Editing Tang dynasty (section)

== History ==
{{further|Timeline of the Tang dynasty}}

=== Establishment ===
{{Further|Transition from Sui to Tang|Emperor Taizong of Tang}}
[[File:TangGaozu.jpg|thumb|upright=0.5|Portrait of [[Emperor Gaozu of Tang]] (566–635) dating to the [[Ming dynasty]] (1368–1644)]]
The [[House of Li]] had ethnic [[Han Chinese|Han]] origins, and it belonged to the northwest military aristocracy prevalent during the [[Sui dynasty]].{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|pp=90–91}}{{sfn|Adshead|2004|pp=40–41}} According to official Tang records, they were [[patrilineality|paternally descended]] from [[Laozi]], the traditional founder of [[Taoism]] (whose personal name was Li Dan or Li Er), the [[Han dynasty]] general [[Li Guang]], and [[Li Gao]], the founder of the Han-ruled [[Western Liang (Sixteen Kingdoms)|Western Liang]] kingdom.{{sfn|Latourette|1934|p=191}}{{sfn|Drompp|2004|p=126}}{{sfn|Drompp|2005|p=376}} This family was known as the [[Longxi County|Longxi]] Li lineage, which also included the prominent Tang poet [[Li Bai]]. The Tang emperors were partially of [[Xianbei]] ancestry, as [[Emperor Gaozu of Tang]]'s mother [[Dugu sisters|Duchess Dugu]] was part-Xianbei.{{sfn|Skaff|2012|p=125}}{{sfn|Togan|2011|p=177}} Apart from the traditional historiography, some modern historians have suggested the Tang imperial family might have modified its genealogy to conceal their Xianbei heritage.<ref>{{citation |last1=Wechsler |first1=Howard J. |title=Sui and T'ang China, 589–906. Part 1 |year=1979 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-05594-9 |page=151 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=idu6-Ie1MhwC&pg=PA151}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Chen |first1=Sanping |title=Multicultural China in the Early Middle Ages |year=2012 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-0628-9 |pages=4–6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ugbWH-5OjegC&pg=PA5}}</ref>

Emperor Gaozu (born Li Yuan) was the founder of the Tang. He was previously Duke of Tang and governor of [[Taiyuan]], the capital of modern [[Shanxi]], during the collapse of the [[Sui dynasty]] (581–618).{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|pp=90–91}}{{sfn|Graff|2000|pp=78, 93}} Li had prestige and military experience, and was a first cousin of [[Emperor Yang of Sui]] (their mothers were both one of the [[Dugu sisters]]).{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=91}} Li Yuan rose in rebellion in 617, along with his son and his equally militant daughter [[Princess Pingyang]] ({{died-in|623}}), who raised and commanded her own troops. In winter 617, Li Yuan occupied [[Chang'an]], relegated Emperor Yang to the position of [[Taishang Huang]] ('retired emperor'), and acted as [[regent]] to the puppet child-emperor [[Yang You]].{{sfn|Adshead|2004|p=40}} On the news of Emperor Yang's murder by General [[Yuwen Huaji]] on June 18, 618, Li Yuan declared himself emperor of the newly founded Tang dynasty.{{sfn|Adshead|2004|p=40}}{{sfn|Graff|2000|p=78}}

Emperor Gaozu ruled until 626, when he was forcefully deposed by his son [[Li Shimin]], the Prince of Qin. Li Shimin had commanded troops since the age of 18, had prowess with bow and arrow, sword and [[lance]] and was known for his effective cavalry charges.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=91}}{{sfn|Graff|2000|p=80}} Fighting a numerically superior army, he defeated [[Dou Jiande]] (573–621) at [[Luoyang]] in the [[Battle of Hulao]] on May 28, 621.{{sfn|Adshead|2004|pp=40–42}}{{sfn|Graff|2000|pp=78, 82, 85–86, 95}} Due to fear of assassination, Li Shimin ambushed and killed two of his brothers, [[Li Yuanji]] ({{b.|603}}) and crown prince [[Li Jiancheng]] ({{b.|589}}), in the [[Xuanwu Gate Incident]] on July 2, 626.{{sfn|Adshead|2004|p=42}} Shortly thereafter, his father abdicated in his favour, and Li Shimin ascended the throne. He is conventionally known by his [[temple name]] Taizong.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=91}}

