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| Birth and death: | Jan. 23, 599–Jul. 10, 649 |
| Family name: | Li (李) |
| Given name: | Shimin (世民) |
| Dates of reign: | Sept. 4, 626–Jul. 10, 649 |
| Dynasty: | Tang (唐) |
| Temple name: | Taizong (太宗) |
| Posthumous name: | Emperor Wen (文皇帝) |
| Posthumous name: | Emperor Wen Wu Dasheng Daguang Xiao¹ 文武大聖大廣孝皇帝 |
| General note: Dates given here are in the Julian calendar. They are not in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. | |
Emperor Taizong of Tang China ( January 23, 599 - July 10, 649), born Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China from 626 to 649. He encouraged his father, Li Yuan, to start the uprising that established the Tang dynasty, and many now consider Taizong to have been the co-founder of the dynasty. Taizong conquered several neighbouring tribes and forced them to recognize him as Heavenly Khan (天可汗). Under his reign, the famous rule of Zhenguan (貞觀之治) took place (his era name was Zhenguan). His posthumous name was Wenhu-dasheng-daguang Xiao Huangdi (文武大聖大廣孝皇帝 "Filial Emperor who is Civil and Martial, Greatly Holy, and Greatly Expansive").
Taizong was born in Wugong (武功, in present-day Shaanxi) as the second son of Li Yuan, and was of one-quarter XianbeiThe Xianbei (, written Xinbei in pinyin or Hsien-pei in Wade-Giles) is a significant nomadic people residing in modern Manchuria and eastern Mongolia before migrating into areas of the modern provinces of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Hebei, Inner Mong (a people related to modern-day Turks) blood. The most capable and militarily inclined of Li Yuan's many sons, Taizong showed his promise at an early age, helping to rescue Emperor Yang from a TurkicSee: Turkic peoples Turkic languages See also: The country Turkey Turkish language Turkish Airlines Turkish cuisine Turkish music. ambush and besiegement at the age of 16. In 616, the 18-year-old Taizong followed his general-father to his garrison-post at Jinyang, Shanxi, where he instigated his father to stage a military coup against the autocratic and fast crumbling Sui regime. Leading the troops with his elder brother Li Jiancheng, the rebel army took the capital Changan in September 617, thereafter putting a puppet emperor on the throne before Li Yuan himself proclaimed the establishment of a new dynasty, the Tang, in 618.
After the establishment of Tang, Taizong was appointed the Prince of Qin (秦王) by his father. In the succeeding compaigns to augment the power of the new dynasty, Taizong made numerous contributions, intensifying the heated sibling rivalry between him and his two brothers -- Li Jiacheng, the heir apparent, and Li Yuanji, a younger brother.