Empress Wei (Tang dynasty)
| Empress Wei | |
|---|---|
| Died | 21 July 710 |
| Spouse | Emperor Zhongzong of Tang |
| Issue |
Li Chongrun, Crown Prince Yide Princess Changling Li Xianhui, Princess Yongtai Li Guo'er, Princess Anle |
| Father | Wei Xuanzhen |
| Mother | Lady Cui |
Empress Wei (韋皇后, personal name unknown) (died July 21, 710) was an empress of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. She was the second wife of Emperor Zhongzong, who reigned twice, and during his second reign, she tried to emulate the example of her mother-in-law Wu Zetian and seize power. After Emperor Zhongzong's death in 710—a death traditionally believed to be a poisoning she carried out together with her daughter Li Guo'er the Princess Anle—which gave her the power to become the empress dowager, but in short order was overthrown and killed in a coup led by Emperor Zhongzong's nephew Li Longji (the later Emperor Xuanzong) and Emperor Zhongzong's sister Princess Taiping.
It is not known when Empress Wei was born. During the reign of her husband's grandfather Emperor Taizong, her grandfather Wei Hongbiao (韋弘表) served as the military advisor to Emperor Taizong's son Li Ming (李明) the Prince of Cao. When Emperor Zhongzong, then using the name Li Zhe, was crown prince, he married her as his second wife (his first wife, Princess Zhao, was starved to death when her mother Princess Changle offended Li Zhe's mother Empress Wu (later known as Wu Zetian)) and crown princess. At the time that they were married, Li Zhe's father Emperor Gaozong promoted her father Wei Xuanzhen (韋玄貞) from being the military advisor to the prefect of Pu Prefecture (普州, roughly modern Ziyang, Sichuan) (eighth rank, second class, second division) to be the much more important post of being prefect of Yu Prefecture (豫州, roughly modern Zhumadian, Henan) (fourth rank, first class, second division). In 682, she gave birth to their only son, Li Chongzhao. Sometime during her stint as crown princess, she also gave birth to at least one daughter (the later Princess Changning) and possibly another (Li Xianhui, the later Lady Yongtai).
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