The Long Ballad of the Marriage of Peace Princess Dingxiang Tea with Amy

I recently started watching the C-drama, The Long Ballad, Changge Xing. This C-drama tells the story of Li Changge, who was portrayed as the niece of the Emperor. In 626 CE, Li Shimin carried out the Xuanwu Gate Incident, killing two of his brothers, securing the path for him to claim the throne of the Tang Dynasty as Emperor Taizong. Li Changge narrowly survives the massacre and begins a journey of revenge against her uncle, the Emperor. She eventually finds an ally in the powerful Tu Jue, or Turkic general, named Ashile Sun. I was fascinated by the story of this princess and was curious if she was based on a historical figure. It turns out, she is loosely based on the real county princess, Dingxiang. And the powerful Turkic general, from the show, is based on Princess Dingxiang's real husband, Ashina Zhong. For over a thousand years, the official records of the Tang Dynasty told a simple story about her. She was an imperial princess who married a heroic Turkic general in a diplomatic marriage. But in 1972, archaeologists in Shaanxi excavated a tomb near the Zhaolin Mausoleum, the tomb complex of Emperor Taizong. Inside, they found a stone epitaph that provided an interesting twist to Princess Dingxiang's story. And they weren't the only real historical figures in the show. Princess Li Leyan was based on the real princess Chen Yang, and her partner Hao Du was based on the historical figure Du He. Their lives provided a shocking contrast to our main characters. Hey, everyone, and welcome to Tea with Amy. Today, let's explore the main characters of C-drama The Long Ballad, Changge Xing, and find out who they were in recorded history. In the show, the main character, Li Changge, was the daughter of the crown prince, Li Jianchen. She is portrayed as a brilliant strategist who was forced into a path of vengeance. However, there isn't a lot of information about the real princess that Li Changge was based on in the official historical records. If you opened the New Book of Tang or the Old Book of Tang, you will find the name County Princess Dingxiang only mentioned briefly as a part of the biographies of other people. According to these official records, she was a woman of the imperial family. Her exact date of birth is not recorded, but historians believe it was between 610 and 620 CE. The records describe her as a woman of high status. Because of her county princess, Xianzhu rank, she could be the daughter of one of the emperor's brothers or sons, which would make her a niece of the emperor. The official record paints her life as a story of duty. In the early 7th century, the Tang dynasty was frequently in conflict with the northern Tujue or Turkic tribes. To secure the borders, Emperor Taizong chose Princess Dingxiang to be married to the powerful Turkic general named Ashinazhong in an act of diplomacy. In the records, this is called a Heqing, a marriage of peace. It was a diplomatic gesture, but it was also a mission of assimilation. By marrying an imperial princess into a nomadic clan, the Tang dynasty wanted to influence the next generation of tribal leadership. It was a strategy of civilizing through kinship, designed to eventually absorb the nomadic tribes into the Chinese empire by making the future Khans part of the emperor's own extended family. There is no mention of her life before her marriage. She simply appears in the records as a grown woman with a county princess title. And that is pretty much all we know of this princess from the official records. In the Long Ballad, the male lead Ashile Sun is portrayed as an independent warrior who initially fought against the Tang dynasty. However, according to the Old Book of Tang, Ashinazhong was a prince of the grasslands, who eventually became one of the most loyal foreign generals of the Tang dynasty. He was the son of Sun Yishi, a high-ranking member of the Turkic royal family, and he was described as a man of clear and cautious character. In 630 CE, the Tang dynasty military forces, led by the legendary god of war, General Li Jing, launched a surprise winter offensive that crushed the eastern Turkic Khaganate. The leader, the great Jielikan, fled and sought help from Sun Yishi. Faced with the unstoppable force of the Tang dynasty army, Sun Yishi captured the great Jielikan and surrendered, in hopes of ensuring survival for his people. At the time, Emperor Taizong followed a policy of inclusion through assimilation. He didn't punish or execute the Turkic royals. Instead, he gave them titles and positions in the Tang dynasty government, sending the message that For Ashinazhong, the emperor gave him the imperial surname Li, and a high military rank of general