Emperor Xuanzong of Tang
Also called: Li Longji, Tang Minghuang
Tang emperor (r. 712–756) whose Kaiyuan era marked the dynasty’s height; infatuated with Yang Guifei in later years, he fled to Sichuan when the An Lushan Rebellion broke out
Third son of Emperor Ruizong, he took power by destroying Empress Wei’s faction in 710 and that of his aunt, Princess Taiping, in 713. With chief ministers such as Yao Chong and Song Jing he achieved the Kaiyuan Reign, and as a lover of music and poetry he founded the Pear Garden academy of court music. In later years he took Yang Guifei, once his son’s wife, as consort and neglected government. While he was a refugee in Sichuan during the An Lushan Rebellion his son Suzong took the throne, and he returned to Chang’an as retired emperor to die in loneliness. His story with Yang Guifei lives on in Bai Juyi’s Song of Everlasting Sorrow.