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Female Hero: Empress Wu Zetian
for more info on Empress Wu go here

100 Celebrated Chinese Women
a great page with beautiful illustrations. You can find info on Yang Guifei and many others

The Tang dynasty itself had twenty-four rulers beginning with the first emperor, Li Yuan (Gao Zu) and ending with Li Zuo (Ai Zong).

Li Yuan (Tang Gao Zu)

• reigned from 618 AD to 626AD
• He gave the new dynasty the name Tang.
• Although formally Li Yuan had led the rebellion that brought down the Sui dynasty, it was in truth his son, Li Shimin, who had brought up, instigated and supported the rebellion more than anyone else.
• His son, Lu Shimin, put him on the throne.

Li Shimin (Tang T'ai Tsung)

• reigned from 627 AD to 649 AD
• He was one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history.
• It was uncertain at first whether or not Lu Shimin would inherit the throne because Lu Shimin was only the second son of Li Yuan, despite his part in the rebellion against Sui
• The morning of July 20, 627, (Event of the Gate of Xuanwu 626AD), Li Shimin hid with his warriors at the sides of the Hsuan-men Gate (leading to palace) where they knew Li Shimin's two brothers Chien ch'eng and Yuan chi would arrive to attend an imperial conference.
• Once interference came, the two brothers were shot to death (by arrows) leaving Li Shimin as the only heir to the throne.
• He was a supporter of artists, poets and scholars and therefore contributed greatly to the growing splendor of Chinese culture.
• He married his best friend Changsun Wu-chi's sister.
• During the prime of his reign, crime was rare; in fact, often the jails of Tang were found empty.
• Taxes were one-fortieth of the crops and were the lowest ever recorded in China.
• Li Shimin was a very virtuous ruler; so virtuous in fact, that almost impossible deeds happened.
• At one time, around three hundred criminals from different parts of the country had been scheduled to be executed. Emperor T'ai Tsung ordered that the criminals be allowed to spend the rest of their months with their families as long as they agree to come back no later than a day before the scheduled execution. To everyone's surprise, all three hundred criminals returned.

Li Zhi ( Tang Gao Tsung)

• reigned from 650 AD to 683 AD
• He was married to Wu Zetian, future empress of Tang.
• Wu Zetian had in fact been the concubine of Li Zhi's father.
• After his father's death, Li Zhi claimed Wu Zetian and brought her to power.

Li Xian (Tang Zhong Tsung)

• reigned 684AD to 684 AD
• Placed on the throne at a young age by his mother, he only spent fifty four days on the throne.
• He was a puppet emperor, following what his mother told him.

Li Dang (Tang Tui Tsung)

• reigned 684AD to 690AD
• He was placed on the throne only to be controlled by his mother.
• He was dethroned when his mother decided to take over as Empress.

Wu Zetian (Tang Wu Hou)

• reigned 690AD to 704AD
• She was the only female emperor in China.
• Despite her beauty, she was a cruel woman who even had two competing concubines maimed and placed in tubs of spirits (a solution in alcohol of an essential or volatile principle) where they died torturously.
• While ruling through her two sons, both of whom she discharged within a year, Wu Zetian set out to rid herself of all adversaries.
• She even went as far as to killing three of her own children, including one daughter.
• Once on the throne, Empress Wu changed the Tang dynasty name to Zhou.
• Although a ruthless ruler, Empress Wu was also one of the greatest rulers in that she brought about the government examination system, supported the blossoming of Chinese culture, etc.
• She went against society by inviting young men for her own pleasure (like all the other emperors and their concubines).
• She sought the best men available to entrust with government work and they in turn, paid her with great loyalty.
• She died the same year she was dethroned by her own son.

Li Xian (Tang Zhong Tsung)

• reigned 705AD to 710AD
• He took the throne from his mother while she was in her eighties.
• He restored the Tang dynasty name

Li Chongmao (Tang Shang Tsung)

• reigned 710AD to 710AD
• He was the song of Li Xian but was never really throned.
• In fact, in some resources he has been excluded as an emperor.

Li Dang (Tang Rui Tsung)

• reigned from 710AD to 711AD
• Like Li Yuan, he was put on the throne by his son, Li Longji.
• After a year of ruling, he renounced the throne to his son.

