The Tang Dynasty (618-907) is one of the most important dynasties in Chinese history and is also recognized as one of China's most powerful eras. Li Yuan established the Tang Dynasty in 618, with Chang'an (today's Xi'an, Shaanxi Province) as the capital, and later Luoyang as the eastern capital. During its heyday in the 7th century AD, the desert areas of Central Asia were also dominated by it. In 690, Wu Zetian changed the name of the country from "Tang" to "Zhou" and moved the capital to Luoyang. It was called Wuzhou in history, also known as "Southern Zhou" until 705 when Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty restored the name of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty gradually declined after the Anshi Rebellion in the 14th year of Tianbao (755). In 907, King Liang (Zhu Wen) usurped the throne and perished. The Tang Dynasty lasted for 289 years and passed down 20 emperors (including Wu Zetian, it was 21 emperors). . Tang Dynasty had brilliant achievements in culture, politics, economy, diplomacy and other aspects, and was one of the most powerful countries in the world at that time. In terms of culture, the political systems and cultures of East Asian neighboring countries at that time, including Silla, Balhae and Japan, were also greatly influenced by it. In terms of military affairs, after the Northern Wei Dynasty defeated the Rouran Battle, the Tang Dynasty once again achieved a huge military victory in the Central Plains Dynasty against the desert tribes. In terms of economy, by the time of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the economy of the Tang Dynasty had far surpassed that of Byzantium and Arabia at the same period. The country name "Tang" is the ancient name of Jin, which generally refers to the central area of ??present-day Shanxi Province. Legend has it that the monarch Yao was known as the "Tao Tang" clan. During the Zhou Dynasty, there was a small country called Tang in what is now Hubei Province. Li Yuan succeeded Tang Guogong during the Sui Dynasty; after Emperor Gong of the Sui Dynasty abdicated, he took Tang as the country's name. After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, the Later Tang Dynasty founded by Li Cunxu of the Five Dynasties and the Southern Tang Dynasty of the Ten Kingdoms both claimed to be the successors of the Tang Dynasty and used "Tang" as their country name. In fact, their emperor had no blood relationship with the Tang Dynasty. The Li family of the Tang Dynasty royal family claimed to be from Zhaojun, a Han nationality. At the same time, the Li family was also a military aristocrat in Longxi. The Li family in Longxi has been a famous military family in China since the Qin Dynasty. This family has produced famous generals such as Li Guang, the flying general of the Western Han Dynasty. However, some people doubt this statement and believe that the Li family of the Tang Dynasty royal family is of Xianbei descent. The "Old Book of Tang" and "New Book of Tang" state that the Li family of the Tang Dynasty royal family is the descendant of Laozi Li Er, and Li Hao, the founding monarch of Xiliang in the Sixteen Kingdoms, is also his distant ancestor. During the Northern Zhou Dynasty, following the Guanlong Group's standard policy, the Li family name was changed to "Daye Family", which was a newly created surname. After the fall of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, it was restored to the Li family. The Tang Dynasty, together with the Sui Dynasty, is considered by historian Huang Renyu to be the second imperial period of China that followed the Qin and Han Dynasties. Japanese historians generally believe that the Tang Dynasty is the end of China's "Middle Ages" period. The national power of the Tang Dynasty was one of the best in Chinese history, so the Chinese are also called "Tang people", and the places where Chinese people live in the West today are also called "Chinatowns". Territory and political areas Territory map of the Tang Dynasty in its heyday. At its peak, the territory of the Tang Dynasty extended to the Korean Peninsula in the east, the Aral Sea of ??Central Asia in the west, the Hue area in Vietnam in the south, and Lake Baikal in the north. There were many foreign ethnic groups around the Tang Dynasty. In order to effectively manage the Turks, Uighurs, Mohe, Tiele, Shiwei, Khitan, etc., six major protective offices were established in Anxi, Anbei, Andong, Annan, Shanyu, and Beiting respectively. However, in the decades after the Anshi Rebellion, a large number of Helong border soldiers participated in quelling the rebellion (mainly from the Longyou Jiedushi and Shuofang Jiedushi), resulting in empty border defenses. Tubo took advantage of the situation to advance, and Uighurs invaded and occupied the Hetao