The History of China

Latest Episodes:

#122 - Special: End of Dynasty Q&A May 01, 2017

Show notes

We've made it to the end of the Tang and questions abound! From portrayals of Han Emperors, to my favorite Emperor, and the best Dynasty EVER, to battle tactics and armor, to grat Chinese kung fu movies and how much a protsitute would have been worth... we've had a whole host of excellent questions that I do my very best to answer!

Cheers!

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#121 - Tang 33: Tang of the Dead Apr 16, 2017

Show notes

Take the army, go to the capital, kill the imperial clan, exterminate the eunuchs, usurp the throne, have a nice cold pint and wait for all this to blow over. How’s that for a slice of fried gold?

Time period covered:

888-907 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Emperor Zhaozong of Tang [r. 887-905]

Prince Li Yu [d. 905]

Prince Li Zuo (Emperor Ai) [r. 905-908]

Han Jian, Governor of Hezhong

Li “the One-Eyed Dragon” Keyong, Commander of the Shatuo Turks

Li Maozhen, Governor of Fengxiang

Wang Xingyu, Governor of Pinning

Zhu Wen/Quanzhong/Huang, Governor of Hedong (Emperor Taizu of Later Liang)

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#120 - Tang 32: A Thousand Cuts Mar 31, 2017

Show notes

The rebel-general and usurper-emperor Huang Chao will wear out his welcome in Chang’an, and meet his doom in the Valley of Tigers and Wolves… but his reign of terror over the capital will only be the first act of its terrible, drawn out fate – a fate that will mirror the Tang Dynasty’s as a whole. Emperor Xizong, already put to flight once, will return to the capital – only to swiftly find himself on the run yet again as China’s general and governors alike realize that they are no longer servants of the dynasty, but masters of their own domains… if they can hold them.

Time Period Covered:

882-888 CE (“The Era of Radiant Beginnings”)

Major Historical Figures:

Emperor Xizong of Tang (Li Yan) [r. 873-888]

Prince Li Jie (Emperor Zhaozong)

Chief Eunuch Tian Lingzi [d. 893]

Chen Jingxuan, Governor of Sichuan

General Zheng Tian, Commander of the Northwest

General Li Keyong, “The One-Eyed Dragon”, Khan of the Shatuo Turks

Huang Chao, Rebel Usurper [d. 884]

Governor-General Zhu Mei, Rebel Warlord, would-be-usurper [d. 887]

Li Yun, Prince of Xiang, would-be-puppet-monarch [d. 887]

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#119 - Tang 31: Reap the Whirlwind Mar 15, 2017

Show notes

The poison seeds that have been planted across China for the last century and longer will all begin to sprout, as the rebel commander Huang Chao takes command of the latest and greatest of internal threats to imperial stability. Yet it won't be the rebels themselves that will prove the decisive factor in the chaos to come... but instead the Empire's own supposedly "loyal" generals and soldiers... already looking ahead to their own places in the post-Tang world.

Time Period Covered:

878-882 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Tang Dynasty:

Emperor Xizong of Tang (Li Yan/Xuan) [r. 874-888]

General Zhang Zimian

Governor-General Li Tiao of Guangdong [d. 879]

General Gao Pian, "The General Who Lost the North"

Xi Dynasty:

Huang Chao, "The Heaven-Storming General" [d. 884]

Sources Referenced:

Levy, Howard S. (1955). Biography of Huang Ch'ao

Somers, Robert M. (2008). "The end of the T'ang" in The Cambridge History of China, vol. 3: Sui and T'ang China, 589–906 AD, Part One(ed. Denis C. Twitchett)

Wei, Chuang(881). "Lament of the Lady of Qin"(tr. Lionel Giles)

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#118 - Tang 30: Sow the Wind Feb 27, 2017

Show notes

Dear empire, we’re having a very mild case of severe rebellion, um, everywhere. But don’t worry, it’s totally under control. Everything’s fine, we’ve got this. Don’t panic. PS, rebel leaders if you’re reading this we’ll give you more than you’ve ever dreamed of if you’ll just stop attacking us, pretty please. But no it’s fine, we’re totally going to win, for sure. PPS, Imperial Army please stop refusing to fight. We’re totally serious about this. Joke’s over, it’s not funny anymore. Fight the rebels or we’re going to be, like, super angry with you. Victory is assured. No problem whatsoever. PPS, local magistrates, please recruit your peasants to fight the rebels – promise them whatever you have to. Seriously, anything. Long live the victorious Tang. No, the plane engines only look like they’re on fire. They’re supposed to look like that. That’s completely normal.

