The History of China

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#92 - Tang 10: Sage Mother, Divine Sovereign Mar 06, 2016

Show notes

A white stone bearing a prophecy tells of an era of eternal prosperity, a disastrous rebellion spells the doom of the majority of the imperial Li Clan, an obscure sutra tells of the reincarnation of a goddess to rule over the world, the written word itself is altered to fit the times… all of these are will fit together today to explain how and why the 66-year-old Empress Dowager of Tang will manage to become the first and only woman Emperor of China in the year 690.

Time Period Covered:

689-693

Major Historical Figures:

Empress-Regnant Wu Zhao of Zhou, Sage Mother, Divine Sovereign, Maitreya the Peerless [r. 690-705]

Li Dan (Emperor Ruizong of Tang) [r. 689-690]

Chancellor Li Zhaode

Chancellor Ji Xu

Heir-Expectant Wu Chengsi

Prince Li Chuan of Dengzhou [d. 689]

Prince Li Cheng [d. 689]

Prince Li Chen [d. 689]

High Inquisitor Lai Junchen

An Jingcan (he has guts)

Major Works Cited:

Guisso, Richard W. L. “The Reigns of the empress Wu, Chung-tsung and Jui-tsung (684-712)” in The Cambridge History of China, vol. 3.

Chen, Jinhua. “Sarira and Scepter. Empress Wu’s Political Use of Buddhist Relics” in the Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, vol. 25 No. 1-2 (2002).

Kory, Stephen N. “The Remarkably Resonant and Resilient Tang Dynasty Augural Stone” in Tang Studies, 26 (2008).

Liu, Xiu. Jiu Tangshu.Sima, Guang. Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 206.

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#91 - Tang 9: Reign of Terror Feb 29, 2016

Show notes

With her husband dead, Empress Wu is unrivaled in Chang'an, but that situation is tenuous as she has no legal basis for that power. Her eldest (surviving) son will take up the throne as Emperor Zhongzong for... all of two months before she decides he's got to go. Her timid, youngest son will fit her style much better as Ruizong, but when the high lords of the realm are exposed as conspiring against her, she will unleash her full fury on their ranks, employing tactics and methods that will decimate the literati class.

Time Period Covered:

683-686 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Empress Dowager Wu Zhao

Li Xian (Emperor Zhongzong) [r. 684]

Li Dan (Emperor Ruizong) [r. 684-689]

Empress Wei

Wei Xuanzhen

Li Jingye [d. 684]

Chancellor Pei Yan [d. 684]

General Cheng Wuding, "Terror of the Turks" [d. 684]

High Inquisitor Lai Junchen [d. 697]

High Inquisitor Zhou Xing [d. 691]

Monk Xue Huaiyi

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#90 - Special: Monkey Business Feb 19, 2016

Show notes

In celebration of the Year of the Monkey, this week we take a look at China's most famous demonic simian, Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, and his Journey to the West guarding the Buddhist monk Xuanzang. Then we'll look at the historical 15 year long westward journey of Xuanzang as he seeks sutras from India to bring enlightenment to China.

Time Period Covered:

602-664 CE

Major Historical Figures:

San Zang Master Xuanzang (Chen Hui) [602-664]

Major Fictional Figures:

Sun Wukong (The Handsome Monkey King, Mei Hou Wang)

Zhu Bajie (Pig of the Eight Commandments)

Sha Wujing (The Sandy Friar)

Bodhisattva Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy and Compassion)

Major Works Cited:

Wu, Chang'en, The Journey to the West (1592).

Xuanzang, Da Tang Xiyu Ji (Great Tang Records of the Western Regions) (646).

"The History of Xuan Zang." http://www.vbtutor.net/Xiyouji/history.htmInternet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. "Xuanzang (Hsüan-tsang) (602—664 C.E.)" https://web.archive.org/web/20130116083307/http://www.iep.utm.edu/xuanzang/#H1

Cao, Shibang. "Fact vs. Fiction" in Dust in the Wind: Retracing Dharma Master Xuanzang's Western Pilgrimage

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#89 - Tang 8: Clash on the Borderlands Feb 15, 2016

Show notes

Tang China goes to town on its neighbors over the course of the mid-7th century. First, the Western Regions of central Asia will feel the full force of a reunited Middle Kingdom, culminating in the collapse and Chinese annexation of the whole Western Turkic Khannate, putting Chinese borders (briefly) right up against Persia. Then, Emperor Gaozong will commit himself to completing what his father begun: the final destruction of Goguryeo. but this time he'll enlist the aid of South Korean Silla to carve out a toehold on the peninsula to give himself a better shot at success. But when a Japanese war-fleet responds to North Korean pleas for aid, it will be a showdown on the high seas for which Asian power will control the Korean Peninsula.

