Background

Li Wen was born around the new year 834, during the reign of his cousin Emperor Wenzong. His father Li Yi was then the Prince of Guang, and Li Wen was born at Li Yi's mansion. He was Li Yi's first son. His mother was Li Yi's concubine Lady Chao.

As imperial prince

In 846, after the death of Emperor Wenzong's brother and successor Emperor Wuzong, Li Yi, whose name was changed to Li Chen, became emperor (as Emperor Xuanzong). He created five of his sons, including Li Wen, imperial princes, with Li Wen carrying the title of Prince of Yun. Li Wen's mother Lady Chao was created the imperial consort rank of Meiren (美人), which was only the 15th highest rank for imperial consorts (and there could be as many as nine Meiren at any single point). She died sometime in the middle of Emperor Xuanzong's Dazhong era (847–860), and was posthumously created the higher rank of Zhaorong (昭容), the sixth highest rank for imperial consorts.

Li Wen was not favored by his father, whose favorite son was his younger brother Li Zi the Prince of Kui; as a result, Li Wen was sent out of the palace to live at the imperial princes' residence, known as the Sixteen Mansions, while Li Zi and four other princes lived in the palace. Emperor Xuanzong also considered creating Li Zi crown prince, but hesitated because Li Wen, not Li Zi, was his oldest son, and therefore went throughout his entire reign without designating an heir.

Late in Emperor Xuanzong's reign, he came to favor certain alchemists who promised immortality, and he took pills that they made. It was said that as a result, he became paranoid and easily angered. By 859, as a side effect of those pills, he had a large ulcerous boil on his back, such that he was bedridden and could not meet with the chancellors or other officials. He entrusted Li Zi to three high-level eunuchs that he favored—the directors of palace communications (Shumishi) Wang Guizhang (王归长) and Ma Gongru and the director of the southern court affairs (宣徽南院使, Xuanhui Nanyuanshi) Wang Jufang (王居方). After Emperor Xuanzong died, Wang Guizhang, Ma, and Wang Jufang did not initially announce his death, and were set to send one of the eunuch commanders of the Shence Armies, Wang Zongshi (王宗实), who was not on good terms with them, out of Chang'an to Huai'nan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu) to serve as the eunuch monitor for Huai'nan. Wang Zongshi, however, reacted by intruding into the palace; finding that Emperor Xuanzong had already died, he arrested Wang Guizhang, Ma, and Wang Jufang for falsely issuing edicts, and then put them to death. He welcomed Li Wen to the palace, and then issued an edict in Emperor Xuanzong's name creating Li Wen crown prince and changing his name to Li Cui. The next day, Emperor Xuanzong's death was announced, and Li Cui became emperor (as Emperor Yizong).

Early reign

Emperor Yizong honored his grandmother (Emperor Xuanzong's mother) Empress Dowager Zheng as grand empress dowager, while posthumously honoring his mother Consort Chao as empress dowager. Meanwhile, long-time lead chancellor Linghu Tao was relieved of his chancellor position and replaced with the former chancellor Bai Minzhong, although Bai, when recalled to the capital Chang'an, fell and suffered an injury while he was climbing up the stairs at the imperial meeting hall, and therefore never actually assumed chancellor position before resigning in early 861.

Meanwhile, Emperor Yizong was immediately met with two military crises. Tang and Nanzhao had gotten into a diplomatic row over the name of the Nanzhao king Qiulong (酋龙)—as it violated naming taboo for Emperor Yizong's ancestor Emperor Xuanzong (Li Longji). Emperor Yizong thus refused to issue an edict formally bestowing Qiulong his kingly title. Qiulong responded by changing his state's name to Dali and declaring himself emperor (thus positioning himself as an equal to Emperor Yizong) and by attacking a number of Tang outposts. Meanwhile, the agrarian rebel Qiu Fu (裘甫) and his followers were overrunning Zhedong Circuit (浙东, headquartered in modern Shaoxing, Zhejiang). Qiu's rebellion was suppressed by the imperial general Wang Shi in 860, but the Dali attacks would become more intense, and Dali briefly captured the important city Yong Prefecture (邕州, in modern Nanning, Guangxi) in 861 and then captured Jiao Prefecture (交州, in modern Hanoi, Vietnam) in 862, retaining it. Despite these crises, Emperor Yizong was said to be spending much of his time in feast and games, ignoring the affairs of state, despite his officials' urging to attend to them, although he was sending generals to the Dali front (including Kang Chengxun and Gao Pian), without initial success.

Middle reign

Over the course of 865-866, however, Gao Pian was able to defeat Dali forces and recapture Jiao Prefecture. Meanwhile, though, the tense situation on the Dali border at Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu, Sichuan) led to a major misstep on the part of Emperor Yizong, as he was misled by the official Li Shiwang (李师望) into carving out seven border prefectures out of Xichuan into a new Dingbian Circuit (定边, headquartered at Xi Prefecture (巂州), in modern Chengdu) and commissioning Li Shiwang as its military governor despite the obvious impractical nature of Dingbian's territory—as Xi Prefecture was extremely close to Xichuan's capital Chengdu Municipality and unsuitable to serve as the capital for a circuit intended to concentrate on border defense. The Dingbian debacle demoralized the officers at Xichuan, who went as far as secretly encouraging Dali to attack Dingbian to expose Li Shiwang.

