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The T’ang dynasty has the distinction of having had the only female empress. A concubine of the T’ai-tsung and Kao-tsung, named Wu Chao reigned as emperor. She removed the legitimate heir in 690 A.D. and took the throne under the name Emperor Tse-t’ien. Her reign is actually a disruption of the T’ang dynasty, as she called her dynasty the Chou. This dynasty lasted for 15 years. She was able to gain power largely as a result of the hidden support of the Buddhist church. They called her a reincarnation of the Bodhisattva Maitreya, a Buddhist savior. She was also powerful as a result of earlier having been influential in placing her relatives in important administrative positions. The peasants especially suffered under her reign as they were heavily taxed and required to pay dues. While the peasants were being devastated, the favorites of the empress and the monasteries enriched themselves and enlarged their states.
 * __Opening Statement:__** We believe that the Tang dynasty was the greatest dynasty to ever rule over China's land. Althought our dynasty is much like the Sui, we had great success because of them, and we thank them for it. On our own, we were able to expand the administrative system (Had made it into four main areas; the Department of State Affairs, an Imperial Chancellory, an Imperial Grand Secretary, and a Council of state.) We were those who compiled the T'ang code, which still exists today. Under the ruling of the Tang Dynasty, "China" became the most powerful and prosperous country in the world. Particularly, in this glorious period, the economy, politics, culture and military strength reached an extremly advanced level for their time. As you keep reading ,you will understnad just the great depths of what we had acomplished, and why it makes us so great.

As in previous periods, the warfare and internal struggles for power made life for the peasants very difficult. A sequence of peasant uprisings beginning in 860 A.D. led to the demise of the T'ang Dynasty. The most successful of these uprisings was led by Wang Hsien-chi and Huang Ch'ao in 874 A.D. The two led an army of peasants that captured eastern China. The government then issued orders to arm the rest of the country against the rebels; however, this proved to be a misguided order as the newly armed peasants joined rather than fought the rebels. Wang was beheaded, but Huang Ch'ao continued conquering China and eventually made himself emperor of a dynasty he called the Ch'i dynasty. This was the first peasant uprising that had ever succeeded. The remaining members of the old government appealed to foreigners for help in overthrowing Huang Ch'ao, and in 885 A.D. the T'ang emperor returned to his capital; however, he had lost all power, and war again ensued as others tried to gain control of the empire. This led to a period of division known as the Five Dynastys.

Tang Other Dyansties Closing Statement Bibliography