Dynasties of ChinaTang dynastyTang dynasty lineage
Jianzhong and others · Reign 779—805
The two-tax law was implemented; the reduction of vassal status caused chaos in the four towns and the Jingyuan mutiny. After that, he turned to appeasement of the vassal towns and relied heavily on eunuchs.
Li Kuo is the eldest son of Daizong, born in 742. In 762, as King Yong, he was appointed as the marshal of the world's soldiers and horses. Together with the Uighur soldiers, he regained Luoyang. The following year, he pacified Shi Chaoyi and was established as Crown Prince in 764. After taking the throne in 779, he made great efforts to reform, abolished redundant staff and fees, and prohibited additional contributions from local governments. In 780, he adopted the suggestion of chief minister Yang Yan to implement the two-tax law, which replaced the long-standing rent-to-tax modulation.
He was determined to level the vassal towns, and in 781 he refused Chengde Li Weiyue to inherit his father's throne, which triggered a rebellion in the towns in Hebei and Shandong. In 782, the four towns successively became kings. In 783, soldiers from Jingyuan who were transferred to the front line mutinied when they passed through Chang'an and supported Zhu Ci to proclaim himself emperor. Dezong fled to Fengtian. The following year, he avoided Liangzhou and issued an imperial edict to pardon the towns to calm the situation. After returning to the capital, he turned to appeasement of the vassal town, and handed over the imperial army to the eunuchs, and the eunuchs and soldiers were institutionalized from then on.
In his later years, Dezong was suspicious of ministers and specialized in amassing money. He accepted local property in the name of "promoting tribute" and connived at the "palace market" that eunuchs forcibly bought in Chang'an. The people were miserable. However, during this period, the imperial court united with Uighur and Nanzhao to contain Tubo, and the border troubles in the west were alleviated. He died of illness in the first month of 805 and was buried in Chongling.
Dezong was determined to reform when he came to the throne. The two-tax law he implemented conformed to the social reality after the disintegration of the equal land system. The pattern of summer and autumn taxation continued into the Ming Dynasty. However, he mishandled the feudal vassal and mishandled it, which led to the difficulty of Fengtian. After that, he changed his original intention, appeased the vassal town, gathered special services, and handed over the power of the imperial army to the eunuchs, which laid the foundation for the eunuchs' monopoly in the middle and late Tang Dynasty.
MilitaryMarshal takes over Luoyang
As King Yong, he served as the marshal of the world's soldiers and horses. Together with the Uighur soldiers, he defeated Shi Chaoyi and regained Luoyang again. Previously, when he met with the Huihe Khan in Shaanzhou, he was humiliated because he refused to perform the worship dance, and his accompanying officials were whipped to death.
Politicsaccession innovation
After ascending the throne in May, he dismissed more than 300 redundant people in the Liyuan, dismissed various contributions from various places, prohibited eunuchs from asking for property when on missions, and released some palace maids. The government and the public once praised him as the reincarnation of a wise king.
EconomyImplement the Two Taxes Law
Yang Yan's suggestion was adopted to abolish the rent adjustment and various miscellaneous taxes. "Households have no owners and guests, so living is the record; people have no family, so the difference between rich and poor is the difference." Taxation is based on household assets and acres of land, and is paid in summer and autumn. Taxation has shifted from being person-based to asset-based.
Culture"The Classic of Tea" written by Lu Yu
Lu Yu, who lived in seclusion in Huzhou, completed the "Tea Classic", which systematically describes the origin, cultivation, production, utensils, decoction and production area of tea. It is generally believed that it was finalized around 780. After that, the trend of tea drinking spread throughout N&S and spread to Uighur and other places.
Lasting legacy"The Classic of Tea" is the earliest existing monograph on tea science in the world. Lu Yu was revered as the "Sage of Tea" by later generations.
PeopleDeath of Liu YanYang Yan
Yang Yan had a grudge against Liu Yan, a famous financial official. In 780, he framed Liu Yan for treason and was sentenced to death. The world thought he was wronged. The following year, Yang Yan himself was squeezed out by chief minister Lu Qi and demoted to Yazhou Sima, but was sentenced to death on the way.