Although killing two brothers and deposing his father contradicted the [[Confucian]] value of [[filial piety]],{{sfn|Adshead|2004|p=42}} Taizong showed himself to be a capable leader who listened to the advice of the wisest members of his council.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=91}} In 628, Emperor Taizong held a Buddhist memorial service for the casualties of war; in 629, he had Buddhist monasteries erected at the sites of major battles so that monks could pray for the fallen on both sides of the fight.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=93}}

During the [[Tang campaign against the Eastern Turks]], the [[Eastern Turkic Khaganate]] was destroyed after the capture of its ruler, [[Illig Qaghan]] by the famed Tang military officer [[Li Jing (Tang dynasty)|Li Jing]] (571–649), who later became a [[Chancellor of the Tang dynasty]]. With this victory, the Turks accepted Taizong as their [[khagan]], a title rendered as [[Tian Kehan]] in addition to his rule as [[emperor of China]] under the traditional title "[[Son of Heaven]]".{{sfn|Adshead|2004|pp=42–43}}{{sfn|Twitchett|2000|p=124}} Taizong was succeeded by his son Li Zhi (as [[Emperor Gaozong of Tang|Emperor Gaozong]]) in 649.

{{multiple image
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| image1            = China, 742.svg
| caption1          = Tang circuits ({{zhi|c=道|p=dào}}) in 742 according to ''[[The Cambridge History of China]]''
| image2            = Tang Dynasty emissaries at the court of Varkhuman in Samarkand carrying silk and a string of silkworm cocoons, 648-651 CE, Afrasiyab murals, Samarkand.jpg
| caption2          = Tang emissaries to the [[Sogdia]]n king [[Varkhuman]] in [[Samarkand]] (648–651){{snd}}[[Afrasiab murals]]
| image3            = Huteng dancer.jpg
| caption3          = 7th-century Sogdian ''[[Huteng]]'' dancer{{snd}}Xiuding temple pagoda, [[Anyang]], Henan
}}

The Tang engaged in [[Tang campaigns against the Western Turks|military campaigns against the Western Turks]], exploiting the rivalry between [[Western Turks|Western]] and [[Eastern Turkic Khaganate|Eastern Turks]] in order to weaken both. Under [[Emperor Taizong of Tang|Emperor Taizong]], campaigns were dispatched in the Western Regions against [[Gaochang]] in 640, [[Karasahr]] in 644 and 648, and [[Kucha]] in 648. The wars against the Western Turks continued under [[Emperor Gaozong of Tang|Emperor Gaozong]], and the [[Western Turkic Khaganate]] was finally annexed after General [[Su Dingfang]]'s defeat of Khagan [[Ashina Helu]] in 657. Around this time, the Tang court enjoyed visits by numerous dignitaries from foreign lands. These were depicted in the ''[[Portraits of Periodical Offering]]'', probably painted by [[Yan Liben]] (601–673).<ref>{{Citation |last1=Zhou |first1=Xiuqin |title=Zhaoling: The Mausoleum of Emperor Tang Taizong |journal=Sino-Platonic Papers |date=April 2009 |volume=187 |page=155 |url=http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp187_taizong_emperor.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp187_taizong_emperor.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-10 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|From right to left are representatives hailing from [[Lu (state)|Lu]] ({{lang|zh|魯國}})—a reference to the [[Eastern Wei]]—[[Rouran]] ({{lang|zh|芮芮國}}), [[Sasanian Empire|Persia]] ({{lang|zh|波斯國}}), [[Baekje]] ({{lang|zh|百濟國}}), [[Kumedh]] ({{lang|zh|胡密丹}}), [[Balkh|Baiti]] ({{lang|zh|白題國}}), [[Mohe people]] ({{lang|zh|靺國}}), Central [[India]] ({{lang|zh|中天竺}}), [[Sri Lanka]] ({{lang|zh|獅子國}}), Northern [[India]] ({{lang|zh|北天竺}}), [[Tashkurgan]] ({{lang|zh|謁盤陀}}), Wuxing of the [[Chouchi]] (({{lang|zh|武興國}}), [[Kucha]] (({{lang|zh|龜茲國}}), [[Japan]] ({{lang|zh|倭國}}), [[Goguryeo]] ({{lang|zh|高麗國}}), [[Khotan]] ({{lang|zh|于闐國}}), [[Silla]] ({{lang|zh|新羅國}}), [[Dangchang]] ({{lang|zh|宕昌國}}), [[Langkasuka]] ({{lang|zh|狼牙修}}), [[Dengzhi]] ({{lang|zh|鄧至國}}), [[Yarkent Khanate|Yarkand]] ({{lang|zh|周古柯}}), [[Kabadiyan]] ({{lang|zh|阿跋檀}}), the "Barbarians of Jianping" ({{lang|zh|建平蠻}}), and Nudan ({{lang|zh|女蜑國}}).}}

