The Tang dynasty (618–907) was a unified dynasty in Chinese history that succeeded the Sui dynasty. Twenty-one emperors reigned over its 289 years. Because the imperial family bore the surname Li, the dynasty is also called the "Li Tang," and it is often paired with its predecessor as "Sui–Tang." Its capital was Chang'an (modern Xi'an, Shaanxi), and Luoyang served as the Eastern Capital. In its early period the Tang controlled a vast territory, wielded great power and engaged actively with foreign states. The An Lushan Rebellion, which broke out in 755, divided the dynasty into two phases. In the later phase, regional military governors became autonomous and eunuchs dominated the court, and the dynasty fell in 907. Tang institutions, literature, religion and art profoundly shaped later Chinese history and the wider East Asian world. The Tang is often ranked alongside the Han Dynasty as one of the two most powerful dynasties of imperial China.
Founding and early period
Revolts against the Sui erupted across China in the dynasty's final years. In 617 Li Yuan, Duke of Tang, rose in arms at Jinyang (modern Taiyuan, Shanxi). After capturing Chang'an, he installed Yang You, a grandson of Emperor Yang of Sui, as Emperor Gong. In 618 Emperor Yang was strangled at Jiangdu by his general Yuwen Huaji, and Emperor Gong was forced to abdicate in favour of Li Yuan. Li Yuan took the throne, proclaimed the dynasty of Tang and adopted the era name Wude. He is known as Emperor Gaozu. Over the following years his son Li Shimin defeated rival regimes such as those of Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande, and the Tang gradually reunified the country.
In 626 Li Shimin staged the Xuanwu Gate Incident and soon took the throne as Emperor Taizong. He relied on capable ministers such as Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and Wei Zheng, and his reign was noted for good governance. Historians call it the "Reign of Zhenguan." Abroad, Taizong defeated the Eastern Turks, and the peoples of the northwest honoured him with the title "Heavenly Khagan." Emperor Gaozong continued his father's policies in what became known as the "Reign of Yonghui," and during his reign the Tang destroyed the kingdoms of Baekje and Goguryeo. Gaozong's empress, Wu Zetian, later took effective control of the government. She moved the capital to Luoyang for 15 years and replaced the Tang with her own Zhou dynasty (690–705), known to historians as Wu Zhou. In 705 Emperor Zhongzong restored the Tang name and returned the capital to Chang'an.
The Kaiyuan era and the An Lushan Rebellion
Emperor Xuanzong came to the throne in 712. The Kaiyuan era (713–741) was a time of political stability and economic prosperity remembered as the "Kaiyuan Golden Age." By the 14th year of the Tianbao era (755), the registered population stood at about 52.9 million. In his later years, however, Xuanzong neglected state affairs, and power passed in turn to the chancellors Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong. Military governors (jiedushi) on the frontiers commanded large armies, and the balance of power gradually shifted from the court to the provinces. In 751 a Tang army was defeated by the forces of the Abbasid Caliphate at the Battle of Talas in Central Asia. After this defeat the Tang made no further westward expansion.
In 755 An Lushan, who served as military governor of three frontier commands at once, launched a rebellion. His general Shi Siming later carried it on. Known as the An Lushan Rebellion (or An–Shi Rebellion), the war was not suppressed until 763. Both Chang'an and Luoyang fell to the rebels, and northern China suffered heavy population losses. The Tibetan Empire took the opportunity to seize the Hexi and Longyou regions. The rebellion marked the turning point in the dynasty's decline.
Later period and fall
After the rebellion, regional commands in Hebei and elsewhere remained semi-independent for long periods. The court also suffered from eunuch domination and a bitter factional struggle known as the Niu–Li Factional Strife. Emperor Xianzong temporarily curbed the power of the military governors in what became known as the "Yuanhe Restoration," and the dynasty briefly revived again under Emperors Wuzong and Xuanzong. In the dynasty's final decades, however, popular uprisings became frequent. The Huang Chao Rebellion, which began in 878, undermined the foundations of Tang rule, and Huang Chao's army captured Chang'an in 880. Zhu Wen, originally one of Huang Chao's commanders, defected to the Tang and grew increasingly powerful as regional warlords absorbed one another. In the 4th year of the Tianyou era (907), Zhu Wen forced Emperor Ai, Li Zhu, to abdicate, bringing the Tang to an end. Zhu Wen founded a new dynasty named Liang, known as the Later Liang, and China entered the period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.
