preface
The Tang Dynasty was the most prosperous dynasty in ancient Chinese history, and at that time there was also a grand scene of all nations coming to the dynasty. During the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty not only had strong economic strength and rapid cultural development, but also enjoyed a high reputation in the world, which was really an infinite scenery. However, the development of the universe is regular, the historical law of prosperity and decline, and even the powerful Tang Dynasty was not spared. The development process of the Tang Dynasty is still very simple, because in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, during the Tang Gaozu period, more or less quelled the rebellion, and even in the early years of Tang Taizong, quelling the rebellion was also the main task.
However, with the passage of time, under the correct leadership of Tang Taizong, gradually the Tang Dynasty appeared under the famous zhenguan rule in history, then Wu Zetian ruled, followed by Tang Xuanzong Li Longji's Kaiyuan prosperous era, and then there was the Anshi rebellion. After the Anshi Rebellion, the national strength of the Tang Dynasty was much worse than before, and it gradually declined and perished. There were many reasons for the demise of the Tang Dynasty, such as the division of feudal towns and the rule of eunuchs.
The development of the Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty is a very famous dynasty in ancient Chinese history. During the Tang Dynasty, the national strength was very strong, and it was very famous all over the world at that time, and many foreign scholars came to the Eastern Tang Dynasty to study and learn all aspects of the Tang Dynasty, such as Japan. To this day, many of Japan's cultures can still be seen, all of which bear similarities with those of the Tang Dynasty. However, after the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty gradually declined, and no matter what method was used, it was unable to return to heaven.
1. Early Tang Dynasty
Tang Gaozu Li Yuan, founded the Tang Dynasty. Although Li Yuan, the emperor of Tang Gaozu, did not manage the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, the emergence of the prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty was inseparable from his hard work. All dynasties were difficult in the early days of their establishment, and they were in ruins, and various systems needed to be developed. Li Yuan was even more difficult, because during Li Yuan's reign, he also had to quell the rebellion. In the early Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan did not complete the real unification, and the main work of the early Tang Dynasty was to quell the rebellion, and until the early days of Tang Taizong Li Shimin, it was still a very important task to quell the rebellion.
▲Portrait of Tang Gaozu Li Yuan
2. The rule of chastity
Tang Taizong Li Shimin is a generation of Ming Jun, he is both wise and courageous, able to write and martial, courageous and strategic, Tang Taizong Li Shimin can be described as the most wise monarch of the Tang Dynasty, it is he who opened the tang Dynasty, it is he who created the rule of Zhenguan. During his reign, it took only a few years for him to make the people's lives stable and prosperous, and there was a situation of not closing the house at night, which shows how good the social security at that time was. Tang Taizong had his own unique views on the way of governing the country.
In the end, Li Shimin was a monarch with a very large pattern, he did not accept the suggestions of others because he was an emperor, he humbly accepted the suggestions given to him by his ministers. Moreover, for ethnic minorities, it is also extremely tolerant and does not deliberately suppress them. It can be seen from the good story of Princess Wencheng and Songzan Gampo. Tang Taizong's requirements for officials were very strict, and he severely cracked down on corrupt officials and regularly evaluated them. The military strength of the Tang Taizong period was also very strong, in short, under the correct leadership of Tang Taizong, the Tang Dynasty officially opened the rule of Zhenguan.
▲Portrait of Tang Taizong Li Shimin
3. Kaiyuan prosperous
Before the Kaiyuan dynasty, there were also Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, and after Li Zhi ascended the throne, he still adopted the method of tang Xuanzong Li Shimin's governance, but because of physical reasons, it was inconvenient to handle the government, and Wu Zetian handled it on his behalf. Over time, Wu Zetian ascended the throne as emperor. During the reign of Wu Zetian, the national strength of the Tang Dynasty was still strong, and although Wu Zetian made some wrong decisions, the Tang Dynasty as a whole still moved forward. For example, the imperial examination system, Wu Zetian not only vigorously advocated, but also initially created martial arts. Wu Zetian promulgated the policy of the imperial examination system, which changed the fate of countless children of the cold door, and made great contributions to changing the situation that there is no family in the upper grade and no cold door in the lower grade.
▲Portrait of Li Zhi
The Kaiyuan Prosperous Era was founded by Tang Xuanzong Li Longji. Tang Xuanzong was also a ming emperor of the generation, and he also had his own unique views on the methods of governing the country. He reuses talent and uses it in the right place. Tang Xuanzong Li Longji was very strict in his management of officials, so the military strength at that time was even stronger, he let the ethnic minorities cultivate land on the edge of the army, basically did not collect taxes, but when there was a war, he had to follow the troops to fight. This saves military expenditure, and reserves a large number of military talents for the army, and the ethnic minorities themselves are brave and good at war, and basically do not need training, they can go directly to the battlefield. Therefore, the military strength of the Tang Xuanzong period was very strong, and only then did the Kaiyuan prosperous era appear.