{{Wide image|王会图 唐阎立本 (annotations).jpg|1000px|align-cap=center|Foreign ambassadors visiting the Tang court{{snd}}the ''[[Portraits of Periodical Offering]]'' by Yan Liben (601–673)}}

=== Wu Zetian's usurpation ===
{{Main|Wu Zhou}}
[[File:武曌像.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Wu Zetian]], the sole recognised empress regnant in Chinese history]]
Having entered Emperor Gaozong's court as a lowly consort, [[Wu Zetian]] ultimately acceded to the highest position of power in 690, establishing the short-lived Wu Zhou. Emperor Gaozong suffered a stroke in 655, and Wu began to make many of his court decisions for him, discussing affairs of state with his councillors, who took orders from her while she sat behind a screen.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|pp=97–98}} When Empress Wu's eldest son, the crown prince, began to assert his authority and advocate policies opposed by Empress Wu, he suddenly died in 675. Many suspected he was poisoned by Empress Wu. Although the next heir apparent kept a lower profile, Wu accused him of plotting a rebellion in 680; he was banished and later obliged to commit suicide.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=98}}

In 683, Emperor Gaozong died and was succeeded by [[Emperor Zhongzong of Tang|Emperor Zhongzong]], his eldest surviving son by Wu. Zhongzong tried to appoint his wife's father as chancellor: after only six weeks on the throne, he was deposed by Empress Wu in favour of his younger brother, [[Emperor Ruizong of Tang|Emperor Ruizong]].{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=98}} This provoked a group of Tang princes to rebel in 684. Wu's armies suppressed them within two months.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=98}} She proclaimed the Tianshou [[Chinese era names|era]] of Wu Zhou on October 16, 690,{{sfn|Forte|1988|p=234}} and three days later demoted Emperor Ruizong to [[crown prince (China)|crown prince]]. He was also forced to give up his father's surname Li in favour of the Empress Wu.{{sfn|Marlowe|2008|p=64}} She then ruled as China's only [[empress regnant]] in history.

