There may not be many friends who know about Li Yang. He was the founding emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and Li Yang’s life experience is actually quite inspiring. Li Yang was born in a time of war and turmoil. With his intelligence and hard work, he embarked on a career path and became a powerful minister in Southern Wu, later taking control of the political power of the Southern Wu dynasty and conferring the title of Prince Qi. In 937 AD, Li Yang seized the opportunity and ascended the throne as emperor, establishing the Southern Tang Dynasty. During his years as emperor, Li Yang implemented new laws to ensure border stability, reached reconciliation with Wu and Yue, and allowed the people to live a stable life. Some friends are curious whether Li Yang is actually a member of the Tang Dynasty royal family. Let’s take a look below.
Li Yang’s identity
In fact, Li Yang was not a member of the Tang Dynasty royal family, and he had no relation to the Tang Dynasty Li clan. Li Yang was born into poverty and was forced to live a wandering life as a child. Later, his father disappeared and his mother passed away, leaving Li Yang alone and facing great hardships. Afterwards, Yang Xingmi entrusted Li Yang to be raised by Xu Wen, which completely changed his fate and gave Li Yang the opportunity to make achievements.
in full power
In 918 AD, a rebellion broke out in Southern Wu, and Xu Zhixun was killed by Zhu Jin. Upon receiving the news, Li Yang immediately went to Guangling to suppress the rebellion, which enabled Li Yang to successfully seize the political power of the Southern Wu Dynasty. Li Yang knew that in order to maintain a stable position, he needed to win the hearts of the people. Through a series of measures, he introduced many good policies to the people, thus gaining their favor, and his position in the court became increasingly stable.
Establishing the Southern Tang Dynasty
In 937 AD, Li Yang established the state of Qi and officially ascended the throne as emperor. Two years later, he changed the country’s name from Daqi to Tang and built temples for Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozu of Tang. Although he had no relationship with the Tang royal family, this move could still attract some public support for him, which was definitely beneficial for Li Yang, who declared himself emperor. In the 38th year of the Xiangguo reign of the Southern Tang Dynasty, it was passed down to three generations with one emperor and two lords, making it the largest political power in the ten kingdoms.