Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Li.

Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang
Birth and death:	October 10, 867[1][2]–December 15, 933[3][2]
Family name:	Lǐ (李)
Given name:	Originally Miàojíliè (邈佶烈), later Sìyuán (嗣源), later Dān (亶) (changed 927)
Dates of reign:	June 3, 926[4][2]–December 15, 933
Dynasty:	Later Tang
Era name:	Tīanchéng (天成) 926-930 Chángxīng (長興) 930-933
Temple name:	Míngzōng (明宗)
Posthumous name (short):	Emperor Héwǔ (和武皇帝)
Posthumous name: (full)	Emperor Shèngdé Héwǔ Qīnxiào (聖德和武欽孝皇帝)

Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang (後唐明宗), personal name Li Siyuan (Chinese: 李嗣源; pinyin: Lǐ Sìyuán), original name/nickname Miaojilie (邈佶烈), name later changed to Li Dan (李亶) (changed 927), was emperor of the Later Tang Dynasty from 926 to 933.

Family

Li Siyuan was the adopted son of Li Keyong, a Shatuo Turk who served under the Tang Dynasty and established the State of Jin upon the demise of the Tang Dynasty. With the help of Khitan leader Abaoji, his son, Li Cunxu was able to establish the Later Tang Dynasty in 923. Li Cunxu had destroyed the Later Liang Dynasty in 923 and established his capital in Luoyang, to signify a restoration of the Tang Dynasty, called the Later Tang Dynasty. His rule only lasted three years as he was killed during an officer’s rebellion in 926. As Li Keyong’s adopted son, Li Siyuan ascended the throne.

Reign

By the time Li Siyuan had assumed the throne of the Later Tang Dynasty, relations with the powerful Khitan to the north had deteriorated. In accordance with custom, an ambassador was sent to the Khitan Supreme Capital to inform Abaoji of the death of the emperor. However, Abaoji used the occasion to try to gain territory from the Later Tang Dynasty, especially the strategic Sixteen Prefectures, and even briefly imprisoned the envoy.

Though Abaoji soon died, the enmity that had been developing between the two did not fade. However, the major challenges to his rule came from the south and from within, particularly the Former Shu territory that Li Cunxu had annexed. The death knell of the dynasty would come from within with Khitan help. In 936, Shi Jingtang, the son-in-law of Li Siyuan himself, launched a rebellion against his rule. With Khitan help, he successfully overthrew the last Later Tang Emperor and established his own dynasty, the Later Jin.

Mingzong's counselor and minister was An Chonghui.

Depiction in media

• Director Zhang Yimou's 2006 supermovie Curse of the Golden Flower apparently has its action during this period, but the screenplay doesn't follow the historical facts, being more fictional.

