Li Ke

Who was Li Ke?

Li Ke, posthumously known as the Prince of Yulin, often known by his greater title as the Prince of Wu, was an imperial prince of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. As a highly honored son of Emperor Taizong, he was one time considered a possible candidate as crown prince after both his older brother Li Chengqian and younger brother Li Tai were both deposed in 643, but eventually, his another younger brother Li Zhi, as a son of Emperor Taizong's wife Empress Zhangsun, was created crown prince and inherited the throne after Emperor Taizong's death in 649, under the insistence of Li Zhi's uncle and Emperor Taizong's brother-in-law Zhangsun Wuji. Zhangsun, however, detested Li Ke, and in 653, he implicated Li Ke in a plot by the official Fang Yi'ai and had Emperor Gaozong order Li Ke to commit suicide.