Emperor Gaozong

Emperor Gaozong (高宗), born Li Zhi (李治, 628–683) and known in older Western books as Kao-tsung, was the third emperor of the Tang dynasty. He reigned from 649 to 683, succeeding his father, Emperor Taizong. He changed his era name often, using fourteen in all, from Yonghui (永徽, 650–655) to Hongdao (弘道, 683).

Under Gaozong the Tang empire reached its greatest extent, stretching from Korea to Central Asia. At the same time real power passed steadily to his second empress, Wu Zhao, who after his death would rule in her own name as Wu Zetian, the only woman in Chinese history to take the title of emperor.

An Unexpected Heir

Li Zhi was the ninth son of Emperor Taizong and the third and youngest son of Taizong's empress, Empress Zhangsun. He was created Prince of Jin in 631 and was named commandant of Bing Prefecture in 633, a title rather than a real command for so young a child.

His two elder full brothers were the obvious candidates for the throne. Li Chengqian, the crown prince, and Li Tai, Prince of Wei, became bitter rivals for their father's favour. In 643 Li Chengqian was found to be plotting a coup and was deposed and exiled. Li Tai expected to take his place, but when Taizong learned that he had tried to intimidate his younger brother, he too was sent away from the capital. Li Zhi was named crown prince that year, with the support of his powerful uncle, Zhangsun Wuji.

Taizong worried that his heir was gentle and lacked resolve, and he kept him close to learn the business of government. When Taizong fell ill, Li Zhi nursed him devotedly. After his father's death in 649, Li Zhi took the throne; Gaozong, ‘High Ancestor’, is the temple name he was given after his own death.

The Reign of Emperor Gaozong

The early years of the reign were guided by Taizong's senior ministers, above all Zhangsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang, and largely continued his policies. In 651 the court issued a revised legal code, and in 653 an official commentary to it. The Tang Code with its commentary is the oldest complete Chinese legal code to survive and served as a model for later Chinese dynasties and for Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

The Empire at Its Greatest Extent

Gaozong's armies won a series of victories that his father had not achieved. In 657 the general Su Dingfang defeated the Western Turks, bringing the oases of Central Asia as far as the Pamirs under Tang protection. In Korea, Tang forces allied with the kingdom of Silla conquered Baekje in 660, and in 668 they took Pyongyang and destroyed Goguryeo, which had defeated both the Sui and Taizong.

These gains did not all last. Silla turned on its ally and by 676 had forced the Tang out of most of the Korean peninsula. In the west the rising Tibetan empire defeated a Tang army in 670 and for a time took the garrisons of the Tarim Basin. In 666 Gaozong and Empress Wu performed the feng and shan sacrifices at Mount Tai, the most solemn rites a Chinese ruler could offer, to proclaim the success of the dynasty.

Government at Home

For much of the reign taxes and labour service were moderate, and the country was generally prosperous and at peace. Gaozong spent heavily on palaces, including the Daming Palace in Chang'an, and in later years the court spent long periods in Luoyang, which was easier to supply with grain.

The Rise of Empress Wu

Wu Zhao had been a junior concubine of Taizong. On his death she, like his other childless concubines, entered a Buddhist convent, but Gaozong brought her back to the palace, probably in the early 650s. In 655 he deposed his first wife, Empress Wang, and made Wu Zhao empress, overriding the fierce opposition of his senior ministers. Chu Suiliang was exiled, and in 659 Zhangsun Wuji was accused of treason, exiled and forced to take his own life.

From about 660 Gaozong suffered from a chronic illness, probably a series of strokes, that affected his sight and left him often unable to attend to business. Empress Wu increasingly dealt with state affairs on his behalf. In 664 an attempt by the chancellor Shangguan Yi to have her deposed failed and cost him his life. From then on she sat behind a screen at court audiences, and the two rulers were spoken of together as the ‘Two Sages’. In 674 they took the new titles of Heavenly Emperor and Heavenly Empress.

Death and Legacy

Gaozong died in Luoyang at the end of 683 and was buried at the Qianling Mausoleum near Chang'an, where Wu Zetian was later laid beside him. He was succeeded by their son Li Xian, who reigned as Emperor Zhongzong for barely six weeks before his mother deposed him. She governed through a second son, Emperor Ruizong, until 690, when she proclaimed her own Zhou dynasty.

Traditional historians judged Gaozong harshly, as a weak and sickly ruler dominated by his wife. Modern historians give more weight to the achievements of his reign, including the Tang Code and the empire's greatest territorial expansion, and to the stability that allowed the Tang to flourish in the following century.

Tang Ceramics in Gaozong's Reign

Gaozong's reign saw the emergence of Tang sancai, the low-fired earthenware with amber, green and cream lead glazes. Among the earliest securely dated examples are pieces from the tomb of Li Feng, a son of the dynasty's founder, buried in 675. Sancai reached its height in the following decades, above all in the tomb figures of horses, camels and attendants made for the elite of Chang'an and Luoyang. The satellite tombs of the Qianling Mausoleum, built for members of the imperial family reburied in 706, contained fine examples along with celebrated wall paintings. At the same time the Xing kilns in the north were making fine white wares, and the Yue kilns in the south green-glazed celadons. Our pages on antique Chinese pottery and Tang dynasty art say more about these wares.