Personal information

• Father
  • Li Ni (李霓), posthumously honored Emperor Xiaocheng (honored 927)
• Mother
  • Lady Liu, posthumously honored the Lady of Song, and then Empress Yi (honored 927)
• Wife
  • Empress Cao (created 930), Empress Hewuxian, mother of Princess of Jin
• Major Concubines
  • Lady Xia, posthumously honored Lady of Jin, then Empress Zhaoyi, mother of Princes Congrong and Conghou
  • Lady Wei, posthumously honored Lady of Lu, then Empress Xuanxian, mother of Prince Congke
  • Consort Wang, later honored Consort Dowager, adoptive mother of Prince Congyi
• Other Concubines
  • Consort Wang, the Lady of Qi
  • Consort Ge, the Lady of Zhou
  • Consort Liu, the Lady of Zhao
  • Consort Sun, the Lady of Chu
  • Consort Zhang, the Lady of Cao
  • Consort Guo, the Lady of Wei (魏)
  • Consort Yu, the Lady of Zheng
  • Consort Wang, the Lady of Wei (衛)
  • Consort Cui, the Lady of Cai
  • Consort Zhai, the Lady of Teng
  • Consort Wu, the Lady of Ju
  • Consort Gao, the Lady of Bohai
  • Consort Shen, the Lady of Taiyuan
  • Consort Zhu, the Lady of Wu Commandery
  • Consort Liao, the Lady of Yingchuan
  • Consort Liu, the Lady of Pengcheng
  • Consort Meng, the Lady of Xianyang
  • Consort Zhang, the Lady of Qinghe
  • Consort Wang, the Lady of Taiyuan
  • Consort Fu, the Lady of Yingchuan
  • Consort Zhang
  • Consort Jiang, posthumously created the Lady of Jiyang
  • Consort Li, the Lady of Longxi
  • Consort Cui, the Lady of Qinghe
  • Consort Li, the Lady of Chengji
  • Consort Tian, the Lady of Xianyang
  • Consort Bai, the Lady of Nanyang
• Children
  • Li Congshen (李從審), later adopted by Emperor Zhuangzong and name changed to Li Jijing (李繼璟) (changed 926, killed by Li Shaorong 926), name posthumously changed to Li Congjing (李從璟)
  • Li Congrong (李從榮), the Prince of Qin (created 930, killed by An Congyi (安從益) 933)
  • Li Conghou (李從厚), the Prince of Song (created 930), later Emperor Min of Later Tang
  • Li Congyi (李從益), the Prince of Xu (created 933), later the Duke of Xun during Later Jin Dynasty (created 939), later the Prince of Xu during Liao Dynasty conquest of central China (created 947), later emperor of unnamed state (created 947), later the Prince of Liang (title claimed 947, executed by Emperor Gaozu of Later Han 947)
  • Two daughters older than the Princess of Jin
  • Princess of Jin, originally Princess of Yongning, later Princess of Wei (created 933), later Grand Princess of Jin (created 935), later Empress Li during Later Jin Dynasty
• Adoptive Child
  • Li Congke (李從珂), né Wang (王), the Prince of Lu (created 933), later emperor

Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang Later Tang Dynasty
Regnal titles
Preceded by Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang	Emperor of China (Central) 926–933	Succeeded by Emperor Min of Later Tang
	Sovereign of China (Hunan) 926-927, 930-933[5]
	Sovereign of China (Fujian) 926-933[6]	Succeeded by Wang Yanjun (Emperor Huizong of Min)
	Sovereign of China (Jingnan region) 926-927[7]	Succeeded by Gao Jixing (Prince Wuxin of Nanping)

Notes and references

1. ^ History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 35.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter.
3. ^ History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 44.
4. ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 275.
5. ^ From 927, when Emperor Mingzong created Ma Yin the King (國王, Guowang) of Chu to Ma's death in 930, Ma was de jure sovereign of his own kingdom, albeit as a Later Tang vassal; Ma's son and successor Ma Xisheng did not claim and was not given that title, so de jure sovereignty returned to Emperor Mingzong.
6. ^ Wang Yanjun's older brother Wang Yanhan had, in effect, declared de jure independence from Later Tang in 926 by claiming the title of Guowang of Min and using ceremonies due an emperor, but after Wang Yanhan was assassinated later in 926 and succeeded by Wang Yanjun, Wang Yanjun returned to the Later Tang-bestowed titles (until 933).
7. ^ Even before 927 and even long before the start of Emperor Mingzong's reign, Gao Jixing had acted in semi-independence to the central Chinese dynasties Later Liang Dynasty and Later Tang, but 927 was the first formal break between Later Tang and Jingnan (also known as Nanping, after Gao's title of Prince of Nanping); after that date, Gao and his successors would vacillate between formal allegiance to the central Chinese dynasties, as well as Wu/Southern Tang and Later Shu; with that being the case, 927 may be regarded as the time when Jingnan became an independent state.

• Mote, F.W. (1999). Imperial China: 900-1800. Harvard University Press. p. 13.