Government and economy
The central government was organised under the Three Departments and Six Ministries system. The Secretariat drafted edicts and the Chancellery reviewed them. The Department of State Affairs carried them out through the six ministries of Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, Justice and Works. The Tang inherited and developed the imperial examination system created under the Sui. The main regular examinations were the jinshi (presented scholar) and mingjing (classics) examinations. In Law, the Tang Code with its official commentary is the oldest complete legal code to survive in China, and it greatly influenced legal systems across East Asia.
In its early period the Tang operated the equal-field system together with the zu-yong-diao tax system. Under these systems the state allocated land according to household size, and peasants paid taxes in grain and silk and performed labour service. The army was based mainly on the fubing militia system. As land became concentrated in fewer hands and household registration broke down, the militia was gradually replaced by a professional, recruited army. In 780 the chancellor Yang Yan introduced the Two-Tax System, which based taxation on property and landholdings rather than on adult males. The standard Tang money was the Kaiyuan Tongbao coin. In the later Tang the Jianghuai region of the lower Yangtze and Huai rivers became the state's main source of revenue. China's economic centre of gravity began to shift south, and commercial cities such as Yangzhou and Guangzhou rose to prominence.
Foreign contacts and religion
Through the overland Silk Road and maritime routes, the Tang maintained extensive trade with Central, West and South Asia. Large numbers of foreign merchants and envoys lived in Chang'an. Japan repeatedly sent embassies to study in Tang China, and the Tang monk Jianzhen (Ganjin) crossed the sea to Japan. The Korean kingdom of Silla also adopted Tang institutions and culture on a large scale.
The Tang imperial house claimed descent from Laozi and patronised Taoism, while Buddhism also flourished. The monk Xuanzang travelled to India in search of scriptures and, after his return, directed a large-scale programme of Buddhist translation. Distinctly Chinese Buddhist schools such as Tiantai, Huayan and Chan (Zen) matured during this period. Nestorian Christianity (the Church of the East), Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism were also practised in Chang'an. In 845 Emperor Wuzong ordered a sweeping suppression of Buddhism, known as the Huichang Persecution. In intellectual life, Emperor Taizong commissioned Kong Yingda and others to compile the Correct Meaning of the Five Classics, which standardised the interpretation of the Confucian classics. In the mid-Tang, Han Yu championed the Classical Prose Movement and sought to revive Confucianism.
Literature and art
The Tang was the golden age of Chinese poetry. Tang poetry reached great heights in both subject matter and form, and the tonal rules of "regulated verse" became fixed in this period. Leading poets include Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Wei, Bai Juyi and Li Shangyin. In prose, Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan led the Classical Prose Movement, and the chuanqi tale emerged as a form of fiction.
In Chinese Calligraphy, the standard script of Ouyang Xun, Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan became a model for later generations, while Zhang Xu and Huaisu were famed for their "wild cursive" style. Major figures in painting include Wu Daozi, Yan Liben and Li Sixun. Tang music and dance absorbed instruments and melodies from Central Asia. In ceramics, sancai (three-colour) glazed ware and celadon from the Yue kilns are especially representative. The Mogao Caves at Dunhuang and the Longmen Grottoes preserve a wealth of Tang Buddhist murals and sculpture.
Science and technology
Woodblock printing was already in use during the Tang. A copy of the Diamond Sutra found at Dunhuang and dated 868 is the oldest surviving printed work bearing an explicit date. Early formulas for gunpowder appear in texts of Taoist alchemy. In astronomy, the monk Yixing led a large-scale astronomical and geodetic survey and compiled the Dayan Calendar. In medicine, Sun Simiao wrote the Essential Formulas Worth a Thousand Gold Pieces. The Newly Revised Materia Medica, issued in 659, is regarded as one of the world's earliest state-issued pharmacopoeias.
References
- 唐朝（中国历史朝代）_百度百科baike.baidu.com
- 唐朝历史简介及历代帝王全览，共传21帝，享国289年！ - 知乎zhuanlan.zhihu.com
- 唐朝历史 - 知乎zhihu.com
- 唐朝时期m2.allhistory.com
- 唐朝历史简介-中国历史朝代，二百八十九年_历史人物网lishirenwu.com