In June of the second year of Zhenguan (628), Li Zhi was born in the Li Zhengting Hall of the East Palace. In the fifth year of Zhenguan (63 1), the Jin King conferred the title, and Empress Dowager Li Chenggan and the second son Wang Tai were successively abolished. In the seventeenth year of Zhenguan (643), they were registered as Crown Princes. In the 23rd year of Zhenguan (649), Emperor Taizong died, and Crown Prince Li Zhi succeeded Tang Gaozong.
At the beginning of his reign, Tang Gaozong continued to implement various political and economic systems formulated by Emperor Taizong, and Li Ji, Sun Chang Wuji and Chu Suiliang all supported Fuzheng. Because of his political diligence, he was called an "eternal symbol of rule" during his reign. Tang Gaozong insisted on abolishing the Empress, favoring Wu Zetian and excluding the interference of the old school. In the fifth year of the Qing Dynasty (660), Tang Gaozong was often dizzy, which affected the handling of government affairs. Wu Zetian took the opportunity to participate in politics. Emperor Gaozong was in poor health, and the trend of regime transfer from Tang Gaozong to Wu Zetian gradually took shape.
During the reign of Tang Gaozong, Western Turkistan (657), Baekje (660) and Koguryo (668) were destroyed successively. During the period of Tang Gaozong, the territory of the Tang Dynasty was the largest, starting from the Korean Peninsula in the east, expanding the Aral Sea in the west, reaching Lake Baikal in the north and central Vietnam in the south, which lasted for 32 years.
In the first year of Hongdao (683), Tang Gaozong died in Zhenguan Hall at the age of 56. His temple name is Tang Gaozong, the Great Sage of posthumous title. Buried in Tangganling. It was passed on to Li Xian, the seventh son of the emperor.