Emperor Yizong of Tang (December 28, 833 – August 15, 873), né Li Wen, later changed to Li Cui, is an emperor of the Tang dynasty of China.
He reigns from 859 to 873.
Yizong is the eldest son of Emperor Xuānzong.
After the Emperor Xuānzong's death in 859, Emperor Yizong is placed on the throne by the eunuch Wang Zongshi, who kills other eunuchs supporting another son of Emperor Xuānzong's, Li Zi the Prince of Kui.
According to traditional historians, Emperor Yizong did not pay much attention to governmental affairs but instead chose to live in opulence, became an alcoholic and surrounded himself with women while his government levied heavy taxes on its citizens.
A deeply devout Buddhist, even more so than his father, he would hold grand Buddhist ceremonies throughout the year as well as ordering frequent musical performances in the palace.
If the entertainment was to his liking, Yizong would not only reward the entertainers greatly but also bestow governmental ranks.
Emperor Yizong eventually exhausted the empire's treasury that had accumulated during his father's administration.
Faced with insurmountable hardship, including starvation and famines that caused people to resort to cannibalism, agrarian rebellions became rampant late in his reign, and those rebellions that would plague the reign of his son Emperor Xizong and doom Tang.