of the left guard. And he was given the county princess Dingxiang in marriage to create a blood bond between the Ashina clan and the Tang dynasty imperial throne. The New Book of Tang records that Ashinazhong was loyal and he served the Tang dynasty for several decades. When he was sent to the borders, he reportedly wept, begging to return to the capital to serve the emperor in person. Ashinazhong was a loyal general of the Tang dynasty until the day he died in 675 CE. This was the perfect success story of imperial policy. A foreign prince integrated through imperial favor, political trust, and marriage into the Tang dynasty. For over a thousand years, the official history about Princess Dingxiang was all we had. But in 1972, archaeologists uncovered the final resting place of Ashinazhong near the Zhaolin mausoleum. Inside was a stone tablet praising Ashinazhong as a man of great military and martial skills. It further supported his loyalty to the Tang dynasty, describing how he was so trusted that he was given command over the imperial guard. This wasn't a man the emperor kept an eye on, this was a man the emperor trusted with his life. It also detailed many of the military campaigns that Ashinazhong was responsible for, including securing cities in the Talimu basin and fighting against the Tubo empire. But then, the texts turned to his wife, County Princess Dingxiang. The epitaph reads, The lady is of the Bohai Li family, the granddaughter of the Sui dynasty minister of revenue, Li Xiong, and the daughter of Li Min. The Li family of Bohai was a noble family, but they were not the imperial Li family of the Tang dynasty. By explicitly naming her father as Li Min, the epitaph reveals that she is not from the imperial family at all. If she wasn't actually an imperial princess, who was she? Back in 613 CE, near the end of the Sui dynasty, an official named Yang Shungan led an uprising against the corrupt emperor Yang. His cause was attractive and many joined him, including the minister of revenue, Li Xiong. Unfortunately, the rebellion was unsuccessful and many of the high-ranking officials involved were captured and executed. The Li family of Bohai immediately lost any status that they previously held. Their properties and finances were confiscated. And it was into this family of traitors that Princess Dingxiang was born. The tablet then goes on to say, Her mother was Weigui of Jingzhao. She is also the elder sister by the same mother of Li Shen, the prince of Ji. Now, this is where the story gets really interesting. Because according to the official historical records, Weigui was a high-ranking noble consul of Emperor Taizong. How could Princess Dingxiang's mother be the noble consul of the emperor when her father was not the emperor? That's when the mention of Li Shen becomes important. By carefully specifying that the prince, Li Shen, was a younger half-brother who only shared a mother with Princess Dingxiang, it confirms that she must have been born before Weigui married the emperor. And it all makes sense after we take a closer look at the story of Weigui. Weigui came from the powerful noble Wei family of Jingzhao, one of the more powerful noble families during the Sui dynasty. As per standard diplomatic marriages between noble families, she married Li Min, who was the son of the minister of revenue. After the Li family of Bohai was destroyed following the failed rebellion in 613 CE, it was likely that Li Min was forced to seek refuge with his wife's family, the Wei family, who were in the city of Luoyang. In 618 CE, the Sui dynasty collapsed and the Tang dynasty was formed. As one of the capital cities of the Sui dynasty, Luoyang became a city of contention between remaining Sui dynasty forces, new Tang dynasty forces, and even numerous other forces of rebel warlords. We don't know exactly what happened, but it was during this chaos that Li Min died, leaving behind Weigui and their daughter. When the then-prince Li Shimin captured the city of Luoyang in 621 CE, he wasn't just capturing a city, he was also recruiting the powerful families left behind by the Sui dynasty. He took in the widow Weigui as his consort in order to build a familial bond with the Wei family, and took in her daughter as his stepdaughter. Later, after ascending the throne as Emperor Taizong, he granted his stepdaughter the title of county princess Dingxiang. At the time, Dingxiang was the northern frontier region which was contested with the Turks. By naming her after this region, it is possible that she was intended to become the princess of the frontier. He couldn't legally recognize her as his biological daughter, so he instead granted her the county princess rank, normally reserved for the daughter of a