Emperor Xuanzong, named Li Longji, reigned for 43 years (712-756). Historical records present him as a brave and talented ruler and strategist and a gifted musician. During the first two decades of his rule he effectively and resourcefully resolved the perennial problem of court plots to usurp the imperial throne. He created a period in Chinese history known as the “Prosperity of the Kaiyuan Reign.” In the two decades that followed, however, he fell prey to the extravagance and negligent complacency of which his great-grand-father had warned. Having achieved national peace and prosperity, Xuanzong no longer cultivated the company of upright and conscientious officials. He was instead content to be beguiled by the sweet rhetoric of crafty sycophants and the earthly pleasures available to him as supreme ruler.
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