676 conclusion
brothers in 842, and on a Sha-t’o chief (father of Li K’o-yung) at the
end of the dynasty.
The Later T’ang conferred its imperial surname of Li^87 on a Hsi
chief in 923 and on a T’u-[yü-]hun chief between 923 and 926.
The Sung conferred its imperial surname of Chao on a Tang-
hsiang chief friendly to Sung in 980 and on members of the Tsong-kha
Tibetan royal house who surrendered at the end of the 10th century
and in 1100.
With the exception of the Indian prince, all grants had political
aims. That the imperial surnames were appreciated is shown by the
fact that the king of Khotan, Li Sheng-t’ien, claimed in 938 to be a
relation to the then defunct T’ang house.
In extreme cases, the T’ang emperors consented to the marriage of
a Chinese princess with a foreign ruler. At times, they took the initia-
tive but more often were reluctantly forced into it. Such marriages
were usually coveted by foreign rulers other than the self-confident
emperors of Liao and Chin. The marriages were unquestionably
status symbols but did not turn the bridegrooms into Chinese vassals
or pliant tools. They kept their independence, and it was the brides
who had to adapt themselves to alien customs. This included further
marriages to close relatives of late husbands, a practice abhorrent to
the Chinese. These are the instances:
The HsiIn 717, Hsüan-tsung enfeoffed a daughter’s daughter of an unspeci-
fied T’ang emperor, the Lady Hsin, as Princess of Ku-an and mar-
ried her to the Hsi king Li Ta-fu. After he had fallen in battle in
720, she married his younger brother and successor Lu-su. She was
divorced due to a Chinese intrigue, whereupon Hsüan-tsung enfeoffed
a daughter’s daughter of Chung-tsung, the Lady Wei, as Princess of
Tung-kuang, and married her to Lu-su in 726. Both fled to China
from the Turks in 730.
In 745, Hsüan-tsung enfeoffed a daughter’s daughter of Jui-tsung,
the Lady Yang, as Princess of Yi-fang and married her to the Hsi
king Li Yen-ch’ung. Within half a year, he murdered her and began
a war with T’ang.
(^87) Itself conferred by the T’ang on Li K’o-yung’s father.