The Glory of Tang China: of Tang Taizong and Empress Wu - The rule of Tang Xuanzong: reforms and stagnation - The expansion of the Tang empire - The rebellion of An Lushan - Financial reforms after the An Lushan rebellion - Court factionalism and the eunuchs' control of the throne - The Huang Chao rebellion and the take-over by military governors The Glory of Tang China: of Tang Taizong and Empress Wu During the reign of emperor Sui Yangdi 隋煬帝, when numerous peasant rebellions shook the foundations of the Sui empire, Li Yuan 李淵 was installed as appeasing commissioner (weifu dashi 慰撫大使) of the northwestern region and as temporary regent (liushou 留守) of Taiyuan 太原 to prevent the Turks (Tujue 突厥) from intruding onto Chinese soil, and in order to put down the rebellions. In 617 he staged an rebellion himself, supported by Pei Ji 裴寂, Liu Wenjing 劉文靜 and his sons Li Jiancheng 李建成 and Li Shimin 李世民. In absence of the Sui emperor, the rebels took the capital Chang’an 長安 (modern Xi'an 西安/Shaanxi), deposed Emperor Yangdi and installed the Prince of Dai 代王, Yang You 楊侑, as the new emperor (posthumous title Sui Gongdi 隋恭帝 - see titles of emperors). Shortly later, Sui Yangdi was killed, and Li Yuan (posthumous title Tang Gaozu 唐高祖) who had been made King of Tang 唐王, ended the Sui Dynasty and founded his own dynasty called Tang 唐朝. The first task of the new dynasty was to put down the rebellions, first that of Xue Ju 薛舉 in the northwest, then the northeast, the Gansu corridor 甘肅 走廊, and the usurpers Dou Jiande 竇建德 and Wang Shichong 王世充 in the Yellow River plain中原, then Du Fuwei 杜伏威 in the River Huai 淮河 area. In 625 most of the territory of China was occupied by the Tang Dynasty. Only one year later Li Shimin charged a plot against the crown prince, killed his brothers and forced his own father to resume the throne. In 628 Li Shimin proclaimed himself emperor (posthumous title Tang Taizong 唐太宗). After this initial phase the first half of the Tang period is characterized by the long reign period Zhenguan 貞觀 "Incorruptible admiration" (627-649) of Emperor Tang Taizong 唐太宗, the usurpation of Empress Wu Zetian 武則天 (who founded the Zhou Dynasty 周, also called Wu-Zhou 武周) and the first half of Emperor Xuanzong’s 唐玄宗 reign before the rebellion of An Lushan 安祿山. Tang Taizong is known as successful general, far-sightened politician who knew to employ the talents of faithful ministers like Fang Xuanling 房玄齡, Wei Zheng 魏徵, and Du Ruhui 杜如晦, and he is reknowned even as poet. The most important political thoughts and activites are compiled in the book Zhenguan zhengyao 貞觀政要 "Essential of the politics during the Zhenguan period". In 649 Tang Taizong died, and during the reign of his son Li Zhi 李治 (posthumous title Tang Gaozong 唐高宗) Empress Wu Zetian gradually took over the control of the inner court (neichao 內朝 - as opposed to the sphere of the ministers, the outer court waichao 外朝) after Empress Wang 王后 and Empress Zhangsun 長孫后 had been politcally eliminated. In order to ensure her position she forced Prince Zhangsun Wuji 長孫無忌 to commit suicide. After Emperor Gaozong’s death she enthroned Li Xian 李顯 as emperor (posthumous title Tang Zhongzong 唐中宗), but soon changed the emperor and enthroned Li Dan 李旦 (posthumous title Tang Ruizong 唐睿宗). In 690 she finally mounted the throne herself, being the only female emperor in Chinese history. Her throne accession was accompanied by bloody murders of throne pretendants and ministers that tried to oppose her. Instead of relying on state officials from the traditional families in court positions she promoted a ladder of official career that made the ranks of state officials accessible to everyone talented without having personal relationships to the ruling circles. She restricted the number of slaves within a noble household and restructured the clan name system (Xingshilu 姓氏錄 regulations). Empress Wu encouraged agricultural acitivities in order to raise the economical output and the national revenue. During her 15 years long reign the