Li Zhongfu (680-710 September 10), born in the first year of Yonglong (680 AD), was the grandson of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, and Wu Zetian, and the eldest son of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, Li Xian
The tooth sequence in the Old Book of Tang is incorrect, and the birth mother is unknown.
According to hierarchy, he ranks behind Li Chongrun, the legitimate son of Empress Wei. He, who was not the eldest son, was not favored by Emperor Zhongzong. On the fourth day of the seventh month in the second year of Yongchun (683 AD), Emperor Gaozong of Tang conferred the title of Prince of Changjun upon his grandson Li Chongfu. In December of the same year, Emperor Gaozong of Tang passed away, and Crown Prince Li Xian succeeded him as Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, with Wu Zetian serving as regent. In February of the first year of the Sisheng era (684 AD), Emperor Zhongzong of Tang was deposed as Emperor Li Dan of Yu and became Emperor Ruizong of Tang. In the third year of the Shengli reign (699 AD), after Wu Zetian declared herself emperor, at the age of 19, she was renamed as the Prince of Ping’en County.
In 701 AD, Li Chongrun was falsely accused of discussing the private life of Wu Zetian and Mianshou, and was subsequently beaten to death by Wu Zetian’s staff. Shortly after Li Chongrun’s death, on the second day of the third lunar month in the fourth year of Chang’an (704 AD), Li Chongfu was conferred the title of Prince Qiao and later served as the attendant of the Guozi Sacrificial Wine and Left Cavalry.
In the first year of the Shenlong era (705 AD), Tang Zhongzong, Princess Taiping, Zhang Jianzhi, and others launched a Shenlong coup, and Zhongzong was successfully reinstated. Wei Hou, in order to prevent Li Xian from appointing Li Chongfu as the crown prince, falsely accused Li Chongfu and Zhang Yi’s brother of plotting privately in front of Li Xian, and claimed that the death of Chongrun was all planned by him behind the scenes. On February 16th of the same year, Li Zhongfu was demoted by Emperor Zhongzong of Tang to the position of Governor of Puzhou, and soon after, he was appointed as Governor of Junzhou. He was not given real power and often ordered state officials to strictly guard against him.
In the third year of Jinglong (709 AD), Li Xian held a grand ceremony to worship the heavens and granted amnesty to the world, returning all exiles. At this time, Li Zhongfu was refused to return to the capital, and then he submitted a memorial saying that all the people in the world have received your favor, Your Majesty. Why, as a son, did I not even have the opportunity to return to Chang’an to see you? In the end, Li Zhongfu was unaware that his father had no idea about such a letter.
In the first year of Jingyun (710 AD), the Wei family wanted to emulate Wu Zetian as emperor and began to heavily rely on Li family members, Wu Sansi, Zong Chuke, and others, forming the Wei family group to poison Tang Zhongzong. On June 2nd, Emperor Zhongzong passed away, and Li Chongmao was supported to succeed to the throne. On June 20th of the same year, Princess Taiping and her third son, Prince Linzi Li Longji, jointly launched a palace rebellion and executed Wei Shi, Princess Anle, Wu Yanxiu, and their followers. Later, Li Dan was enthroned as Emperor Ruizong of Tang.
After Tang Ruizong succeeded to the throne, Li Zhongfu was appointed as the Governor of Jizhou. But before Li Zhongfu took office, Zhang Lingjun offered advice to him, saying: You are the eldest son of Emperor Tang Zhongzong. In terms of qualifications, you are more qualified to inherit the throne than Li Chongmao, and your uncle Li Dan has no inheritance rights at all. Li Zhongfu immediately decided to rebel and used Zhang Lingjun’s plan to recruit brave warriors to attack the eastern capital Luoyang. In August of the third year of Jinglong, Li Zhongfu secretly proclaimed himself emperor in Junzhou and changed the reign to Zhongyuan Kefu. Tang Ruizong was appointed as the Crown Prince’s uncle, and Prince Wen Li Chongmao was appointed as the Crown Prince’s younger brother. Li Zhongfu, who dispatched his vassal Wang Daoxian to the eastern capital Luoyang, revealed his identity along the way and encouraged the masses to participate in the rebellion, claiming to be prosperous and powerful. He then pretended to take a post and marched towards Luoyang with Zhang Lingjun from Junzhou.
Not long after arriving in Luoyang, due to the leakage of information, the Tang army, who had received the news, had already prepared for the battle. Li Zhongfu was beaten to death, and those who followed him saw the situation was not good and scattered in all directions. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Li Zhongfu had no choice but to hide in the valley. The next day, Li Zhongfu was found by the soldiers who were searching for him in the mountains. Helpless, he went to the water to commit suicide. At the age of 31, he was posthumously deposed and became a commoner. He was ordered to be buried with a third grade ceremony. Later, he was dismembered and publicly displayed for three days.