{{multiple image
| perrow            = 2
| image1            = 20210220 A model of Luoyang in Sui and Tang dynasty, Henan Museum.jpg|
| image2            = 洛阳明堂天堂遗址中明堂的复原模型 (cropped).jpg
| footer            = Model of Luoyang imperial palace during Wu Zetian's reign. Many major construction projects were commissioned during Wu Zetian's time, such as the {{ill|Bright Hall|zh|明堂}} of Luoyang (right) commissioned by Wu Zetian (original {{cvt|93|m}} tall).<ref>{{Citation |title=Zizhi Tongjian |title-link=Zizhi Tongjian |year=1084 |editor-last=Sima |editor-first=Guang |editor-link=Sima Guang |script-title=zh:資治通鑑 |trans-chapter=Tang #20 |script-chapter=zh:卷第二百四·唐紀二十 |chapter-url=https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?chapter=416283 |language=lzh |via=the [[Chinese Text Project]] |script-quote=zh:｢辛亥，明堂成，高二百九十四尺，方三百尺。凡三层：下层法四时，各随方色。中层法十二辰；上为圆盖，九龙捧之。上层法二十四气；亦为圆盖，上施铁凤，高一丈，饰以黄金。中有巨木十围，上下通贯，栭栌棤藉以为本。下施铁渠，为辟雍之象。号曰万象神宫。｣}}</ref>
}}

A palace coup on February 20, 705, forced Empress Wu to yield her position on February 22. The next day, her son Zhongzong was restored to power; the Tang was formally restored on March 3. She died soon after.{{sfn|Adshead|2004|p=45}} To legitimise her rule, she circulated a document known as the ''Great Cloud Sutra'', which predicted that a reincarnation of the [[Maitreya]] Buddha would be a female monarch who would dispel illness, worry, and disaster from the world.{{sfn|Ebrey|1999|p=116}}{{sfn|Sen|2003|pp=97–98}} She even introduced numerous revised [[Chinese characters of Empress Wu|written characters]] for the language, though they reverted to the original forms after her death.{{sfn|Whitfield|2004|p=74}} Arguably the most important part of her legacy was diminishing the hegemony of the Northwestern aristocracy, allowing people from other clans and regions of China to become more represented in Chinese politics and government.{{sfn|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|p=82}}{{sfn|Schafer|1985|p=8}}

=== Emperor Xuanzong's reign ===
{{multiple image
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| image1            = 西安大雁塔.jpg
| alt1              = 西安大雁塔
| caption1          = The [[Giant Wild Goose Pagoda]] in Chang'an, built in 652 and repaired by Wu Zetian in 704
| image2            = Xi'anwildgoosepagoda2.JPG
| alt2              = Xi'anwildgoosepagoda2
| caption2          = The [[Small Wild Goose Pagoda]], built by 709, was adjacent to the Dajianfu Temple in Chang'an, where Buddhist monks gathered to translate [[Sanskrit]] texts into Chinese{{sfn|Kiang|1999|p=12}}
}}
{{Further|Emperor Xuanzong of Tang}}
[[File:Dunhuang217.jpg|thumb|Mural depicting Tang architecture constructed in 707–710{{snd}}[[Mogao Grotto]] Cave 217]]
There were many prominent women at court during and after Wu's reign, including [[Shangguan Wan'er]] (664–710), a poet, writer, and trusted official in charge of Wu's private office.{{sfn|Adshead|2004|p=46}} In 706, the wife of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, [[Empress Wei (Tang dynasty)|Empress Wei]] ({{died-in|710}}), persuaded her husband to staff government offices with his sister and her daughters, and in 709 requested that he grant women the right to bequeath hereditary privileges to their sons (which before was a male right only).{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=6}} Empress Wei eventually poisoned Zhongzong, whereupon she placed his fifteen-year-old son upon the throne in 710. Two weeks later, [[Li Longji]] (the later Emperor Xuanzong) entered the palace with a few followers and slew Empress Wei and her faction. He then installed his father [[Emperor Ruizong of Tang|Emperor Ruizong]] ({{reign|710|712}}) on the throne.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=99}} Just as Emperor Zhongzong was dominated by Empress Wei, so too was Ruizong dominated by [[Princess Taiping]].{{sfn|Adshead|2004|p=47}} This ended when Princess Taiping's coup failed in 712, and Emperor Ruizong abdicated to [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang|Emperor Xuanzong]].{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=99}}{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=6}}

