Text/Bian Runzi
Jingling is the mausoleum of Emperor Li Ofe of the Tang Dynasty, located in Nanling Village, Tiefo Commune, 4.5 kilometers northeast of Qianxian County, piling up soil for the mausoleum, due to the decline of the Tang Dynasty's national strength and financial constraints, Jingling appears to be very simple and sloppy. Due to the intrusion of tomb robbers, Jingling became the only Tang Dynasty imperial tomb excavated. Only stone lions, Huabiao, and battle horses remain in the Jingling stone carvings, and murals, stone tablets, stone letters, dragon and phoenix jade bi, jade pendants, jade fragments of mourning books, gilded copper locks, gilded gemstones and copper flowers have been found in the underground palace.
I. The Late Tang Dynasty People's Rebellion The Yellow Nest Uprising
Emperor Li of Tang Dynasty
Li Yan (李儇), the fifth son of Emperor Yizong of Tang, was the mother of Empress Hui'an (王氏). Born in 862 in Daming Palace, his original name was Li Yu. In 865, he was enfeoffed as the King of Pu, and in 870 he was envoyed by Wei Bojie. Born in the deep palace, Li Yu grew up in the company of eunuchs, loved fun since childhood, liked cockfighting, goose fighting, very obsessed with playing polo, and very skilled. On the death of Emperor Yizong of Tang, the eunuch Tian Lingzi and others supported him as crown prince and changed his name to Li Yan. In 873, Li Yan ascended the throne as Emperor Xianzong of Tang at the age of 12.
Tang Yizong Li Yi
During emperor Wuzong's reign, due to his lack of necessary administrative ability and his own indulgence in pleasure, he entrusted all political affairs to the eunuch Tian Lingzi and others, and he called Tian Lingzi "Father" and appointed him as a lieutenant in the left army. Emperor Xuanzong was very obsessed with playing polo, and once said to the Youlingshi wild boar next to him: "If you take the batting entrance examination, you should be a middle rank." Shi Wild Boar said, "If Yao Shun were to be the chief examiner of the Ceremonial Department, I am afraid that His Majesty would be reprimanded and defeated." Emperor Xianzong didn't care when he heard it. Once, Emperor Xuanzong summoned the divine generals Chen Jingxuan, Yang Shili, Niu Xun and Luo Yuangao to hold a polo match, and the prize was the position of three important festival envoys in the Central Sichuan region. Emperor Tang ruled that whoever scored the first goal could go to the richest Xichuan to be a festival envoy, and others could only be the envoy of Shannan's Western Province and the envoy of Dongchuan Festival, which is known in history as "batting and betting on Sanchuan", which shows its absurdity and fainting.
During the reign of Emperor Xianzong, land annexation, heavy enlistment, people's livelihood, and intensification of social contradictions, coupled with the emergence of floods in Kwantung and Henan, drought and famine in Guanzhong, the people finally rose up, and the peasant revolt at the end of the Tang Dynasty broke out. Soon after Emperor Xuanzong ascended the throne, in 874 Wang Xianzhi of Puzhou rebelled, in 875 Huang Chao led a peasant revolt, and then the two armies merged, and there was no difference for a while. When Emperor Tang learned of this, he sent Song Wei and others to suppress the uprising. In the Battle of Huangmei in 878, Wang Xianzhi was defeated and killed, so Huang Chao called himself "Yellow King" and carried out the Southern Expedition and the Northern Expedition.
Huang Chao invaded Chang'an
In 880, Huang Chao conquered Luoyang, and soon captured Tongguan, with his troops pointing directly at Chang'an. Tian Lingzi led five hundred divine strategists to flee from the Jinguang Gate in Chang'an, fled to Sichuan, and summoned Li Keyong, a member of the Shatuo tribe, to help. After Huang Chao captured Chang'an, he declared himself emperor in the Daming Palace, established the "Great Qi" regime, and changed the Yuanjin system. Later, Huang Chao was defeated by Li Keyong in Tianpi and withdrew from Guanzhong. In 882, Zhu Wen was attached to the Tang army, and because of his merits in the Pinghuangchao Rebellion, he gave the name Zhu Quanzhong.