Time Period Covered:

649-673 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Tang:

Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi)

Empress Wu Zhao

General Su Dingfang "The Turk Destroyer"

General Li Shiji

Western Türkic Kaghanate (Onoq):

Dielishi Kaghan Shabulou Khan (Ashina Holu)

Grousset, René. Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia

Karam Skaff. Jonathan. Sui-Tang China and Its Turko-Mongol Relations

Ō no Yasumaro, Prince Toneri. Nihon Shoki.

Sima, Guang. Zizhi Tongjian

Twitchett, Denis (ed.), Weschler, Howard. The Cambridge History of China, vol. 3

Unger, J.M. "The Role of Contact in the Origins of the Japanese and Korean Languages."

Yi, Pae-yong. Women in Korean History

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#88 - Tang 7: Empress Wu Behind The Curtain Jan 23, 2016

Show notes

The more than two-decade period following Wu Zhao’s ascension as Emperor Gaozong’s empress-consort will serve to point out three things: how weak the emperor is, how powerful Empress Wu has become, and how there is absolutely nothing she won’t do to keep it that way. By the middle of the episode, she’ll be considered even at the time the co-equal ruler of her husband, on of the so-called “Two Holy Ones.” But power is a slippery fish to hang on to… especially when you have no legal means of maintaining it, and several sons just waiting in the wing to snatch it all away.Time Period Covered:656-683 CEMajor Historical Figures:Emperor Gaozong of Tang (Li Zhi) [r. 649-683]Empress Consort Wu Zhao Crowned Prince Li Hong (Emperor Xiaojing [posthumous title]) [652-675]Crowned Prince Li Xián [653-684]Crowned Prince Li Xiǎn (Emperor Zhongzong) [b. 656- , r. 684]Li Zhong, Prince of Liang [d.665]Chancellor Zhangsun Wuji [d. 665]Chancellor Shangguan Yi [d. 665]Chancellor Xu Jingzong [retired 670, d. 673]Major Sources:Dash, Mike. “The Demonization of Empress Wu” in The Smithsonian. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-demonization-of-empress-wu-20743091/?no-istJiang, Chen An. Empress of China: Wu Ze Tian.Karem Skaff, Jonathan. Sui-Tang China and Its Turko-Mongol Neighbors: Culture, Power, and Connections, 580-800.Sima, Guang. Zizhi Tongjian.Weschler, Howard. The Cambridge History of China. “Kao-Tsung (Reign 649-83) and the Empress Wu: The Inheritor and the Usurper.”Old Book of Tang.New Book of Tang.

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#87 - Tang 6: Femme Fatale Jan 13, 2016

Show notes

With Taizong of Tang's death, his ninth son Li Zhi will ascend to the throne as Emperor Gaozong. But his weak will will ensure that his reign will be dominated by those around him. First by his ministerial backers, but more and more by a seductive young concubine who will do anything to win the game of intrigue at the imperial court, and will ruthlessly dispose of anyone who gets in her way.

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#86 - Tang 5: Family Matters Jan 05, 2016

Show notes

Our third and final episode in our suite on Emperor Taizong of Tang, this time focuses on the family crisis that would grip the latter half of his reign, as the ill-fated conquest of Goguryeo raged on in the periphery. His eldest son and heir will prove himself too… well, strange… for anyone to feel comfortable with on the throne. Meanwhile his favorite son will go to any means to secure the top job for himself. In the ensuing brotherly scuffle assassinations will be plotted, banishments pronounced, and the royal family’s trust shattered forever. But who will emerge on top is anyone’s guess…Time Period Covered: 626-649 CENotable Figures:Tang:Li Shimin (Emperor Taizong) [r. -649]Empress Wende [née Zhangsun] [d. 636]Crowned Prince Li Chengqian [618-645]Li Tai, Prince of Wei [618-652]Li Zhi, Prince of Jin [b. 628]Chancellor Wei ChengChancellor Zhangsun Wuji“Chengxin,” Li Chengqian’s singing boyGegan Chengji, Royal BodyguardMajor Sources UsedChen, Jack Wei. Poetics of Sovereignty: On Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty.Weschler, Howard. The Cambridge History of China. “Taizong: The Consolidator”.Wu, Jing. Zhenguan Zheng Yao, “Essentials on Governance from the Zhenguan Era”.Li, Shimin. Difan, “Plan for the Emperor”.