CultureErect a Nestorian monument
The "China Stele of the Popularity of Nestorianism in Da Qin" was erected at Daqin Temple in Chang'an, which describes in Chinese and Syriac the spread of Nestorianism, the Nestorian sect of Christianity, since it was introduced to China during the Zhenguan period.
Lasting legacyThe stele was unearthed in Xi'an during the Ming Dynasty and is now in the Xi'an Stele Forest Museum. It is an important cultural relic for studying the history of Christianity in China.
MilitaryBattle of vassal reduction
After the death of Li Baochen, the Chengde Jiedu envoy, his son Li Weiyue asked to inherit, but Dezong refused. Wei Bo Tianyue, Ziqing Li Zhengji, and Shannan Dongdao Liang Chongyi immediately joined forces to rebel. In the early days of the Tang army, Liang Chongyi was defeated and committed suicide.
PoliticsFour towns become kings
The imperial court mishandled the surrendered generals of Hebei. Zhu Tao of Youzhou and Wujun of Chengde turned to join forces with Wei Bo Tianyue and Ziqing Li Na. In November, the four of them claimed to be King Ji, King Zhao, King Wei, and King Qi respectively. Li Xilie of Huaixi also claimed to be the marshal of the world.
EconomyInterconnection tax and money for removing strangers
The war cost a lot, and the imperial court imposed a room tax, which was levied based on the number of rooms in the house. It also increased the transaction tax "Zhu Mo Qian", which was levied at fifty for every thousand yuan. Officials entered homes to search homes, and people were filled with resentment.
MilitaryJingyuan Mutiny
In October, soldiers from Jingyuan were ordered to assist Xiangcheng from the east. When passing through Chang'an, they mutinied because they were only rewarded with coarse rice and invaded the palace city. Dezong fled to Fengtian in panic. The rebels supported Zhu Ci, who was living in Chang'an, and proclaimed himself emperor. The country was named Qin, and then besieged Fengtian for more than a month.
PoliticsServe God's Edict to Sin Yourself
In the first month of the first month, Dezong issued an edict to his sinners in Fengtianxia, drafted by Lu Zhi, a Hanlin scholar, in which he denounced his faults, announced the pardon of Wang Wujun, Tian Yue, Li Na, etc., and abolished intermittent taxes and other harsh taxes. It is said that when the edict reached the front line, all the soldiers cried.
MilitaryRecover Chang'an
In February, the reinforcement general Li Huaiguang rebelled again, and Dezong fled to Liangzhou again. In May, Li Cheng led the Shence Army to defeat Zhu Ci and regained Chang'an. Zhu Ci was killed by his subordinates on his way to escape. In July, Dezong returned to Beijing and the turmoil subsided.
PeopleYan Zhenqing was killed
The previous year, Yan Zhenqing was ordered to go to Xuzhou to preach to the rebel general Li Xilie. He was detained for more than a year and refused to give in to threats and inducements. In August, he was hanged in Caizhou at the age of seventy-six.
DiplomacyPingliang Jiemeng
The Tubo ambushed the alliance in Pingliang and robbed it, but Hun Jian, the envoy of the Tang Hui Alliance, fled back alone. Chief minister Li Mi then advocated uniting with Uihe in the north, Nanzhao in the south, Dashi and Tianzhu in the west to jointly control Tubo. The following year in the Tang Dynasty, Princess Xian'an married the Huihe Khan.
Economylevy tea tax
Zhang Pang, the envoy of salt and iron, asked for a tax on tea. Officials were set up in tea-producing counties and the main roads for tea merchants to collect one-tenth of the value. This resulted in an annual income of 400,000 guan. This was the beginning of tea tax in China.
DiplomacyNanzhao returns to Tang Dynasty
Wei Gao, the envoy of Xichuan Festival, had been pacifying Nanzhao for many years. In the first month of the first month, Cui Zuoshi, the envoy of Tang Dynasty, and Nanzhao King Yimouxun met at Diancang Mountain to form an alliance. Nanzhao broke away from Tubo and rejoined Tang Dynasty and attacked Tubo. Tang Dynasty's southwest border troubles were greatly alleviated.
PoliticsEunuchs command the Shence Army
Dezong did not trust military generals, so he appointed the eunuchs Dou Wenchang and Huo Xianming as lieutenants of the left and right Shence Army Guards, and the eunuchs officially commanded the Forbidden Army. From then on, the position of lieutenant was controlled by eunuchs for a long time, and the eunuchs thus gained the power to depose and establish the emperor.