Yellow Nest Uprising
In 884, Huang Chaozhan died in the Wolf tiger valley at the age of sixty-five. In 885, Emperor Tang returned to Chang'an. The Huangchao Uprising was the peasant uprising in the late Tang Dynasty, which lasted the longest, had the greatest scope and the most far-reaching impact. Due to the long-term mobile operation, the Huangchao rebel army did not have a stable rear, lacked economic support and mass base, so it was difficult to last, so that the uprising finally failed. However, the Huangchao Rebellion spread to nearly half of the Tang Dynasty, sounding the death knell for the demise of the Tang Dynasty.
2. Exiled from Gyeonggi and returned to Beijing and died
In the late Tang Dynasty, the feudal towns were divided
At this time, the situation of the division of the town had reached an unparalleled degree, and Li Changfu, Wang Chongrong, Zhuge Shuang, Meng Fangli, Li Keyong, Zhu Wen, Shi Puzhao, Zhu Xuan, Wang Jingwu, Gao Biao, Qin Yan, Qian Biao, and others formed one after another to divide the forces, fighting each other and attacking each other, and the imperial court could not stop it, and the Tang Dynasty central government could only actually control Hexi, Shannan, Jiannan, Lingnan, and other places. Soon after Emperor Xianzong returned to Chang'an, new upheavals resurfaced. Tian Lingzi and Hezhong Jiedu made Wang Chongrong enemies, Tian Lingzi joined forces with Zhu Mei and Li Changfu to attack Wang Chongrong, Wang Chongrong and Taiyuan Li Ke jointly defeated Zhu Mei and Li Changfu, and advanced to Chang'an, and Tian Lingzi had to flee to Fengxiang with Emperor Wuzong again.
Because Tian Lingzi fled with Emperor Yuanzong, Zhu Mei's plan to hijack Emperor Xianzong failed, so he took Li Xian, the King of Xiang, to Chang'an to become a puppet emperor, changing the yuan to "Jianzhen", emperor Huanzong was revered as "Emperor Shengdi of Taishang Yuan" In 886, Emperor Huanzong won Wang Chongrong, Li Keyong, and Zhu Mei's general Wang Xingyu to oppose Zhu Mei, and Zhu Mei was finally killed by Wang Xingyu, and the army plundered the city. Some officials fled, and Wang Chongrong pretended to be fengfeng, captured and killed Li Xi, and sent his head to Emperor Xianzong's place. The incident led to the killing of many officials, and Tian Lingzi was also reprimanded.
Rei-Yō-ho
In 887, as soon as the troops returning to Beijing arrived in Fengxiang, Li Changfu forcibly stranded on the pretext of waiting for the completion of the repair of the Chang'an Palace, and the Tianwei army and Li Changfu had a firefight, Li Changfu attacked Emperor Xuanzong's palace, fled longzhou in defeat, and Emperor Xuanzong ordered Li Maozhen to pursue, and finally Li Changfu was killed. In 888, Emperor Xianzong returned to Chang'an and held a general amnesty, but due to many wars and chaos, he was physically and mentally exhausted, and had a mental breakdown, and finally died at the Wude Hall of Chang'an at the age of 27.
3. Emperor Jingling of the Tang Dynasty
Emperor Jingling of the Tang Dynasty
After his death, Emperor Tang was buried in Jingling, located in Nanling Village, Tiefo Commune, 4.5 kilometers northeast of Qianxian County, at an altitude of 806 meters, built during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang, presided over the construction, and Emperor Xianzong's dying edict said: "About the splendid gold and silver ornaments, the prohibition of luxurious carvings, are all examples of empty texts, and contrary to the will of the forefathers." If the people are displaced today, the virus is sad, the people are empty, the donation of the country is useless, the plan of the past cannot be heeded, the life of this day is trapped, and the emperor is seen under the cheeky face. It is advisable to consult between China and foreign countries in relation to mountainous matters, and it is necessary to reduce six or seven per thing than everything from now on. The coffin of the earthenware, the admiration of the fallen, the situation is this morning, not the night. "Due to the decline of national strength and financial constraints, Jingling appears to be very simple and sloppy.
Jingling archaeological excavation site
Jingling is formed of soil, sealing area for 40 miles, the mausoleum platform is covered with bucket shape, the bottom side is 40 meters long, the top side is 8 meters long, the sealing soil is 8.6 meters high, and the cemetery side is 480 meters long, which is very small. In 1994, the tomb robbers of Jingling used explosives to blast out a 16-meter-deep robbery hole, and Jingling was looted. After the Jingling tomb was stolen, the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute rescued it, making the Jingling the only Tang Dynasty imperial tomb excavated. The jingling stone carvings were originally the same as those of Fengling, but most of them have been destroyed, and only stone lions, Huabiao, and war horses remain.
