Princess Pingyang

Princess Pingyang (, formally Princess Zhao of Pingyang (, 590s – March 623) was a Chinese princess and general. She was the only daughter of Li Yuan (later enthroned as Emperor Gaozu), the founding emperor of the Tang dynasty, and his wife Empress Taimu. She helped him to seize power and eventually take over the throne from Sui dynasty by organizing an "Army of the Lady", commanded by herself, in her campaign to capture the Sui capital Chang'an. She was the first woman general of the Tang dynasty. Background The future Princess Pingyang was the third daughter of Li Yuan, then Duke of Tang, a hereditary nobleman of Sui China and cousin of Emperor Yang. She was his third daughter, but the only daughter of his wife Duchess Dou, who also bore four sons -- Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin (later Emperor Taizong), Li Xuanba, and Li Yuanji. Eventually, Li Yuan gave her in marriage to Chai Shao, the son of Chai Shen (柴慎) the Duke of Julu. She is not to be confused with another Princess Pingyang in the Western Han dynasty.