Tang Dynasty: history, time of government, culture

The Chinese Tang Dynasty was founded by Li Yuan. It lasted from June 18, 618 to June 4, 907. The reign of the Tang dynasty is considered to be the era of the highest power of the state. During this period, it significantly outstripped the development of other modern countries.

History of the Tang Dynasty

Li Yuan was considered a large landowner. He was a native of the northern border area, in which the nationality of the Tabgach lived. These were the descendants of the steppe-toba. Li Yuan and his son Li Shimin (second emperor of the Tang Dynasty) won the civil war. It was unleashed due to the reckless policy of Yang Di. After the death of this emperor, Li Yuan ascended in 618 to the throne in Chang'an. After a while he was overthrown by his son. However, the Tang dynasty, founded by him, existed up to 907 g. In 690-705 gg. There was, however, a short break. During this period, the throne was occupied by the Chinese empress of the Tang Zetian dynasty. However, its era stands out in a separate royal branch of Zhou.

Ideology

The reign of the Tang dynasty was carried out by combining two principles. Its founder was well acquainted with the peoples of the Great Steppe, their customs and customs. And many people close to Li Yuan were like that. At the first stages of the dynasty's existence, there was an active cultural exchange between the regions. Steppe gave an advanced army, consisting of heavy cavalry. Nomads also attracted the ancient and refined culture of the Tang Dynasty. For them, Li Yuan was a khan of the peasants' peer group. This perception, in particular, is fixed in the epitaph of Kül-Teguin (the Turkic ruler), who speaks of himself and his subjects as slaves, vassals of the Tabgach kagan, and not about the Chinese people.

Departure from traditions

The idea of the unification of the Steppe and China under the rule of one emperor over the centuries determined the country's foreign and domestic policies. However, later the tobacco branch became perceived as something alien. This was mainly due to the large numerical predominance of ethnic Chinese. The policy of the authorities towards the nomadic "barbarians" began to be regarded as unacceptable. As Gumilev wrote, it was this consistent desire to unite the incongruous that led to a rapid flowering, and then to a precipitous fall of the state.

Economy and Culture

In the state, order and peace reigned. This allowed us to concentrate all the forces of the population for the benefit of the country. In China, agriculture flourished, trade and craft were well developed. Weaving technology has achieved new successes, the dyeing business, pottery, shipbuilding, and metallurgy have been perfected. Throughout the country there were land and waterways. The Tang Dynasty established close ties with Japan, India, Persia, Arabia, Korea and other states. Techniques and science began to develop. In 725, the masters Liang Linzan and Yi Xing first created a mechanical watch, equipped with an anchor mechanism. Powder weapons began to spread. At first it was a device for fireworks, "fire kites," missiles in the fleet. Subsequently, real guns were made, adapted for firing shells. Tea spread throughout China. To the drink a special attitude was formed. The country began to develop tea art. Earlier, tea was considered a medicine and a food product. The Tang Dynasty gave the drink a special meaning. In classical literature, the names of the great masters of the tea ceremony-Lu Yu and Lu Tong-were immortalized.

Decline

In the 8th century, several uprisings took place, and military defeats also took place. The Tang Dynasty began to weaken. By the 40-ies. The Horasan Arabs established themselves in Sogdiana and the Fergana Valley. In 751 the Talas battle was held. In the course of it, the mercenary detachments of China's troops withdrew from the battlefield. Commander Gao Xianzhi was forced to retreat. Soon An Lushan's rebellion began. In 756-761 years. It destroyed everything that the Tang dynasty had created for many years. An Lushan formed its state of Yan. It existed from 756 to 763 years. And occupied the capitals of Luoyang and Chang'an, spreading over a considerable territory. Four emperors were replaced in Yan. The suppression of the insurrection was rather difficult, despite the support of the Uighurs. The Tang Dynasty was so weakened that it was never able to achieve its former greatness. She lost control over the territory of Central Asia. In this region, the influence of the dynasty ceased until the unification of the two countries by the Mongols.

