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The Tang dynasty, or the Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Historians generally regard the Tang as a high point in Chinese civilization, and a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Tang territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, rivaled that of the Han dynasty.
The Xianbei were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were strongly suggested to be a multilingual, multi-ethnic confederation consisting of Mongolic, Tungusic and Turkic peoples. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the Wuhuan and Xianbei when they were defeated by the Xiongnu at the end of the third century BC. The Xianbei were largely subordinate to larger nomadic powers and the Han dynasty until they gained prominence in 87 AD by killing the Xiongnu chanyu Youliu. However unlike the Xiongnu, the Xianbei political structure lacked the organization to pose a concerted challenge to the Chinese for most of their time as a nomadic people.
The Jié were members of a tribe of northern China in the fourth century. During the period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, they were regarded by the Han people as one of the Five Barbarians. Under Shi Le and his family, they established the Later Zhao dynasty which dominated northern China for most of its existence from 319 to 351. The Jie ceased to play a role in Chinese history after the destructive Ran Wei–Later Zhao war, although historians believe that certain prominent figures from later periods may have been descendants of the Jie.
Zhang Binglin, also known by his art name Zhang Taiyan, was a Chinese philologist, textual critic, philosopher, and revolutionary.
The An Lushan rebellion was an eight-year civil war during the mid-point of the Tang dynasty that started as a commandery rebellion against the Imperial Government, attempting to overthrow and replace it with the rogue Yan dynasty. The more commonly referred term Ān-Shǐ is used to recognize the two families that led the rebellion, originally by An Lushan, a fangzhen general officer and jiedushi of the Taiyuan Commandery who led the rebellion for two years before he was assassinated by his son An Qingxu. Two years after An Qingxu's ascension, Shi Siming, the governor of Pinglu Commandery and a close ally to An Lushan, violently usurped the leadership and killed An Qingxu. Shi Siming ruled for two years, but in turn fell victim to patricide by his own son Shi Chaoyi, who ruled for another two years before the rebellion was finally quelled by Tang loyalists. The rebellion is also known in Chinese historiography either as the An–Shi rebellion, An–Shi Disturbances or Tianbao Chaos (天寶之乱).
Wu is a major group of Sinitic languages spoken primarily in Shanghai, Zhejiang Province, and the part of Jiangsu Province south of the Yangtze River, which makes up the cultural region of Wu. Speakers of various Wu languages sometimes labelled their mother tongue as Shanghainese when introduced to foreigners. The Suzhou dialect was the prestige dialect of Wu as of the 19th century, but had been replaced in status by Shanghainese by the turn of the 20th century. The languages of Northern Wu are mutually intelligible with each other, while those of Southern Wu are not.
Qu Yuan was a Chinese poet and aristocrat in the State of Chu during the Warring States period. He is known for his patriotism and contributions to classical poetry and verses, especially through the poems of the Chu Ci anthology : a volume of poems attributed to or considered to be inspired by his verse writing. Together with the Shi Jing, the Chu Ci is one of the two greatest collections of ancient Chinese verse. He is also remembered in connection to the supposed origin of the Dragon Boat Festival.
Cui Hao was a Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty in China and considered a main early exponent of the regulated verse form of Classical Chinese poetry.
Mathematics emerged independently in China by the 11th century BCE. The Chinese independently developed a real number system that includes significantly large and negative numbers, more than one numeral system, algebra, geometry, number theory and trigonometry.
Ge Hong, courtesy name Zhichuan (稚川), was a Chinese linguist, Taoist practitioner, philosopher, physician, politician, and writer during the Eastern Jin dynasty. He was the author of Essays on Chinese Characters, the Baopuzi, the Emergency Formulae at an Elbow's Length, among others. He was the originator of first aid in traditional Chinese medicine and influenced later generations.
The Great Tang Treatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era, also called the Kaiyuan Star Observations, is a Chinese astrology encyclopedia compiled by Gautama Siddha and a team of scholars between 714 and 724 AD during the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty.
The transition from the Tang to the Song dynasty (960–1279) in China did not greatly interrupt the trends of Chinese Muslims established during the Tang rule.
Flying cash, or Feipiao, was a type of paper negotiable instrument used during China's Tang dynasty invented by merchants but adopted by the state. Its name came from their ability to transfer cash across vast distances without physically transporting it. It is a precursor to true banknotes which appeared during the Song dynasty.
The Shizhoupian is the first known Chinese dictionary, and was written in the ancient Great Seal script. The work was traditionally dated to the reign of King Xuan of Zhou, but many modern scholars assign it to the State of Qin in the Warring States period. The text is no longer fully extant, and it is now known only through fragments.
The Xianbei state or Xianbei confederation was a nomadic empire which existed in modern-day Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, northern Xinjiang, Northeast China, Gansu, Buryatia, Zabaykalsky Krai, Irkutsk Oblast, Tuva, Altai Republic and eastern Kazakhstan from c. 93 to 234. Like most ancient peoples known through Chinese historiography, the ethnic makeup of the Xianbei is unclear, though they are believed to have been a Proto-Mongolic people. There are also other strong suggestions that they were a multi-ethnic confederation with Mongolic and Turkic influences. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the Wuhuan and Xianbei when they were defeated by the Xiongnu at the end of the third century BC. The Xianbei were largely subordinate to larger nomadic powers and the Han dynasty until they gained prominence in 87 AD by killing the Xiongnu chanyu Youliu. However unlike the Xiongnu, the Xianbei political structure lacked the organization to pose a concerted challenge to the Chinese for most of their time as a nomadic people.
During Tang dynasty rule in China (618–907), a complex relationship between imperial China and Tibet regime was developed. During this period Chinese and Tibetan forces had many battles since both parties were military powers, but there were also years of peace and friendly relations.
Counting rods are small bars, typically 3–14 cm long, that were used by mathematicians for calculation in ancient East Asia. They are placed either horizontally or vertically to represent any integer or rational number.
Shit stick means "a thin stake or stick used instead of toilet paper" for anal hygiene and was a historical item of material culture introduced through Chinese Buddhism and Japanese Buddhism. A well-known example is gānshǐjué/kanshiketsuwato from the Chan/Zen gōng'àn/kōan in which a monk asked "What is buddha?" and Master Yunmen/Unmon answered "A dry shit stick".
Liangzhe Circuit (997–1160s) was one of the major circuits during the Song dynasty (960–1279). Its administrative area corresponds roughly to modern Zhejiang, Shanghai, and southern Jiangsu. The fertile Yangtze River Delta lay within Liangzhe Circuit, as did Lake Tai. Liangzhe was the wealthiest circuit in Song.
The coinage of the Southern Tang dynasty consisted mostly of bronze cash coins while the coinages of previous dynasties still circulated in the Southern Tang most of the cash coins issued during this period were cast in relation to these being valued as a multiple of them.
References
- Bai Shouyi; et al. (1989). A Comprehensive History of China vol. 10. Shanghai: Shanghai Renmin Chubanshe. pp. 2, 009–2, 011. ISBN 7-208-04997-1.
- Shi Yunli (1996). Ancient Chinese Science and Technology History Outline: Astronomy. Shenyang: Liaoning Education Press. pp. 74–76. ISBN 7-5382-3701-1.
