賢 Xián

Crown Prince Zhanghuai

Xian, Crown Prince Zhanghuai, was styled Mingyun. His bearing was upright and dignified, and as a boy he was loved by the emperor. When only a few years old he could read a book once and never forget it; when he came to the words in the Analects, "to value worth in place of beauty", he recited them over and over. The emperor asked why, and he answered, "By nature I truly love this." The emperor told Li Shiji about it, praising his early quickness. He was first made Prince of Lu, and served as Area Commander-in-chief of Youzhou and Governor of Yong Prefecture. He was moved to be Prince of Pei and rose by stages to Grand Area Commander-in-chief of Yang Prefecture and General-in-chief of the Right Guard. His name was changed to De. He was moved to be Prince of Yong, still holding the posts of Governor of Yong Prefecture and Grand Area Commander-in-chief of Liang Prefecture, with an actual fief of a thousand households. In the Shangyuan era his name was changed back to Xian. At this time the Crown Prince died, and in the sixth month Xian was made Crown Prince. Soon he was ordered by edict to act as regent. Xian was especially clear and careful in his decisions, the court praised him, and the emperor wrote an edict in his own hand commending and rewarding him. Xian also gathered scholars, among them the Left Mentor of the Heir Apparent Zhang Da'an, the Librarian Liu Neyan, the Revenue Aide of Luo Prefecture Ge Xixuan, and the academicians Xu Shuya, Cheng Xuanyi, Shi Zangzhu and Zhou Baoning, to write a joint commentary on Fan Ye's Book of the Later Han. When the work was presented, the emperor generously rewarded them with tens of thousands of lengths of goods. At that time the Grand Master of Admonition Ming Chongyan was trusted by Empress Wu for his occult arts. Chongyan said that the Prince of Ying resembled Taizong and that the Prince of Xiang had the look of nobility; Xian heard of it and hated him. Some palace women said that Xian had in fact been born to the empress's elder sister, the Lady of Hanguo, and Xian grew more suspicious. The empress wrote the Models of Government for the Young Yang [the Crown Prince] and the Biographies of Filial Sons and gave them to Xian, and several times wrote to reproach and restrain him, so that he grew ever more uneasy. In the Tiaolu era, when the Son of Heaven was at the Eastern Capital, Chongyan was killed by bandits. The empress suspected that it came from Xian's plotting and sent men to expose the Crown Prince's secret affairs. By edict Xue Yuanchao, Pei Yan and Gao Zhizhou were ordered to try him jointly, and several hundred suits of armour were found in the Eastern Palace. The emperor had always loved Xian and wished to treat his crime lightly, but the empress said, "Xian harbours treason. For the sake of the great principle kin must be sacrificed; he cannot be pardoned." So he was deposed and made a commoner, the armour was burned at the Tianjin Bridge, Da'an was demoted to Prefect of Pu Prefecture, Neyan was exiled to Zhen Prefecture, and more than ten others were banished for their involvement. In the first year of Kaiyao, Xian was moved to Ba Prefecture. When Empress Wu took power, she ordered the General of the Left Imperial Insignia Guard, Qiu Shenji, to inspect and guard Xian's residence, and he forced Xian to kill himself, at the age of thirty-four. The empress held mourning for him at the Xianfu Gate, demoted Shenji to Prefect of Die Prefecture, and posthumously restored Xian's old princedom. Early in the Shenlong era he was posthumously made Grand Minister of Education, and envoys were sent to bring back his coffin, which was buried in attendance at the Qian Mausoleum. When Ruizong took the throne he was posthumously made Crown Prince and given a posthumous name. He had three sons: Guangshun, Shouli and Shouyi. Guangshun was made Prince of Le'an, moved to Yifeng, and was executed. Shouyi was made Prince of Qianwei, moved to Guiyang, and died. In the Xiantian era Guangshun was posthumously made Prince of Ju and Shouyi Prince of Bi. Edit

Shouli succeeded as prince. His name was originally Guangren, and he was appointed Librarian of the Heir Apparent. When Empress Wu changed the mandate, she feared and hated the imperial clan, and because his father had been condemned, Shouli was shut up in the palace with Ruizong's sons for more than ten years. When Ruizong was made Prince of Xiang he was allowed to leave for a residence outside, and only then did Shouli and the others begin to live outside the palace; Shouli was changed to Counsellor. When Zhongzong took the throne his original title was restored, and he was appointed Chief Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments, with an actual fief of five hundred households. In the first year of Tanglong he was promoted to Prince of Bin. When Ruizong took the throne he was concurrently made Acting General-in-chief of the Left Imperial Insignia Guard, then sent out as Prefect of You Prefecture, holding in absentia the post of Grand Protector-General of Chanyu, and promoted to Grand Minister of Works. In the early Kaiyuan era he served several times as a prefect. At that time the Princes of Ning, Shen, Qi and Xue were also prefects, and for each of them the heads of staff were chosen with care to keep order. Shouli only hunted, drank and enjoyed himself and did not handle affairs, so Yuan Qianyao, Yuan Jiazuo and Pan Haoli all served as Administrator of the Bin princely establishment or as prefectural aides, to supervise and check him. Later, when the princes were brought back to the capital, Shouli, a prince from a side branch, had little talent but many favourites. He had more than sixty sons, none of them worth mentioning. He was always in debt for several million cash in interest. When someone urged him to look after his property a little, Shouli said, "Will the Son of Heaven's elder brother be left with no one to bury him?" The princes often told this to the emperor for amusement. The Prince of Qi once reported that Shouli could tell when it would rain. The emperor asked how, and he answered, "I have no other gift. In the time of the Heavenly Empress, when the Crown Prince was condemned, I was shut up in the palace and beaten by order three or four times a year; the scars lie layer on layer on my skin. Before rain I feel heavy and oppressed, and when it clears I feel well; that is how I know." With that his tears fell, and the emperor was moved to pity. He died aged seventy and was posthumously made Grand Commandant. Of his sons, Chenghong, Chengning and Chengcai are worth recording. Chenghong held the title Prince of Guangwu; for associating with the wrong people he was demoted to Administrative Aide of Fang Prefecture, and came back as Chief Minister of the Court of the Imperial Clan. In the first year of Guangde, when the Tibetans entered the capital and the Son of Heaven went to Shan, the enemy's chief minister Ma Chongying set up Chenghong as emperor, with the Hanlin Academicians Yu Kefeng and Huo Gui as chief ministers. When the invaders withdrew, Chenghong was banished by edict to Hua Prefecture, where he died. Chengning was made Prince of Bin by Succession. Chengcai, Prince of Huang, was appointed Chief Minister of the Court of the Imperial Clan; he went with Pugu Huai'en as envoy to the Uighurs to make a marriage alliance, and there took the khan's daughter as his consort, who was given the title Princess Pijia. When he died he was posthumously made Grand Minister of Works. By the Tang rules, princes of commanderies by succession were given the fourth rank, and the sons of imperial princes wore scarlet. In the Kaiyuan era Zhang Jiuling memorialised: "Those of the sons of the Princes of Ning and Xue, and the three sons of the Prince of Bin, who are princes should be granted purple; the rest should all wear scarlet and hold no office above that of a director in the six services, and the staff of their princely establishments should still be appointed as supernumeraries." Later, those who followed the emperor to Shu all wore purple. Edit