economical situation was formidable, basing on the regulations of the Zhenguan period of Tang Taizong. At the same time, the equal field system (juntianfa 均田法) began to show its inaptness to meet the growing fiscal needs of the state treatsure, and the difference between economic theory and practice became evident. But Empress Wu Zetian also spent a lot on Buddhist monasteries and exploited the peasants’ workforce for religious buildings and constructions like in the Longmen Grottoes 龍門石窟. Although the collaborators of Empress Wu Zetian, Zhang Changzong 張昌宗 and his brother Zhang Yizhi 張易之 could be killed after the Empress’ death in 705 by a faction of Zhang Jianzhi 張柬之, Cui Xuanwei 崔玄暐 and others, the court of the reinstalled emperor Zhongzong was controlled by the clan of Empress Wei 韋后, her daughter Princess Anle 安樂公主 and Wu Sansi 武三思, a relative of late Empress Wu Zetian. In 710 Empress Wei enthroned the minor Li Chongmao 李重茂 (posthumous title Tang Shaodi 唐少帝). Only the rebellion of Li Longji 李隆基 could reestablish the power of the house of Li, and the deposed emperor Ruizong was reinstalled. Princess Taiping 太平公主 was the last to challenge the ruling house, and in 712 Ruizong abdicated in favor to Li Longji (posthumous title Tang Xuanzong 唐玄宗). The rule of Tang Xuanzong: reforms and stagnation The fourty years long rule of Emperor Xuanzong 唐玄宗 was a period of glory for the ruling house of Li 李, especially during his reign periods Kaiyuan 開元 "Opening the Origin" and Tianbao 天寶 "Heavenly Treasure", but the last years of his reign, when he became old, show clearly the deficiencies of Tang government, administration and institutions. With the assistance of ministers and state officials like Yao Chong 姚衝, Song Jing 宋璟, Yuwen Rong 宇文融, Xiao Song 蕭嵩, Pei Guangting 裴光庭, Zhang Jiazhen 張嘉貞, Han Xiu 韓休 and Zhang Jiuling 張九齡, Emperor Xuanzong first started a politic of austerity to reconsolidate the state finances. Furthermore, the socio-economic and political changes at China's borders made it necessary to undergo several institutional changes and reforms. The old equal field allotment system (juntianfa 均田法) with the taxation by head (ding 丁) became more and more ineffective, new land was scarce, and more and more peasants offered themselves as tenant farmers in order to escape taxation. Yuwen Rong tried to register these people and their households that were trying to escape tax liability (kuohu 括戶). Furthermore, he decided that the duty of corvée labour in the grain-material-labour tax system (zuyongdiao 租庸調) could be effected in money. In order to save costs during the transportation of grain from the lower Yangtse area 長江 to the capital region around Chang'an 長安 (Guanzhong 關中 or jingji 京畿) should be undertaken in several stages and the grain be stored in state granaries (zhengcang 正倉, yicang 易倉), instead of shipping one load the whole way. Until the era of Emperor Xuanzong the office of the great-counsillor (zaixiang 宰相) was in most cases filled with a person that acted as vice director of the imperial secretariate (shangshu puye, sic! 尚書僕射), the chief person heading the six ministries (liubu 六部). Now, the chancellery (menxiasheng 門下省) developed own departments (fang 房) that were simply mirroring the six ministries in function and that should take over the responsibility of the official ministries. From now on, more and more tasks were taken over by persons with ad-hoc offices of temporary character (chaiqian 差遣) that should bypass the official bureaucracy. Under Emperor Xuanzong, graduates from the Hanlin Academy 翰林院 became more and more important than political counsillors of the imperial government. Far the most consequences came from the reforms in the military adminstration. The military units were normally composed from a large percentage of peasants that had to absolve their military service in a certain unit (fubing 府兵). Now, the Tang empire covered a large area that could only be protected by professional soldiers, especially in the border