Yang Guifei

Yang Yuhuan (; 719 – 15 July 756), often known as Yang Guifei (, with Guifei being the highest rank for imperial consorts during her time), and known briefly by the Taoist nun name Taizhen, was the beloved consort of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang during his later years. She is known as one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. During the An Lushan Rebellion, as Emperor Xuanzong and his cortege were fleeing from the capital Chang'an to Chengdu, the emperor's guards demanded that he put Yang to death because they blamed the rebellion on her cousin Yang Guozhong and the rest of her family. The emperor capitulated and reluctantly ordered his attendant Gao Lishi to supervise her forced suicide. Background Yang was born in 719 during the Tang dynasty, early in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. Her great-great-grandfather Yang Wang was a key official during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, and, after the fall of the Sui dynasty, served one of the contenders to succeed Sui, Wang Shichong; Yang Wang was then killed when Wang Shichong was defeated by Tang forces in 621. Yang Wang was from Huayin (; in modern Weinan, Shaanxi), but his clan subsequently relocated to Yongle (; in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi). Yang's father Yang Xuanyan served as a census official at Shu Prefecture (; in modern Chengdu, Sichuan), and his family went there with him. He appeared to have had no sons, but had four daughters who were known to history—Yang Yuhuan and three older sisters. Yang Xuanyan died when Yang Yuhuan was still young, so the latter was raised by her uncle Yang Xuanjiao, who was a low-ranking official at Henan Municipality (; modern Luoyang).