Emperor Gaozu, also known as Li Yuan, was the founder of China's Tang Dynasty.
A general of mixed Chinese and Turkic ancestry, Li Yuan led an uprising against the Sui Dynasty following Emperor Yang of Sui's repeatedly failed attempts to conquer the Korean kingdom of Koguryo. He forced Emperor Yang's abdication in 617, declaring the beginning of the Tang Dynasty the following year, and securing control over most of China proper by the end of his reign, in 626.
In that year, his second son, after arranging for the death of the crown prince and another brother, forced Emperor Gaozu to abdicate, and succeeded him, taking the throne as Emperor Taizong of Tang.
| Preceded by Emperor Yang of Sui |
Emperor of Tang 618-626 |
Succeeded by Emperor Taizong of Tang |
References
- Valerie Hansen, The Open Empire, New York: W.W. Norton & Company (2000), 196.
- Conrad Schirokauer, et al, A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations, Fourth Edition, Cengage Learning (2012), 102.