regions. From 711 on regular troops were garrisoned at the northern borders, and ten military commissioners or military governors (jiedushi 節度使) were installed to take over the protection of these frontiers, the border troops were now mercenary soldiers (changzheng jian'er 長征健兒) instead of conscript troops sent to their service point (zhengbing 征兵, mubing 募兵). The palace guard (jinjun 禁軍) was likewise replaced by permanently employed professional soldiers (kuoji 彍騎 or changcong suwei 長從宿衛 "permanent palace guard"). While the financial reforms were not deep enough to save the state treasury from permanent leaking, the changes whithin the military system imposed a financial burden on the finances and caused the emergence of quasi-independent regional governors, as the military commissioners had the full military and civil authority, including finances and taxation of their region. From 722 on Li Linfu 李林甫 served as great-counsilor and took over the reign for 19 years with almost dictatorial power as Emperor Xuanzong more and more withdrew from daily business and engaged in arts and belles-lettres. Wars with the neighboring states of Tubo 吐藩 (Tibet; often read Tufan), Nanzhao 南詔 in the southwest and with the Qidan 契丹 (Khitan) in the northeast emptied the state treasury without having an effective tax system to resolve the problem of filling it again. From 743 on a concubine named Yang Yuhuan 楊玉環 (known as Yang Guifei 楊貴妃) cought the attention of the ageing emperor, and relatives of her and her clan gained important positions in the political arena, like her brother Yang Guozhong 楊國忠 who succeeded Li Linfu as great-councilor. Also, eunuchs like Gao Lishi 高力士 and later Li Fuguo 李輔國 could obtain more and more influence at the court. The expansion of the Tang empire Like during the Han Dynasty 漢 period, the pressure of foreign peoples raiding the frontiers caused the Chinese government to appease China's neighbors by conquering their territory. The neighbors of the Tang empire were the Turks (Tujue 突厥), Uighurs (Huihe 回紇, later Huigu 回鶻), the Tibetian empire of Tubo 吐藩 (often read Tufan), the kingdom of Nanzhao 南詔, and the northeastern peoples of Qidan 契丹 (Khitan) and Mohe 靺鞨 (Malgal) as well as the three Korean kingdoms and Bohai 渤海 (Parhae). The first empire of the Turks (Chinese: Tujue 突絕) was founded by Ashna Tumen 阿史那土門 (called Ili Khaghan 伊利可汗) in 552, the Turkish people occupied the Zhunggar Basin 準嘎爾盆地 but were defeated in 583 by armies of the Sui Dynasty 隋 and divided into Eastern (Dong Tujue 東突厥) and Western Turks (Xi Tujue 西突厥). The Eastern Turks permanently attacked the border regions of the Sui and the following Tang empire and undertook raids and lootings of Chinese territory as east as near to the capital Chang'an 長安 (modern Xi'an 西安/Shaanxi). In 629 finally Tang troops under the generals Li Qing 李清 and Li Ji 李勣 defeated the Turks and captured Jieli Khaghan 頡利可汗. The Eastern Turk empire was ended, and the areas inhabited by them were administered by the former Khans that were now installed as commander-in-chief (dudu 督都) of Tang China, many of them were resettled around the Chinese capital and therewith served as hosts for the Tang government to prevent Turkish uprisings. The Turkish tribe of the Syr Tardush (Xueyantuo 薛延陀) that still controled large parts of the north were defeated in 646 and controled in an administration unit called protectorate (duhufu) Yanran 燕然督護府. The Western Turks controled the Tarim Basin 塔里木盆地 and the Silkroad. In 640 the Tang general Hou Junji 侯君集 conquered the city state of Gaochang 高昌 and installed the prefectures Xizhou 西州 and Tingzhou 庭州 within the protectorate of the Pacified West (Anxi duhufu 安西督護府) in Jiaohe 交河 (near modern Turfan 吐魯番/Xinjiang). In the next years the Tarim Basin was successively conquered by Tang troops and was from now on administered by the "four garrisons" (sizhen 四鎮: Qiuci 龜茲 [Kucha], Yanqi 焉耆 [Karashahr], Yutian 于闐 [Khotan], and Shule 疏勒 [Kashgar]). General Su Dingfang 蘇定方 destroyed