Tang dynasty

For other uses, see Tang dynasty (disambiguation).

The Tang dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Historians generally regard the Tang as a high point of Chinese civilisation and a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Its land, gained through the military campaigns of its early rulers, was larger than that of the Han dynasty.

The Li family founded the dynasty after taking advantage of a period of Sui decline and bringing about the Sui's final collapse. This began a time of progress and stability in the first half of the Tang's rule. From 690 to 705, the dynasty was formally interrupted when Empress Wu Zetian took the throne, proclaimed the Wu Zhou dynasty, and became the only legitimate Chinese female emperor. The An Lushan rebellion (755–763) brought devastation and the decline of central authority in the latter half of the dynasty. The Tang kept a civil-service system by recruiting scholar-officials through standardised examinations and recommendations to office. During the 9th century, regional military governors known as jiedushi rose to power and undermined civil order. By the latter half of the 9th century, the dynasty and central government had declined. Agrarian rebellions caused mass population loss and displacement, widespread poverty, and further government dysfunction that ultimately ended the dynasty in 907.

The Tang capital at Chang'an (present-day Xi'an) was the world's most populous city for much of the dynasty's existence. Two censuses from the 7th and 8th centuries estimated the empire's population at about 50 million people, which grew to an estimated 80 million by the dynasty's end. The dynasty raised professional and conscripted armies of hundreds of thousands of troops to contend with nomadic powers for control of Inner Asia and the valuable trade routes along the Silk Road. Far-flung kingdoms and states paid tribute to the Tang court, and the Tang also indirectly controlled several regions through a protectorate system. In addition to its political hegemony, the Tang had a powerful cultural influence on neighbouring East Asian nations such as Japan and Korea.

Chinese culture flourished and matured further during the Tang era. It is traditionally considered the greatest age of Chinese poetry. Two of China's most famous poets, Li Bai and Du Fu, belonged to this age. Together with poets such as Wang Wei, they contributed to the monumental Three Hundred Tang Poems. Many famous painters, including Han Gan, Zhang Xuan, and Zhou Fang, were active, and Chinese court music flourished with instruments such as the popular pipa. Tang scholars compiled a rich variety of historical literature, as well as encyclopaedias and geographical works. Notable innovations included the development of woodblock printing. Buddhism became a major influence in Chinese culture, and native Chinese sects gained prominence. However, in the 840s, Emperor Wuzong enacted policies to suppress Buddhism, which then declined in influence.

History

Further information: Timeline of the Tang dynasty

Further information: Transition from Sui to Tang and Emperor Taizong of Tang

Main article: Wu Zhou

Further information: Emperor Xuanzong of Tang

Main article: An Lushan rebellion

The Tang dynasty was founded in 618 by Emperor Gaozu (born Li Yuan) as the Sui dynasty was collapsing. In 626, his son Li Shimin forced him from the throne and became Emperor Taizong, a capable leader who won major victories over the Eastern Turks. In 690, Wu Zetian, who had entered the court as a lowly consort, took the highest power and founded the short-lived Wu Zhou. The Tang was restored in 705. Later, Emperor Xuanzong ruled for 44 years, a period seen as a golden age of prosperity. However, the An Lushan rebellion (755–763) badly weakened the dynasty, and regional military governors grew more independent from the central government. Later, a rebellion led by Huang Chao devastated much of China, and the Tang never fully recovered from it.

In 907, Zhu Wen ended the Tang dynasty and took the throne for himself. This began the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Over the following decades, China was divided among many rival states until most of it was reunified under the Song dynasty in 960.

Administration and politics

See also: Administrative divisions of the Tang dynasty

Emperor Taizong tried to fix problems inside the government that had troubled earlier dynasties. Building on the Sui legal code, he issued a new legal code that later Chinese dynasties copied, as did nearby lands such as Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. Punishments depended on a person's place in society, so the same crime could be punished differently. The Ming dynasty (1368–1644) kept much of this code, though it was later changed, including improved property rights for women during the Song dynasty (960–1279). The Tang government ran through the Three Departments and Six Ministries, a system that lasted until the fall of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912). Its administration was similar to that of the earlier Northern and Southern dynasties, including the fubing system of the Northern Zhou and the equal-field system of the Northern Wei. The capital Chang'an (today Xi'an) was the centre of Tang power, where the emperor entertained visitors with music, sports, poetry, and dramatic theatre performances. When prefectural officials came to the capital in 643 and had no proper places to stay, Emperor Taizong ordered that each be given a private mansion.