grassland, which made the Tang government The territory that could be controlled was greatly reduced, and neither the sweet nor cool areas west of the Yellow River were accessible. By the end of the Tang Dynasty, control of the west of Dunhuang was also completely lost. In the Northeast, due to the rise of Silla, the Andong Protectorate had already withdrawn to the west of the Liao River. At the same time, the Khitan, Xi and other tribes became a serious problem. Tubo and Nanzhao in the southwest also caused heavy losses to the Tang government after the mid-Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty initiated the establishment of Daohe Prefecture in the history of Chinese administrative regions. In the first year of Zhenguan (627), Emperor Taizong divided the world into ten realms: Guannei, Henan, Hedong, Hebei, Shannan, Longyou, Huainan, Jiangnan, Jiannan, and Lingnan. In the 14th year of Zhenguan (640), there were 360 ??prefectures (prefectures) in the country, with 1,557 counties under their jurisdiction. During the Kaiyuan period, Shannan and Jiangnan were divided into east and west, and the Gyeonggi, Duji, and Qianzhong roads were added to form a fifteen-way pattern. There are prefectures and prefectures under the roads, and counties under the prefectures and prefectures. At the end of Kaiyuan, there were 328 prefectures and prefectures and 1,573 counties in the country. The scientific and technological astronomer Seng Yixing measured the length of the meridian for the first time in the world; Medicine King Sun Simiao's "Thousands of Gold Prescriptions" is a rare medical book; in 868, the printing of China's "Diamond Sutra" was the earliest known woodblock printing in the world . China's papermaking, textile and other technologies spread to West Asia and Europe through the Arab region. Military In terms of military affairs, the Tang Dynasty was a dynasty with outstanding achievements in Chinese history. Strong military power was a distinctive feature of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty unified China, which had been divided by various powers at the end of the Sui Dynasty. During the reigns of Emperor Taizong, Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu of the Tang Dynasty, they also went on expeditions to the Eastern and Western Turks, destroyed Gaochang and turned the area into prefectures and counties. They destroyed Goguryeo and Baekje and defeated the Japanese reinforcements at the Battle of Baicunjiang. They also fought with Mohe, Tiele, Shiwei, The Khitan and other ethnic groups went to war. At that time, the Tang Dynasty's military system, economic and technological advantages in Asia were the basis of these achievements. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the forces of the Tang Dynasty and the forces of the Abbasid dynasty (i.e., the Black-clad Dashi) from Arabia, which was emerging and believed in Sunni Islam, included the Nine Surnames of Zhaowu, Big and Little Bolu, and Tochara. The Central Asian countries met, and as a result, the Tang Dynasty was defeated in the Battle of Talas, and China's power withdrew from Central Asia. The ensuing Anshi Rebellion and feudal separatism led to economic depression and barbarism in North China.

Among the many famous generals of the Tang Dynasty, in addition to the generals among the twenty-four heroes of Lingyan Pavilion, Guo Ziyi, Li Sheng and their sons Li Su, Gao Pian and other Han commanders, foreign generals also occupied an important position: the more important ones were hybrids Huan Lushan, Shi Siming, Hei Te Changzhi from Baekje, Gao Xianzhi from Goguryeo, Li Guangbi from Khitan, Li Huaiguang from Mohe, Ge Shuhan from Shi tribe of Turkic Turks, Pugu Huai'en from Tiele tribe, Hun Yao and A Diguang Go ahead and wait. The destruction of the land equalization system and the rent-to-yong system led to the change of the government army system to the conscription system and the recruitment system. During the Anshi Rebellion, the expansion of cavalry that was established as a temporary military system for the government could not withstand the military strength of the Jiedushi. From the beginning, the Tang Dynasty lost power militarily: internally, there were separatist regimes of vassal towns, and externally there were invasions by Uighurs, Tubos, and Nanzhao. For example, the Tang Dynasty needed to borrow Huihe troops to quell the Anshi Rebellion. In 763, the Tubo army occupied Chang'an for fifteen days, and the Nanzhao army once attacked Chengdu and occupied Annan until the Southern Han Dynasty of the Ten Kingdoms took it back. The dissatisfaction of the Tang Dynasty soldiers who defended Nan Zhao led to Pang Xun's rebellion. Later, the rogue rebellion in Huangchao led to a battle between Zhu Quanzhong and Li Keyong from Shatuo, which