Jingling murals
The Jingling Underground Palace is composed of three parts: the tomb passage, the Yongdao and the burial chamber, with a total length of 44.18 meters, which is lower than the specifications of ordinary funerary tombs in the Tang Tombs. The Jingling Tomb Road is 35.6 meters long and about 2.5 meters wide, painted with murals on both sides, the burial chamber is a dome roof, the bottom is 4.5 meters long and 5.8 meters wide, there are six niches, painted with zodiac patterns. The Jingling coffin bed is 4.4 meters long and 3.1 meters wide, and is made of the tombstones of Yang Zaisi and Dou Lu Qinwang, the mourners of Qianling. The interior of the Jingling Tomb has also unearthed stone stele, stone letters, dragon and phoenix jade bi, jade pendants, jade fragments of the Book of Sorrows, gilded copper locks, gilded gemstones and copper flowers. Regardless of the specifications or protection, the Jingling Tombs have long been unable to speak the same day as the previous imperial tombs and funerary tombs.
Fourth, warlord melee Zhu Wen usurped Tang
Tang Zhaozong Li Ye
After Emperor Xuanzong's death, the eunuch Yang Fugong (杨復恭) made Li Jie the emperor's brother-in-law, first changing his name to Li Min and then to Li Ye ( Li Ye ) , and took the throne in 888 as Emperor Zhaozong of Tang. After Emperor Zhaozong ascended the throne, the Tang Dynasty was gradually falling apart, in order to enhance the central strength and strengthen the armament, in 890 recruited 100,000 troops, Zhaozong declared that Xichuan Jiedu made Chen Jingxuan, Hedong Jiedu made Li Keyong rebel and rebelled, Yongping Army Jiedu made Wang Jian defeat Chen Jingxuan, xichuan was defeated by Li Keyong, in 891, Zhaozong ordered the arrest of Yang Fugong, Yang Fugong defected to Shannan's Western Province after the resistance failed to make Yang Shouliang.
The end floor of the tomb of Li Maozhen and his wife
In 893, after Fengxiang Jiedu had Li Maozhen defeat Yang Shouliang, he went to Zhaozong and asked him to be the envoy of Shannan's Western Province, but Zhaozong appointed Li Maozhen as the envoy of Shannan's Western Province and the envoy of Wudingjun, and Xu Yanruo, the chancellor of Zhongshu Shilang, was the envoy of Fengxiang's festival, hoping to reclaim some territory. Li Maozhen was very disappointed, so he and his allies Jing Nanjie sent Wang Xingyu to send troops to meet the forbidden army, and the troops came to Chang'an, and Zhaozong was forced to agree to Li Maozhen to also lead Fengxiang and Shannanxi Province.
Li Ke used
Later, Emperor Zhaozong put eleven princes and heirs in charge of the army, which made Li Maozhen even more suspicious, so Li Maozhen took the lead in the rebellion and sent troops to Chang'an. Emperor Zhaozong fled and wanted to turn to Li Keyong for help, but Li Keyong was unable to help. Zhenguo Jiedu made Han Jian want assistance, but Emperor Zhaozong refused, but was forcibly controlled by Han Jian, preventing the imperial court from confronting Li Maozhen, forcing Zhaozong to disband the kings' armies and kill the eleven kings. In 898, Emperor Zhaozong made peace with Li Maozhen, and Xuanwu junjie sent Zhu Wen to persuade Emperor Zhaozong to move the capital to Luoyang, and Han Jian and Li Maozhen, worried that King Zhu Wenqin would save him, repaired the Palace of Chang'an and welcomed Emperor Zhaozong back to Chang'an, at this time only the Divine Strategy Army could control Emperor Zhaozong.D.
Han Jian in National Treasure
In 900, Liu Jishu held the crown prince Li Yu hostage and forced Emperor Zhaozong to give the throne to Li Yu. Liu Jishu welcomed Li Yu as emperor, changed his name to Li Zhen, and honored Emperor Zhaozong as Emperor Taishang. The chancellor Cui Yin asked Zhu Wen to lead an army to serve the king, so Emperor Zhaozong restored Li Yu, stripped him of the crown prince's throne, and restored him to the throne of De. At this time, Zhu Wen not only helped Zhaozong to restore, killed all the eunuchs in the palace more than 5,000 people, eliminated the eunuch forces, and also defeated Li Maozhen and became the largest feudal town. In order to gain power, Zhu Wen executed Li Yu and Cui Yin in the name of Zhaozong.
