Editing Tang dynasty (section)

=== 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)}}