The History of China

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#82 - Tang 1: The Tiger's Trap Nov 20, 2015

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The Duke of Tang had taken control of China’s primary capital at Chang’an, and is now in position to seize the throne for himself. But even that momentous shift will only mark the beginning of the struggle to reclaim imperial authority and unite China under his single banner. For there are other claimants to the throne, and powerful warlords who have their own designs for China. But it will be in the cauldron of chaos that is the North Plains of the Yellow River that the new Tang Dynasty will truly be put to the test – will it remain a mere regional player in a multi-polar struggle, or does it have what it takes to reforge the nation into its united whole?Period Covered:617-621 CEMajor Historical Figures:Tang:Li Yuan, Duke of Tang (Emperor Gaozu) [566-635CE]Prince Li ShiminSui:Emperor Yang [d. 617]Emperor Gong [r. 617-619]General Yuwen Huaji [d.]Gansu/Qin:Xue Zhu (Emperor/Warlord of Qin) [d. 618]Xue Rengao [d. 618]Zheng:General Wang Shichong (Emperor/Commandant of Luoyang) [d. 621]Xia:Dou Jiande (Prince of Xia) [d. 621]Li Mi Rebel Faction:Commander Li Mi [d. 619]

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#81 - Sui 5: Disintegration Nov 08, 2015

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With its push against Goguryeo rather catastrophically stalled out, the whole enterprise begins to unravel with spectacular speed for the Sui Dynasty. All the while, its Emperor Yang will maintain a disturbingly unaffected demeanor for the suffering his edicts are creating across the countryside - in large part because his lackeys have created a "reality-distortion filter" around him they'll literally kill to maintain.But elsewhere, agents of insurrection will rise to challenge the waning star that is Sui China, especially in the form of one Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang and his family.Time Period Covered:614-618 CEMajor Historical Figures:SuiEmperor Yang of SuiEmpress Xiao Prince Yang You (Emperor Gong)Prince Yang Hao, Prince of QinGeneral Yuwen HuajiRebel Tang ForcesLi Yuan, Duke of TangLi ShiminLady Li/ Pingyang, Commander of the Woman's ArmyGokturk KhannateShibi KhanWorks CitedSima, Guang. Zizhi Tongjian.Wright, Arthur F. The Cambridge History of China, vol. 3Bennett Peterson, Barbara. Notable Women of China: From the Shang to the Early 20th CenturyWen, Daya. The Diary of the Founding of the Great Tang

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#80 - Sui 4: Ringing Blood From The Stone Nov 02, 2015

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Emperor Yang of Sui has ventured forth to the far northeastern border of China in an attempt to rescue his honor from the clutches of the impudent King of Goguryeo, Yeongyang. Little does King Yeongyang know that the Sui Empire has secretly begun construction on a new waterway even more navigable that the first dreaded Grand Canal. When completed, this ultimate weapon will spell certain doom for the small kingdom of Koreans struggling to resist a renewed Chinese domination of East Asia…

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#79 - Sui 3: Yang's Imperial Tour Oct 28, 2015

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The second emperor of the Sui Dynasty gets bad rap - his postmortem regnal name means "the Slothful" and he's commonly lumped together with the rest of the "bad-last emperors" as being hedonistic, wasteful, and just generally monstrous. But is this really the case, or was Emperor Yang the victim of a historical hatchet job?Today we look at the upbringing and early life of Prince Yang Guang, his unlikely rise to power, and then the early period of his reign over China as Emperor Yang, and how he picked up where his father had left off in trying to reignite the glory of the ancient Han.Time Period Covered:605-609 CEImportant Figures:SuiYang Jian (Emperor Wen of Sui) [d. 605]Empress Dugu [d. 602]Yang Guang (Emperor Yang of Sui) [r. 605-618]Empress XiaoGeneral Yang "Axe Man" SuIntelligence Chief Pei JuJapanPrince Shotoku [Sovereign of Nihon]Gökturk KhannateQimin Khan [alt. Yami Khan]Goguryeo Kingdom (North Korea and Manchuria)King YeongyangWorks CitedSima, Guang. Zizhi Tongjian (Reflections of Governance) (1084 CE)Vout, Caroline. The Hills of Rome: Signature of an Eternal CityWei, Zheng, et al. Sui Shu (The Book of Sui). (636 CE)Wright, Arthur F., Chaffee and Twitchett (ed.) The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 3 (1979)

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#78 - Sui 2: Reconstruction Oct 18, 2015

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Today we finish out out look into the reign of the Sui Dynasty’s founding emperor, Wen. We begin first with the military roferms he imposed on his newly reunited state, mirroring those he made to the civil government. Once completed, Sui China will find itself on a footing it hasn’t reliably been for centuries: outward-facing and expansionist. The repercussions of this epochal change in circumstance for Chine will be felt across the globe.Time Period Covered:581-605 CEMajor Historical Figures:Sui DynastyYang Jian (Emperor Wen of Sui) [r. 581-605 CE]Crowned Prince Yang GuangPrince Yang YongGeneral Yang SuGeneral Liu FangChampa KingdomKing ÇambhuvarmanMajor Works Cited:Hirth, Friedrich (1913). “The Mystery of Fu-Lin” in The Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 33. Pp. 133-208. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/592825Arthur F. Wright, Chaffee and Twitchett (ed.) The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 3 (1979)

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#77 - Sui 1: Internal Affairs Oct 08, 2015