Zhu Wen
In 904, Zhu Wen, despite the opposition of his courtiers, demanded that the capital be moved to Luoyi, causing the residents of Chang'an to move according to their household registration, and the timber after the houses were demolished was thrown in the Wei River, and the city of Chang'an was crying. Zhaozong was helpless, and when the car drove to Huazhou, the people shouted long live, and Zhaozong cried, "Don't call long live, you will no longer be the lord of Ru!" After arriving at Luoyi, Zhu Wen took over the power and executed Li Yu and Zhaozong. In 904, Zhu Wen sent people to kill Tang Zhaozong and bury Zhaozong and Heling. Emperor Zhaozong's ninth son, Li Tao (李柷), ascended the throne as Emperor Ai of Tang. In 907, Zhu Wen forced Emperor Wu to move the capital to Daliang, and soon Tang established himself and established the Later Liang regime, and the 289-year history of the Tang Dynasty ended.
5. The Tang Empire and the Eighteen Tombs of the Tang Dynasty
Lineage chart of Tang Emperors
In the Tang Dynasty, the Guozuo calendar lasted for 289 years. In 617, Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang, raised an army at Jinyang and established the Tang Empire in 618. Li Shimin, the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, unified the whole country and created the rule of Zhenguan, known as the "Heavenly Khan". Emperor Gaozong of Tang inherited the legacy of Zhenguan and created the rule of Yonghui. In 690, Wu Zetian changed the name of the country to Zhou, continuing to develop and expand his influence. In 705, Li Tang restored the kingdom, and after the transition between Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong, Tang Xuanzong Li Longji created the Kaiyuan dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty entered a period of great prosperity. During the early Tang Dynasty and the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty had a vast territory, and the economy, society, culture and art showed the characteristics of pluralism and openness, and was called the splendid "world empire".
The territory of the Tang Dynasty in the 29th year of the new century
In 755, the Anshi Rebellion broke out, the Tang Dynasty turned from prosperity to decline, the national strength plummeted, there was a situation of eunuch dictatorship and cattle and Li party struggle within the central government, there were many local feudal towns, the central power declined, Chang'an was once occupied by Tubo, and the emperor was forced to flee many times, which was sad and lamentable. But at the same time, there was no shortage of masters who wanted to reverse the situation, Suzong and Daizong were committed to quelling the anshi rebellion; Emperor Dezong promulgated two tax laws and launched a war to cut the domain; Shunzong tried yongzhen to innovate and hoped to change the current situation; Xianzong sanctioned the town of Fanzhen and created Yuan and Zhongxing; Emperor Wenzong launched the change of Ganlu and hoped to clean up the eunuch dictatorship; Emperor Wuzong cut down the eunuchs and suppressed the eunuchs, and launched Huichang to destroy the Buddha, thus strengthening the centralization of power; Andong Xuanzong took Emperor Taizong as an example to restore Hexi and the shame of a hundred years.
Distribution map of the Eighteen Tombs of Tang Dynasty
In the Tang Dynasty, during the 289 years of the founding of the country, a total of 20 imperial tombs were left behind, except for the last Tang Zhaozong and the mausoleum in Luoyang, Henan, and the Wen Mausoleum of the Tang Emperor in Heze, Shandong, and the remaining 18 imperial tombs were located between the chongshan mountains in northern Guanzhong, known as the "Eighteen Tombs of Tang". The four xianling, Zhuangling, Duanling and Jingling tombs belong to the mound of soil, and the remaining fourteen are all tombs of the mountain. Among them, represented by Xianling, Zhaoling, Qianling, Dingling, Qiaoling, Tailing, and Jianling, whether it is the building base site or Shinto stone carvings, whether it is tomb murals or excavated cultural relics, they all show us the prosperous Tang Dynasty that has long been gone but is nostalgic.
(Image from the Internet)
【Reference】
(1) Wang Shuanghuai. Imperial Tombs of the Tang Dynasty of China[M].Xi'an:Shaanxi People's Publishing House,2020.]
(2) Chen Anli. Tombs of the Eighteenth Tomb of Tang[M].Beijing:China Youth Publishing House,2001.]
(3) (Japanese) By Chi Hezawa Bao; Translated by Shi Xiaojun. Brilliant World Empire: Sui and Tang Dynasties[M]. Guilin:Guangxi Normal University Press,2014.]