Students of Confucian studies could take the imperial examinations, which qualified graduates for government jobs. Main article: Imperial examination

Further information: Imperial examination in Chinese mythology

The exams tested knowledge of the Confucian classics, along with writing skills, poetry, calligraphy, and rhetoric. Wealthy students had an advantage, but the exams were open to all men whose fathers were not of the artisan or merchant classes. The government also set up state schools and issued standard copies of the Five Classics. The system helped keep the emperor from relying on powerful warlords and aristocratic families, since equal division of inherited property stopped families from becoming landed nobility through primogeniture. By the late seventh century, the jinshi degree had become the main route to high office, and scholar-officials served as links between the people and the government until 1912. Religion also played a part in politics. Li Yuan had gained support by claiming descent from the Taoist sage Laozi*. Emperor Xuanzong honoured Taoism and Buddhism, and in 726 he asked the Indian monk Vajrabodhi to perform tantric rites during a drought. In 713 he closed the Inexhaustible Treasury of a Buddhist monastery in Chang'an and condemned its banking practices. The government tried to count the population for taxes and soldiers. In 609 about 50 million people were counted, and that number did not rise in 742. Patricia Ebrey writes that China's population had barely grown since the Han dynasty, while Adshead estimated about 75 million by 750. In 754 there were 1,859 cities, 321 prefectures, and 1,538 counties, and rural areas held 80–90% of people. Many people also moved from northern to southern China during the Tang.

Military and foreign policy

Main articles: Military history of the Tang dynasty, Naval history of China, and Jimi system

Further information: Imperial Guards (Tang dynasty)

The 7th and first half of the 8th century are generally seen as the time when the Tang was at its strongest. Tang control reached further west than any earlier dynasty. Kingdoms such as Kashmir, Nepal, Khotan, Kucha, Kashgar, Silla, and Champa paid tribute to the Tang. After a Göktürk revolt was defeated in 657 by Su Dingfang, Emperor Gaozong set up protectorates that extended Chinese sphere of influence as far as Herat. Later, jiedushi officials gained great power, including their own armies, tax collection, and the ability to pass on their titles. This is widely seen as the beginning of the fall of the central government. By 737, Emperor Xuanzong replaced conscripted soldiers with long-service soldiers, who were more experienced and more efficient. By 742, the Tang armies had about 500,000 soldiers.

In East Asia, Tang campaigns against the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo mostly failed, but the Tang later allied with Silla. Their forces won the Battle of Baekgang in 663, and Goguryeo was destroyed by 668. The Tang then controlled northern Korea until Silla drove Tang forces out by 676. Relations with Japan stayed friendly, and Japanese imperial embassies to China continued until 894. In the west and north, the Tang and their Turkic allies conquered much of Central Asia in the 640s and 650s. The Tang also competed with the Tibetan Empire for control of land in Inner and Central Asia, and conflicts continued for many years. However, the Tang suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Talas in 751, which ended Tang westward expansion.

Economy

Through land routes along the Silk Road and sea routes, the Tang gained many new technologies, cultural practices, luxury goods, and everyday items. They learned new ideas in fashion, new kinds of ceramics, and better silversmithing. Foreign songs, dances, and instruments became popular, including oboes, flutes, and drums from Kucha in the Tarim Basin, and cymbals from India. Travellers such as Xuanzang visited India and brought back Sanskrit texts to be translated into Chinese. Inside China, the Grand Canal helped move goods, and the state ran about 32,100 km (19,900 mi) of postal service routes by horse or boat.

Trade along the Silk Road was opened, closed, and reopened several times during the Tang period, and it was often shaped by wars and control of key areas. Foreign merchants lived in many Chinese cities, and Chinese ships sailed as far as the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and East Africa. Chinese goods such as silks and porcelain were in high demand in the Middle East, and Chinese traders also sent goods to Japan and other East Asian places. Trade did not always run smoothly. In 758, pirates attacked and burned the port of Canton, and the government closed it for about five decades. Later, an attack in Guangzhou in 878 ended the presence of many foreign merchants there. Even so, Chinese ships were large and active, and the Tang traded widely across Asia and Africa.

Culture and society

Main article: Chang'an

Main articles: Chinese literature and Tang poetry

Main articles: Religion in China and Chinese philosophy

Main article: Women in ancient and imperial China § Tang dynasty

The Sui and Tang dynasties turned away from the more feudal culture of the earlier Northern Dynasties and supported Confucianism. Government officials were chosen through civil service examinations or recommendations. Taoism and Buddhism played a large role in people's daily lives. The Tang Chinese enjoyed feasting, drinking, holidays, sports, and entertainment. Chinese literature blossomed and became more widely available with new printing methods. Chang'an was the capital and was very cosmopolitan, with people from many lands living there. Although it was the center of government, the city of Yangzhou was the greatest economic center of the Tang.