The Tang reached its height during Emperor Xuanzong's 44-year reign, which has been characterized as a golden age of economic prosperity and pleasant lifestyles within the imperial court.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=7}}{{sfn|Schafer|1985|p=8}} Xuanzong was seen as a progressive and benevolent ruler, having abolished the death penalty in 747. Previously, all executions had to be approved by the emperor; in 730, there were only 24 executions.{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=47}} Xuanzong bowed to the consensus of his ministers on policy decisions and made efforts to staff government ministries fairly with different political factions.{{sfn|Adshead|2004|p=47}} His staunch Confucian chancellor [[Zhang Jiuling]] (673–740) worked to reduce [[deflation]] and increase the money supply by upholding the use of private coinage, while his aristocratic and [[technocratic]] successor [[Li Linfu]] ({{died-in|753}}) favoured government monopoly over the issuance of coinage.{{sfn|Adshead|2004|p=89}} After 737, most of Xuanzong's confidence rested in Li Linfu, his long-standing chancellor, who championed a more aggressive foreign policy employing non-Chinese generals. This policy ultimately created the conditions for a massive rebellion against Xuanzong.{{sfn|Adshead|2004|pp=47–48}}

=== An Lushan rebellion and catastrophe ===
{{Main|An Lushan rebellion}}
Previously at the height of their power, the [[An Lushan rebellion]] (755–763) ultimately destroyed the prosperity of the Tang. [[An Lushan]] was a half-[[Sogdiana|Sogdian]], half-[[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] Tang commander since 744, who had experience fighting the [[Khitans]] of [[Manchuria]] with a victory in 744, yet most of his campaigns against the Khitans were unsuccessful.{{sfn|Xu|1993|pp=455–467}} He was given great responsibility in [[Hebei]], which allowed him to rebel with an army of more than 100,000 troops. After capturing Luoyang, he named himself emperor of a new, but short-lived, [[Yan (Anshi)|Yan state]]. Despite early victories scored by the Tang general [[Guo Ziyi]] (697–781), the newly recruited troops of the army at the capital were no match for An Lushan's frontier veterans; the court fled Chang'an. While the heir apparent raised troops in [[Shanxi]] and Xuanzong fled to [[Sichuan]], they called upon the help of the [[Uyghur Khaganate]] in 756. The [[Uyghur people|Uyghur]] khan [[Bayanchur Khan|Moyanchur]] was greatly excited at this prospect, and married his own daughter to the Chinese diplomatic envoy once he arrived, receiving in turn a Chinese princess as his bride. [[History of the Uyghur people|The Uyghurs]] helped recapture the Tang capital from the rebels, but they refused to leave until the Tang paid them an enormous sum of tribute in silk. Even [[Abbasid caliphate|Abbasid Arabs]] assisted the Tang in putting down the rebellion.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=100}}{{sfn|Eberhard|2005|pp=184–185}}{{sfn|Schafer|1985|p=9}} A massacre of foreign Arab and Persian Muslim merchants by Tian Shengong happened during the An Lushan rebellion in the 760 [[Yangzhou massacre (760)|Yangzhou massacre]].{{sfn|Wan|2017|p=11}}{{sfn|Qi|2010|pp=221–227}} The [[Tibet]]ans took hold of the opportunity and raided many areas under Chinese control, and even after the [[Tibetan Empire]] had fallen apart in 842, followed soon after by the Uyghur [[Kingdom of Qocho]], the Tang were in no position to [[Protectorate General to Pacify the West|reconquer Central Asia]] after 763.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=100}}{{sfn|Sen|2003|p=34}} So significant was this loss that half a century later ''jinshi'' examination candidates were required to write an essay on the causes of the Tang's decline.{{sfn|Gascoigne|Gascoigne|2003|p=97}} Although An Lushan was killed by one of his eunuchs in 757, this time of troubles and widespread insurrection continued until rebel [[Shi Siming]] was killed by his own son in 763.{{sfn|Eberhard|2005|p=185}}