Yet more disastrous, though, was a mutiny by soldiers for Xusi Circuit (徐泗, headquartered in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu), who had been posted to Gui Prefecture (桂州, in modern Guilin, Guangxi) to defend against a potential Dali attack, with a promise that they would be allowed to return home after three years. When the term was up in 868, however, the governor of Xusi Circuit, Cui Yanzeng (崔彦曾), ordered that the term be extended one year, causing the Xusi soldiers to mutiny under the leadership of Pang Xun. They headed northeast home, and when they reached Xusi's capital Xu Prefecture (徐州), they attacked and captured it. After Pang's initial attempts to obtain an imperial commission was rebuffed, the mutineer army attacked the nearby regions, with the imperial forces unable to stop them. Not until Kang Chengxun, with major assistance from the Shatuo chieftain Zhuye Chixin (who was bestowed the imperial surname of Li, as well as a new name of Guochang because of his contributions), was able to defeat Pang in 869 was the rebellion suppressed. (Subsequently, though, Kang, due to the false accusations of the chancellor Lu Yan and the imperial scholar Wei Baoheng (the husband of Emperor Yizong's favorite daughter Princess Tongchang), was exiled.)

Late reign

Meanwhile, late in 869, Li Shiwang provoked Dali by killing its emissary Yang Qiuqing. Dali's emperor Qiulong thus launched a major attack on Dingbian, and neither Li nor his successor Dou Pang (窦滂) was able to repel it. The Dali forces quickly arrived at Chengdu's vicinity and put Chengdu under siege. Emperor Yizong commissioned Gao Pian as Xichuan's military governor, and Dali forces thereafter withdrew, but both Dingbian (which was then merged back into Xichuan) and Xichuan had been deeply wounded.

Princess Tongchang died in 870, and this caused a major display of Emperor Yizong's caprice at the capital Chang'an, as Emperor Yizong, in anger that the imperial physicians were not able to cure her, executed some 20 imperial physicians and had some 300 of their relatives imprisoned. When the chancellor Liu Zhan and the mayor of Jingzhao Municipality (京兆, i.e., the Chang'an region) Wen Zhang (温璋) tried to intercede, both were exiled; in response, Wen committed suicide. Princess Tongchang was buried in a grand ceremony that demonstrated Emperor Yizong's wastefulness. As described in the Zizhi Tongjian:

Despite Princess Tongchang's death, Emperor Yizong continued to remain close to Wei Baoheng, who became extremely powerful and corrupt late in Emperor Yizong's reign. Emperor Yizong also reacted in anger whenever Consort Guo's family was accused of misconduct.

In 873, in a grand ceremony, Emperor Yizong welcomed what was claimed to be a relic (a finger bone) of Gautama Buddha to the palace, despite warnings by some that his grandfather Emperor Xianzong died shortly after also welcoming the same relic to the palace. (Emperor Yizong responded to the warnings by stating, "As long as I can see it once while living, I do not have regrets about dying.") The ceremony was said to bring out great offerings by the households of Chang'an. Emperor Yizong himself walked toward the relic and bowed on the ground in tears.

Later in the year, Emperor Yizong became critically ill. With his not having designated an heir, the eunuchs Liu Xingshen and Han Wenyue supported his 11-year-old son Li Yan the Prince of Pu as his heir. Liu and Han had an edict issued in Emperor Yizong's name creating Li Yan crown prince. Emperor Yizong died the next day, and Li Yan took the throne (as Emperor Xizong).

Chancellors during reign

• Linghu Tao (859)

• Xiao Ye (859)

• Xiahou Zi (859–860, 862–864)

• Jiang Shen (859–862)

• Du Shenquan (859–863)

• Bai Minzhong (859–861)

• Bi Xian (860–863)

• Du Cong (861–863)

• Yang Shou (863–866)

• Cao Que (863–870)

• Xiao Zhi (864–865)

• Lu Yan (864–871)

• Gao Qu (865)

• Xu Shang (865–869)

• Yu Cong (867–872)

• Liu Zhan (869–870)

• Wei Baoheng (870–873)

• Wang Duo (870–873)

• Liu Ye (871–873)

• Zhao Yin (873)

Family

Consorts and Issue:

• Empress Hui'an, of the Wang clan (惠安皇后 王氏; d. 866)

　• Li Xuan, Xizong (僖宗 李儇; 862–888), fifth son

• Empress Gongxian, of the Wang clan (恭宪皇后 王氏; d. 867)

　• Li Ye, Zhaozong (昭宗 李晔; 867–904), seventh son

• Shufei, of the Guo clan (淑妃 郭氏)

　• Princess Weiwenyi (卫文懿公主; 849–870)

　　• Married Wei Baoheng of Jingzhao (京兆; d. 873) in 869

• Defei, of the Wang clan (德妃 王氏; 844–870)

