The Tang emperor whose greatness rested partly on putting up with criticism
Li Shimin, who ruled China as Emperor Taizong from 626 to 649, became the model every later emperor was measured against. The historian Bo Yang credited one unglamorous habit above all: he tolerated blunt criticism from ministers that most absolute rulers would never have allowed, and worked hard not to abuse his power.
He was born in 598, son of Li Yuan, a Sui dynasty general related by marriage to the dynasty's founder. His name was shortened from a phrase meaning save the world and pacify the people. When Emperor Yang of Sui grew suspicious of Li Yuan, partly because a prophecy said someone surnamed Li would take the throne, the son was already plotting rebellion with his father's associates. In 617 they rose at Jinyang, which is why Taizong is often treated as a co-founder of the Tang.
The campaigns that followed made his reputation. When Li Yuan's army stalled in bad weather and he ordered a retreat, Li Shimin and his older brother argued him out of it. His sister, later Princess Pingyang, raised her own sizeable army in support. After Emperor Yang was killed in a coup in 618, Li Yuan took the throne as Emperor Gaozu and named Li Shimin Prince of Qin. His only recorded defeat before 645 came when, sick with malaria, he left subordinates in command and they ignored his orders not to engage.
As emperor he expanded the imperial examinations and told officials to be loyal to policies rather than people, aiming to curb corruption. He openly scorned omens and superstitions, eased rites that burdened farmers, and relied on able chancellors such as Wei Zheng and Fang Xuanling, with Empress Zhangsun as a trusted partner. His reign, known as the Zhenguan era, became required study for future crown princes.
Abroad, his general Li Jing broke the Eastern Turks in 630, and Taizong took the title Khan of Heaven. Tang forces then absorbed oasis states of the Tarim Basin, including Kucha in 648. Prosperity and relative peace lasted for more than a century after his death in 649.
Source: Emperor Taizong of Tang
