Princess Taiping
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Princess Taiping (Chinese: 太平公主) (between 651 and 662 – October 1 or 2, 713), was a princess of Tang dynasty China. She was the daughter of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian. She became an important and respected figure during her mother's reign as Empress under the second Zhou dynasty 690-705.
Princess Taiping was an advocate for the preservation of the Tang dynasty and its imperial Li family. After the death of Empress Wu Zetian in 705, Princess Taiping aligned herself with her nephew Li Longji (later Emperor Xuanzong) to regain power for the Tang dynasty. In 710, she and Li Longji successfully foiled Empress Wei's plot to gain control of power.
Princess Taiping was well known for her beauty. In the Chinese 'black' history (mishi/秘史), it has been rumoured that, after the failure of two marriages, Princess Taiping had a love affair with her nephew Li Longji (Emperor Xuanzong). Mishi says that Emperor Xuanzong actually confessed his love for his aunt in his autobiography. Li Longji confessed that he had fallen in love with Princess Taiping at first sight. He pictured her as divine serenity and she was all he could dream of in perfection. The truth still remains hidden, however.
After Emperor Xuanzong ascended the throne in 712, Princess Taiping's seniority and power was seen as a threat to the young emperor and, after a brief struggle, she was given an honorable death sentence to commit suicide by hanging herself in 713.
