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The Preface to the Tengwang Pavilion “is a historical masterpiece and the favorite work of poet Wang Bo. With this article, Wang Bo became one of the Four Great Masters of the early Tang Dynasty and became famous throughout history. The Tengwang Li Yuanying, who presided over the construction of the Tengwang Pavilion, was also able to leave his name. However, Li Yuanying has a long history of misconduct. Whether it is recorded in the New Book of Tang or the Old Book of Tang, he is a typical young man who only knows how to eat, drink, and have fun. This kind of greedy person poses no threat to politics and will not be punished, but he has caused hardship to the people under his rule.
Li Yuanying was born in 630 AD, in the years after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, while Li Shimin was born in 598 AD. Of course, another theory suggests that Li Shimin was born in 599 AD, which means he was over 30 years older than Li Yuanying. As the youngest son of Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuanying was naturally favored by Li Shimin, and after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Shimin valued family ties, so Li Yuanying lived a relatively easy life. In the thirteenth year of the Zhenguan reign (639 AD), at the age of nine, Li Yuanying was conferred the title of Prince Teng and was granted the fief of Shandong Tengzhou.
But Li Yuanying’s extravagance and debauchery were soon revealed:
When Li Shimin passed away, during the mourning period, Li Yuanying and the officials of the royal palace raised wine and sang loudly. They went to the homes of the people and directly took other people’s hunting dogs for hunting. In addition, they used slingshots to hit people. Seeing others panic and laugh, they opened the city gate and ran out of Chang’an at night. After Tang Gaozong ascended the throne, he issued an edict criticizing Li Yuanying. Li Yuanying served as the governor of Hongzhou, during which he began to force and rape the wives of his subordinates. He came up with a good idea to have his wife gather the wives of his subordinates to chat, and then force them to rape their wives in the palace. But Li Yuanying was also punished by others, and Zheng Man, the wife of signing Cui Jian, was also forced by Li Yuanying. This resolute woman directly scolded Li Yuanying and even beat her head and blood with her shoes. Li Yuanying was extremely ashamed and was eventually stripped of her official title for repeatedly breaking the law. He likes to build palaces. As early as the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Yuanying was exiled to Suzhou due to his extensive construction work. During his tenure as the governor of Hongzhou, Li Yuanying built the famous Tengwang Pavilion, which was named after Tengwang. During his tenure as Governor of Longzhou, Li Yuanying also built the Tengwang Pavilion in Langzhong, Sichuan along the Jialing River, and constructed the Yutai Temple and Tengwang Pavilion on Yutai Mountain in Langzhong. Its main purpose is still self enjoyment. To put it simply, Li Yuanying is a young man who is obsessed with wine and sex, and craves pleasure. Without his status as a member of the Li Tang royal family, he would be a spendthrift. He has also been criticized by Emperor Gaozong of Tang many times, but he has not changed his ways despite repeated teachings.
Prince Teng Li Yuanying passed away in the first year of the Sisheng era (684 AD), while Wu Zetian began a large-scale campaign of whistleblowing in the second year of the Chuigong era (685 AD), during which the politics of harsh officials officially began. It was already 687 years ago when Empress Wu Zetian persecuted the descendants of the imperial family. Li Xiaoyi, the Tang dynasty royal family member who suppressed Xu Jingye’s rebellion, was exiled to Lingnan and died. Afterwards, large-scale killings of the Tang dynasty royal family began.
Basically, except for a few surviving members of the Tang dynasty’s royal family, most of them were eradicated by Wu Zetian. The remaining descendants of the Li family were only descendants of Wu Zetian and Emperor Gaozong of Tang. Li Yuanying was a lucky one. When Wu Zetian eradicated the Li family on a large scale, he had already passed away. Of course, his descendants were not so lucky. Among his 18 sons, six died and were sentenced to prison. The remaining descendants were only recalled after Emperor Zhongzong of Tang ascended the throne.