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Emperor Wen of Sui is potentially the most important monarch you've never heard of. For him, militarily reuniting China wasn't his legacy - it was his prelude. Both pre- and post-reunification, we explore the internal facets of his truly impressive reign today: his origins, personality, outlook, confidantes, the existential problems he inherited from the Period of Disunion, and the novel, world-changing solutions he'd craft to ensure China's reunification would be factual, rather than just rhetorical.Time Period Covered:581-600 CEMajor FiguresYang Jing (Emperor Wen of Sui)[r. 581-604]Empress Dugu QieluoGao JiangYang SuSu WeiLi DelinArthur F. Wright, Chaffee and Twitchett (ed.) The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 3 (1979)

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#76 - S&N 20: Taking Stock Sep 29, 2015

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So what does it all mean? Before stepping boldly into the Sui Dynasty, we take this episode to pan out to low-Earth orbit and watch the macro-developments of the past 300-plus years of Disunity, reviewing the dramatic sweep of a period of time often left out of many Western historical understandings of Chinese history due to is sheer complexity and confusing nature.Time Period Covered:220-589 CE

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#75 - S&N 19: Reunion Sep 23, 2015

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Northern Zhou seems to have plotted a course for ultimate victory in the contest between the Northern and Southern Dynasties, having already annexed Northern Qi and turned its sights on Chen to the south. But it’s amazing how quickly dynastic fortunes can reverse themselves, and the Yuwen Clan’s line of emperors find itself stopped short, destroyed not by external threat but from an enemy within: the Duke of Sui, the man who would be Emperor of all China.Time Period Covered:577-589 CEMajor Figures:Northern Zhou:Yuwen Yan (Emperor Xuan; “The Responsible”) [r. 577-578, as Retired Emperor Tianyuan; “The Heavenly and Fundamental” r. 578-580]Yuwen Chan (Emperor Jing; “The Silent”) [r. 578-581]Gen. Yuchi Jiong [d. 580]Gen. Yin ShouSui:Duke Yang Jiang of Sui (Emperor Wen; “The Cultured”) [regent of Northern Zhou 580-581, Emperor of Sui r. 581-604]Chen:Chen Xu (Emperor Xuan; “The Responsible”) [r. 569-582]Chen Shubao (Houzhu; “Final Ruler”) [r. 582-589]Western Liang (vassal of Northern Zhou/Sui):Xiao Cong (Emperor Jing; “The Meek”) [r. 585-587]

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#74 - S&N 18- The Fall Of Northern Qi Sep 15, 2015

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In the Northeast of China, Northern Qi just can’t catch a break. First it was Emperor Wenxuan’s murderous paranoia, and now it will be subjected to Wucheng’s indolent hedonism, “immoral games,” and general excesses… and then the penultimate Qi emperor, Houzhi, will decide that the state treasury is his own personal piggy-bank and startin singing “Hakuna Matata” while the state burns.Meanwhile to the West, Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou will finally break out of his uncle Yuwen Hu’s shadow – by shattering his skull – and then begin eying the swiftly foundering Northern Qi debacle hungrily, eager to reunite the North after almost a half-century of seperation. By episode’s end, it will be a climactic showdown between the two powerful states: one waxing, one waning… which will emerge victorious?Time Period Covered:561-578 CENotable Figures:Northern Qi:Emperor/Retired Emperor Wucheng (Gao Dan) [r. 561-565, d. 569]Empress Hu [565-572]Prime Minister He Shikai [524-571]Zu Ting [550-577]Emperor Houzhu (Gao Wei) [r. 565-578]Gao Heng (Youzhu) [570-577]Northern Zhou:Emperor Wu (Yuwen Yong) [r. 560-578]Emperor Xuan (Yuwen Yun) [r. 579-582]Yang Lihua (Crowned Princess/Empress of Zhou) [r. 579-582]Prime Minister Yuwen Hu [513-572]Yang Jian, Duke of Sui [541- ]Göturk Khannate:Muqan Khagan (Ashina Yando) [554-572]Empress Ashina [551-582]

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#73 - S&N 17: The Only Tear Shed For Wenxuan Sep 07, 2015

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Today’s episode takes us through the turmoil within northern China and beyond over the 550s. We begin looking outside of China proper as the rulers of the Rouran Steppe Confederacy are overthrown and replaced by the vassal-turned-enemy the Göktürks, and briefly touch on the Khitan Tribe of Manchuria. We then go through the reign of Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi, who will initially lead his newfound dynasty to power and prominence before his mounting madness will plunge it into chaos and terror.Time Period Covered550-561 CENotable FiguresAshina Bumin/Tumen (Illig Khagan of Göktürk) [r. 550]Issik Khagan of East GokturkIstemi Khagan of West GokturkGeneral Gao Huan (Warlord of Eastern Wei) (d. 550)Gao Yang (Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi) [r. 551-560]Crowned Prince Gao Yin (Emperor Fei of Northern Qi) [r. 560]Gao Yan, Prince of Chanshan (Emperor Xiaozhao of Northern Qi) [r. 560-561]Prime Minister Yang Yin [d. 560]Works CitedThe History of the Northern Dynasties (Bei Shi) – Li Dashi and Li YanshouThe Zizhi Tongjian – Sima GuangEarly Chinese Religion: The Period of Division (220-589 AD) Pt. 1 & 2 – John Lagerway and Lü Pengzhi

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