Emperor Gaozong of Tang唐高宗

Style & Daoist names

Li Zhi, Great Celestial Sovereign (Tianhuang Dadi)

Period

Tang

Dates

628 — 683

Role

EmperorsEmperor Who Revered Daoism

Birthplace

Chang'an

Places of activity

Louguantai (Louguan Terrace), Mount Song (Songshan)

Life

Emperor Gaozong of Tang, personal name Li Zhi, was the ninth son of Emperor Taizong of Tang and reigned 649–683. Since the Tang imperial house claimed descent from Laozi, Gaozong carried the dynasty's policy of exalting Daoism to a new height: after performing the feng and shan sacrifices on Mount Tai in the first year of Qianfeng (666), he personally visited the Laojun Temple at Bozhou and posthumously conferred on Laozi the title "Supreme Sovereign, Mysterious Primogenitor Emperor" (Taishang Xuanyuan Huangdi), the first time Laozi received an imperial title; in the first year of Shangyuan (674) he ordered that princes and officials of every rank study the Laozi, and added the Laozi to the imperial examinations; in the third year of Yifeng (678) he decreed that the Daodejing be ranked as a primary classic, to be mastered by all examination candidates. He repeatedly summoned Daoist priests such as Pan Shizheng, Ye Fashan, and Wang Yuanzhi (posthumously honored), ordered Yin Wencao to compile a catalogue of Daoist scriptures, and had the Zongsheng Abbey at Louguan, the Chongtang Abbey on Mount Song, and the Fengtian Palace, among others, built or repaired by imperial decree; he also ruled that in matters of precedence, Daoism should rank before Buddhism. The measures of Gaozong's reign laid the institutional foundation for the establishment of Daoism as a state religion under Xuanzong.

Contributions & Influence

• Posthumously conferred on Laozi the title Taishang Xuanyuan Huangdi, establishing Laozi's imperial and divine status
• Ordered officials to study the Laozi and added it to the imperial examinations, advancing the scholastic institutionalization of Daoist scripture
• Honored Shangqing Daoists such as Pan Shizheng and sponsored the construction of Daoist temples