continued until the fall of the Tang Dynasty. Economy 1. Currency After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, it quickly introduced its own coinage policy. In July of the fourth year of Wude (621), "Waste five baht coins and use Kaiyuan Tongbao coins, eight cents in diameter, weighing two bahts and four bamboo poles, accumulating ten coins weighing one tael, and one thousand coins weighing six catties and four taels." The legal tender status of national coinage was established. At the same time, it inherited the tradition of using silk and silk as currency during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and implemented a monetary system of "both money and silk" - money is copper coins, and silk is the general name for silk fabrics, including brocade, embroidery, damask, Luo, and silk. , 絁, 绮,缴, 笴, etc. are actually a diversified currency system that uses both physical currency and metal currency. The Tang government continued to issue laws to severely crack down on private and indiscriminate coining, and banned the use of bad money. However, due to the serious shortage of copper coin supply, the currency value continued to rise and strengthen, and private and indiscriminate coining resulted in huge profits, so the results were not ideal. After the implementation of the Two Taxes Law, a long-standing contradiction in social development is highlighted by the worsening of the so-called "money shortage" problem where money is valued more than materials. Culture, Art and Religion Due to the developed economy of the Tang Dynasty, the culture of the Tang Dynasty was also in a leading position in the world at that time, and cultural exchanges with many countries in the world were very frequent. North Korea and Japan sent many overseas students to study in Chang'an. The friendly exchanges between the Tang Dynasty and the Arab region introduced emerald, pepper, and Islam to China. 40% of the murals and sculptures in the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang are works from the Tang Dynasty. The most remarkable literary achievement of the Tang Dynasty can be regarded as Tang poetry. Since Chen Ziang and the "Four Heroes of the Early Tang Dynasty", famous poets in the Tang Dynasty have emerged one after another. Li Bai, Du Fu, Cen Shen, and Wang Wei in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, Li He, Han Yu, and Bai Juyi in the mid-Tang Dynasty, and Li Shangyin and Du Mu in the late Tang Dynasty are just a few of them. representatives. Their poems have different styles, including rich imagination of the mythical world and detailed descriptions of real life, passionate and powerful frontier poems, melancholy and heavy "history of poetry", and fresh and refined pastoral poems. Together, these poems constitute outstanding representatives of Chinese literary achievements. Although there were still outstanding poets in the Song, Ming, and Qing Dynasties in later generations, the overall level of rhymed poetry and ancient poetry was not as good as that of the Tang Dynasty poets, making Tang poetry the insurmountable pinnacle of Chinese ancient poetry. Close view of the Small Wild Goose Pagoda in Chang'an, the capital. The legendary novels of the Tang Dynasty inherit the tradition of the notebook novels of the Six Dynasties and have new developments. Starting from the Tang Dynasty, novels truly began to have a complete story structure and character relationships, and began to reflect social reality. The legendary masterpieces of the Tang Dynasty include: "The Legend of Pillow", "The Story of Yingying" and "The Story of Li Wa", etc. These works laid the foundation for the development of later Song Dynasty storybooks and Ming and Qing novels. The religious policies in the early Tang Dynasty were relatively tolerant, and the two traditional Chinese religions, Buddhism and Taoism, developed greatly. In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the eminent monk Xuanzang went to Tianzhu (now India) to collect 657 Buddhist scriptures. The Tang Dynasty built the Big Wild Goose Pagoda to preserve these Buddhist scriptures. The large number of translations of Buddhist classics and the gradual maturity of Chinese monks' own ideological systems made Chinese Buddhism usher in unprecedented development during this period. Most of the major sects of Chinese Buddhism were formed or matured during this period. Other religions such as Islam, Nestorianism (Christian Nestorianism) and Zoroastrianism were also introduced to China through international exchanges. During the reign of Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty, he adopted a high-pressure policy against Buddhism, which was known in history as the Huichang Extermination Method. Except for a few sects such as Zen, other Buddhist sects never recovered.