THE GOLDEN ERA:The Tang Dynasty

The reams of literature produced during the Tang dynasty has prompted historians to think of it as the Golden Age. The Three Hundred Tang Poems, compiled from over 48,000 poems preserved from this time, pro- vides Chinese conversation with quotable quotes, much as Shakespeare does in English.

Sui Yangdi was succeeded as emperor by his own leading general, Li Yuan, who seized the capital, declared the founding of the Tang dynasty, and within 10 years had eliminated the last rival claimant to the throne. To discourage the development of regional power bases, the empire was subsequently divided into 300 prefectures (zhou) and 1500 counties(xian), establishing a pattern of territorial jurisdiction that persists, with some modifications, to this day.

Li Yuan's achievements were consolidated by his son, the much ad-mired Taizong (626-49). The relationship between Taizong, the able ruler, and his wise minister Wei Zheng (580-645) was regarded as a model one by later Confucianists. On the other hand, Taizong's concu- bine, Wu Zhao, was seen as a good example of what should be avoided in government.

All that Glitters...

Following Taizong's death, Wu (625-705) wielded increasing influence over the court. In 690 she managed to declare a new dynasty, the Zhou, with herself as ruler - the only woman in Chinese history to ever officially hold this position. Wu was regarded as infinitely cruel (some claim she even mur- dered her own son); however, it was under her leadership that the empire reached its greatest extent, spreading well north of the Great Wall and far west into inner Asia. The rich repository of texts and paintings at Dunhuang(p820) in Gansu testifies to the Zhou's intense use of the Silk Road to India, Persia and on to the Mediterranean. During the 7th and 8th centuries major cities, like the capital Chang'an, the Yangzi port of Yangzhou and the coastal port Guangzhou, were crowded with foreign merchants. Wu later moved the capital to the more easily supplied Luoyang.

Wu also replaced many aristocratic officials with scholars chosen through examinations. Her strong promotion of Buddhism, however, alienated her from these Confucian officials and in 705 she was forced to abdicate to Xuan Zong.

The Anti-Midas Touch

Emperor Xuan Zong took the reigns of power and moved the capital back to Chang'an. He re-established permanent armies, appointing minori- ties from the frontiers as generals; he believed they were so far removed from the political system and society that ideas of rebellion and coups would not enter their minds. Nevertheless, it was An Lushan, a general of Sogdian-Turkic parentage, who took advantage of his command in north China to make a bid for imperial power. The fighting, which dragged on for around eight years, overran the capital and caused massive disloca- tions of people and millions of deaths.

Following the failed rebellion, the aristocracy declined and a merce- nary army was hired to support the imperial house. The dynasty grew increasingly dependent on the south, and began to close the door to inner and western Asia. Ideas and beliefs of the past were revived, paving the way for a comeback of Confucianism during the Song dynasty. Bud- dhism, on the other hand, was outlawed by Emperor Wuzong from 842 to 845. Although the ban was later modified, Buddhism never regained the power and prestige in China that it had enjoyed up until that time. Tang power gradually weakened during the 8th and 9th centuries. In the northwest, Tibetan warriors overran Tang garrisons, while to the south the Nanzhao kingdom of Dali, Yunnan, posed a serious threat to Sichuan. Meanwhile, in the Chinese heartland of the Yangzi River region and Zhejiang, heavy taxes and a series of calamities engendered wide-rangingdiscontent that culminated in the Huang Chao rebellion (874-84). This reduced the empire to chaos and resulted in the fall of the capital in 907.