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#85 - Tang 4: The Wild West Dec 26, 2015

Show notes

1,000,000 show downloads!Emperor Taizong turns outward seeking to re-conquer the lost territories of the late, great Han at its height. But it’s easier said than done: to the west he’ll find that there’s a whole new cast of regional powers ready to stake their own territorial claims… meanwhile to the northeast, his rising ambitions about taking the Goguryeo Kingdom at any cost may lead him to follow in the ruinous footsteps of the Sui instead.And since it’s that time of the year, we’ll finish out with a look at China’s very first encounter with a strange monotheistic religion from the Roman Empire, calling itself Nestorian Christianity.Time Period Covered:634-649 CEMajor Historical Figures:Tang China:Li Shimin (Emperor Taizong of Tang) [r. 626-649]Retired Emperor Gaozu [d. 635]Empress Zhangsun [d. 636]Bod Chen Po (Tibetan Empire):Songtsen Gampo (King of Tibet)Tuyuhun Kingdom:Murong Fuyun KhaganMurong Shun KhanGoguryeo Kingdom:King Yeongyang [d. 618]King Yeongnyu [r. 618-642]King BojangDae Mangniji Yeon Gaesomun (Military Dictator)Others:Yazdegerd III (Shah-an-Shah of Sassanid Persia)Constans II (Emperor of Eastern Roman Empire)Monk Aluoban/Alopan/Abraham (Nestorian Christian Evangelist)Major Works Cited:East Asian History Sourcebook: Ch'ing-Tsing: Nestorian Tablet: Eulogizing the Propagation of the Illustrious Religion in China, with a Preface, composed by a priest of the Syriac Church, 781 A.D.Jenkins, Peter. The Lost History of Christianity: the Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia - and How It DiedSørensen, Per and Harrassowitz Verlog, Otto (trans.). The Mirror Illuminating the Royal Genealogies: Tibetan Buddhist Historiography : an Annotated Translation of the XIVth Century Tibetan Chronicle : RGyal-rabs Gsal- Baʼi Me-long.Weschler, Howard. The Cambridge History of China. “Taizong: The Consolidator”.Zhang, Guangda. Collected Drafts on the Historical Geography of the Western Regions.

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#84 - Tang 3: The Khan Of Heaven Dec 13, 2015

Show notes

Li Shimin assassinated his two brothers and put his father out to pasture in order to snag the top job as Emperor Taizong. But a mere three weeks into his reign, this “rock star” monarch will face an existential challenge to his reign and the future of the Tang Dynasty as a whole: the wrath of the Göktürk Khaganate. It will prove to be a wild ride to determine whether Tang China will be doomed to remain a vassal of the Turks, or whether Taizong’s “true vision” will prove enough to rise to the challenge.Time Period Covered:626-630 CEMajor Historical Figures:Tang:Prince Li Shimin [Emperor Taizong]Retired Emperor GaozuGöktürk Khaganate:Illig KhaganTölis KhanLiang Dynasty (Turkic Vassal):Emperor Liang Shidu (d. 628)Xueyantuo Tribe (alt. Se-Yento, Syr-Tardush)Uyghur Tribe (alt. Huige, Hui-ho)Khitan TribeWorks Cited:Drompp, Michael. Tang China And The Collapse Of The Uighur Empire: A Documentary HistoryGrousset, René. The Rise and Splendor of the Chinese Empire.Weschler, Howard. The Cambridge History of China, vol. 3

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#83 - Tang 2: The Incident at Xuanwu Gate Nov 30, 2015

Show notes

The Tang will achieve hegemony over the entirety of China’s heartlands, both North and South. But with external foes subdued, simmering tensions within the royal household will begin bubbling to the surface, culminating in a showdown that will decide the future of the Dynasty.Time Period Covered:618-626 CEMajor Historical Figures:Tang Dynasty:Li Yuan (Emperor Gaozu) Crowned Prince Li JianchengPrince Li YuanjiPrince Li ShiminLi Xiaogong, Prince of ZhaoGuard Captain Yang Wen’ganGeneral Yuchi JingdeLiang Dynasty:Xiao Xian (Emperor of Liang)Gokturk Khannate:Shibi Khan [d. 619]Illig Khan (alt. Xieli)Sources Cited:Weschler, Howard. The Cambridge History of China, vol. 3 (1979).Zhao, Ying and Liu, Shu. Jiu Tangshu (The Old Book of Tang). (945)

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