The Tang dynasty was a golden age of Chinese literature and art. Over 48,900 poems from the Tang have survived, written by more than 2,200 authors. Li Bai was famous for one poetry style, and Du Fu is highly respected among Tang poets. Buddhism became the dominant belief during the prosperous Tang, but its status began to decline in the late 8th and 9th centuries. Tea also became popular and was linked to everything sophisticated in society. Women of the urban elite had more social freedom than women in the countryside, where families worked hard at their own tasks.

Main article: Science and technology of the Tang dynasty

Further information: History of science and technology in China, List of Chinese inventions, and List of Chinese discoveries

Tang inventors built on earlier ideas, such as the mechanical gear systems of Zhang Heng (78–139) and Ma Jun (fl. 3rd century). In 725, the Tang mathematician, mechanical engineer, astronomer, and monk Yi Xing (683–727) invented the world's first clockwork escapement mechanism. It worked with a water clock and waterwheel to turn an armillary sphere, and his device also struck a bell every hour and a drum every quarter-hour, making it a striking clock. Students had to write an essay on Yi Xing's astronomical clock to pass the imperial examinations by 730. The most common timekeeping device was the inflow clepsydra, which Sui engineers Geng Xun and Yuwen Kai improved around 610 with a steelyard balance that adjusted the pressure head for seasonal changes in day length. Other inventions included an early 8th-century wine server shaped like an artificial mountain, with dragon-headed faucets on a lacquered-wooden tortoise frame. Mechanical puppets were not new, since they date to the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC), and automatons were also used in the Tang. Government building codes were set out in the early Tang code Yingshan Ling. The Song dynasty manual Yingzao Fashi by Li Jie (1065–1101), written in 1103, is the oldest existing technical treatise on Chinese architecture that survives in full.

Main articles: Woodblock printing, Playing cards, and Chinese playing cards

Woodblock printing made the written word available to far greater audiences. One of the world's oldest surviving printed documents is a miniature Buddhist dharani sutra, found at Xi'an in 1974 and dated roughly from 650 to 670. The Diamond Sutra is the first full-length book printed at regular size, dated to 868. Although Bi Sheng's movable type in the 11th century was innovative, woodblock printing remained the dominant method of printing in China until the printing press from Europe became widely used in East Asia. The first use of the playing card during the Tang was part of this new age of printing. In cartography, Pei Ju (547–627) made a well-known gridded map with a graduated scale in 605, in the tradition of Pei Xiu (224–271). Jia Dan (730–805) completed a map of China and her former colonies in Central Asia for Emperor Dezong, finished in 801. The only Tang-era maps that have survived are star charts, although the earliest extant terrain maps of China come from the earlier state of Qin. The Tang also classified medicines used in pharmacology. In 657, Emperor Gaozong of Tang commissioned an official materia medica with drawings for 833 substances, and Sun Simiao (581–682) was the first to recognise that diabetic patients should avoid alcohol and starchy foods. Tang scientists also made waterproof varnish and other formulas through alchemy, and porcelain was invented in China during the Tang. People had long drilled boreholes to carry natural gas through bamboo pipelines to boil brine in cast iron pans, and a gazetteer of Sichuan described men carrying gas in bamboo tubes, essentially the first gas cylinders. For cooling, Ding Huan (fl. 180) of the Han invented a rotary fan, and in 747, Emperor Xuanzong had a "Cool Hall" built, which Tang Yulin described as having water-powered fan wheels.

Historiography

See also: Chinese historiography

The first classic history of the Tang is the Old Book of Tang, written by Liu Xu and others of the Later Jin. Later, Song historians Ouyang Xiu, Song Qi, and others edited it into another history, called the New Book of Tang. Both were based on earlier records that are now lost. Both books are also counted among China's Twenty-Four Histories.

One of the surviving sources of the Old Book of Tang, which mainly covers events up to 756, is the Tongdian. Du You presented it to the emperor in 801. The Tang period was also included in the huge 294-volume universal history called the Zizhi Tongjian. A team of scholars under the Song dynasty Chancellor Sima Guang finished it in 1084. This book covered Chinese history from the start of the Warring States in 403 BC until the start of the Song dynasty in 960.