Li Longji (Tang Hsüan Tsung)

• reigned 712AD to 755AD
• He is also referred to as Tang Ming-huang (Brilliant Monarch)
• He rid the government of favors; reduced the use of extravagant court expenses; took careful watch over the people; did away with capital punishment; set up the Hanlin Academy which nurtured scholars and writers of literature; set up a dance and music school; etc.
• His reign was similar to that of Li Shimin in that he was also a virtuous ruler and supporter of arts and literature. However, he is most known for falling in love with his son's concubine, Yang Keui-fei at first sight.
• He did all he could to make her content: a troupe of several hundreds of dancers and musicians was kept at court to entertain her; horses and riders were at hand at all times to travel 1,500 miles to bring litchi (Keui fei's favorite fruit) back to the palace; Keui-fei's male relatives were made dukes and counts; and the Emperor vowed many times that he would love Keui-fei and die with her.
• Their love however, became threatened when they were betrayed by Keui-fei's favorite governor-general, An Lu-shan, who brought about an unsuspected rebellion. (Rebellion of An and Shi 756AD-763AD)
• The Emperor and his love had no choice but to flee with the court until they came upon the Szechuan province.
• There are two stories as to the death of Keui-fei.
• One is, though the rebels had gotten a hold of Keui-fei's brother, the prime minister, and all but slaughtered him, they demanded more.
• With no choice left, the Emperor sent Keui-fei, his favorite and one love, away with a silk rope with which she hung herself on a nearby litchi tree.
• Another conclusion is, a palace guard blamed Keui-fei for all their (whose troubles?) troubles and strangled her, leaving her body in a ditch.

Li Heng (Tang Su Tsung)

• reigned 756AD to 761AD
• His father during the Rebellion of An Lu-Shan gave him the throne.
• He was able to calm the rebellion down but it was also at that time that *eunuchs began to come to power.

*eunuch- a castrated man who acted as a harem guard or palace official

Li Yu (Tang Dai Tsung)

• reigned 762AD to 779AD
• Under his rule, Tang began recovery from war.

Li Shi (Tang De Tsung)

• reigned 780AD to 804AD
• Era of Resurgence commenced.

Li Song (Tang Shun Tsung)

• reigned 805AD to 805AD
• He reigned for a time span of only six months due to his disability in speaking.

Li Chun (Tang Xian Tsung)

• reigned 806AD to 820 AD
• He was the son of Li Song and a very intelligent emperor.
• Unfortunately, he was later murdered by eunuchs.

Li Heng (Tang Mu Tsung)

• reigned from 821AD to 824AD
• He has the same name as former emperor Su Tsung.

Li Chen (Tang Jing Tsung)

• reigned from 825AD to 825AD
• He was murdered at the age of 18 by eunuchs.

Li Ang (Tang Wen Tsung)

• reigned from 826AD to 840 AD
• He was considered to be a very wise emperor.
• His downfall came with the 'Event of Dew' (835 AD), a plan to eliminate the eunuchs, which failed and placed him under house arrest.

Li Chan (Yan) (Tang Wu Tsung)

• reigned from 841AD to 846AD
• He prohibited Buddhism (only two other infamous emperors had done the same).

Li Yi (Chen) (Tang Xuan Tsung)

• reigned from 847AD to 858AD
• During his reign, mutinies began to spread and tension increased.

Li Huai (Tang Yi Tsung)

• reigned from 859AD to 873AD
• Rebellions spread.

Li Huan (Tang Xi Tsung)

• reigned 874AD to 888AD
• Tang's largest rebellion led by Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao brought chaos to Tang.
• When the rebellion finally ceased, Tang stood on the brink of failure. (Rebellion of Huang Chao 874AD-884AD)

Li Hua (Tang Zhao Tsung)

• reigned 889AD to 904AD
• With Zhu Quanzong in command as general, the eunuchs were finally destroyed.
• However, Zhu Quanzong also killed the emperor Zhao Tsung.

Li Zuo (Tang Ai Tsung)

• reigned 904AD to 907AD
• Tang's last emperor
• He was taken from the throne and replaced by Zhu Quanzong, who then began the Liang dynasty era.