairs.
By the time Wu Zetian declared herself emperor, which was widely expected, Li Dan knew that the Tang Dynasty was no longer under the control of the Li family. He quickly responded to the situation and not only submitted a memorial requesting Wu Zetian to declare herself emperor, but also requested that she give him the “Wu surname”.
At that time, there were also many people who could not see clearly the situation of “Wu Zetian’s absolute dominance of imperial power and unshakable status”, and their tragic fate further confirmed Li Dan’s wisdom. For example, the British Duke Xu Jingye, who rose up against Wu Zetian in Yangzhou, was defeated and killed, while Pei Yan, who opposed Wu Zetian’s court system during Xu Jingye’s uprising, was beheaded by Wu Zetian.
The second manifestation of Li Dan’s wisdom was to see clearly the situation where Wu Zetian held great power and respond promptly, rather than going against the trend. The third manifestation of Li Dan’s wisdom was that he “knew others”.
Being able to see through the thoughts of those around me who intend to compete for power and imperial authority
It can be said that Li Dan had a very thorough understanding of every person around him who had ambitions for imperial power. He knew Wu Zetian’s intentions, Empress Wei’s fears, and even the ambitions of Princess Taiping and Li Longji.
He knew Wu Zetian’s intention of “probing”. In fact, before Wu Zetian declared herself emperor, she had expressed to Li Dan that she wanted to return the throne to him. However, Li Dan refused in every way possible at that time. Outsiders may think that since Wu Zetian said she didn’t want to do it anymore, although Li Dan had no intention of competing for imperial power, it was still good for her to accept her mother’s kindness? But Li Dan is a wise person. He saw through his mother’s intentions, so he insisted on passing the buck in every way possible.
In fact, by combining Wu Zetian’s later act of proclaiming herself emperor, we can see that she didn’t really want to rule the country anymore, but was gaining momentum. Although Li Dan couldn’t know that Wu Zetian would declare herself emperor in the future, he could understand his mother’s thoughts and act in accordance with them.
He knew that Empress Wei was wary of him. After the Shenlong Coup, Li Xian took the position of emperor from Wu Zetian. And Li Xian, because his younger brother Li Dan played an indispensable role in eliminating the followers of the Zhang and Wu families, immediately conferred three official positions on his brother and even gave him the title of “Prince of Anguo”. Later, Li Xian even wanted to confer the title of “Emperor’s younger brother” on Li Dan. But Li Dan not only resigned from two important official positions, but also firmly refused to be conferred the title of “Crown Prince”.
Outsiders may think that this is the result of Li Dan’s own efforts, and he did not deliberately strive for it. He should enjoy these rights. But the wise Li Dan saw the ambition of “Empress Wei” and discovered that Empress Wei was wary of his “meritorious deeds” when he was repeatedly appointed to many official positions. In order to avoid disputes, Li Dan decisively gave up his rights that should have belonged to him.
And if we examine Empress Wei’s behavior again, we will find that she is truly ambitious. It is said that Li Xian was killed by Empress Wei, who was obsessed with power. After Li Xian’s death, Empress Wei enthroned Li Xian’s 16-year-old son, Li Chongmao, to the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. Although the time was short, it was enough to demonstrate his ambition. It can be seen that Li Xian’s approach at that time was truly a wise move.
He knew the ambitions of Princess Taiping and Li Longji. Later, Li Longji, the son of Li Dan, joined forces with Princess Taiping to launch the Tang Long Rebellion, killing Empress Wei, Princess Anle, and members of the Wei clan. He then asked his father to assist the young emperor Li Chongmao, and sent soldiers to control both inside and outside the palace. However, the young Li Chongmao knew he was unable to resist Li Longji and requested Li Dan to take over his position.
At first, Li Dan was still reluctant, but under the unanimous persuasion of Li Longji and others, coupled with the fact that there were no hidden dangers around him that could threaten his status, Li Dan ascended to the throne and declared himself emperor. This time he became the emperor with real power and made many contributions to the country and the people during his reign.
But shortly after Li Dan ascended to the throne, he saw the intention of Princess Taiping and Li Longji to compete for power. The two fought fiercely, with Princess Taiping intervening in political affairs and Li Longji’s power gradually increasing after being crowned as the crown prince. The wise Li Dan knew that their struggle was unstoppable, so he did not interfere with either side. Instead, after Li Longji’s great defeat of Princess Taiping, he did not wait for his son to say anything before passing the throne to Li Longji and retreating to the position of Grand Emperor.
Li Dan did not interfere in the power struggle between the two, so he did not provoke any dissatisfaction from either side. He then voluntarily abdicated, avoiding the possibility of competing for power with his son or even being killed by him. His behavior naturally reflects his wisdom.
It is precisely because of Li Dan’s clear and correct understanding of himself, the situation, and others that he was able to stand alone in the extremely fierce and chaotic struggle for imperial power, and ultimately enjoy his remaining years. He is truly deserving of the title of “the wisest emperor of the Tang Dynasty”!