the last military units of the Western Turks in 657, the Zhunggar Basin was administered as protectorate Beiting 北庭督護府 from 702 on. The territorial progress of the Tang empire was stopped in the year 751 during the battle at Talas (Daluosi 怛羅斯, modern Džambul/Kazakhstan) when general Gao Xianzhi 高仙芝 was defeated by the Arabs. Under Ashna Guduolu 阿史那骨咄祿 who proclaimed himself Jiedielish Khaghan 頡跌利施可汗 the Turks were reunited around 680 in an empire called "Later Turks" (Hou Tujue 後突厥). But the Turks had already lost their belligent way and life, many of them became sedentary or semi-sedentary, and a regular trade with Tang China contributed to the economical prosperity of both the Turks and Tang China. The most important trade goods were silk and horses. In 774 the Later Turk federation was destroyed by the Uighurs. The Uighurs (Huihe 回紇, from 788 on called Huigu 回鶻) were a part of the Turkish tribe of the Tölöš (Tiele 鐵勒) and were able to defeat the Eastern Turks - although the tribe of the Syr Tardush dominated their units until 646. The territory roamed by the Uighurs became a Chinese protectorate in 662 called Hanhai 瀚海督護府. From the 8th century on the Uighurs migrated into the areas of modern Gansu and destroyed the federation of the Later Turks. Kutlug Bilge Köl Khagan 骨咄祿毗伽闕可汗 was accepted as foreign sovereign by the Tang empire and was bestowed the title of Huairen Khaghan 懷仁可汗. Uighur troops had a dominant position during the suppression of the An Lushan rebellion in the 750es, any many Turkish units stayed within Chinese territory. During the turbulent times of the An Lushan rebellion Tang China lost her Western territories that were from now on controlled by the Uighurs and the Tibetian empire of Tubo. The Uighur empire was destroyed by the Kirgiz (黠戛斯 Xiajiasi) in 840 and dissolved. The empire of the Tuyuhun 吐谷渾 [sic!] existed since the 4th century and was reigned and inhabited by Xianbei 鮮卑, Di 氐 and Qiang 羌 peoples. General Li Jing 李靖 defeated the Tuyuhun empire in 635 and incorporated it into the Tang empire, but in 663 the Qaidam Basin 柴達木盆地 (modern Qinghai province) became part of the Tibetian empire of Tubo. The Tibetian empire of Tubo 吐藩 (often read Tufan) had been founded by King Srong Tsan Sgam Po as a unification of the many territorial chieftains. From 634 on the Tang empire undertook a nuptial diplomacy with the Tibetian kingdom and sent Princess Wencheng 文成公主 to strengthen the political ties with Tubo. During the disturbances of the An Lushan rebellion Tubo occupied the southern part of the Silkroad, and Tang China lost her Western territories. In 763 Tibetian troops even endangered the Tang capital Chang'an. Nonetheless, at least surfacially good diplomatical relations were resumed in 821, and a high stele in Lhasa still today recounts the peace treaty between Tubo and Tang China. General Zhang Yichao 張儀潮 was able to reconquer a part of the Western territories in 848. The kingdom of Nanzhao 南詔 in the region of modern Yunnan with the capital at Dali 大里 was founded in 649 and again in 779. In 738 the Tang empire enfeoffed the ruler of Nanzhao as King of Yunnan 雲南. Nanzhao often changed side with China and Tubo but was never conquered by Tang troops. In 902 the short-lived state of Changhe 長和 replaced Nanzhao. In the northeast, the nomad people of the Qidan (Khitan) 契丹 dominated the western part of modern Manchuria. They became subject to the Tang in the area-command Songmo 松漠督都府. Although the Qidan often staged raids on Chinese territory and had to be pushed back to the north several times, they never really endangered the Tang empire. Only at the end of the 9th century their federation became stronger and started to put a serious threat to the northeastern military commissions. More the the east, in the eastern part of Manchuria, lived the peoples of Sushen 肅慎 and Mohe 靺鞨 (Korean: Malgal) that founded the kingdom of Zhen 震國 in 698, their king Da Zuorong 大祚榮 became nominally commander-in-chief (dudu 督都) of the Tang empire