Tang Decline and Rise of the Song
By Sydney Hancock Tang Decline: Empress Wu and Empress Wei
– A ack on Buddhist monas c order by the Tang was caused by the general weakening of the imperial control that had begun a century earlier – 690-705 The Tang Dynasty was ruled by Empress Wu who had tried to establish a new dynasty – Second a empt to control the throne was made by a woman who married into the imperial family – Empress Wei poisoned her husband (the son of Empress Wu) with the encouragement and support of her rela ves – Empress Wei then placed her own child on the throne – Her a empt to seize power was stopped by another prince Tang Decline: Xuanzong
– Xuanzong, the prince that had led a palace revolt that ended with the destruc on of Wei, ruled from 713-756 – His rule marked the peak of Tang power and the high point of Chinese civiliza on under the dynasty – Xuanzong had a strong interest in poli cal and economic reforms – These reforms were enforced by the officials he appointed to high posi ons – He devoted himself to patronizing the arts – He was interested in music and would play himself, but would also have performers play for him Tang Decline: Yang Guifei
– A er the death of his second wife, Xuanzong became involved with Yang Guifei – This rela onship was one of the most famous in all of Chinese history – Yang was raised to the status of royal concubine – She used her new power to pack the upper levels of the government with her greedy rela ves – The arrogance and ambi on of Yang and her family angered members of rival cliques at court – Xuansong’s neglect of state affairs resulted in economic distress which led to the decline and also led to military weakness, leaving the government unable to deal with disorders effec vely – A revolt led to the killing of members of the Yang family and forced the emperor to have Yang Guifei executed – Xuanzong’s grief and disillusionment le him unable to con nue as emperor Tang Decline
– None of the Tang monarchs following could compare with the previous leaders – To defeat the rebels, the Tang had created alliances with nomadic people living on the northern borders of the empire – The dynasty distributed resources and poli cal power to regional commanders who were loyal to the dynasty – Nomads used poli cal divisions within China to gain entry into and gain control over large areas of the north China plain – Many allied provincial governors became independent rulers that collected their own taxes and passed li