[[File:Leshan Buddha Statue View.JPG|thumb|Construction of the [[Leshan Giant Buddha]] began in 713 and was completed in 803. The statue is {{cvt|71|m}} high.]]
[[File:Nanchan Temple 1.JPG|thumb|The [[Nanchan Temple (Wutai)|Nanchan Temple]] built during the late 8th century]]
After 710, regional military governors called  ''[[jiedushi]]'' gradually came to challenge the power of the central government.{{sfn|Wang|2003|p=91}} After the An Lushan rebellion, the autonomous power and authority accumulated by [[Three Fanzhen of Hebei|the ''jiedushi'' in Hebei]] went beyond the central government's control. After a series of rebellions between 781 and 784 in present-day Hebei, [[Henan]], [[Shandong]], and Hubei, the government had to officially acknowledge the ''jiedushi''{{'}}s hereditary rule without accreditation. The Tang government relied on these governors and their armies for protection and to suppress local revolts. In return, the central government would acknowledge the rights of these governors to maintain their army, collect taxes and even to pass on their title to heirs.{{sfn|Graff|2008|pp=43–44}} As time passed, these military governors slowly phased out the prominence of civil officials drafted by exams, and became more autonomous from central authority. The rule of these powerful military governors lasted until 960, when a new civil order under the [[Song dynasty]] was established. The abandonment of the equal-field system also meant that people could buy and sell land freely; many poor fell into debt because of this and were forced to sell their land to the wealthy, which led to the exponential growth of large estates.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=100}} With the breakdown of the land allocation system after 755, the central Chinese state barely interfered in agricultural management and acted merely as tax collector for roughly a millennium, save a few instances such as the Song's failed land nationalisation during the 13th-century war with the [[Mongols]].{{sfn|Adshead|2004|pp=90–91}}

With the central government collapsing in authority over the various regions of the empire, it was recorded in 845 that bandits and river pirates in parties of 100 or more began plundering settlements along the Yangtze River with little resistance. In 858, massive floods along the [[Grand Canal of China|Grand Canal]] inundated vast tracts of land and terrain of the [[North China Plain]], which drowned tens of thousands of people in the process. The Chinese belief in the [[Mandate of Heaven]] granted to the ailing Tang was also challenged when natural disasters led many to believe that the Tang had lost their right to rule. In 873, a disastrous harvest shook the foundations of the empire; in some areas only half of all agricultural produce was gathered, and tens of thousands faced famine and starvation. In the earlier period of the Tang, the central government was able to meet crises in the harvest—from 714 to 719, records show that the Tang government responded effectively to natural disasters by extending the price-regulation [[granary]] system throughout the country. The central government was able then to build a large surplus stock of foods to ward off the rising danger of famine and increased agricultural productivity through [[land reclamation]].{{sfn|Benn|2002|p=7}}{{sfn|Bowman|2000|p=105}}

=== Rebuilding and recovery ===
[[File:Xumipagodazhengding.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Xumi Pagoda]], built in 636]]
Although these natural calamities and rebellions stained the reputation and hampered the effectiveness of the central government, the early 9th century is nonetheless viewed as a period of recovery for the Tang.{{sfn|Benn|2002|pp=15–17}} The government's withdrawal from its role in managing the economy had the unintended effect of stimulating trade, as more markets with fewer bureaucratic restrictions were opened up.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=101}}{{sfn|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|p=85}} By 780, the old grain tax and labour service of the 7th century were replaced by a semi-annual tax paid in cash, signifying the shift to a money economy boosted by the merchant class.{{sfn|Schafer|1985|p=9}} Cities in the southern [[Jiangnan]] region such as [[Yangzhou]], [[Suzhou]], and [[Hangzhou]] prospered the most economically during the late Tang period.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=101}} The [[Salt in Chinese history|government monopoly on salt production]], weakened after the An Lushan rebellion, was placed under the [[Salt Commission]], which became one of the most powerful state agencies, run by capable ministers chosen as specialists. The commission began the practice of selling merchants the rights to buy monopoly salt, which they transported and sold in local markets. In 799, salt accounted for over half of the government's revenues.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=100}} S. A. M. Adshead writes that this salt tax represents "the first time that an indirect tax, rather than tribute, levies on land or people, or profit from state enterprises such as mines, had been the primary resource of a major state".{{sfn|Adshead|2004|p=50}} Even after the power of the central government was in decline after the mid-8th century, it was still able to function and give out imperial orders on a massive scale. The ''[[Old Book of Tang]]'' (945) recorded that a government decree issued in 828 standardised the use of square-pallet [[chain pump]]s for irrigation throughout the country.{{sfn|Needham|1986b|p=347}}

