Li Yu (prince)
| Li Yu | |||||
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| Reign | December 4, 900 – January 24, 901 | ||||
| Born | unknown | ||||
| Died | March 17, 905 | ||||
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| Dynasty | Tang Dynasty | ||||
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Li Yu (李裕) (died March 17, 905), né Li You (李祐) (name changed 897), briefly Li Zhen (李縝) (from 900 to 901), formally the Prince of De (德王), was an imperial prince of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. He was the oldest son of the penultimate emperor Emperor Zhaozong and Empress He and was Crown Prince from 897 to 900. In 900, Emperor Zhaozong was briefly forced by the eunuch Liu Jishu to abdicate in Li Yu's favor; after Emperor Zhaozong was restored, Li Yu was no longer Crown Prince but remained a favored son. After Emperor Zhaozong was assassinated by the powerful warlord Zhu Quanzhong in 904, Li Yu, whom Zhu was apprehensive of, was bypassed in favor of his younger brother Emperor Ai (Li Zuo/Li Zhu), and in 905, Zhu had Li Yu, along with eight of his younger brothers, killed. As Li Yu's brief reign was under duress from a eunuch, he is not typically considered a true emperor of Tang.
It is not known when Li You was born — including whether he was born before or after his father Emperor Zhaozong became emperor in 888 — but it would be before his younger brother Li Zuo was born in 892, particularly since both he and Li Zuo were born of Empress He. He was Emperor Zhaozong's oldest son. In 891, Emperor Zhaozong created him the Prince of De.
After Emperor Zhaozong and his court were forced to flee from the imperial capital Chang'an to Hua Prefecture (華州, headquartered in modern Weinan, Shaanxi) after an attack by the warlord Li Maozhen the military governor (Jiedushi) of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi) in 896, Emperor Zhaozong came under effective control of Han Jian the military governor of Zhenguo Circuit (鎮國, headquartered at Hua Prefecture). Han soon became apprehensive of the fact that Emperor Zhaozong arrived at Hua Prefecture along with a number of new imperial soldiers that Emperor Zhaozong had recruited and put under the commands of a number of imperial princes (who were not his sons), and he pressured Emperor Zhaozong to force the imperial princes to give up the commands. Under Han's duress, Emperor Zhaozong was forced to have the imperial princes give up the commands and subject to house arrest by Han. Han, knowing that this displeased Emperor Zhaozong, wanted to placate the emperor, so he suggested to the emperor that he create Li You crown prince. In spring 897, Emperor Zhaozong did so, and also changed Li You's name to Li Yu. Shortly after, Li Yu's mother Consort He was created empress. (Subsequently, when Han ascertained that if he acted against the imperial princes that he arrested that he would not face retaliation from Li Keyong the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi), whom Emperor Zhaozong was still awaiting rescue from, Han slaughtered those imperial princes.)
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