Shangguan Wan'er: Difference between revisions

 

== Death ==

In 710, [[Li Longji]] and [[Princess Taiping]] launched a palace coup. Shangguan Wan'er found out from the palace women that a coup was taking place, and calmly led them out with candles to greet a coup unit led by [[Liu Youqiu]]. In her hand she held the forged will of [[Emperor Zhongzong]] that she had written with her own hand. During the drafting of the forged will, she had written that [[Li Dan]] would be a co-regent with [[Empress Dowager Wei]] - this had been one of the conditions laid down by Princess Taiping at the time for supporting Empress Dowager Wei's position as Regent. But later, Empress Wei and her favourites had cancelled that line and excluded Li Dan from the government. Shangguan Wan'er showed Liu Youqiu the will, with the hope that the struck-out line (which was still legible) would prove that she herself had not been opposed to Li Dan. This just might be enough to persuade Li Longji to spare her life. Liu Youqiu was struck by her beauty and talent, and appealed to Li Longji to consider sparing her. But Li Longji knew she would never be anything but a danger to him, and ordered her executed on the spot. She was 46 years of age at the time.