The Tang dynasty (唐) (618-907 CE) was a Chinese imperial dynasty that reigned for three centuries, succeeding the prior Sui dynasty. Its founder, Li Yuan overthrew the Sui and expanded the empire into Vietnam, Korea, and Central Asia. It is often considered to be the Golden Age of Chinese civilization, producing famous poets like Li Bai, and was known for its cosmopolitan outlook and openness to foreign influences. Crippled by the An Lushan and Huang Chao's rebellions, the Tang collapsed in 907 and marked the beginning of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms era.
History[]
The Tang dynasty was founded by Li Yuan, who overthrew the weakened Sui dynasty in 618 CE after the Sui failed to conquer the kingdom of Goguryeo in Korea. The Tang allowed for decentralization, allowing nobles, gentry, officials, and religious establishments to have their own power. The Tang retained many Sui government practices, but the dynasty and nobility were descended from Turkic elites that built small states after the fall of the Western Jin as well as Chinese officials and settlers from those lands. Under the reign of his son Li Shimin, the Tang reached its territorial peak.
The Tang had several tributary states that paid obeisance at their capital of Chang'an, a dominant cultural hub in Asia. Nestorian Christianity and Judaism even spread to Chang'an, in addition to the foreign religions of Buddhism and Manichaeanism. Many schools of Buddhism flourished in Central Asia and throughout most of China preceding the Tang, and through the prosperous Silk Road allowed for Mahayana Buddhism's continued prosperity in the empire. The Tang exerted a strong cultural influence on nearby states such as Vietnam, Silla Korea and Yamato Japan. Buddhism was also transmitted to these kingdoms, along with Daoism and Confucianism.
In an unprecendented shake with the Confucian establishment, Wu Zetian reigned as China's first and only female emperor. Founding the Wu Zhou dynasty in 690, she seized power and implemented numerous bureaucratic reforms, sponsored Buddhism and public works, curbed the power of the aristocracy and perfected the imperial examination system. The dynasty she built did not last long, collapsing in 705 AD, ending the interregnum and restoring the Tang dynasty.
The dynasty would reach its second zenith during the reign of Li Longji, commonly known as Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. His rule preserved the stability of the empire and abated the intrigue that brewed within the court after the death of Wu Zetian. Yang Guifei, also known as Noble Consort Yang, was his favoured concubine and their love was immortalized in various poems.
In 755, the disastrous An Lushan Rebellion broke out in the Tang dynasty, and it cost the empire millions of losses. It marked the end of the Tang's golden age and began its steady decline. The rebellion was eventually crushed in 763 during the reign of Xuanzong's grandson Emperor Daizong of Tang, but was then succeeded by another. In 874, Huang Chao later rebelled and gained the support of the rebels. Local warlords called the jiedushi (节度使) wiped out the rebels. These jiedushi soon seized power over the decentralized Tang dynasty and divided the empire into several states, each staking a claim on the Mandate of Heaven, ushering in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. After numerous sacks by the foreigners and native rebels, Chang'an was reduced to rubble and the Tang dynasty itself came to an end in 907 CE. The Tang never regained power, and the land was again divided, until the succeeding Song dynasty (960-1279 CE).
Gallery[]
The Tang dynasty as its greatest territorial extent, 663 AD.