Die Tang-Dynastie - Golden aber ohne Glanz l DIE GESCHICHTE CHINAS

Every rise is followed by a fall. So when we speak of a golden age, we have to make sure not to use this term too easily. The rise of Tang to power was impressive in many ways. But it left behind many achievements that remained unchanged until the end of imperial China in the 20th century. The significance of the dynasty for art and culture is still undisputed. But its rulers became victims of their own excessiveness and greed. And as if these ancient character flaws weren't bad enough, they also suffered a humiliating defeat after the other. Hello, my name is Ella and welcome to EinfachGeschichte and to this episode about China's dynasty, the Tang. It was a time when many landmarks for modern China were set and the empire was moving into the concert of the great powers. A huge export industry was created and a huge cultural influence began to be exerted on the surrounding neighborhoods. The big difference to today, however, is that these neighboring states liked to see it when they were brought into contact with the dynasty. They not only contributed to the rise of the Tang, they also benefited from their glorious days. It took a while for the Tang to establish themselves. After Li Yuan and his daughter, Princess Ping Yong, led the Tang to impressive victories, there was an internal conflict within the royal camp. Li Ximin, better known as Tao Zong, who not only had his father exiled, but also had some of his brothers murdered, finally made it to the throne. He immediately began to announce reforms, which is what new rulers prefer to do. However, unlike many political reformers, who want to change and renew everything without much thought, Tao Zong first limited himself to writing down his statutes. This book, which contains 500 paragraphs, is considered to be his most sustainable work. The regulations contained in it were strongly influenced by Confucius' philosophy of hierarchy. For example, the severity of the punishment depended on The son, who commits a crime against his father, is punished much stricter than if the father does the same to his son. Tao Zong also founded the Chinese officialdom and the government apparatus, which remained unchanged in its basic concept until the end of the Chinese Empire in 1912. There were three different authorities, the Chancellery, the Department for State Affairs and the Secretariat. In addition, there were six ministries, the one for tax affairs, for traditions, which regulated the ritual practices and state ceremonies, the defense, justice and one that was responsible for the infrastructure. In theory, anyone who had learned Confucius could take the exam to become an official and apply for a job in the government. But it was not only intellectual skills that were in demand. In order to get into office for the state service, you had to be able to express yourself particularly well, be able to handle the typewriter in a talented way and be an expressive poet. The Tang put a lot of value on art. In part, this was also due to the high influence of Buddhism, which had been very popular since the beginning of the dynasty and inspired people to think. In a cynical way, one could also say that the Buddhist temples were usually very wealthy and the Tang had cast an eye on the rich. When things were bad for the household, the Tang simply used the wealth of one of the temples and paid for the repairs to the religious places, statues, public buildings and bridges. The poets were practically the rock stars of that time. Li Bai and Du Fu had offices in the government and their works were celebrated in the theater, at the dance and at the court. They were also the chroniclers of their time. Among other things, their works of life are the most important sources that we still have available for this era today. While progress flourished in all areas of intellectual life, it was especially chemistry that developed the most. Scientists of the Tang created water- and dust-proof creams with which one could rub one's weapons and clothes. And the first Chinese oil oligarchs drilled holes in the earth to get to the natural gas, which they then transported through bamboo pipelines to the blast furnaces to dissolve, for example, salt. The Tang began with an enormous territorial expansion, which should carry the Chinese borders further outside than ever before. Their influence now reached northern Vietnam in the south, Kashmir in the west and North Korea in the northeast. The enormous wealth and skill of the Chinese spurred the interest of the surrounding countries. Several small states joined the empire as protectors. They reached all the way to Herat in western Afghanistan. Despite the constant bandit raids, trade flourished along the Silk Road. The Chinese not only made a profit from their exports, they also enjoyed the many novelties they brought into the country through trade. An all-changing novelty was the introduction of the chair into everyday life. Before that, the Chinese were used to sitting on a mat in a tailor's chair. Today, daily fully loaded Costco container ships cross the world seas, but already in the 9th century, the Chinese had a relatively large shipping industry. The shipwreck discovered in 1998 by Billy Tung was loaded, for example, with a cargo of 63,000 ceramics, silver and gold pieces. Many different nationalities emigrated to China through the many port cities, including Persians, Indian Hindus, Malay and Jews. There was also a slave trade. Duan Chengzi, a writer from the 9th century, reported about the human trade around Bobali, from which it is assumed today that it is the old word for Somalia. For a short period of time, Wu Zetian ruled the country. China's first and only empress. However, when she died, it didn't take long before a new man regained power. This new emperor was called Xuanzong and had a promising start. He abolished the death penalty and his new chancellor worked hard to fight the deflation. But already his successor made all of this back to nothing. And in addition to all the excesses, it began to grow at the northern borders of China. While the Chinese territory had spread rapidly, it also created many small protectorates, of which most were quite satisfied that they were part of the rising empire. But Xuanzong made the mistake of giving his generals too much freedom. An Lushan, who ruled the northern territories, began an open rebellion. It was not much more than an opportunistic grip on power, but he destroyed the trust in him above all. An Lushan was Mongolian. It is important to mention that the Mongols at this time were a collection of different tribes. Only Genghis Khan was supposed to unite them in the 13th century. An Lushan was like today's Mongols, half of Turkish origin, and he saw the opportunity to strengthen the Turkish movement in the region. With him began decades of war, which drove the state into bankruptcy and plunged the entire region into chaos. The most famous poets of the Tang Dynasty fell into the power struggles and, for example, Dufu's youngest son died of starvation. Although Dufu originated from a Confucian school, his works, however, put a lot of emphasis on the Buddhist virtues of humanity and selflessness, especially in times of the most terrible suffering. If you look at the high religiosity of the rulers of the Tang, this does not seem to be surprising. In the middle of the war, Dufu wrote the following, mumbling about what I have experienced. If even I have experienced this suffering, how much must the ordinary person have been caught by these winds? But as soon as the weapons were silenced, the Buddhists were pursued again. The death of the Tang Dynasty made the spiritualism in itself responsible for the fall of the empire. If they began to rob the monasteries, they would destroy them this time. To the protests of the intellectuals, they only replied that China lost its way out of sight when it moved too far away from the Confucian teachings. Again, it was Taoism that they saw as China's original religion. It was the bitter retreat into nationalism. On the one hand, the time of the Tang Dynasty was an honorable era, which enriched China's history with many artistic and technical innovations. Through the massive migration movement, one could say that multiculturalism also flourished. When everyone made money, the differences in origin, language and even faith seemed to disappear into insignificance. But the empire was at its weakest point. Too much power was handed over to the commanders of the border regions, because it was not possible to control the many thousands of kilometers between the four corners of the empire sufficiently. Yes, although the Tang had a post service that could cover a distance of over 32,000 kilometers, it could not deceive us about the fundamental weaknesses of the inflated empire. Where we are at the good old post, isn't it amazing that we still use a form of communication that is so many years old? The same can be said of paper. One of the oldest and at the same time most current inventions of civilization. The Chinese not only invented paper, but also highly complex writing and printing. More about this is up here in our episode. What do you think? Should the Tang have kept their empire smaller and therefore more concentrated, or was it the right decision to expand despite the possible consequences? How could they have controlled their governors better and successfully deal with these regions in the long term instead of sinking in war? Leave your comments below and subscribe to our channel to see all the videos we produce on China and the other topics of history. That's it from us. Bye!