恪 Kè

Prince of Yulin

Ke, Prince of Yulin, was first made Prince of Changsha, and was soon raised to Prince of Han. In the second year of Zhenguan he was moved to Prince of Shu, enfeoffed at the same time as the Princes of Yue and Yan. He did not go to his fief, and only after a long time was made Area Commander-in-chief of Qi Prefecture. The emperor said to those around him, "Do I not wish to see Ke often? It is only that I want his place settled early, so that he may serve outside as a bulwark of the throne, and after I am gone the brothers may, I hope, have no fear of danger or ruin." In the tenth year he was changed to Prince of Wu, moved in title together with the six Princes of Wei, Qi, Shu, Jiang, Yue and Ji. He was made Area Commander-in-chief of An Prefecture. The emperor sent him a letter saying, "You are my close kin. Strive to think how you may guard the royal house; govern affairs by what is right and govern your heart by the rites. Outwardly we are lord and subject; inwardly we are father and son. Now you are to leave my side; I do not leave you treasures but leave you words. Keep them in mind!" He was charged with gambling with the son of his wet nurse, was removed as Area Commander-in-chief, and had three hundred households cut from his fief. When Gaozong took the throne he was appointed Grand Minister of Works and Area Commander-in-chief of Liang Prefecture. Ke was good at riding and archery and had both civil and military talent. His mother was a daughter of Emperor Yang of the Sui; he was close in kinship and high in repute, and people at court and outside looked to him. When the emperor [Taizong] had first made the Prince of Jin Heir Apparent, he also wanted to set up Ke instead, but Zhangsun Wuji argued firmly against it. The emperor said, "Is it because he is not your nephew? Besides, the boy is heroic and decisive like me; if he were to protect his maternal uncle's family, who knows?" Wuji said, "The Prince of Jin is humane and generous, a good ruler to keep what has been built. Besides, one who cannot decide where to put his piece loses the game, and how much more with the place of heir?" The emperor then gave it up. So Wuji always hated Ke. In the Yonghui era, when Fang Yi'ai plotted rebellion, Wuji used the occasion to have Ke put to death, to cut off the hopes of the empire. At his execution Ke cried out, "If the spirits of the state have power, Wuji's clan will be wiped out!" His four sons, Ren, Wei, Kun and Jing, were all exiled south of the Ridges. In the fifth year of Xianqing he was posthumously made Prince of Yulin, a temple was set up for him, and Rong, grandson of Xiaogong, Prince of Hejian, was made Marquis of Yulin County to be his heir. At the beginning of Shenlong he was posthumously given the title Grand Minister of Works and was reburied with full rites. In the Guangzhai era Ren was pardoned and returned; it happened that Rong had just been removed for a crime, so Ren was able to inherit the title Baron of Yulin County. He served as Lieutenant Prefect of Yue Prefecture and was given the rank of Duke of a Commandery. Once, when he was sent on a mission to Jiangzuo, the people of the prefecture offered him gold, and he refused to accept it. Empress Wu sent an envoy to commend him, saying, "This boy is the thousand-li colt of our house," and his name was changed to Qianli. From Tianshou on, most of the worthy men of the imperial clan were rooted out; only Qianli, by being deceitful, rash and unfeeling, and by repeatedly presenting auspicious omens and other strange things, escaped. When Zhongzong was restored, Qianli was changed to Prince of Chengji, and soon after raised to Prince of Cheng. When the Heir Apparent Jiemin killed Wu Sansi, Qianli and his son Xi, Prince of Tianshui, led several dozen men and hacked their way in through the Right Yanming Gate. When the Heir Apparent failed, Qianli was put to death, his household was registered and confiscated, and their surname was changed to Fu [Viper]. When Ruizong took the throne, an edict restored their surname, offices and titles. Wei died young, and Zhongzong posthumously enfeoffed him as Prince of Langling. His son Yu was given in adoption as heir to Yin, Prince of Shu. In the Kaiyuan era, because he had inherited a fief through a collateral line, he was changed to Prince of Guanghan Commandery; he was promoted to Chief Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud, ranking with a regular appointee, and died. Edit