| Li Jiancheng | |||||||||
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| Crown Prince of the Tang dynasty | |||||||||
| Born | 589 | ||||||||
| Died | July 2, 626 (aged 37) | ||||||||
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| House | House of Li | ||||||||
| Father | Emperor Gaozu of Tang | ||||||||
| Mother | Empress Taimu | ||||||||
Li Jiancheng (Chinese: 李建成; pinyin: Lǐ Jiànchéng; 589 – July 2, 626, formally Crown Prince Yin (Chinese: 隱太子; pinyin: Yǐn Tàizǐ, literally, "the hidden crown prince"), nickname Vaishravana (Chinese: 毗沙門; pinyin: Píshāmén; Sanskrit: Vaiśravaṇa),[1] was the first crown prince of the Chinese Tang dynasty. He was the oldest son of the founding emperor Emperor Gaozu (Li Yuan) and the crown prince after the founding of the dynasty in 618 CE.
Li Jiancheng was murdered by his younger brother, Tang general Li Shimin, the Prince of Qin, in the Xuanwu Gate Incident in July 626, in which Li Shimin seized control of the imperial government and forced their father Emperor Gaozu to abdicate. Li Jiancheng's sons were subsequently executed or excluded from the imperial clan. After Li Shimin took the throne, Li Jiancheng was posthumously stripped of his crown prince status and granted the title "Prince Yin of Xi" (息隐王). Later, he was buried with the ceremonies due to an imperial prince. On 9 July 642,[2] Li Jiancheng's title of Crown Prince Yin (隐太子) was restored.