　• Princess Changning (昌宁公主)

　• Two sons

• Lady, of the Lei clan (雷氏)

　• Li Ting, Prince Liang (凉王 李侹; d. 878), second son

• Unknown

　• Li Yi, Prince Wei (魏王 李佾; d. 879), first son

　• Li Ji, Prince Shu (蜀王 李佶), third son

　• Li Kan, Prince Xian (咸王 李侃), fourth son

　• Li Bao, Prince Ji (吉王 李保), sixth son

　• Li Yi, Crown Prince Gong'ai (恭哀皇太子 李倚; d. 897), eighth son

　• Princess Anhua (安化公主)

　• Princess Pukang (普康公主; 861–866), third daughter

　• Princess Changyuan (昌元公主)

　• Princess Jinhua (金华公主)

　• Princess Renshou (仁寿公主)

　• Princess Yongshou (永寿公主)

　• Princess Suining (遂宁公主), 11th daughter

Ancestry

生平

大和七年十一月十四日（833年），生于藩邸，时父亲李忱为光王，母晁氏为其妾室。初名李温。父亲继位后，于会昌六年十月，封李温为郓王。当时，唐宣宗喜欢第三子夔王李滋，欲立为皇太子，而李温年长，久而不决。大中十三年（859年）八月，宣宗病逝，左神策护军中尉王宗实、副使丌元实矫诏立李温为皇太子。

唐懿宗「器度沈厚，形貌瑰伟」、「洞晓音律，犹如天纵」但游宴无度、沉湎酒色，以致政治腐败，藩镇割据重新兴起。

由于崇仰佛法，咸通十四年春（873年），不顾大臣反对，举行最大规模的迎奉佛骨活动。

他将其父唐宣宗大中之治的成果损耗殆尽。翰林学士刘允章在《直谏书》用「国有九破」描绘过当时的局势：「终年聚兵，一破也。蛮夷炽兴，二破也。权豪奢僭，三破也。大将不朝，四破也。广造佛寺，五破也。赂贿公行，六破也。长吏残暴，七破也。赋役不等，八破也。食禄人多，输税人少，九破也。」此时唐朝已无可救药，大动乱正在酝酿。当时赋税刻薄，百姓无法过活，更有食人惨剧，百姓无路可走，只好起义。859年，裘甫在浙东起兵；868年，庞勋领导徐泗地区的戍兵在桂林起兵。懿宗派遣王式、康承训等镇压，但对人民的剥削并无停止。

懿宗死后随即引发导致唐朝灭亡的黄巢之乱，因而被认为是唐朝间接的亡国之君。

《太平广记》收录的许多《唐人传奇》对于咸通年间有诸多著墨。

家庭

皇后

• 惠安皇后王氏，生唐僖宗

• 恭宪皇后王氏，生唐昭宗

妃嫔

• 淑妃郭氏

• 楚国夫人杨氏，逝世后追赠贵妃。

• 韩国夫人王氏，逝世后追封德妃，生昌宁公主，七郎，八郎三人。当代学者陈丽萍认为七郎即是唐昭宗，推测她与恭宪皇后为同一人。

• 婕妤崔氏，仅见《唐会要 卷第三 皇后 杂录 内职 杂录 出宫人》

• 婕妤王氏，同婕妤崔氏

其他妾室

• 雷氏，生凉王李侹，封号不详

子

共有八子，但新旧唐书皆未明确记载其子排行

• 魏王李佾，《全唐文》载诏书称长子

• 凉王李侹，《全唐文》载诏书称次子，墓志称第三子，乾符六年（878年）薨，年十四。母雷氏

• 蜀王李佶，《全唐文》载诏书称三子

• 郢王→咸王李侃

• 普王→唐僖宗李儇，第五子。862年生，母惠安皇后王氏

• 吉王李保

• 寿王→唐昭宗李晔，第七子，867年生，母恭宪皇后王氏

• 恭哀太子李倚，初封睦王。为刘季述所杀，天复初（901年）追赠。

女

《新唐书·诸帝公主列传》记载唐懿宗有8位女儿，而根据《唐文拾遗·卷三十四·崔致远·贺封公主表》称遂宁公主为唐僖宗第十一妹，而唐懿宗第三女普康公主生于861年，为唐僖宗姐，因此唐懿宗至少有十四个女儿。

• 卫国文懿公主（849年生，母郭淑妃，先封为同昌公主，下嫁韦保衡，薨于咸通十年）

• 安化公主

• 普康公主（861年生）

• 昌元公主（薨于咸通年间）

• 昌宁公主（母韩国夫人王氏）

• 金华公主

• 仁寿公主

• 永寿公主

• 遂宁公主 唐僖宗第十一妹

影视作品

• 1980年台湾歌仔戏《薛平贵》由杨丽花饰演，即为薛平贵，为流落于民间的唐宣宗之子。

• 2011年中国大陆电视剧《凰图腾》由张默饰演。

• 2012年中国大陆电视剧《薛平贵与王宝钏》由陈浩民饰演。