The last ambitious ruler of the Tang was [[Emperor Xianzong]] ({{reign|805|820}}), whose reign was aided by the fiscal reforms of the 780s, including a government monopoly on the salt industry. He also had an effective and well-trained imperial army stationed at the capital led by his court eunuchs; this was the Army of Divine Strategy, numbering 240,000 in strength as recorded in 798. Between 806 and 819, Emperor Xianzong conducted seven major military campaigns to quell the rebellious provinces that had claimed autonomy from central authority, managing to subdue all but two of them. Under his reign, there was a brief end to the hereditary ''jiedushi'', as Xianzong appointed his own military officers and staffed the regional bureaucracies once again with civil officials.{{sfn|Adshead|2004|p=51}} However, Xianzong's successors proved less capable and more interested in the leisure of hunting, feasting, and playing outdoor sports, allowing eunuchs to amass more power as drafted scholar-officials caused strife in the bureaucracy with factional parties.{{sfn|Benn|2002|pp=14–16}} The eunuchs' power was not challenged following the [[Ganlu Incident]], where [[Emperor Wenzong of Tang|Emperor Wenzong]] ({{reign|826|840}}) failed in his plot to have them overthrown; instead, Wenzong's allies were publicly executed in Chang'an's [[Chang'an#West Central Chang'an|West Market]] on the eunuchs' command.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=101}}

[[File:Mogao Cave 156 battle.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|A late Tang mural commemorating the victory of General [[Zhang Yichao]] over the [[Tibetan Empire]] in 848{{snd}}from [[Mogao Caves|Mogao cave]] 156]]
Decades after the An Lushan rebellion, the Tang was able to muster enough power to launch offensive military campaigns, including its [[Uyghur Khaganate#Fall|destruction of the Uyghur Khaganate]] in Mongolia from 840 to 847.{{sfn|Baumer|2012|p=310}} The Tang managed to restore indirect control over former territories as far west as the [[Hexi Corridor]] and [[Dunhuang]] in [[Gansu]]; in 848, the general [[Zhang Yichao]] (799–872) managed to wrestle control of the region from the Tibetan Empire during [[Era of Fragmentation|its civil war]].{{sfn|Taenzer|2016|pp=35–37}} Shortly afterwards, [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (9th century)|Emperor Xuanzong of Tang]] ({{reign|846|859}}) acknowledged Zhang as the protector ({{zhi|c=防禦使|p=fángyùshǐ}}) of Sha Prefecture, and military governor of the new [[Guiyi Circuit]].<ref>''[[Zizhi Tongjian]]'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷249|vol. 249]].</ref>

