Background
Li You was born in 795, during the reign of his great-grandfather Emperor Dezong. At that time, his father Li Chun was the Prince of Guangling, and his grandfather Li Song was Emperor Dezong's crown prince. Li You's mother Princess Guo was Li Chun's wife and a granddaughter of the prominent general Guo Ziyi — her parents were Guo Ziyi's son Guo Ai (郭曖) and Princess Shenping, a sister to Emperor Dezong. Li You was Li Chun's third son. At some point, Li You was created the Prince of Jian'an.
In 806, by which time Li Chun was emperor (as Emperor Xianzong), Li You was created the Prince of Sui. His mother Princess Guo, however, despite her having been Li Chun's wife, was not created empress, but only an imperial consort, albeit with the high rank of Guifei (貴妃). (During the remainder of his reign, Emperor Xianzong would repeatedly resisted calls by imperial officials to have Consort Guo made empress, using one excuse after another, fearing that if she, with her honored heritage, were made empress, she would so dominate the palace that no other imperial consort would dare approach him.) Further, although Li You, as the son of Consort Guo, was considered by the imperial officials as the proper heir, when the imperial scholars, led by Li Jiang, requested that Emperor Xianzong create a crown prince in 809, Emperor Xianzong did not create Li You crown prince, and instead created Li You's older brother Li Ning (by Consort Ji) crown prince. Li Ning died in 811, and in 812, Emperor Xianzong created Li You crown prince and changed his name to Li Heng. (When Emperor Xianzong ordered the imperial scholar Cui Qun to draft a petition in the name of Li You's older brother Li Kuan the Prince of Li offering to yield the position, Cui declined, pointing out that Li Heng, as the son of a wife, should have had priority over Li Kuan in any event, and Emperor Xianzong agreed.)
Read more about this topic: Emperor Muzong Of Tang
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