▲ Portrait of Wu Zetian
4. The fall of the Tang Dynasty
Tang Xuanzong Li Longji, with a strong sense of vanity, after he created the Kaiyuan prosperous world, basically immersed in the joy of victory and could not extricate himself. Moreover, in the end, Li Longji was jealous and doubted his own son, but instead believed In an Lushan, he was blinded by An Lushan. At that time, Li Linfu also had a lot of power in the imperial court. Later, the Tang Dynasty also broke out the Anshi Rebellion, and after the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty continued to decline until 907, when Zhu Wen seized power in the Tang Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty collapsed.
▲ Portrait of Tang Xuanzong Li Longji
The cause of the fall of the Tang Dynasty
The rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty was caused by both, and not just one reason, but many others. After the Tang Dynasty experienced the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, because of Li Longji's suspicions in his later years, as well as the Anshi Rebellion, the division of the town and the monopoly of eunuchs, the Tang Dynasty led to the demise of the Tang Dynasty.
1. Li Longji's suspicions
When he was young, Li Longji was a very enlightened monarch and created the Kaiyuan prosperous era, but Li Longji did not know how to continue to work hard, but since then he has indulged in pleasure. And in his old age, he basically doubted even his own son, preferring to believe Li Linfu and An Lushan, especially to An Lushan. Even An Lushan's intention to usurp power was already obvious, and Tang Xuanzong Li Longji still did not suspect him. It was precisely for this reason that the Anshi Rebellion broke out in the Tang Dynasty.
▲ Anlu Mountain image
2. The Anshi Rebellion
The Anshi Rebellion was an important turning point in the fate of the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty continued to decline after the Anshi Rebellion. An Lushan was the main figure in the Anshi Rebellion, and before the Anshi Rebellion, the emperor, in order to enhance his military strength, divided the land among the ethnic minorities where the army was stationed and let them cultivate land there. There is no taxation, farming in years when there is no war, and it also needs to be practiced in peacetime, but it is very simple, because the ethnic minorities themselves are brave and good at war. Unlike regular troops, they do not have direct contact with their commanders, but only have more contact with the people who usually train them, so their feelings are also deeper. And An Lushan happened to be a person who trained ethnic minorities, so after he rebelled, he responded to everything and supported him a lot. Therefore, when the An Shi Rebellion was launched, An Lushan's military strength was already very strong, and the Tang Dynasty's army had almost no combat effectiveness to speak of. Therefore, after the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty's vitality was seriously injured, and no matter what measures were taken, it was no longer able to return to heaven.
▲ Anshi Rebellion Battle Map
3. Eunuch monopoly
The eunuch dictatorship had no chance to appear in the early Tang Dynasty, nor could it have appeared during the reigns of Emperor Taizong and Wu Zetian. The phenomenon of eunuch dictatorship in the Tang Dynasty was still during the period of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and Li Longji. After the Anshi Rebellion, because the national strength of the Tang Dynasty was not as great as before, the eunuch power began to develop truly, and for a time, with the permission of the emperor, he mastered all the major affairs of the country. Especially in the final stage of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor changed quickly, and the eunuchs could even control the matter of establishing the prince, and basically the country was in the hands of the eunuchs. What is even more frightening is that some eunuchs do not want to usurp power, nor do they want to do things for the country, but just want to gain some benefits in the chaos, and no one really thinks about the future of the Tang Dynasty, and in this case, the demise of the Tang Dynasty is almost doomed.
summary
The Tang Dynasty was the most brilliant pearl among all the dynasties in ancient China, and it was famous in the world at that time. But no dynasty can be preserved for a long time, and the historical law of prosperity and decline applies to any dynasty, no matter how prosperous, powerful, and famous it once was. In fact, compared with other dynasties, the entire development process of the Tang Dynasty was still very smooth in the early stage, because by the time of Tang Taizong, all aspects of the Tang Dynasty had developed well, and the rudiments of the Tang Dynasty had basically emerged. After the development of Wu Zetian, when it came to Li Longji, Emperor Taizong of Tang, he basically reached the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and the Kaiyuan prosperous era appeared.
When all the nations came to the dynasty, the scene was once lively and extraordinary. As the saying goes: everything has two sides. After Tang Xuanzong Li Longji created the Kaiyuan dynasty, he swelled, indulged in pleasure, and immersed himself in the great achievements he had built. In the later period, he was very suspicious, directly doubting his own son, but instead believing the outsiders of An Lushan and Li Linfu, and finally broke out the An Shi Rebellion. The Anshi Rebellion became the last straw that crushed the camel, and since then, the Tang Dynasty has basically been in a state of survival. In the final stage, eunuchs held great power in the country, and even the abolition of the crown prince would be involved. Therefore, various reasons were combined to lead to the demise of the Tang Dynasty.
Bibliography:
New Book of Tang
Zizhi Tongjian
Old Book of Tang
History of the Five Dynasties of Sui and Tang Dynasties