SocietyThe palace city disturbs the people
In Dezong's later years, eunuchs were in charge of palace procurement. He sent "Bai Wang" to the Chang'an Street Market to find goods and seize them at low prices. They also demanded money and foot prices, and the merchants avoided them behind closed doors. Bai Juyi's "Charcoal Seller" describes the harm caused by the palace market.
Culture"Tongdian" written by Du You
Chief Minister Du You spent more than 30 years compiling 200 volumes of "Tongdian", which is divided into nine categories: food and goods, elections, officials, rituals, music, soldiers, punishments, states and counties, and border defense. It records the evolution of the laws and regulations from ancient times to the Tianbao period of the Tang Dynasty.
Lasting legacy"Tongdian" created the general history of the canonical system, and together with the later "Tongzhi" and "Wenwen Tongkao" are collectively known as the "Three Communications", it is still the basic classic for studying the history of institutions.
CultureLeshan Giant Buddha completed
In 713, the monk Haitong vowed to build the Maitreya Buddha on the Lingyun Mountain cliff in order to reduce the water potential at the confluence of the three rivers. The project was interrupted several times, but it was completed in 803 under the leadership of Wei Gao, the Jiedu envoy of Xichuan. The Buddha statue is 71 meters high.
Lasting legacyThe Leshan Giant Buddha is one of the largest ancient stone seated Buddhas in the world. In 1996, it was listed as a world cultural and natural heritage together with Mount Emei.
DiplomacyKukai is the most clear in the Tang Dynasty
Japanese monks Kukai and Saicho accompanied the Tang envoys to the Tang Dynasty. Kukai studied Tantric Buddhism from Keiko at Seiryuji Temple in Chang'an and founded the Shingon Sect after returning to China; Saicho studied Tendai teachings at Tiantai Mountain and founded the Japanese Tendai Sect after returning to Japan.
Lasting legacyEnryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei founded by Saicho and Mount Koya founded by Kukai are now part of the World Heritage. There is a Kukai Monument at the Qingryu-ji Temple site in Xi'an.
PoliticsHuining Hall where he died of illness
In the first month of the first month, Dezong died of illness in Huining Hall. Crown Prince Li Song was unable to speak due to a stroke, and the eunuchs once discussed establishing a new throne. However, with the insistence of Hanlin scholar Wei Cigong and others, Crown Prince still succeeded to the throne.
Daizong was promoted by Yuan Zai when he came to the throne. After Dezong came to the throne, he paid homage to the prime minister and proposed the implementation of the two-tax law. He was headstrong and vengeful, and framed Liu Yan to death. In 781, he was demoted and sentenced to death.
When Dezong fled to Fengtian, he was a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, drafted the edict of sin, and was known as the "internal prime minister". In 792, he became prime minister. The memorial was detailed and later compiled as "Lu Xuangong's Memorial"; he was demoted to Zhongzhou for offending the powerful minister Pei Yanling.
During the four dynasties of Xuan, Su, Dai and De, he protected Crown Prince Li Song many times during the turmoil over the throne. In 787, he became prime minister and advocated uniting with Uighur and Nanzhao to control Tubo.
A general of the Shence Army, he led his army to regain Chang'an in 784. After entering the city, he committed no crimes and was granted the title of Prince of Xiping County for his merits.
A member of the Tielehun tribe, he had meritorious service in holding on to Fengtian. In 787, as an alliance envoy, he was nearly robbed and killed by the Tibetans in Pingliang.
Zhu Tao's brother was originally an envoy to Youzhou, but he stayed in Chang'an after entering the imperial court. During the Jingyuan Rebellion, he was supported by the rebels and proclaimed himself emperor. His country was named Qin, and later changed to Han. He was defeated and killed by his subordinates.
He guarded Xichuan for twenty-one years, pacified Nanzhao, repeatedly defeated Tubo, and presided over the completion of the Leshan Giant Buddha.
Regular script is vigorous and dignified, and is known as "Yan Ti" in the world. He was ordered to issue an edict to the rebel general Li Xilie, but he was detained and died unyieldingly.