Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of Tang (January 23, 599–July 10, 649), was the second son of Emperor Gaozu of Tang. He was born in Wugong, in present-day Wugong County, Shaanxi. His ancestral home was Chengji in Longxi, now Qin'an County, Gansu; some accounts say he was from Didao in Longxi, now Lintao County, Gansu, while others place his origins in Julu Commandery. The second emperor of the Tang dynasty, he reigned from September 3, 626, to July 10, 649. He was a politician, strategist, military commander, calligrapher, and poet of the Tang dynasty.