prince. This was a high enough and prestigious enough rank that made her an appropriate match for diplomatic marriage to the Turkic prince Ashina It was also from this epitaph that we learned that Princess Dingxiang died in 653 CE, buried in the same tomb of Prince Ashina Zhong. Since she died 22 years earlier, she was initially buried separately and then later reburied with him in 675 CE. This was to honor both of them as part of the imperial family. Titles mattered more than blood, and usefulness mattered more An adopted county princess could function as an imperial representative in diplomacy, just as a surrendered Turkic prince could function as a loyal Tang dynasty general. These identities were shaped to serve stability and integration. Now let's take a look at two other real characters from the Long Ballad. Princess Li Leyan from the C-drama is based on Princess Chen Yang, the daughter of Emperor Taizong and Empress Zhangsun. And her partner from the show, the loyal protector of the throne, Hao Du, is based on the historical figure Du He. Du He was the duke of Xiangyang and the son of the chancellor Du Ruhui, and he actually married Princess Chen Yang in recorded history. However, contrary to his portrayal of loyalty in the C-drama, Du He became involved in a treasonous conspiracy against the emperor led by then crown prince Li Chenqian. Du He helped to come up with the plan. The crown prince would fake an illness, requesting the emperor to come visit, during which they would capture the emperor and force him to abdicate the throne to the crown prince. The conspiracy was exposed in 643 CE, leading to the swift capture of everyone involved. The crown prince was deposed and exiled to Quanzhou, and his supporters, including Du He, were executed. Princess Chen Yang was left a widow, but not for long. She was quickly married again to the military officer Xue Guan from the noble Xue family of Hedong. It is believed that Emperor Taizong was trying to distance her from the treason of her first husband by matching her with another prestigious noble family. But then in 664 CE, it was uncovered that Princess Chen Yang was involved in witchcraft. The details of why and exactly what happened is unknown, but anything related to witchcraft was strictly forbidden under Tang dynasty law. While he was not directly involved, Xue Guan unfortunately became collateral damage. He was demoted and exiled with Princess Chen Yang to Fangzhou, where they both died around 671 CE. Xue Guan and Princess Chen Yang left behind several children, but two of their sons went on to play another important role in history. Xue Yi and Xue Shao. This was the same Xue Shao who would later marry the famous Princess Taiping, the daughter of Emperor Wu Zetian. I covered their story in my previous video about Shangguan Wan'er and Princess Taiping if you are interested. In 688 CE, Xue Yi was captured and executed for a failed rebellion against Emperor Wu Zetian. Xue Shao was accused as an accomplice and was captured, eventually starving to death in prison. In the sea drama The Long Ballad, we root for the love story of Princess Li Leyan and Hao Du, but in reality, their marriage was the start of a tragic story. In The Long Ballad, Li Changge is a hero because she refuses to be a pawn, she fights, and she carves out her own destiny. She is fascinating because she escapes the rigid constraints of her time. But the real Princess Dingxiang tells a story that is perhaps less about rebellion and more about resilience. She didn't have a sword or an army. She was a child born into the ruins of the Sui dynasty, the daughter of a man whose family was branded as traitors. Her life was defined by a transition she couldn't control. She became the bridge between the Tang dynasty and the Turkic Ashina clan. Was Princess Dingxiang's story in the historical records a deliberate reframing of a real history? Her biological connection to the fallen Sui dynasty wasn't a secret, but maybe it was simply no longer relevant to the narrative that the empire needed. It is interesting to me that through recent archaeological finds, we're finding these discrepancies from the official recorded history of the Tang dynasty, such as the story of Shangguan Waner that I covered in a previous video. It is also iconic how the adopted Princess Dingxiang lived a life of stability and was buried with honors, while the real Princess Chen Yang faced a life involved with treason, exile, and scandals. It feels like to me that Princess Dingxiang's life was more like a princess than Princess Chen Yang's. What do you think? Let me know in the comments. If you enjoyed today's topic, don't forget to like and subscribe. Thanks again for watching, and I'll see you in the next one.