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biography
| name: |
Xuanzong
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also spelled Hsüan-tsung
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pronunciation:
[shwantsong]
| sex:
| female
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| lived:
| (685–761)
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| biography:
| Chinese Tang emperor (ruled 712–55). Of royal lineage, he eliminated the usurper Wei's family in 710, and seized the crown in 712. Known also as Minghuang (‘brilliant emperor’), his reign displayed authentic imperial characteristics. He maintained a splendid court, reformed the coinage, initiated land registration, extended the Grand Canal, defeated the Tibetans (747), patronized leading painters and poets, and established the Academy of Letters (Han Lin) in 754, by which major scholars supervised all court documentation. His system lasted over 1000 years. After 745 he became obsessed with his concubine, Yang Guifei. Her protégé An Lushan rebelled in 755. Xuanzong fled, agreed to her execution, then abdicated in grief. Their love story inspired the poet Bo Juyi, and Ming period drama. |
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