Princess Taiping
Princess Taiping was a member of the Tang imperial family and a political figure active during the reigns of her mother Wu Zetian, and her brothers Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong, particularly during Emperor Ruizong's second reign, when for three years until her death, she was the real power behind the throne. Her personal name is not recorded in official histories, though some later sources suggest it may have been Li Lingyue.
She played a significant role in court politics during a period of dynastic transition, including the restoration of the Tang dynasty following Wu Zetian’s abdication. Princess Taiping was involved in the 705 coup that reinstated Emperor Zhongzong and later supported the 710 purge of Empress Wei’s faction. During Emperor Ruizong’s second reign, she held considerable influence over state affairs and was regarded as a key figure in the administration.
Following Emperor Ruizong’s abdication in favor of his son Li Longji in 712, tensions between Princess Taiping and the new emperor escalated. In 713, according to historical records, believing that she was planning to overthrow him, acted first, executing a large number of her powerful allies and forcing her to commit suicide.
Childhood
The exact birth date of Princess Taiping remains unknown, but she was the youngest of six known children born to Emperor Gaozong and his second wife, Empress Wu.This places her birth either around the same time as her brother Li Dan or sometime after, some scholars say she was born around 665 AD.In her early years, Princess Taiping lived in the Ziwei Palace in the western section of the imperial city in Luoyang, near the Jiuzhou Pond area. When she was about five or six years old, she frequently visited the home of her maternal grandmother, Lady of Rongguo, located in the Jiaoyi Ward of Luoyang, during one of these visits, a palace maid accompanying her was sexually assaulted by her cousin, Helan Minzhi. This incident enraged Wu Zetian, especially since Helan Minzhi had previously raped the woman who was to become the crown princess. As a result, Wu Zetian stripped Helan Minzhi of his status as heir to the Wu family, exiled him, and ultimately had him executed on route.
In 670, when Empress Wu's mother Lady Yang died, Empress Wu had Princess Taiping become a Taoist nun to gain divine favor on behalf of Lady Yang.
Failed marriage
Later, during the Yifeng era, while Emperor Gaozong was engaged in peace negotiations with the Tibetan kingdom of Tufan, the Tufan king proposed marriage to Princess Taiping. Gaozong declined the offer. To diplomatically sidestep the proposal, he commissioned the construction of a Taoist temple named Taiping Temple and appointed Princess Taiping as its abbess.First Marriage
In 681, Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu arranged a marriage between Princess Taiping and her cousin Xue Shao, the son of Princess Chengyang and her second husband, Xue Yao. The wedding was a grand affair held in the autumn of that year. According to historical accounts, the procession from the palace to the Xuanyang District —where the Xue family resided—was so lavishly lit with torches that the heat and smoke reportedly scorched trees lining the streets.Empress Wu, however, expressed disdain for the wives of Xue Shao’s brothers Lady Xiao and Lady Cheng believing their backgrounds were too humble for her daughter’s in-laws. She reportedly remarked, “How can my daughter be a sister-in-law to the daughters of farmers?” Although she considered forcing the brothers to divorce, she relented when informed that Lady Xiao was a grandniece of the deceased chancellor Xiao Yu.
Princess Taiping and Xue Shao had two sons, Xue Chongxun and Xue Chongjian, as well as a daughter, born in 686, who was later granted the title Lady Wanquan.
Early Political Influence and Second Marriage
Emperor Gaozong died in 683 and was succeeded by Princess Taiping's older brother Crown Prince Li Zhe, but actual power was in the hands of Empress Wu, as empress dowager and regent. In 684, when Emperor Zhongzong showed signs of independence, she deposed him and replaced him with another brother of Princess Taiping's, Li Dan, Prince of Yu, but thereafter wielded power even more firmly. As she viewed Princess Taiping as similar to her in appearance and attitude, she favored Princess Taiping greatly and often discussed the affairs of the state with her.In 688, after a failed rebellion against Empress Dowager Wu led by Emperor Gaozong's brother Li Zhen, Prince of Yue and Li Zhen's son Li Chong, Prince of Langye, Xue Yi, Xue Xu, and Xue Shao were discovered as having conspired with Li Chong. Xue Yi and Xue Xu were beheaded, while Xue Shao was caned 100 times and starved to death — which led to more suffering, but which allowed his body to remain whole and thus was considered a more honorable death.
In 690, Empress Dowager Wu wanted to remarry Princess Taiping to Wu Youji, a grandson of Empress Dowager Wu's uncle Wu Shileng. Wu Youji, however, was already married, and Empress Dowager Wu secretly had Wu Youji's wife assassinated so that Princess Taiping could marry him. With Wu Youji, Princess Taiping would have an additional two sons — Wu Chongmin and Wu Chongxing — and one daughter. A possible second daughter, titled Lady Yonghe, was also born to them.
