Dynasties of ChinaSui, Tang & the Five Dynasties · An age of prosperity
22 rulers of Tang and Wu Zhou · AD 618-907 · 14 generations of succession
The Zhenguan and Kaiyuan eras brought prosperity, cosmopolitan Chang'an and remarkable poetry. The An Lushan Rebellion marked a turning point toward decline.
Dynastic color · Rouge
Tang dynasty was another unified dynasty after Sui dynasty, and was called "Han and Tang" together with the Han Dynasty. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, all the heroes came together, and Li Yuan, who was left behind in Taiyuan, raised an army in 617. He proclaimed himself emperor in Chang'an the following year, and his country was named Tang. The second son, Li Shimin, defeated all the heroes and launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident in 626. He immediately came to the throne and founded the "Reign of Zhenguan". He also defeated the Eastern Turks and was revered as the "Khan of Heaven" by all the ethnic groups in the northwest. During the Gaozong period, the Western Turks, Baekje, and Goguryeo were successively destroyed, and the territory reached its peak.
In Gaozong's later years, Queen Wu Zetian gradually took control of the government. In 690, she changed the country's name to Zhou and became the only orthodox female emperor in Chinese history. After the Shenlong coup in 705, the Tang Dynasty was restored. After Xuanzong came to the throne, he worked hard to govern. During the Kaiyuan period, the politics were clear, the economy was prosperous, and the household registration increased greatly. Chang'an became one of the most prosperous international cities in the world at that time. In the late Tianbao period, Xuanzong neglected political affairs, and the Jiedushi of Bianzhen supported his own troops. In 755, the An Lushan Rebellion broke out, and the Tang dynasty turned from prosperity to decline.
After the An Lushan Rebellion was pacified, the separatist rule of vassal towns, the dictatorial power of eunuchs, and factional strife were intertwined. Xianzong "Yuanhe Zhongxing" and Xuanzong "Dazhong Rule" only brought short-term cheer. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the uprising of Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao swept across most of China. In 880, Huang Chao invaded Chang'an, and the Tang dynasty rule collapsed. In 907, Xuanwu Jiedu envoy Zhu Wen forced Emperor Aiabdication to establish Houliang, Tang dynasty was destroyed, and China entered the period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.
The Zhongshu Province drafts the edict, the Menxia Province reviews and refutes it, and the Shangshu Province is responsible for executing it. It has jurisdiction over six departments: officials, households, rituals, military affairs, punishment, and work. The division of labor and checks and balances among the three provinces made the central government system more complete, and its basic framework was used by later generations for a long time.
Tang dynasty perfected the civil service examination system established in the Sui Dynasty. The Ming Jing and Jinshi subjects were the most important in the regular subjects, and the Jinshi subjects were especially focused on poetry and poetry. Scholars from poor families entered the officialdom from this. "Tang Lv Shu Yi" is China's earliest extant and most complete ancient code of law, and has a profound influence on the legal systems of East Asian countries.
In the early Tang Dynasty, the juntian system and the renting system were implemented, with land granted and taxed according to ding. After the An Lushan Rebellion, the land equalization system collapsed. In 780, Dezong adopted chief minister Yang Yan's suggestion to implement the two-tax law, which levied taxes on assets such as households and acres, and paid them in summer and autumn. This was a major change in the tax system.
Chang'an City covers an area of about 84 square kilometers and has a population of one million. It was one of the largest cities in the world at that time. Japan sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty more than ten times, and merchants from Silla, Persia, and Dashi gathered there. In addition to Buddhism, Nestorianism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, etc. also spread.
The "Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty" compiled in the Qing Dynasty contains more than 48,000 poems and more than 2,200 poets. The four heroes of the early Tang Dynasty pioneered the trend. Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Wei, Meng Haoran, Gao Shi, and Cen Shen each took the lead in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Bai Juyi, Li Shangyin, and Du Mu followed in the middle and late Tang Dynasty. The rhythm of modern poetry was also finalized in the Tang Dynasty.
Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan's regular scripts are strict, while Zhang Xu and Huaisu's wild cursives are flying wildly; Yan Liben and Wu Daozi's figure paintings and Li Sixun's green landscapes are each good at their own success. The murals of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang and the Lucena Buddha in the Longmen Grottoes represent the peak of Daizong religious art in the Tang Dynasty.
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In 617, Li Yuan, who was left behind in Taiyuan, raised troops and invaded Chang'an. The following year, Sui Emperor Yang was killed in Jiangdu. Li Yuan received the Sui Emperor Gongabdication and proclaimed himself emperor. The country was named Tang and changed to Yuan Wude. After that, Li Shimin and others successively defeated the separatist forces such as Xue Rengao, Liu Wuzhou, Wang Shichong, and Dou Jiande.
King of QinLi Shimin competed with Crown Prince Li Jiancheng and King QiLi Yuanji for the throne, and conflicts intensified. Li Shimin set up an ambush at Xuanwu Gate, the north gate of the palace city, and shot and killed Yuan Ji. Yuan Ji was also killed by Yuchi Jingde. Gaozu immediately appointed Li Shimin as the Crown Prince, and he was crowned two months later.
Taking the fall of the Sui Dynasty as a lesson, Taizong appointed wise ministers such as Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Wei Zheng, accepted advice with an open mind, took corvees lightly and paid little in taxes. As a result, the society was stable and the economy recovered. In 630, Li Jing and others defeated the Eastern Turks, and Taizong was respected as the "Khan of Heaven" by all ethnic groups in the northwest.
In order to seek the true meaning of Buddhism, the eminent monk Xuan Zang left Guanxi privately in the third year of Zhenguan (the first year of one theory) and went westward. After going through hardships and dangers, he arrived in Tianzhu and studied at Nalanda Temple for many years. In 645, he returned to Chang'an with 657 Buddhist scriptures and was ordered to write "The Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty".
Songtsen Gampo, the leader of Tubo, sent envoys to propose marriage, and Taizong married Wen Chenggongzhu, the daughter of the clan. According to legend, the princess brought Buddhist statues, classics, craftsmen and grain seeds to Tibet, which enhanced economic and cultural exchanges between China and Tibet.
After Gaozong's death, Queen Wu Zetian deposed Zhongzong and Ruizong successively and ruled as regent. In 690, she changed the name of her country to Zhou, made Luoyang the divine capital, and called herself the Holy Emperor. In 705, chief minister Zhang Jianzhi and others launched the Shenlong coup, forcing him to abdicate. Zhongzong was restored to the throne and the title of Tang Dynasty was restored.
Xuanzong appointed Yao Chong, Song Jing, Zhang Jiuling and other wise ministers to rectify the administration, eliminate redundant staff, develop production, greatly increase the household registration, and enrich the warehouses. Du Fu recalled, "Recalling the heyday of the Kaiyuan Dynasty in the past, there were still thousands of families in Xiaoyi," and Tang dynasty was at its peak.
Yangzhou eminent monk Jian Zhen was invited by Japanese monks Rongrui and Puzhao to travel eastward to preach the ordination. However, he failed the first five times and became blind in the process. The sixth eastward journey was successful in 753, and he arrived in Nara the following year. He set up an altar at Todaiji Temple to confer ordination, and the Last Ruler insisted on the construction of Tangzhaotiji Temple.
An Lushan, military governor of three frontier commands, rebelled in 755 under the pretext of attacking Yang Guozhong. The rebels captured Chang'an the next year; Xuanzong fled, and Yang Guifei was executed during the mutiny at Mawei. Suzong took the throne at Lingwu. Tang forces, aided by the Uyghurs, retook the two capitals. In 763 Shi Chaoyi died after his defeat, ending the rebellion.
General An Shijiang occupied the three towns of Heshuo. The father and son attacked each other and refused to obey the orders of the court. Dezong's reduction of vassalage provoked rebellions among the towns and soldiers, and in 783 Jingyuan rebelled and captured Chang'an; Xianzong appointed Pei Du and Li Su to pacify Huaixi, and the towns surrendered for a while, which was known as "Yuanhe Zhongxing" in history.
