Viewing the Chinese history record, you will find the Tang Dynasty was the most glistening historic period in China's history. Founded in 618 and ending in 907, the state, under the ruling of the Tang Dynasty, became the most powerful and prosperous country in the world. Particularly, in this glorious period, the economy, politics, culture and military strength reached an unparalleled advanced level.
Establishment
At the end of Sui Dynasty (581 - 618), the whole country fell into chaos due to the tyranny of Emperor Yang; rebellions roused by peasants were everywhere. Resenting Emperor Yang's ruling, the chief officer of Taiyuan - Li Yuan, who was also known as Tangguo Gong (a vassal in Sui Court) raised an army in Taiyuan from May 617. In November of the same year, Li Yuan's army captured the capital city Chang'an (currently Xian) and put a new monarch, Yang You, on the throne as Emperor Gong. Meanwhile, Li Yuan proclaimed himself Da Chengxiang (prime minister) and Tang Wang (King of Tang). In 618 after Emperor Yang was killed by his chancellor, Yuwen Huaji, Li Yuan seized the chance to proclaim himself emperor and changed the state title into Tang, still with Chang'an as the capital city. Glorious Period
The first glorious period was from 627 to 649 when the Tang Dynasty was just set up and its national strength was recovering from the previous weak condition. Under Emperor Taizong Li Shimin's wise governing, the national strength and social development of the Tang Dynasty reached an unparalleled prosperity - economy and commerce flourished, the social order was stable, corruption never existed in the court and the national boundaries were even open to foreign countries.
After Li Shimin died, the throne passed to his ninth son Li Zhi who was later crowned as Emperor Gaozong and married Li Shimin's imperial concubine Wu Meiniang. Wu Meiniang was officially named Wu Zetian and afterwards became the empress. Actually it was Wu Zetian who had the real power during Emperor Gaozong's reign since the emperor suffered from bad health. After Li Zhi died, Wu successively enthroned and dethroned her two sons - Li Xian and Li Dan. In 690, disregarding the objections and criticisms of all chancellors, Wu Zetian proclaimed herself Emperor Shengshen and established a new dynasty - Zhou, which lasted for 15 years. During her reign, the state economy continued to develop rapidly.
In 705, a coup broke out which brought one of the former emperors, Li Xian, to the throne as Emperor Zhongzong. However, Emperor Zhongzong's ruling was manipulated by his wife, Empress Wei. In 710, plotting to be the second woman emperor, Empress Wei along with Princess Anle poisoned Zhongzong. At that time, Li Longji (son of Li Dan) launched a coup with the assistance of his parental aunt Princess Taiping, killing Empress Wei and Princess Anle. After that, Li Dan was crowned as Emperor Ruizong.
The second glorious period was during Emperor Xuanzong's reign. In 712, Emperor Ruizong abdicated and Li Longji was enthroned as Emperor Xuanzong. Under his ruling, the national economy, politics and culture all developed rapidly and the social development entered a new heyday. In that period, Chang'an City was the largest and the most prosperous metropolis in the world. Since the title of Xuanzong's reign was Kaiyuan, that period was called the Heyday of Kaiyuan, in which the Tang Dynasty reached its summit of prosperity.
Decline and Ruin
In his old age, Emperor Xuanzong was complacent and indifferent to state affairs. Hopelessly, he indulged himself in the beauty of his concubine Yang Yuhuan. Besides, he also appointed some wicked chancellors who corrupted the political order. Meanwhile, troops on the frontiers gradually gathered together and formed a powerful military force. In 755, An Lushan aligned with Shi Siming and launched a rebellion, called the An Shi Rebellion which lasted for eight years and heavily knocked the Tang regime. From then on, the national strength was weakened daily by separatist forces in local areas. Because of the incompetence of the emperors the dominance of the eunuchs and power struggles between chancellors became increasingly intense. Hence the Tang Dynasty declined from generation to generation. In 859, a large-scale peasant uprising launched by Huang Chao again severely attacked the Tang regime. In 907, the last Tang emperor, Emperor Ai was forced to abdicate by Chancellor Zhu Quanzhong, who afterwards changed the state title into Liang, finally putting the ever powerful and mighty Tang Dynasty to an end.
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Travelers' Voices on Tang Dynasty
1.
Jun. 14,2009 06:05 Reply
Mr.weller(uk) said:
What was the average life expecatancy for people during the Tang Dynasty? Was it common for people to live into their sixties or seventies?
Jun. 14,2009 21:32
Mr.yin(cn) replied:
The average life expectancy is 50. So, people who live into one's sixties or seventies are very lucky!
2.
Jun. 13,2009 06:02 Reply
Mr.Pitt(wales) said:
Were women in Tang Dynasty allowed to re-marry if they were widowed. If so. Would it have created a scandal?
Jun. 13,2009 21:51
Mr.yina(cn) replied:
It is allowed, i think it is quite common for remarry in Tang Dynasty.
3.
Jun. 10,2009 13:31 Reply
Mr.Pitt(wales) said:
Thankyou Ms. Evelyn,
I very much agree with you that history is predominantly written by men. However- correct me if I'm wrong- but didn't the Tang only become a feudal society once around the time of Xuanzong when peasants began to sell their land in order to avoid tax and conscription. Prior to Xuanzong land was under the control of the government in a sytem of equal land allotments. Is that right?
Although the life of the rich and famous has changed dramatically over time. I'm intereted to know how much the peasant class has changed.
For example, would peasant girls have been allowed to work in the fields and chat to boys or have boy friends during the Tang Dynasty.
