Yang Guozhong, né Yang Zhao (楊釗), was a Chinese politician who served as leading chancellor from 752 to 756, late in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Yang was a gambler and wastrel but rose rapidly to political power after his distant cousin, Yang Yuhuan, became Emperor Xuanzong's favorite consort in 744. His skills as a financial administrator helped him become leading chancellor in 752, but while he enjoyed Emperor Xuanzong's trust, he proved disastrously incompetent and incurred the wrath of many, including the general An Lushan, another imperial favorite. Yang was blamed for precipitating An's cataclysmic rebellion in 755. In the following year, he forced the Tang army of Geshu Han, then holding favorable defensive positions in Tong Pass, to confront the rebel army, leading to a rout of Tang forces and the fall of the imperial capital, Chang'an. Yang attempted to flee to his base in Chengdu with Emperor Xuanzong, but when the imperial party stopped at Mawei Station in modern Shaanxi, Yang and his family, including Yang Yuhuan, were massacred by imperial guard soldiers who blamed them for the chaos.
An Lushan was a general in the Tang dynasty and is primarily known for instigating the An Lushan Rebellion.
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, personal name Li Longji, was an emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, reigning from 712 to 756 CE. His reign of 44 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. Through two palace coups, he seized the throne and inherited an empire still in its golden age. He was initially assisted by capable chancellors like Yao Chong, Song Jing and Zhang Yue who were already serving as government officials before Xuanzong ascended the throne. However, under Emperor Xuanzong, the empire reached its turning point and went into sharp decline and near collapse, due to numerous political missteps throughout his long reign, such as over-trusting Li Linfu, Yang Guozhong and An Lushan, with Tang's golden age ending in the An Lushan Rebellion.
Emperor Dezong of Tang, personal name Li Kuo, was an emperor of the Chinese Tang dynasty and the oldest son of Emperor Daizong. His reign of 26 years was the third longest in the Tang dynasty. Emperor Dezong started out as a diligent and frugal emperor and he tried to reform the governmental finances by introducing new tax laws. His attempts to destroy the powerful regional warlords and the subsequent mismanagement of those campaigns, however, resulted in a number of rebellions that nearly destroyed him and the Tang dynasty. After those events, he dealt cautiously with the regional governors, causing warlordism to become unchecked, and his trust of eunuchs caused the eunuchs' power to rise greatly. He was also known for his paranoia about officials' wielding power, and late in his reign, he did not grant much authority to his chancellors.
Duan Xiushi (段秀實), courtesy name Chenggong (成公), formally Prince Zhonglie of Zhangye (張掖忠烈王), was a general of the Chinese Tang dynasty. He was known for his strict military discipline. In 783, after Emperor Dezong fled the capital Chang'an in the midst of a revolt at Chang'an led by the general Zhu Ci, Duan made a desperate attempt to assassinate Zhu and was killed in the attempt.
The Emperor in Han Dynasty, also released under the title The Emperor Han Wu in some countries, is a 2005 Chinese historical drama television series based on the life of Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty. It uses the historical texts Records of the Grand Historian and Book of Han as its source material.
The Old History of the Five Dynasties was an official history mainly focus on Five Dynasties era (907–960), which controlled much of northern China. And it also includes some history of other south states during the era. It was compiled by the Song dynasty official-scholar Xue Juzheng in the first two decades of the Song dynasty, which was founded in 960. It is one of the Twenty-Four Histories recognized through Chinese history.
Emperor Muzong of Tang, personal name Li Heng, né Li You (李宥), was an emperor of the Tang dynasty of China. He reigned from 820 to 824. Emperor Muzong was the son of Emperor Xianzong. He was created crown prince in 812 during the reign of Emperor Xianzong and, after Emperor Xianzong was allegedly assassinated by a eunuch, Li Heng was proclaimed emperor in 820.
Datang Youxia Zhuan is a wuxia novel by Liang Yusheng first published as a serial between 1 January 1963 and 14 June 1964 in the Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao. The first part of a trilogy, the novel is followed by Longfeng Baochai Yuan and Huijian Xinmo.
Royal Tramp is a 2008 Chinese television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel The Deer and the Cauldron. Produced by Zhang Jizhong and Huayi Brothers, the series consists of 50 episodes, filmed in high definition. The series was first broadcast on Jiangsu TV in China in 2008 and was subsequently aired on TVB in Hong Kong and other countries.
All Men Are Brothers is a 2011 Chinese television series adapted from Shi Nai'an's 14th century novel Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. The series is directed by Kuk Kwok-leung and features cast members from mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The series was first broadcast on 8TV in March 2011 in Malaysia.
Huijian Xinmo is a wuxia novel by Liang Yusheng first published as a serial between 23 May 1966 and 14 March 1968 in the Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao. The final part of a trilogy, the novel is preceded by Datang Youxia Zhuan and Longfeng Baochai Yuan. The title of the novel comes from a Buddhist saying, huī huìjiàn, zhǎn xīnmó, which means "brandish the sword of wisdom and slay your inner demons".
Initiating Prosperity is a Chinese historical television series based on events in a period in Chinese history known as the Transition from the Sui dynasty to the Tang dynasty. The series was directed by Wang Wenjie and starred Shen Xiaohai, Liu Wenzhi, Zhang Zijian, Sun Feifei and Bao Guo'an. It was first broadcast on television stations in China in 2006.
The Han Triumph, also known as Wind Ode, is a Chinese television series based on historical events in the early Han dynasty, beginning with the founding of the dynasty by Liu Bang after his triumph over Xiang Yu, and the events leading to the reign of Liu Heng. Directed by Huang Jianzhong, the series starred Ray Lui, Wang Ji, Liu Mu, Zhang Guangbei, Chen Wei and Li Qingxiang in the leading roles. It was first broadcast on CCTV-8 in China on 17 December 2011.
Justice Bao is a Chinese TV series starring producer Jin Chao-chun as the Song dynasty official Bao Zheng. The series ran for 3 seasons from 2010 to 2012. In addition to Jin, Kenny Ho, Fan Hung-hsuan and Lung Lung again reprise their iconic roles from the 1993 Taiwanese hit Justice Pao and the 2008 Chinese series Justice Bao.
Tang Ming Huang is a Chinese television series based on historical events in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty. The series was directed by Chen Jialin and starred Liu Wei as the eponymous emperor. It was first broadcast on CCTV-1 in 1990 in mainland China.
Heroes in Sui and Tang Dynasties is a Chinese television series based on Chu Renhuo's historical novel Sui Tang Yanyi, which romanticises the historical events leading to the fall of the Sui dynasty and the rise of the Tang dynasty. The series was first broadcast in mainland China on various television networks on 14 January 2013. It is not to be confused with Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties 1 & 2, a similar television series also based on the novel, but was released earlier in December 2012. Filming for the series started on 5 November 2011 at the Hengdian World Studios and wrapped up in May 2012.
Su Dongpo is a 2012 Chinese historical TV series produced by China Central Television. It was first shown in 2012, although it was filmed in 2007.
