Li Yuan

Family and early career

His lineage was associated with the Li family of Zhao Commandery and is also described as having borne the Xianbei surname Daye. His grandfather Li Hu was credited with service under the Zhou, made a Pillar of State, and posthumously enfeoffed as Duke of Tang; another tradition places him as Grand Commandant under the Western Wei. The family moved from Longxi Chengji to Di Dao and Wuchuan, later settling at Guang'e in Nanzhao Commandery after entering the Central Plain; Li Yuan inherited the title at age seven and later moved to Chang'an. His father was Li Bing and his mother Dugu; his wives included Dou (Empress Taimu) and Zhang. His sons included Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, Li Yuanji, Li Yuanjia, and Li Yuanjing, while his daughters included Princess Pingyang, Princess Changle, and Princess Changguang.

Under the Sui, he rose through a series of offices: governor of Qiao, Long, and Qi prefectures; commandery governor of Xingyang and Loufan; Diannei Shaojian; Weizhou Cao Canjun; Weiwei Shaoqing; and General of the Right Agile Guards. In the twelfth month of Daye 12 (616), Li Yuan became governor of Taiyuan. In the fifth month of the following year, he raised an army at Taiyuan against the Sui; he entered Chang'an in the eleventh month, installed Emperor Gong, made himself Grand Chancellor, and was advanced to kingly rank.

Founding the Tang and abdication

In the fifth month of Yining 2 (618), he accepted the abdication, established the Wude era, proclaimed the state of Tang, and made Chang'an its capital. After a nine-year reign in which he subdued rival powers and unified the realm, he transferred the throne to Crown Prince Li Shimin in Wude 9 (626) and assumed the title Taishanghuang, or Supreme Emperor.

Death and posthumous titles

He died on 25 June 635, in the ninth year of the Zhenguan era, at the age of seventy-one. His posthumous title is variously given as Emperor Dawu or Emperor Taiwu; his temple name was Gaozu, and his later honorific was Shenyao Dasheng Daguang Xiao Huangdi, also found in the shorter form Shenyao Dasheng Daguang Huangdi.