After Shunzong came to the throne, he appointed Wang Shuwen and Wang Pi, and joined forces with Liu Yuxi, Liu Zongyuan and others to carry out reforms. He dismissed the palace city and Wufang children in an attempt to seize the eunuch and military power. Due to the opposition between the eunuchs and the vassal town, Shunzong was forced to undergo internal Zen, and the reform failed within a few months. He was known as the "Two Kings and Eight Sima" in history.
Wenzong conspired with Li Xun and Zheng Zhu to kill the eunuchs. He falsely claimed that nectar fell from the pomegranate tree in Zuo Jinwu's courtyard at night, and lured the eunuch Chou Shiliang and others to inspect and ambush him. After the incident was revealed, the eunuchs took Wenzong hostage and led the Shence Army to hunt him down. The chief minister Wang Ya and others were exterminated, and more than a thousand people died.
Wuzong worshiped Taoism and suppressed Buddhism, and because the temples occupied a large amount of land and population, he ordered the demolition of more than 4,600 temples, more than 40,000 Zhaotilanruo temples, and ordered more than 260,000 monks and nuns to return to secular life. This is known as the "Huichang Dharma Disaster" in history, and is one of the "Three Martial Arts and One Sect" to destroy Buddhism.
Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao successively raised troops in Henan and Shandong and moved to fight in N&S. In 880, Huang Chao invaded Chang'an and established the Daqi regime. Xizong fled to Chengdu. In 884, Huang Chao was defeated and died in Langhu Valley. Although Tang Dynasty existed, it existed in name only.
Zhu Wen, the envoy of Xuanwu Jiedu, was originally a general of Huang Chao. After surrendering to Tang Dynasty, he took the imperial court hostage. In 904, he killed Zhaozong and established Emperor Ai. In the following year, he killed more than 30 courtiers in Baimayi. In 907, he forced Emperor Aiabdication to establish Houliang, and Tang dynasty perished.
He first served as an official in the Sui Dynasty, and after entering the Tang Dynasty, he followed Li Xiaogong to pacify Xiao Xian and Fu Gong'er, and stabilize Jiangnan. In 630, he led a surprise attack on Dingxiang with light cavalry, and defeated the Turks in Yinshan Mountain. The Eastern Turks were destroyed. Later, he led his troops to pacify Tuyuhun and granted him the title of Duke of Wei.
He was originally a subordinate of Crown Prince Li Jiancheng. After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, he was highly regarded by Taizong and was promoted to the rank of Shizhong. He speaks out and dares to admonish, and he advises on more than two hundred things. After his death, Taizong lamented that "using a person as a mirror can help us understand gains and losses" and lamented the loss of a mirror.
A native of Jingzhaohua, he was proficient in medicine and had repeatedly resigned from the imperial court. His works "Thousands of Gold Essential Prescriptions" and "Thousands of Gold Wings of Prescriptions" compiled medical achievements before the Tang Dynasty, and put forward the medical ethics thought that "human life is the most important thing, and a thousand golds of gold are valuable", and he was revered as the "King of Medicine" by later generations. There are other dates for his birth year, such as 541.
His common surname is Chen, from the Feng family in Luozhou. He traveled to the West to seek Dharma, which lasted seventeen years. He learned yoga from Jie Xian at Nalanda Temple. After returning to China, Last Ruler translated seventy-five Buddhist scriptures and one thousand three hundred and thirty-five volumes, and founded the Faxiang Sect. His deeds were later translated into the novel "Journey to the West".
His name is Zhao, a native of Wenshui, Bingzhou. She was a talented person of Taizong at first, and later the queen of Gaozong. She participated in the political affairs and was called the "Two Saints" together with Gaozong. In 690, she was proclaimed emperor and changed the name of the country to Zhou. She attached great importance to the imperial examinations, pioneered palace examinations and military examinations, appointed ruthless officials, and promoted the practice of informing. Her merits and demerits have always been controversial.