Love, Emperor Xizong.

Time Period Covered:

873-878 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Tang Dynasty:

Emperor Yizong of Tang [d. 873]

Emperor Xizong of Tang (Li Wen) [r. 873-888]

Tian Lingzi, court eunuch-official

General Song Wei

General Zhang Zimian

Rebel Commanders:

Wang Xianzhi, Supreme Rebel General [d. 877]

Huang Chao, Heaven-Storming General [d. 884]

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#117 - Tang 29: The Gathering Storm Feb 11, 2017

Show notes

The Tang Empire enters its death spiral. The cumulative effects of more than a century of economic mismanagement intersects with the peasantry and military's respective gripes with the government to disastrous effects south of the Yangtze River. Rebellions beget further rebellions as the whole enterprise spirals down toward the drainpipe.

Time Period Covered:

859-873 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Emperor Yizong of Tang (Li Wen/Cui) [r. 859-873]

Princess Tongcheng [d. 870]

General Wang Shi

General Zhuye Chixin (later Li Guochang)

Governor-General Linghu Tao

Qiu Fu, rebel leader, "Grand Generalissimo of the Empire" [d. 860]

Pang Xun, rebel leader [d. 869]

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#116 - Tang 28: I, Xuānzong Jan 22, 2017

Show notes

Li Yi was never trained to be emperor. Not only was he the thirteenth son of Xianzong, but he'd been ruthlessly mocked and belittled his whole life by his entire family for being an idiot, an invalid, and a mute. But when his hated nephew dies in 846, he's going to shock the world by revealing he was faking it the whole time, and go on to become the last good emperor of the Tang before its final bow.

Time Period Covered:

846-859 CE

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#115 - Tang 27: The Third Disaster of Wu Jan 08, 2017

Show notes

The new Emperor Wuzong will have a lot on his plate right from the get-go. Foreign threats and domestic squabbles will frame his early reign, but it's his own fanatical devotion to Daoism and antipathy to Buddhism that will define his reign.

Period Covered:

840-846 CE

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#114 - Tang 26: The Sweet Dew Plot Dec 13, 2016

Show notes

Behind the throne of Tang is where the true power lies in the mid-9th century, among squabbling bureaucrats, shadowy factions, and conniving eunuchs. But this game of shadows is difficult to follow. Nevertheless, when events reach a head in 835 we’ll need to know how all the pieces on the imperial chessboard got where they are, and so we take a look at the real movers and shakers of the late Tang court.

Time Period Covered:

808-836 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Tang Emperors:

Emperor Xianzong of Tang (Li Chun) [r. 805-820]

Emperor Muzong of Tang (Li Heng/You) [r. 820-824]

Emperor Jingzong of Tang (Li Zhan) [r. 824-827]

Emperor Wenzong of Tang (Li Han/Ang) [r. 827-840]

Crowned Prince Li Yong [d. 838]

Emperor Wuzong (Li Chan) [r. 840-846]

Niu Faction Officials:

Niu Sengru, Duke of Qizhang

Li Zhongmin

Li Xun [d. 835]

Li Faction Officials:

Li Jifu, Duke of Wei [d. 814]

Li Deyu, Duke of Wei

Nonaligned Officials:

Zheng Zhu [d. 835]

Eunuch Officials:

Wang Shucheng [d. 835]

Qiu Shiliang, Duke of Chu

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#113 - Tang 25: The Longshoreman's Prophecy Nov 29, 2016

Show notes

In the wake of Emperor Xianzong’s unexpected death in 820, his work remains unfinished… and now left in the hands of his incapable, incompetent successors. The eunuchs are hard at work securing ultimate authority for themselves, and have no time for a strong central leader, and the Governor-generals of the northeast are eager to get out from under the imperial thumb once again. Into all this madness, a dock-worker, a fortuneteller, and an army of vagabonds will make a quixotic bid for the throne.

Time Period Covered:

February, 820- January, 827 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Emperor Muzong of Tang (Li Heng) [r. 820-824]

Emperor Jingzong of Tang (Li Zhan) [r. 824-827]

Emperor Wenzong of Tang (Li Ang) [r. 827-840]

Prince Li Han of Jiang [d. 827]

Eunuch-Official Liang Shoujian

Eunuch Official Liu Keming [d. 827]

Chief Minister Xiao Mian

Su Xuanming, Fortuneteller Extraordinaire [d. 824]

Zhang Shao, Unlikely Sitter of Thrones [d. 824]