Li Zhong
| Li Zhong | |
|---|---|
| Crown Prince of Tang Dynasty | |
| Born | 643 |
| Died | 6 January 665 (aged 22) |
| Father | Emperor Gaozong of Tang |
| Mother | |
Li Zhong (李忠) (643 – January 6, 665), courtesy name Zhengben (正本), formally Prince of Yan (燕王), was a crown prince of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. He was the oldest son of Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) and was created crown prince in 652 even though he was not the son of his then-wife Empress Wang. After Empress Wang was displaced by Empress Wu (later known as Wu Zetian) in 655, however, Li Zhong was caught in Empress Wu's crosshairs and was forced the yield the crown prince position to his younger brother Li Hong, born of Empress Wu, in 656. He was later further reduced to commoner rank and put under house arrest, and when the chancellor Shangguan Yi failed in his attempt to persuade Emperor Gaozong to depose Empress Wu in 664 and was executed, Empress Wu took the opportunity to accuse Li Zhong of being complicit in Shangguan's plans. Around the new year 665, Emperor Gaozong ordered Li Zhong to commit suicide. He was posthumously honored an imperial prince, but not a crown prince, during the second reign of his brother Emperor Zhongzong.
Li Zhong was born in 643, shortly after his father Li Zhi became crown prince under his grandfather Emperor Taizong. His mother was Consort Liu, who was of lowly birth. He was Li Zhi's oldest son, and Li Zhi convened a feast with his staff at Hongjiao Hall (弘教殿) to celebrate. Emperor Taizong personally attended as well and danced to celebrate the grandson's birth. In 646, Emperor Taizong created Li Zhong the Prince of Chen. After Emperor Taizong's death in 649, Li Zhi succeeded him (as Emperor Gaozong), and he made Li Zhong titular prefect of the capital prefecture, Yong Prefecture (雍州, roughly modern Xi'an, Shaanxi).
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