Cheng Tang: Shang Dynasty

    The Sui Dynasty only had a lifespan of two main emperors, Emperor Wen and Emperor Yang. Emperor Wen was a great leader for this empire, but his son was an awful tyrant, and due to this, the empire failed.  Li Yuan, a governor of the Sui and also Emperor Yang’s cousin, rebelled and with the help of his sons and others, was able to overthrow the horrible ruler.  In the end, Li Yuan gained power and established the Tang Dynasty.  He became Emperor Gaozu of Tang in 618 AD. (Ancient China: Sui Dynasty)

The Tang and Song dynasties in China existed between 618 to 1279 CE. Throughout this period, there were many developments in art, poetry, and technology. China was highly influential all around the world. It became known as the Golden Age of China. With advances in technology and ideas that could improve the everyday life, a unified government, and a strong economic system, the Tang and Song dynasties became the Golden Age of China.

During the Tang Dynasty era, it will have a number of rulers starting with Li Yuan or his title, Emperor Gaozu of Tang which means “High Founder” (cite source). A few rulers later the Tang Dynasty will have their first empress, Empress Wu Zetian. During Empress Wu Zetian’s rule, a coup occurred planned by the soon to be emperor Li Longji and a princess that prevented Wu Zetian from killing Li Longji. After a brief fight for power, Li Longji becomes the emperor of the Tang Dynasty under the name Emperor Xuanzong and it is

One of the most well know historical periods of Ancient China is the era of the Three Kingdoms, which records the period to some of the most well-known historical figures, heroes, and their complex yet intriguing relationships. The Three Kingdoms was a period of unrest, and battles which initiated in 220AD, when Wei replaced the Eastern Han Dynasty, and lasted until the reunification of lands in 280AD. Towards the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the emperor was losing power and influence, which led to the inability for Eastern Han to unite the whole land. At the same time, the country was in anarchy as groups of warriors were uprising and rebelling against Eastern Han, proclaiming themselves emperor. However, these powers were too weak to claim

In The Death of Duke Ching of Chin, the author provides readers with an enthralling anecdote of the death of Duke Ching in 581 B.C.. The narrator describes the death prophecy of Duke Ching with as much detail as the life he had lived as a ruler. The author’s detailed description of the dream experienced by Duke Ching presents the themes, symbolizing significant aspects that would lead to his death. An ogre came to him in his dream, seeking revenge for the death of its grandsons. The shaman’s prophecy said that he would die before the time of the new grain. He then fell extremely ill and was diagnosed with a disease that is situated above the diaphragm and below the heart. He dreamt about his illness in the form of the two little boys and the physician confirmed it. The presence of the day ping-wu symbolizes the false prophecy the duke believed he had been told too by the shaman, and sentenced him to death. The duke started to eat the grain, however, his stomach swell up and he went for the privy. Fatefully, he fell down the hole and died.

The first ever knowing emperor of china was Shi Huangdi, His named applied to the country, while in Zhou’s dynasty he created the feudal system Shi abolished it was no more. Shi was a strong emperor and he expanded the country of Vietnam, during his reign he built the Great wall and a lot of different things that china is revolved around. During the Shi dynasty there where strict laws. If you didn’t go to school you were killed.

At first, Buddhism received positive responses (Documents 2 and 3) and indifferent responses (Documents 1 and 5), with the Chinese encouraging and defending its customs/beliefs during times of political and social unrest because it offered relief towards the Chinese people and prevented further chaos. Later, Buddhism received negative and unfavorable scrutiny (Documents 4 and 6) after the Tang dynasty was established since it blamed Buddhism for social/political problems because Buddhism rejected the social hierarchy favored by government officials.

Wu expanded China’s territory through perpetual war endeavors. The cost of war was high, so in order to finance the many different wars she established taxes. The taxes she placed were, “taxes including a household levy, a graduated tax based on property assessment, and a land levy collected on acreage basis.” In doing this she spent far less money on military expenditures, therefore saving money for other uses to better China. Her military brutality came in handy when they had attacks from the Turks. In 689 the Turks invaded Chinese land. In retaliation to this Empress Wu gathered up 450,000 soldiers to get rid of the Turks, but they failed to fight them off. After the defeat finding more recruits was difficult so in desperate action she decided to bring her son out of exile and make him a general of an army. This shows good qualities in her as a ruler, because it showed that she was not afraid to ask for help when she really needed it. When her son became general they gathered 50,000 men to fight with him and in the end forced the Turks to retreat to the steppes. This was her first of three impressive military actions. The next was her fending off of the Tibetans. In 696 the Tibetans started causing trouble on the Chinese border and invaded from the west. The Chinese could hold them back and were greatly defeated by the Tibetans. They came back from their

An army led by peasants conquered the Qin Dynasty and seized the capital ending the rule of Qin. Liu Bang the man that lead the army defeated all his enemies and created his own dynasty called the Han.

The foundation of the Han dynasty is a little different from that of the Romans’. Han dynasty is a completely new supremacy and an overturn of the former Chin dynasty because of its tyranny. According to Ssu-ma Ch’ien, the Emperor Kao-tsu faced the competition of other forces and the resistance from the former dynasty in his way of building Han dynasty. Unlike Rome that started wars to expand its territory, Han dynasty took over the territory of former dynasty. During this process, the most competitive and powerful opponent that Kao-tsu faced was Hsiang Yu. Kao-tsu fought with Hsiang Yu in the decisive battle called Kai-hsia.

    The Sui Dynasty only had a lifespan of two main emperors, Emperor Wen and Emperor Yang. Emperor Wen was a great leader for this empire, but his son was an awful tyrant, and due to this, the empire failed.  Li Yuan, a governor of the Sui and also Emperor Yang’s cousin, rebelled and with the help of his sons and others, was able to overthrow the horrible ruler.  In the end, Li Yuan gained power and established the Tang Dynasty.  He became Emperor Gaozu of Tang in 618 AD. (Ancient China: Sui Dynasty)

Unstable government and leadership played a large role in the falling of both dynasties. In 189 CE warlord Dong Zhuo assassinated a 13-year-old that was next in line for the throne, so his younger brother could rule. During that time period the government started having trouble funding taxes. They

From 960 to 1279, The Song Dynasty shaped the way China was perceived. Emperor Taizu of Song founded and ruled the Song Dynasty. His personal name is Zhao Kuangyin and he lived from March 21st 927 to November 14th 976. The Song Dynasty succeeded the Later Zhao, ending the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Emperor Taizu of Song, also named Song Taizu, became emperor through the Mandate of Heaven. The Mandate of Heaven states that there could only be one ruler of China at a time, and they had to be approved by the gods. This was created under the rule of the Zhou Dynasty. Before his reign, Song Taizu was Grand Commander and a Military Governor of the Later Zhao. Because of his military strength and strong appearance, he easily overthrew the current ruler, Emperor Gong. Emperor Gong succeeded his father Emperor Chai Rong once he died. He was seven years old and the people wanted a more capable ruler. Once Song Taizu took the Mandate on February 960, he reunited China by replacing the Zhou Dynasty with the Song Dynasty. Was Emperor Taizu a great ruler compared to the past rulers? Song Taizu was a great ruler compared to the previous emperors because he was smarter then his successors.

The weak Han government was an economic factor that influenced the process of dissolution. After ruling for around 400 years, taxes became too high for the people to pay and the government became corrupt. Because of this, the government was no longer centralized and unable to hold the dynasty together.

This began the Tang Dynasty. The Tang armies extended the empire’s reach to the Afghanistan and Tang also repaired the great wall of China.