Li Yun (Tang dynasty)
Li Yun | |
---|---|
Lǐ (李) Yūn (熅) | |
Era name and dates | |
Jiànzhēn (建貞): 886–887 |
Li Yun (李熅) (died 887), imperial princely title Prince of Xiang (襄王), was a pretender to the throne of the Tang dynasty, who briefly, under the support of the warlord Zhu Mei, claimed the Tang imperial throne for two months in 886–887 at the capital Chang'an, in competition with Emperor Xizong.
Li Yun's brief reign ended when Zhu's subordinate Wang Xingyu rebelled and killed Zhu. Li Yun fled to the domain of the warlord Wang Chongrong, but then Wang executed Li and presented his head to Emperor Xizong.
Background
It is not known when Li Yun was born. He was a great-grandson of Li Guang (李僙) the Prince of Xiang, who was a son of Emperor Suzong, and his grandfather Li Xuan (李宣), at one point, was created the Prince of Yiwu.[1]
In 885, during the reign of
When Emperor Xizong fled Chang'an, Li Yun followed him to Fengxiang, but was unable to catch up with Emperor Xizong's further flight to Xingyuan. When he was at Zuntu Station (遵塗驛, near Fengxiang), he was captured by Zhu's soldiers and taken back to Fengxiang. By this point, Zhu had become convinced that Tian was a bad influence over Emperor Xizong who could never be eliminated and that he would receive the support of the other warlords if he supported a new emperor, and he consulted with the
Brief reign
In winter 618, after the imperial officials further urged him to take the throne, Li Yun did so. He offered Emperor Xizong, in exile, the title of retired emperor (Taishang Huang).[2]
Meanwhile, though, by this point, Tian Lingzi had abandoned his powerful post as the commander of the Shence Armies (神策軍) and sent himself to Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu, Sichuan) as its eunuch monitor of the army — as his older brother, Chen Jingxuan, was Xichuan's military governor. Tian's successor Yang Fugong issued an announcement to the Guanzhong region (i.e., Chang'an's surroundings) that anyone who could execute Zhu Mei would be given Zhu's post as the military governor of Jingnan. Zhu's officer Wang Xingyu, enticed, and also in fear because he was unable to complete the mission that Zhu gave him — capturing Xingyuan and seizing Emperor Xizong — decided to act. He marched back to Chang'an, catching Zhu by surprise, and killed Zhu. The officials Pei Che and Zheng Changtu, whom Li Yun had commissioned as chancellors, escorted him to Hezhong. However, by this point, Wang had agreed to again submit to Emperor Xizong, and while he initially feigned to welcome Li Yun, he instead seized and beheaded Li Yun. He delivered Li Yun's head to Xingyuan to be presented to Emperor Xizong. Initially, Emperor Xizong was to hold a grand celebration over Li Yun's death, but on the advice of the ceremonial scholar Yin Yingsun (殷盈孫), who pointed out that the death of an imperial clan member was not a good reason to celebrate, Emperor Xizong instead ordered Li Yun posthumously demoted to commoner rank and had the head buried.[2]