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The China History Podcast

Ep. 286 | Tang Empress Zhangsun

The China History Podcast

Laszlo Montgomery

History, Society & Culture

4.81.2K Ratings

🗓️ 31 October 2021

⏱️ 23 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Though the villainous empresses always seem to generate the most popular interest, this time we'll look at the life of one of the many good ones, an outstanding one if I may add. Empress Zhangsun was the bride of Tang Dynasty heavy Li Shimin. When he became the second Tang emperor following one of the most dramatic events in early Chinese history, he reigned as Emperor Taizong. We remember Empress Zhangsun for her decency and for deporting herself in a manner that Yao and Confucius both would have approved. She became the gold standard for future empresses and was often imitated but seldom replicated. Come relive those early years of Zhenguan Era (貞觀) Tang history. For more content and ways to support Teacup Media, visit our website at teacup.media

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Good afternoon everyone, Lauslo Montgomery here. Once again, a CHP episode 286 this time,

0:06.0

some light or fear than last topic. First let me offer a special thanks to everyone who was so

0:11.9

kindly donated to support me in my work and to all those who joined by elite coterie of Patreon

0:18.3

patrons. I sure do appreciate your generous support and nice comments and notes. Someone sent me

0:25.5

a topic suggestion recently to cover some of the worst emphasis in Chinese history, of which

0:32.0

there were quite a few, especially if you throw the dowager emphasis in there. So I started to check

0:37.7

out various sources and then I thought, why focus on the bad? Let's do a good one. And as great

0:44.1

emphasis go, the one who's usually pointed to as one of the best was this one, Empress Jiangsun.

0:52.0

She was really the gold standard of what it meant to be the ultimate Empress. What Confucius

0:58.0

said Yao was, as far as who rulers of China should emulate, that's who Empress Jiangsun was

1:05.6

for future generations of empresses. I know Wu Tzu Tian was the only one to ever actually

1:12.8

rule the country as an Empress, so she doesn't really count. Wu Tzu Tian, by the way,

1:18.3

was Empress Jiangsun's daughter-in-law, though the two never met. Besides being the mother-in-law

1:24.4

to Wu Tzu Tian, she was also the mother to the Tang Gaozong Emperor and great-grandmother of the

1:31.8

Shen Zong Emperor. But she's best known, I'd say, as the noble wife of Li Shermin, the tight zong

1:39.6

emperor. She was also the sister of Jiangsun Wu Ji, a man who rode out with Li Shermin on that

1:46.4

fateful morning of July 2nd, in the year 626, when the incident that Shen will gait went down.

1:53.0

This was, of course, the coup d'état led by Li Shermin that saw his two brothers killed,

1:59.6

one of whom was the crown prince, Li Jiancheng, and this event was covered previously in CHP

2:05.9

Episode 129. In Empress Jiangsun, she came from nobility that stretched back to the northern way,

2:14.1

but more immediately she was the daughter of a major guy during the northern and southern

2:20.2

dynasty's period, Jiangsun Shang. He was a general who served both during the northern Zhou and the

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