Unfortunately for us history is indeed been written by men. But what influence did powerful women like Wu Ze tian, Empress Wei, Empress Anle and princess Taiping who all seemed to be very muc wearing the trousers around that time. Even though trousers hadn't really been invented. Unless you count those baggy cotton thing that monks wear as trousers.
What influence did powerful women have on womens status as that time?
How were peasant women allowed to dress?
Sorry to ask so many questions. If you can answer any of them I would be interedted in your response.
Thankyou!
Jun. 12,2009 04:15
Ms.Evelyn(China) replied:
In the early Tang Dynasty, the government practiced in the Land Equalization System. The land belonged to the government. The government endowed each peasant with the land with the same area. It's not allowed to sell or rent out the land. After a peasant died, his land was returned to the government. Since the Emperor Xuanzong, the land system had changed. Peasants could sell and rent out their own lands. In a sense, land actually belonged to peasants themselves. But the highest objective of the peasants is not to avoid tax. After all, they had to support their life through land. According to the law of the Tang, the peasants, who had no money to bury their parents, were allowed to sell their land to earn money.
Jun. 12,2009 04:35
Ms.Evelyn(China) replied:
Feudal ethics is fearful. When all the people obey the rules, nobody dares to challenge. In the feudal society, people used the feudal moral standards to demand of themselves. A peasant girl could chat with boys, if she didn't care about the others' gossip.
Actually, the Tang is the most open-minded dynasty of all the feudal dynasties. Women's attire were not very conservative. So, it's not strange to see those powerful women wearing trousers.
4.
Jun. 5,2009 12:02 Reply
Mr.pitt(wales) said:
how much freedom did peasant women have during the Tang Dynasty (as opposed to the gentile class)Were they as bound by traditiona and decorum as the women of the elite?
Jun. 5,2009 22:00
Ms.Evelyn(China) replied:
Hi, Mr. pitt, I think your question is a good open question. I hope more people can see that and discuss it together. In my opinion, Tang is one of the feudal dynasties in Chinese history. Feudal society is a society for men. What is history? It's his story, man's story. I'm not a feminist, but just want to say the truth. In Chinese feudal society, women got less freedom than men. They had to obey various feudal traditions. Men can marry several wives. But women must accompany only one man for her lifetime. Even when she became a widow, it's very hard for her to remarry.
The peasant women and the women from the upper class both should obey various rules. Especially, the upper-class women must obey the rules more carefully. Only the women who obeyed the rules are considered to be well-bred and educated.
5.
May. 31,2009 00:58 Reply
Mr.peter(China) said:
how did the dynasty collapse
May. 31,2009 22:27
Mr.liyang(cn) replied:
I think it is because the ignorance of the emperor
6.
May. 11,2009 18:08 Reply
Mr.potato(USA) said:
This was cool but what about the Tang's agriculture
May. 11,2009 21:40
Ms.Evelyn(China) replied:
In the Tang Dynasty, Quyuan Plow (Bending-Thill Plow) was invented. It’s easier to use. The waterpower bucket machine (waterwheel) and cattle-power waterwheel were invented, which brought much convenience to irrigation. Many irrigation dykes were built. The output of agricultural products increased.
7.
May. 10,2009 17:43 Reply
Mr.noname(U.S.) said:
what caaused the An Shi Rebellion
May. 10,2009 20:37
Ms.Evelyn(China) replied:
An is An Lushan and Shi is Shi Siming. They were chancellors during the reign of EmperorTang Xuanzong (Li Longji). An Shi Rebellion is a turning point of Tang from extreme prosperity to weakness. During the Emperor Xuanzong, the society became very peaceful and prosperous However, the annexation of land by landlords and government officials became more and more severe. Many peasants lost farmland and became vagabonds. At the same time, the imperial family’s life was very corrupt and luxurious. Xuan Zong was crazy about Concubine Yang (named Yang Yuhuan). He was drowned in singing, dancing, drinking and beauties. He put the treacherous official Li Linfu in the very important position and believed Yang’s brother Yang Guozhong. Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong were more and more powerful, which were envied by Shi Siming and An Lushan. Then, the inside of the ruling classes appeared conflicts. What’s more, since Xuan Zong, the mercenary system (conscription) had been complimented. The soldiers serving the central government were all conscripted from the local barracks. In this process, many soldiers were embraced by the local warlords. When the conflicts between the central government and the local warlords were more and more conspicuous, Shi Siming and An Lushan took advantage of the local warlords to fight against the Tang movement. Additionally, An and Shi hooked in the ethnic minorities living in Youzhou, north of Hebei to fight against the Tang.
8.
May. 9,2009 00:58 Reply
Ms.Anonymous(U.S.) said:
The establishment section of the article is quite confusing. Does Emperor Gong step down after Emperor Yuan seizes power????
May. 9,2009 22:35
Ms.Evelyn(CN) replied:
Yes, the second paragraph is really confusing. Actually, Emperor Yang is the grandfather of Emperor Gong. In 618,
Li Yuan led his army to enter Chang'an and conquer the capital of Sui. Emperor Yang was killed. After that, Li Yuan asked Yang You to be his puppet emperor (Emperor Gong). In 619, Emperor Gong died. He was only 15 years old when he died.
9.
May. 4,2009 09:39 Reply
Ms.thiang(hawaii) said:
i want to visit china how much does it cost??????
May. 5,2009 04:46
Mr.Ray(United States) replied:
It depends on your destinations, hotel standards, how much time you will stay and many other factors. But I know it's not expensive. It's well worth a visit.
10.
May. 4,2009 20:25 Reply
Mr.Ronald McDonald(USA) said:
When did Marco polo arrive????
May. 5,2009 04:43
Ms.Tina(CN) replied:
He came to China in 1275 in the Yuan Dynasty on the reign of Kublai Khan.