and was enfeoffed as King of Bohai 渤海, a kingdom that replaced the old Korean state of Koguryŏ. Among the three kingdoms in Korea, Silla (Chinese: Xinluo 新羅) became an ally of Sui and later Tang China. Koguryŏ (Chinese: Gaogouli 高句麗) sought the support of the Turks, and Paekche (Chinese: Baiji 百濟) in the south that of the Japanese to withstand the pressure from the Sui troops in 598 and could likewise heavily defeat the Sui armies in 612. Koguryŏ established a fortification wall along its borders and could again withstand an attack by the Chinese in 645. It was only the united forces of Silla and Tang China (flot under Su Dingfang 蘇定方 and armies under Li Ji 李勣) that were able to defeat the states of Paekche and Koguryŏ. Tang China established a protectorate of the pacified East (Andong duhufu 安東督護府) but was forced by Silla in 671 to withdraw to the Liaodong 遼東 area. Silla was not the only dominating force on the Korean peninsula that should stay independant from China. The northern part of old Koguryŏ became part of the two kingdoms of Parhae (Chinese: Bohai 渤海) and the smaller Puyŏ (Chinese: Fuyu 扶余). Nonetheless, cultural exchange took place in a very intensive way, and Korea imported Chinese writings, ideas and - religions. The rebellion of An Lushan From the first years of the regin period Tianbao 天寶 "Heavenly treasures" (741-757) on Li Linfu 李林甫 served as grand-counsiler. After Li Linfu's death in 752, his opponent Yang Guozhong 楊國忠 became counsillor-in-chief and dominated the court until the rebellion of An Lushan. An Lushan himself, half of Turkish origin, had been installed as military commissioner (jiedushi 節度使) of Pinglu 平盧, Fanyang 范陽 (around modern Beijing) and Hebei 河北, three regions in the northeast, where he was responsible of the military and civil administration of one of the most important economic zones of Tang China. Although Yang Guozhong on several occasions urged Emperor Xuanzong to prepare against a rebellion of An Lushan, the mighty military was sure of the old emperor's confidence. In 755 finally, when his plans of a rebellion became too obvious, he staged his uprising, and within only a few months conquered the Yellow River plain 中原, occupied Luoyang 洛陽 and was about to enter the capital region by the Tongguan Pass 潼關. The generals Feng Changqing 封常清 and Gao Xianzhi 高仙芝 held the pass but were executed because of their failure to suppress the rebel. From now on, new generals took over the fight against the rebel An Lushan: Yan Gaoqing 顏杲卿, Yan Zhenqing 顏真卿, Guo Ziyi 郭子儀, Li Guangbi 李光弼, and the mighty Turkish general Geshu Han 哥舒翰. An Lushan - who had proclaimed himself emperor of a Yan Dynasty 燕 - had lost large territories in the east because many magistrates and military units of the local administration did not submit to him. When the rebel troops advanced to the Tang capital Chang'an 長安 (modern Xi'an 西安/Shaanxi), the court prepared to flee to Sichuan. At Mawei station 馬嵬驛 the troops killed Yang Guozhong and forced his sister, the emperor's favourite Yang Guifei 楊貴妃, to hang herself. The dramatic story of the loss of Tang Xuanzong's beloved concubine is retold in the Qing Dynasty 清 play Changshengdian 長生殿 "The Hall of Everlasting Life". The Emperor's son Li Heng 李亨 meanwhile fled to the northwest and proclaimed himself emperor (posthumous title Tang Suzong 唐肅宗), usurping the throne of his father. The victory of An Lushan was only shortlived: he was murdered by his own son An Qingxu 安慶緒 in 757. Supported by Uighur troops and the garrisons from the Western territories, Chang'an was conquered back. An Qingxu withdrew to Fangyang/Beijing where he united his forces with Shi Siming 史思明, now military commissioner of that region, and fellow of An Lushan. Shi Siming killed An Qingxu, proclaimed himself emperor in 759 and continued the rebellion that is known to Chinese historians as the rebellion of An [Lushan] and Shi [Siming] (An Shi zhi luan 安史之亂). Shi Siming again conquered Luoyang but suffered the same fate as An Lushan: he was killed by his own son Shi Chaoyi 史朝義 in 761 who continued to rebel but was finally defeated in 762. The rebellion of An Lushan was a turning-point in the history of the Tang Dynasty. The central government lost its control over much of the Chinese territory that should now be virtually governed by military commissioners with all political and economical consequences. The economy - especially that of northern China - was thoroughly disturbed. Third, China had lost her Western regions to the Tibetians and to the Uighurs that had advanced into these areas during the years of the rebellion. Financial reforms after the An Lushan rebellion The An Lushan rebellion had a deep impact on the financial situation of the central government. On the one side, much of the economy in northern China had suffered heavy losses, peasants were uprooted, had no land and could pay no taxes, on the other side, what was left from the economy in the north was occupied by mighty military governors (jiedushi 節度使) who collected taxes for themselves and not for the imperial court in Chang'an. For a long time, seventy percent of the tax revenue of the Tang court came from the state monopoly on the production and merchandise of salt. The other part should be provided from a tax poll payed by a free peasant and his household irrespectible of the size and the income of the household. Many peasants therefore tried to escape taxes by working as non-tax liable tenant farmer for a large land owner. This situation made a deepgoing tax reform inevitable. Under Emperor Suzong 唐肅宗, transport and salt-iron-commissioner (zhuanyun-yantieshi 轉運鹽鐵使) Liu Yan 劉晏 reformed the transport system, the salt monopoly and the price control especially for salt and grain. The grain transport along the imperial canal from the Yangtse area to the capital was undertaken by state officials instead of merchants, and the grain was only transported in short ranges and then transshipped. The production of salt was in the hand of the state who sold the salt to merchants. In areas remote from the salt sources (sea salt at the coast, lake salt in Shanxi, and well salt in Sichuan) the salt was piled up in store-rooms to regulate the price in times of shortages. Under Emperor Dezong 唐德宗 chancellor Yang Yan 楊炎 reformed the tax system. Instead of a poll tax (tax per household), a ground tax became the basis for taxation, the tax liable households being taxed for the size of their land - the production output calculated in monetary currency. The threefold tax system of grain, silk and corvée (zuyongdiao 租庸調) was given up, and instead, two times a year the household was taxed according to its income (liangshuifa 兩稅法 "two-tax system"). The state bought the produced grain from the landowners and stored it in granaries to regulate the price. Nonetheless, the task of price regulation was not easy because the amount of circulating money was not easy to determine - people used to cast bronze objects from coins. Besides, tea and the production and merchandise of yeast for brewing alcohols became also a regulary state monopoly during these last decades of the 8th century. Broader reform were also undertaken under Emperor Xianzong 唐憲宗 at the begin of the 9th century. High ministers like Li Jiang 李絳, Li Jifu 李吉甫 and Pei Du 裴度 introduced a tax quota that had to be delivered by the regional administration. Other ministers like Yang Huilin 楊惠琳 and Wu Yuanji 吳元濟 proposed a measure to restrict the political and economical power of the military governors by dividing and reducing the size of their command areas. Court factionalism and the eunuchs' control of the throne The military commissions (or military gouvernements) were actually implemented to protect the borders against foreign invaders in the north. The military protection of the border was a task too important to give these institutions up - although the power of the military commissioners was clearly demonstated during the An Lushan rebellion. As can be seen in the cases