| |
| 626–49 |
| |
| During his reign, Taizong (Li Shimin) continued to amass military victories, defeating the Turks in Mongolia (630), who made him their Great Khan, and the Tibetans in two campaigns (639–40, 647–48). His two assaults on Korea (640s) both failed. He was equally famous as a civil ruler. Primarily of a Confucian bent, he tolerated both Daoism and Buddhism, and even received a Nestorian Christian (p. visitor by the name of A-luo-ben in the capital (635). He subsequently gave the Nestorians freedom of movement and sanctioned the construction of their church in Chang'an (638). | 1 |
| |
| 641 |
| |
| A Chinese princess was married to the king of Tibet, Srong-tsan-sgam-po, and helped convert Tibet to Buddhism. | 2 |
| |
| 649–83 |
| |
| Taizong's son, Gaozong (b. 628), fell in love with one of his father's many concubines, WU ZETIAN (624–705), and she became his empress, the EMPRESS WU. Gaozong made her effective regent (660) as his reign began to decline. | 3 |
| |
| 683 |
| |
| Empress Wu put two of her sons in succession on the throne as puppet rulers. | 4 |
| |
| 690–705 |
| |
| Empress Wu took the throne herself, the only woman in Chinese history ever to rule in her own name as emperor, and changed the dynastic name to Zhou. Contrary to a long tradition of Chinese criticism, she ruled capably in domestic and foreign affairs alike. | 5 |
| |
| 712–56 |
| |
| The reign of XUANZONG (b. 685) was a period of brilliant artistic and literary efflorescence. He came to the throne a capable ruler, cleaned up the court and the civil administration, and abolished capital punishment. He was a great patron of the arts. He founded the Hanlin Academy (725) to further the cause of scholarship, and he established schools in every prefecture and district in the empire (738). Later in his reign he foundered, allowing many nefarious sorts into his entourage and relinquishing control over his border armies to local generals, often non-Chinese. He all but ignored government. His bountiful love for the beautiful Yang Guifei (719–56) is remembered in poetry of this age. One general by the name of AN LUSHAN (705–57), a man of mixed non-Chinese origin with control over the strongest armies in the north, was adopted by her. | 6 |
| |
| 732 |
| |
| Manichaeism, the dualistic religion originally from Persia that posited an ongoing battle between equal forces of good and evil, was condemned as perverse doctrine, but it was permitted to Persians and Tokharians, who had introduced it (694, 719) and who were favored for their competence in astronomy and astrology. | 7 |
| |
| 738 |
| |
| The title of king was conferred on a Tai ruler who united six principalities as Nanzhao (730). After two disastrous attempts at conquest (750, 754), the Tang made peace (789–94), leaving the Nanzhao kings with full autonomy. In the 9th century, their forces were repelled from Chengdu (829, 874) and from Hanoi (863). | 8 |
| |
| 747 |
| |
| Gao Xianzhi (d. 755) led an army against Tibet. In another attack (750), Gao's forces crossed the Pamirs and the Hindukush before meeting defeat (751) at the Talas River near Samarkand, at the hands of the Arabs and western Turks (See 751). | 9 |
| |
| 755–63 |
| |
| The Rebellion of An Lu-shan erupted following An's gaining control over three regional commanderies. The city of Luoyang was invaded and later (762–63) sacked, forcing Xuanzong and his entire court to flee to Sichuan (756–57). Yang Guifei was murdered by the royal guard en route, and Xuanzong abdicated in exile in favor of his son. In a surprise attack (763), the Tibetans sacked Chang'an. An Lushan was himself slain (757) by his own son, who was in turn slain by General Shi Siming, an ally rebel. There were widescale rebellions throughout the regional commanderies. | 10 |
| By the time the An Lu-shan Rebellion was finally quelled, the Tang militia and the equal-field land system (See Political, Social, and Cultural Patterns) were in ruins. To crush the rebels, the Tang court had hired Uighur armies, who had toppled the eastern Turks (744), and the Tang rebuilt itself relying heavily on Uighur support. From the early 9th century, eunuchs and other cliques at court effectively seized control of authority. Emperors Xianzong (r. 805–20) and Jingzong (r. 824–26) were both murdered by eunuchs, while Muzong (r. 820–24) and most emperors thereafter were installed by eunuchs. | 11 |
| |
| 840–46 |
| |
| The overthrow of the Uighur Empire by the Kirghiz and the Karluk led to the migration of many tribes from the Orkhon to the Tarim Basin, where they carved out a second Uighur Empire in which the Turkish language prevailed. | 12 |
| |
| 841–45 |
| |
| Under the reign of Wuzong, a man of Daoist predilections, Buddhists (along with Manicheans, Mazdeans, and Nestorians) were persecuted. | 13 |
| |
| |
