Five Dynasties · Ruler

Emperor Zhuangzong 莊宗

Zhuangzong

Attested AD 923 - AD 926

Passages: 8
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

Emperor Zhuangzong was a ruler.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Alternate name	Li Tianxia	李天下	Lǐ Tiānxià

Life and dates

Attested activity

AD 924 同光二年十二月
Dated from the passage context · Old History of the Five Dynasties 49, passages 53, 56
AD 923 to AD 926 莊宗
Dated from the passage context · Old History of the Five Dynasties 49, passages 30, 37, 44, 50

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Spouse of Empress Shenminjing Liu (劉氏)
empress 皇后
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 49, passages 30, 37, 47
Parent of Manxi (滿喜)
prince 皇子
Strongly inferred · Old History of the Five Dynasties 49, passage 48
Parent of Li Jiji (繼岌)
prince 皇子
Strongly inferred · Old History of the Five Dynasties 49, passage 38
Spouse of Pure Consort Han (韓氏)
principal wife 正室 · Primary marriage
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 49, passages 46, 53
Sibling of Li Cunwo (存渥)
younger brother 皇弟 · paternal line
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 49, passage 51

Kinship Role princes · Count 3 · 皇子滿喜等三人
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 49, passage 48

Places and affiliations

Polity Later Tang 唐 · Relation Ruled
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 49, passages 30, 50

Works and attributed material

Performance · Speaker · Persona Person Id Liu Sou (劉叟) · Direct quotation
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 49, passage 45

Events and relationships

Impersonated Liu Sou
Theatrical · Performer · With Li Jiji (繼岌)
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 49, passages 44-45
Li Tianxia 李天下
Theatrical · Performer
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 49, passage 50

Assessments and attributes

Assessment loved actors · Mode named-source-report Source Work Miscellaneous Notes from Northern Dreams 北夢瑣言
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 49, passages 44, 50
Item diviner's bag and medicine case 蓍囊藥篋 · Relation Carried in performance
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 49, passage 44

Source notes

To Li Tianxia 李天下 · Context actor name
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 49, passage 50

References in the histories

Search passages

History

8 passages

Old History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 49Volume 49 Book of Later Tang 25: Biographies 1: Empresses and Consorts · 8 passages

莊宗神閔敬皇后劉氏。 Empress Shenminjing Liu, consort of Emperor Zhuangzong.

考《北夢瑣言》云：莊宗劉皇后，魏州成安人，家世寒微。 According to the 《Miscellaneous Notes from Northern Dreams》, Empress Liu of Zhuangzong was a native of Cheng'an in Weizhou from a humble family.

太后賜莊宗，為韓國夫人侍者。 The empress dowager gave her to Zhuangzong as an attendant to the Lady of Han.

他日，成安人劉叟詣鄴宮見上，稱夫人之父。 One day a man of Cheng'an named Liu Sou came to the Ye palace to see the emperor and claimed to be the empress's father.

劉氏方與嫡夫人爭寵，皆以門族誇尚，劉氏恥為寒家，白莊宗曰：「妾去鄉之時，妾父死於亂兵，是時環屍而哭。 The empress was then contending for favor with the principal wife, each boasting of her family status. Ashamed of her humble origins, she told Zhuangzong, "When I left my home district, my father was killed by disorderly soldiers. I wept over his body where it lay.

莊宗好俳優，宮中暇日，自負蓍囊藥篋，令繼岌相隨，以後父劉叟以醫卜為業也。 Zhuangzong loved actors. On idle days in the palace he would carry a diviner's bag and medicine case on his back, with Jiji following along, impersonating the empress's father Liu Sou, who made his living as a physician and diviner.

先是，莊宗自為俳優，名曰李天下，雜於塗粉優雜之間，時為諸優撲扶摑搭，竟為嚚婦惡伶之傾玷，有國者得不以為前鑒！ Earlier Zhuangzong himself performed as an actor under the name Li Tianxia, mingling among painted players and variety performers. At times the other actors would wrestle with him, support him, slap him, and strike him. In the end he was brought down by a wicked woman and vile actors—should not rulers take this as a warning!

淑妃韓氏，莊宗正室。 Pure Consort Han was Zhuangzong's principal wife.