of An Lushan 安祿山 and Shi Siming 史思明, the office of military commissioner (military governor, jiedushi 節度使) soon became a hereditary post, and from the 780es on, the military governors permanently challenged the power of the Tang court. Two governors even proclaimed themselves emperor: Zhu Zi 朱泚 (as emperor of Qin 秦) and Li Xiaolie 李孝烈 (empire of Chu 楚) in 781. Larger wars with miltary governors took place in 806-813, 815-818 and in 843. But the military governors did not only challenge the power of the political center, they also fulfilled their duty as protecting force against intruding enemies, like Guo Ziyi 郭子議 and Pugu Huaien 僕固懷恩 who defeated the Tibetian empire of Tubo 吐藩 and the Tanguts (Dangxiang 黨項) in 763. Lu Zhi 陸贄 and Pei Yanling 裴延齡 tried to control the power of the military governors but were militarily defeated, Emperor Dezong 唐德宗 had to leave the capital Chang'an, and from then on a second group was able to take over control of the inner court: the eunuchs. While the eunuchs (huanguan 宦官) did not play a significant role during the first half of the Tang period, they became an important political power after the An Lushan rebellion. The first eunuch influencing a Tang emperor was Emperor Xuanzong's 唐玄宗 eunuch Gao Lishi 高力士. Under the emperors Daizong 唐代宗 and Dezong 唐德宗 eunuchs like Cheng Yuanzhen 程元振, Yu Chaoen 魚朝恩, Dou Wenchang 窦文場 and Huo Xianming 霍仙鳴 even obtained the command over the imperial guards (shencejun 神策軍), controlled the palace secretariat (shimiyuan 樞密院) and even destinated the throne succession: Li Fuguo 李輔國 enthroned Li Yu 李豫 (posthumous title Tang Daizong 唐代宗) against the will of Empress Zhang 張后, Chen Hongzhi 陳弘志 killed Emperor Xianzong 唐憲宗 and installed Li Heng 李恒 (posthumous title Tang Muzong 唐穆宗), Chou Shiliang 仇士良 chose Li Yan 李炎 (posthumous title Tang Wuzong 唐武宗) to follow Emperor Wenzong 唐文宗. On two occasions state officials sought to destroy the eunuch power: The first plot was in 805 when Wang Shuwen 王叔文 and Wang Pi 王伾 and famous scholars like Liu Zongyuan 柳宗元 and Liu Yuxi 劉禹錫 tried to overcome the eunuchs. The eunuch Ju Wenzhen 俱文珍 called some military commissioners for help and suppressed the uprising of the state officials (known as the "two Wangs and eight directors", Er Wang ba sima 二王八司馬). Thirty years later, Li Xun 李訓 and Zheng Zhu 鄭注 stood up against the eunuchs under Wang Shoucheng 王守澄 who had assassinated the emperors Xianzong 唐憲宗 and Jingzong 唐敬宗. But the eunuchs took Emperor Wenzong 唐文宗 as a host and stayed untouched in their powerful position (the so-called Ganlu 甘露 incident of 835). Under the reign of the emperors Xianzong 唐憲宗 and Xuanzong 唐宣宗 (Xuannzong, not to be confused with the great Xuanzong 唐玄宗) the state officials at the central government were divided into two large groups, parties or factions whose members fought each other and strove for political dominance (here known as the Niu-Li factional strive, Niu-Li dangzheng 牛李黨爭). Leader of the traditionalist faction was Niu Sengru 牛僧孺, leader of the reformist group was Li Deyu 李德裕, son of the chancellor Li Jifu 李吉甫. The binding element within the factions were not political motifs or ideological differences but rather personal ties and the aim to obtain as much power as possible for representants and their retainers. More and more state officials did not take part in the official way of recruitment as member of the prefectural quota (mingjing 明經) and passing the state examinations (xuanju 選舉), but rather came from military offices that allowed them access to the echelons of the central government. In 845 the great persecution of Buddhists took place (following the reign period called the Huichang persecution, Huichang fei Fo 會昌廢佛). The economic activities of the rich monasteries, luxury within the cloister's walls as contrasted to the fiscal austerity of the central government, the fact that many people tried to escape taxes by submitting them to the clerical orders, the fact that monasteries - although rich land-owners - were not