During his tenure as Dali Cheng, there was a backlog of judgments within one year, involving 17,000 people, without any unjust accusations. He paid homage to the prime minister twice, and persuaded Wu Zetian to recall King Li Xian of Luling as Crown Prince, which maintained the Tang Dynasty; he also recommended Zhang Jianzhi, Yao Chong, etc. to reserve talents for Shenlong's restoration of Tang Dynasty and the rule of Kaiyuan.
Xuanzong, a native of Yangzhai, was summoned to the palace to worship him. He is good at painting Buddhist and Taoist figures and temple murals. His brush strokes are round and round, and his clothes and belts are fluttering. He is known as "Wu Dai is in the style". It is said that he once painted more than 300 miles of Jialing River landscape in one day, and later generations revered him as the "Sage of Painting".
His common name is Zhang Sui. He became a monk and was proficient in astronomy and calender. He presided over the compilation of the "Dayan Calendar" with a rigorous style that was used by later calendars. He also organized personnel to measure the height of the North Pole and the length of the sun's shadow in various places, and for the first time in China measured the length of one degree of the meridian.
Yangzhou native. Invited to travel eastward to Japan to preach the ordination, it took twelve years and six trips to sea before he succeeded. He became blind but did not change his ambition. He built Tang Zhaoti Temple in Japan, taught precepts, and spread knowledge of architecture, sculpture, and medicine. He was revered as the ancestor of the Japanese Vinaya sect.
Born in martial arts. During the An Lushan Rebellion, he served as the military governor of Shuofang. He and Li Guangbi defeated Shi Siming in Hebei, and then joined forces with Huihe to regain the two capitals. Suzong praised him as "my homeland will be rebuilt by you" and was later granted the title of King of Fenyang. In 765, he rode alone into the Uighur camp to persuade peace, and resolved the danger of the Tubo and Uighur coalition forces.
The courtesy name is Taibai, and the name is Qinglian Jushi. He was born in Suiye in the Western Regions (some say he was born in Sichuan). Tianbao was enshrined in Hanlin in his early years and was soon "given gold and released". The poetic style is bold and elegant, and the imagination is unique. "The Road to Shu is Difficult", "About to Enter the Wine" and "Quiet Night Thoughts" have been passed down through the ages, and he is known as the "Immortal of Poetry".
The Hu people from Liucheng in Yingzhou were good at ingratiating themselves with each other and won the favor of Xuanzong and Yang Guifei. He served as the Jiedushi of Pinglu, Fanyang and Hedong towns and had nearly 200,000 troops. In 755, he launched a rebellion and proclaimed himself Emperor of Yan in Luoyang the following year. In 757, he was killed by his son An Qingxu.
An Lushan Rebellion was the governor of Pingyuan at that time, and he and his brother Yan Gaoqing raised an army to fight against the enemy. The regular script is vigorous and dignified, and is known as "Yan Ti" in the world. Together with Liu Gongquan, it is also known as "Yan Jin Liu Gu"; "Manuscript of Memorial to My Nephew" is known as "the second running script in the world". In his later years, he was ordered to advise the rebel general Li Xilie, but he refused to give in and was killed.
The courtesy name is Zimei, and he calls himself Shaoling Yelao. Frustrated in his official career, he wandered around in An Lushan Rebellion and wrote famous poems such as "Three Officials", "Three Farewells" and "Spring Hope", which profoundly reflected the social unrest and the suffering of people's livelihood. His poems were hailed as the "History of Poetry", and he was revered as the "Sage of Poetry".
The word retreated, and the world called him Han Changli. He and Liu Zongyuan initiated the ancient prose movement, opposed the parallel writing style since the Six Dynasties, and took the revival of Confucianism as their own responsibility. They were listed as the first of the "Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties". In 819, he wrote "On the Table of Buddha's Bones" to dissuade Xianzong from welcoming the Buddha's bones, and was demoted as the governor of Chaozhou.
The courtesy name is Lotte and the name is Xiangshan Jushi. He and Yuan Zhen initiated the New Yuefu Movement, advocating that "articles should be written according to the time, and songs and poems should be written according to the situation." "The Charcoal Seller", "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" and "Pipa Play" are written in simple and familiar languages. It is said that old women can understand them, and they have spread as far as Japan and Silla.