Li Zhong

Who was Li Zhong?

Li Zhong, courtesy name Zhengben, formally Prince of Yan, was a crown prince of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. He was the oldest son of Emperor Gaozong and was created crown prince in 652 even though he was not the son of his then-wife Empress Wang. After Empress Wang was displaced by Empress Wu in 655, however, Li Zhong was caught in Empress Wu's crosshairs and was forced the yield the crown prince position to his younger brother Li Hong, born of Empress Wu, in 656. He was later further reduced to commoner rank and put under house arrest, and when the chancellor Shangguan Yi failed in his attempt to persuade Emperor Gaozong to depose Empress Wu in 664 and was executed, Empress Wu took the opportunity to accuse Li Zhong of being complicit in Shangguan's plans. Around the new year 665, Emperor Gaozong ordered Li Zhong to commit suicide. He was posthumously honored an imperial prince, but not a crown prince, during the second reign of his brother Emperor Zhongzong.