Emperor Wu Zetian's reign
Later in 690, Empress Dowager Wu had Emperor Ruizong yield the throne to her, establishing the Zhou dynasty with herself as its "emperor".In or before 697, Princess Taiping recommended Zhang Changzong to serve as Wu Zetian's lover. Zhang Changzong further recommended his brother Zhang Yizhi as well.
Also in 697, Wei Suizhong, a friend of the secret police official Lai Junchen, revealed that Lai had intended to accuse Princess Taiping, the Wu clan princes, Li Dan, and Li Zhe of treason. Princess Taiping and the Wu clan princes, in response, accused Lai of crimes, and Wu Zetian put Lai to death.
In 699, when the chancellor Zong Chuke and Zong Chuke's brother Zong Jinqing were accused of corruption and exiled, Princess Taiping visited the Zongs' mansions and commented, "Once we look at their mansions, it is like we have not lived."
Also in 699, Wu Zetian, in fear that after her death that Li Zhe and the Wu clan princes would not be able to coexist peacefully, had him, Li Dan, Princess Taiping, Wu Youji, and the other Wu clan princes swear an oath to each other and read the oaths to the gods. The oaths were then carved on iron and kept in the imperial archives.
In 702, Wu Zetian had Li Xian, Li Dan, and Princess Taiping submit formal petitions to have Zhang Changzong created a prince. She then formally rejected the petitions but created Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi dukes.
In 703, a favorite official of Princess Taiping's, who might have been her lover, Gao Jian, was accused by the Zhangs of agreeing with the chancellor Wei Yuanzhong, whom the Zhangs had resented, that Wu Zetian was old and that it would be more secure to support the crown prince. Wu Zetian, in anger, had Wei and Gao arrested and subsequently exiled.
Emperor Zhongzong's second reign
In 705, a coup led by the officials Zhang Jianzhi, Cui Xuanwei, Jing Hui, Huan Yanfan, and Yuan Shuji killed Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong and overthrew Wu Zetian, restoring Li Xian to the throne. Princess Taiping was said to be involved in the coup, and after Emperor Zhongzong's restoration, he gave her the special title of Zhenguo Taiping Gongzhu — literally "the Princess Taiping who secured the state." He also established her own luxurious palace, and she enjoyed five thousand households, so she became very much rich, therefore, her power skyrocketed and she found a say in court politics. Later, Emperor Zhongzong specially sent a number of Imperial Army guards to be stationed at Princess Taiping's mansion. An imperial guard was set up around her mansion and there were also many fully armed guards patrolling day and night to protect her and protecting her was a lot like protecting the emperor. This alone is enough to see Princess Taiping's exalted position in Emperor Zhongzong's reign. In 706, she, along with Emperor Zhongzong's daughters Princesses Changning, Anle, Yicheng, Xindu, and Ding'an, and Princess Jincheng, were allowed to retain staffs, similar to imperial princes. As a result, they led a governmental structure, and the staffs and offices they held were part of a governmental mechanism and it was like setting up a government. She became one of the powerful women at court, although her power was rivaled by Emperor Zhongzong's wife Empress Wei and Li Guo'er. As a result, Princess Taiping with Empress Wei and Li Guo'er were engaged in party battles to seize power and eliminate each other.After Emperor Zhongzong ascended the throne, Empress Wei and Li Guo'er dominated his reign and their lifestyle was completely promiscuous and extravagant, both tried to imitate Wu Zetian: Empress Wei successfully imitated Empress Wu's position during the reign of Emperor Gaozong, who listened to politics with a curtain at court next to the emperor, and effectively participating in both military and civil decisions, and Li Guo'er brought chaos to his father's administration with rampant lawlessness and corruption, and in an unsuccessful attempt she tried to convince Emperor Zhongzong to make her crown princess; Both sold government posts, enslaved common people, executed anyone who insulted them or disobeyed their orders, and committed adultery with different men in the palace. Princess Taiping tried in vain to open Emperor Zhongzong's eyes to the activities of this mother and daughter, and her efforts were so unsuccessful that she rarely attended in the imperial palace for fear of their attack.
In 707, after Emperor Zhongzong's son Li Chongjun the Crown Prince, angry over Li Guo'er's repeated attempts to displace him to become crown princess, failed in a rebellion to arrest Empress Wei and Li Guo'er, Li Guo'er and Zong Chuke tried to implicate Princess Taiping and Li Dan in Li Chongjun's plot, Emperor Zhongzong requested Xiao to investigate, but after Xiao Zhizhong spoke on their behalf, weeping, responded:
Emperor Zhongzong stopped investigations against Princess Taiping and Li Dan. From this time on, Princess Taiping with Li Longji spent time to cultivate relationships with some imperial guard commanders, and she began to attract a some of middle-ranking officials around her. As a result, she expand her power to compete with Empress Wei and Princess Anle and their faction, and sought to protect herself and her brother Li Dan.