Provincial governors

The Tang government relied on them and their troops on the suppression of armed resistance on the ground. The authorities, in turn, recognized their right to keep the army, collect taxes and transfer their titles by inheritance. However, the influence of provincial governors gradually began to grow. Over time, they began to compete with the central government. The prestige of the government began to fall precipitously in the provinces. As a result, a large number of river pirates and gangsters came together, merged into numerous groups. They attacked with impunity the settlements located along the banks of the Yangtze.

Flood

It happened in 858. The flood of the Great Canal claimed tens of thousands of lives. As a result, the people's faith in the God-chosen character of the aging dynasty was shaken. The idea spread that the central government was angry with the heavens and lost its right to the throne. In 873 there was a catastrophic crop failure in the country. In a number of districts, people hardly managed to collect half the usual volume. On the verge of death from hunger were tens of thousands. At the initial period of the Tang dynasty, Tang could prevent the disastrous effects of crop failure due to significant grain accumulation. By the 9th century, power was unable to save its people.

Additional factor

The decay of the Tang dynasty was also conditioned by the force at the court of the eunuchs. An advisory body was formed from them. By the 9th century the eunuchs had sufficient power to influence political decisions, to have access to the treasury. Presumably, they could even kill emperors. In the years 783-784. There was an uprising of Zhu Tzu. After him under the command of the eunuchs were the troops of Shentze. Against them, Wen-Zong began actively to speak after the murder of his elder brother in 817. However, his campaign did not succeed.

Censuses

The rulers of the Tang dynasty always tried to know exactly the number of their subjects. This was necessary for military and tax accounting. In the early years of the reign, an easy collection of cloth and grain from each family was established. According to the census from 609 the country had 9 million households (50 million people). The next time the recount was in 742 According to the testimony of contemporaries, even if some people did not participate in the census, the country was inhabited by more people than the Han Empire. According to data for the second time, 58 million people were registered. In 754 the empire had 1,859 cities, 1,538 districts, 321 prefectures. The bulk of the population - 80-90% - lived in rural areas. There was a migration of people from the northern regions to the southern ones. This is evidenced by the statistics. In the northern part, in the early years of the dynasty lived 75%, and by the last years only 50%. The population did not grow very much until the beginning of the Song era. Since this period, rice production has been actively growing in South and Central China. When processing fields, the developed irrigation systems began to be used . Thanks to the rapid development of the economy, the population of the state will increase at least twice.

The last years of the reign

As was said above, at the last stage of the dynasty's rule, the influence of the provincial governors increased significantly. They began to act almost like independent, independent rulers. The administration of the imperial court was very widespread corruption. The very central government was too incompetent to eradicate it. In addition, the unfavorable climatic conditions had a negative impact on the position of the dynastic kind. Everywhere the drought began, which led first to a crop failure, and then to hunger. All this led to popular unrest, which eventually resulted in large-scale insurrections. Finally, the reign of the Tang Dynasty was interrupted by a movement led by Huang Chao, and then his followers. Within the ruling class, various groups began to form, which entered into constant conflicts with each other. The rebels captured and then plundered both the capital of the state - Luoyang and Chang'an. To suppress the uprising of the central government took more than 10 years. Despite the fact that the disturbances were stopped, the Tang dynasty could no longer bring the state to its former prosperous state. Zhu Wen, who in the past was the leader of the peasant rebels, committed a coup in the country. He overthrew the last emperor Liu Zhu in 907. Zhu Wen, who participated in the long last uprising, betrayed Huang Chao. First he went over to the side of the Tang dynasty. However, later, when he approached the court, he overthrew the last tsar. He created a new dynasty and took the temple name of Taizu. His coup d'etat marked the beginning of a new period in the history of the country. From 907 to 960 years. There was an era of the Ten Kingdoms and the Five Dynasties.

Conclusion

The Tang Dynasty lasted long enough. Her reign, however, was successful only in the first part before the break of 690-705. In general, the government was not literate enough. The emperors, with the exception of the first, gave too much power to the subjects. This caused a relatively rapid loss of control over the people and the state as a whole.