Li Xian, whose real name was Li Chengqi, was a member of the Tang Dynasty royal family and a minister. He was the eldest son of Tang Ruizong Li Dan and the elder brother of Tang Xuanzong Li Longji. His most famous achievement in life was surrendering to Prince Ping Li Longji. Below, the history encyclopedia editor brings relevant content to share with you.
In the first year of Jingyun (710 AD), Emperor Ruizong of Tang, Li Dan, ascended the throne for the second time as emperor. It is interesting that Li Dan’s eldest son, Li Chengqi (the crown prince during Li Dan’s first reign as emperor), voluntarily gave up the position of crown prince to his younger brother, Li Longji (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang), after Li Dan ascended the throne for the second time. So Li Chengqi was one of the few former crown princes who had a very good ending, and Li Longji later posthumously honored Li Chengqi as the “Let Emperor”.
In the nearly three hundred year history of the Tang Dynasty, there were many eldest sons of emperors who faced awkward situations like Li Chengqi (such as Li Jiancheng, Li Zhong, Li Chongjun, etc.), but there were almost no former crown princes who could give up the position of crown prince like Li Chengqi and have a good ending in the end. So why was Li Chengqi, the elder brother of Li Longji, able to give up the position of crown prince and ultimately have a good ending in the face of a similar situation?
According to historical records, Li Chengqi himself had a humble and contented personality like his father Li Dan, and had little interest in imperial power. In addition, with the lessons learned from many ancestors, especially the Crown Prince Li Jiancheng, Li Chengqi, who had no ambitions, chose to voluntarily relinquish the position of Crown Prince. But Li Chengqi’s personality was only a secondary reason why he was able to relinquish the position of crown prince, mainly because he had an aunt.
The father son duo of Tang Ruizong Li Dan and Tang Xuanzong Li Longji is somewhat like a “low-level version” of Tang Gaozu Li Yuan and Tang Taizong Wen Huang, especially in terms of their power structure. Li Longji and Princess Taiping launched the “Tang Long Coup”, which allowed Li Dan to ascend to the throne for the second time. Li Longji’s launch of the “Tang Long Coup” was not solely to show filial piety to his father, but to fulfill his desire to become emperor by supporting his father.
In addition, Li Longji’s talent and strategy can be considered as the first among the princes. Many meritorious officials of the “Tang Long Coup” (such as Zhong Shaojing, Liu Youqiu, Cui Meiri, Chen Xuanli, etc.) and Di Menxian officials (such as Yao Chong, Song Jing, etc.) supported Li Longji. In terms of actual political influence, Li Longji has become another authoritative center independent of Li Dan, which is unacceptable to any emperor with a normal mind.
The common method for weak emperors to deal with strong princes is to support another prince (preferably with advantages that strong princes do not have) to balance them. The most typical example is Li Yuan supporting Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji to balance the Heavenly Strategy Generals. The biggest disadvantage of Li Longji at that time was that he was not the legitimate heir or the eldest son, while Li Chengqi’s only advantage was his status as the legitimate eldest son, which was a very suitable tool for balancing Li Longji’s position as a prince.
If Li Dan had made up his mind to use Li Chengqi as the crown prince to balance Li Longji, then Li Chengqi himself would not have been able to relinquish the position of crown prince. But Li Chengqi was very lucky that Li Dan and Li Longji were after all “low-level versions of Emperor Taizong”, and Li Chengqi’s aunt, Princess Taiping, even had slightly more political influence than Li Longji. For Li Dan, Princess Taiping was a more suitable tool to balance Li Longji.
After Li Dan decided to balance Li Longji with Princess Taiping, he no longer cared whether Li Chengqi was the Crown Prince. Moreover, Li Dan did not have absolute trust in Princess Taiping, and he needed to balance her by appointing Li Longji as the crown prince. Therefore, Li Chengqi’s abdication of the crown prince’s position was a result that Li Dan, Li Longji, and Princess Taiping could all accept, and other Tang dynasty princes did not have such conditions.
