Emperor Shang of Tang (695–715)
Born 695 CE, died 715 CE.
Emperor Shang of Tang (695 or 698 – 5 September 714), also known as Emperor Shao (少帝), personal name Li Chongmao, was an emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling briefly in 710. Li Chongmao was the youngest son of Emperor Zhongzong, born to one of Zhongzong's concubines. As of 710, Empress Wei and her daughter Li Guo'er the Princess Anle were exceedingly powerful, but Li Guo'er was unable to convince Emperor Zhongzong to have her created crown princess. Empress Wei, meanwhile, wanted to become Empress Regnant like her mother-in-law, Emperor Zhongzong's mother Wu Zetian. Traditional historians believed that she and Li Guo'er poisoned Emperor Zhongzong in July 710 although it may have been a stroke or heart attack that killed Emperor Zhongzong. Empress Wei then arranged for Li Chongmao, then the Prince of Wen, to succeed Emperor Zhongzong as emperor, hoping to control the young teenager as empress dowager and regent. Empress Dowager Wei's plans, however, were foiled when Emperor Zhongzong's sister Princess Taiping and nephew Li Longji the Prince of Linzi launched a coup less than a month after Emperor Shang's enthronement.
Text from the Wikipedia article Emperor_Shang_of_Tang, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.