tax-liable, and the rise of Daoism and Confucianism (the forerunner of Neo-Confucianism, Han Yu 韓愈) lead to this organized proscription of Buddhist clergy and their possession under Emperor Wuzong 唐武宗. Already Emperor Xuanzong 唐玄宗 had undertaken persecutions against Buddhists. The Huang Chao rebellion and the take-over by military governors The permanent struggles among the military commissioners resulted in significant rises of the taxes, and because many peasants had left their homelands, the burden for the remaining landlords consequently rose. Except the extremely high land and production taxes, the rising salt price - as a state monopoly becoming almost the only source of revenue for the Tang state - caused many peasants to take part in the popular uprisings that shook the Tang empire from the 850es on, although officials like the Hanlin scholar Liu Yunzhang 劉允章 criticized the socio-economic situation during the reign of Emperor Wen 唐文宗. The first rebellion to shake late Tang China was the peasant uprising of Yuan Chao 袁晁 in 762-763 in the lower Yangtse 長江 area, just after the suppression of the An Lushan rebellion. In 859 Qiu Fu 裘甫 lead a peasant rebellion in the area modern Zhejiang. Qiu saw himself as delegate of Heaven, proclaimed his own reign eras and had casted coins, but his revolt was soon suppressed by Tang troops. Of slight difference was the rebellion of Pang Xun 龐勛 in 868 that started as a kind of desertion of Xuzhou 徐州 soldiers garrisoned in Guizhou 桂州 that wanted to return home after an overdue end of military service. The court allowed their return ex post, but when they could not enter the town of Xuzhou, the soldiers staged a rebellion and were soon joined by numerous peasants. Tang armies were able to suppress the unrest only one year later. These few rebellions had been locally restricted and were soon pacified. Not so the uprising of the salt traders Wang Xianzhi 王仙芝, Shang Rang 尚讓 and Huang Chao 黃巢 in the region of Henan in 875. These three rebels were able to field a peasant army that was far larger and stronger than the rebellions before. Within a few months they controled the whole northern region, conquered Luoyang 洛陽 and the capital Chang'an 長安 and even advanced far into the south to Guangzhou 廣州. In 881 Huang Chao proclaimed himself emperor of a Qi Dynasty 齊, Emperor Xizong 唐僖宗 had fled to Chengdu 成都 in Sichuan like Emperor Xuanzong 唐玄宗 some 125 years before. Remaining Tang troops under Zheng Tian 鄭畋 and Zhu Wen 朱溫 (later called Zhu Quanzhong 朱全忠) and Turkish troops under Li Keyong 李克用 liberated Chang'an and drove the rebels back to the east. In 884 Huang Chao was finally defeated. The victors of the sucessful suppression of the Huang Chao rebellions were the warlords that now started to take over the power of the central government, the mightiest among them being the Shatuo Turk Li Keyong, Zhu Quanzhong, and Li Maozhen 李茂貞. All of them were military commissioners in absentia and held important posts in the official bureaucracy, the Southern Court (nanya 南衙) that stood in competency to the inner northern offices (beisi 北司) that were controled by the eunuchs (huanguan 宦官). The eunuchs had managed to destinate the imperial succession since almost a century, and the eunuch Yang Fugong 楊復恭 now installed the young Li Ye 李曄 as emperor in 888 (posthumous title Tang Zhaozong 唐昭宗). In the struggle for power, Li Maozhen and the eunuchs abducted the emperor, but their clique was defeated in 903 by Zhu Quanzhong who brought back the emperor, executed the eunuchs and transferred the capital to Luoyang, Chang'an was burnt down. This event reminds the end of the Han Dynasty 漢. Zhu Quanzhong had assassinated the emperor, installed Li Zhu 李柷 (posthumous title Tang Aidi 唐哀帝) and murdered the highest Tang officials at Baima Station 白馬驛. In 907 he forced Emperor Aidi to abdicate and founded his own dynasty, Liang 梁, by historians called Later Liang 後梁, with the capital at Kaifeng 開封.

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