=== End of the dynasty ===
In addition to factors like natural calamity and ''jiedushi'' claiming autonomy, a rebellion by [[Huang Chao]] (874–884) devastated both northern and southern China, took an entire decade to suppress, resulted in the sacking of both Chang'an and Luoyang.{{sfn|Eberhard|2005|pp=189–190}} In 878–879, Huang's army committed [[Guangzhou massacre|a massacre]] in the southern port of [[Guangzhou]] against foreign Arab and Persian Muslim, Zoroastrian, Jewish and Christian merchants.{{sfn|Gernet|1996|p=292}} A medieval Chinese source claimed that Huang Chao killed 8 million people.<ref>{{zhi|c=《殘唐五代史演義傳》：“[[Li Zhi (philosopher)|卓吾]]子評：‘僖宗以貌取人，失之巢賊，致令殺人八百萬，血流三千里’”}}</ref> The Tang never recovered from Huang's rebellion, which paved the way for the later overthrow of the Tang. Large groups of bandits in the size of small armies ravaged the countryside in the last years of the Tang. They smuggled illicit salt, ambushed merchants and convoys, and even besieged several walled cities.{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=108}} Amid the sacking of cities and murderous factional strife among eunuchs and officials, the top tier of aristocratic families, which had amassed a large fraction of the landed wealth and official positions, was largely destroyed or marginalised.{{sfn|Mote|2003|pp=6–7}}<ref>{{citation |last1=Scheidel |first1=Walter |title=The Great Leveler. Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century |year=2018 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-18325-1 |pages=276–278}}</ref>

During the last two decades of the Tang dynasty, the gradual collapse of central authority led to the rise of the rival military figures [[Li Keyong]] and [[Zhu Wen]] in northern China.{{sfn|Mote|2003|pp=7–12}} Tang forces had defeated Huang's rebellion with the aid of allied [[Shatuo]], a [[Turkic people]] of what is now [[Shanxi]], led by Li Keyong. He was made a ''jiedushi'', and later [[Jin (Later Tang precursor)|Prince of Jin]], bestowed with the imperial surname Li by the Tang court.{{sfn|Mote|2003|pp=6–7, 10, 12}} Zhu Wen, originally a salt smuggler who served as a lieutenant under the rebel Huang Chao, surrendered to Tang forces. By helping to defeat Huang, he was renamed [[Zhu Quanzhong]] ("Zhu of Perfect Loyalty") and granted a rapid series of promotions to military governor of Xuanwu Circuit.{{sfn|Mote|2003|pp=7, 10, 12}}{{sfn|Needham|1986c|pp=320–321|loc=footnote h}}

In 901, from his power base of [[Kaifeng]], Zhu Wen seized control of the Tang capital Chang'an and with it the imperial family.{{sfn|Mote|2003|p=7}} By 903, he forced [[Emperor Zhaozong of Tang]] to move the capital to Luoyang, preparing to take the throne for himself. In 904, Zhu assassinated Emperor Zhaozong to replace him with the emperor's young son [[Emperor Ai of Tang]]. In 905, Zhu executed the brothers of Emperor Ai as well as many officials and [[Empress He (Tang dynasty)|Empress Dowager He]]. In 907, the Tang dynasty was ended when Zhu deposed Ai and took the throne for himself (known posthumously as Emperor Taizu of Later Liang). He established the [[Later Liang (Five Dynasties)|Later Liang]], which inaugurated the [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period]]. A year later, Zhu had the deposed Emperor Ai poisoned to death.{{sfn|Mote|2003|pp=7, 10, 12}}

Zhu Wen's enemy Li Keyong died in 908, having never claimed the [[Chinese sovereign|title of emperor]] out of loyalty to the Tang. His son [[Li Cunxu]] (Emperor Zhuangzong) inherited his title Prince of Jin along with his father's rivalry against Zhu. In 923, Li Cunxu declared a "restored" Tang dynasty, the [[Later Tang]], before toppling the Later Liang dynasty the same year. However, southern China remained splintered into various small kingdoms until most of China was reunified under the [[Song dynasty]] (960–1279). Control over parts of [[northeast China]] and [[Manchuria]] by the [[Liao dynasty]] of the [[Khitan people]] also stemmed from this period. In 905, their leader [[Abaoji]] formed a military alliance with Li Keyong against Zhu Wen but the Khitans eventually turned against the Later Tang, helping another Shatuo leader [[Shi Jingtang]] of [[Later Jin (Five Dynasties)|Later Jin]] to overthrow Later Tang in 936.{{sfn|Mote|2003|pp=10–13}}