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Gaozu of Tang › Ancient History
Definition and Origins
Emperor Gaozu (also Kao-tsu, formerly Li Yuan, r. 618-626 CE) was a Sui military commander who led a rebellion against his former masters, seized control of the state, and founded the Tang Dynasty (618-906 CE). Overshadowed in the ancient history books by his son Taizong, who succeeded him as emperor, Gaozu was, nevertheless, responsible for unifying Chinaand laying the political, social, and economic foundations for one of the golden eras of Chinese history.
THE FALL OF THE SUI
The Sui dynasty had ruled China since 581 CE, but already by the early 7th century CE, the Sui were facing seemingly insurmountable problems to their reign. A Sui expedition had met with disaster in 598 CE when it attacked the kingdom of Goguryeo ( Koguryo ) in Korea and northern Manchuria. The Chinese ran out of supplies, hit heavy rains, and had to return home. A second invasion was launched in 611 CE, this time by sea but was destroyed in a storm. Going for third time lucky, the Sui attacked again in 612 CE, but Goguryeo won a resounding victory at the Battle of Salsu River. According to legend, of the 300,000-strong Sui army, only 2,700 ever returned to China. Two more attacks were rebuffed in 613 and 614 CE.
GAOZU WAS A DUKE OF TANG WITH FAMILY CONNECTIONS IN THE IMPERIAL HOUSEHOLD & SOME TURKIC ROOTS.
The lack of victories in Korea could be blamed on no one else but the commander who had led them, Emperor Yangdi, and the consequent hardships endured by the Chinese peasantry in terms of service and taxation led to widespread rebellion in 613 CE. The situation was only fuelled by more military losses, this time to the Eastern Turks, and the emperor's reputation for excessive spending and a debauched lifestyle. The Chinese government would be taken over by one Li Yuan, later to be known as Emperor Gaozu.
EARLY CAREER
Li Yuan was born in 566 CE. A Duke of Tang with family connections in the imperial household and some Turkic roots, he was able to rise to a prominent position in the Sui administration. Yuan started his career as one of Emperor Wendi's (r. 581-601 CE) personal bodyguards, and he soon became a close favourite of both the emperor and his consort Empress Wen-hsien.Taking on roles as prefect and governor in several cities and regions, Yuan acquired additional ceremonial posts at court. He was made vice-president of the Imperial Household Department during the reign of Wendi's successor, Emperor Yangdi (r. 604-618 CE). In 613 CE Yuan was made vice-president of the Court of Imperial Insignia which meant he was in charge of the capitals arsenal. Part of his responsibilities was the sending of arms to the army invading Korea.
Sui Dynasty Map
LI YUAN BECOMES EMPEROR
Floods, conscription in the army, or compulsory labour in the state building projects had all taken its toll on the peasant population. Nine rebellions swept the kingdom between 613 and 614 CE, and although all were ruthlessly put down, rebel soldiers still roamed at will and Sui authority was dangerously weak in several regions. Yuan was given the task in 615 and 616 CE of clearing the Ho-tung (modern Shansi province) of bandits. The general also managed to repel Turkic border raids there.
Yuan, made the military commander at Taiyuan after his exploits in Ho-tung, set up his headquarters at Chin-yang. With much of the northern territories now no longer under Sui control, Yuan was encouraged by his supporters to seize power himself and restore some semblance of order. Yuan saw that the time was ripe for the Sui regime to be toppled, and so, at the age of 51, he made his move and led the 617 CE rebellion.
Making himself supreme above the other warlords who controlled various territories across the kingdom with a series of alliances, false promises, and gratifications, Yuan proved himself much more than a gifted general. He had first guaranteed the northern frontier by making a deal with the eastern Turks, promising them future booty in return for men, horses, and weapons.Convinced by a deceptively worded letter that Yuan intended to make his new state a vassal to their own, they gave him 2,000 horses and 500 soldiers for his cause.
Thus bolstered, Li Yuan set off with his army - now numbering some 30,000 men - to attack the Sui capital at Ta-hsing ch'eng.On the way, the army defeated several Sui forces and was swelled by the addition of more rebels and bandits, including a large force led by his well-connected daughter Lady Li. The Tang army now numbered 200,000, and the capital was besieged for five weeks and then taken in November 617 CE. Emperor Yangdi had already fled, and Yuan put on the throne in his place a puppet emperor, the young Yang Yu (title: Kung-ti). Many of Yuan's followers were opposed to this and called for their leader to make himself the emperor of a new dynasty. When Yuan conquered the eastern capital of Luoyang he did just that, declaring himself emperor in 618 CE and his new kingdom Tang after his family fiefdom.
Gate Towers, Chang'an
Yuan's next task was to set about quashing all dissent to his rule across the country by whatever means suited the occasion.Alliances, amnesties, rewards, court titles, and, surprisingly rarely, brute force, were all used so that by 624 CE, Emperor Gaozu, as Li Yuan would become known, had established control of China. Ta-hsing ch'eng remained the capital but was renamed Chang'an after the old Han capital. Appropriately enough, Gaozu selected the following name for his reign: “Military Virtue”.
GAOZU ENSURED ALL REGIONS WERE REPRESENTED BY OFFICIALS AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL.
ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS
Taizong, the Tang's second emperor, would largely be the figure given most credit for establishing the Tang dynasty in traditional Chinese histories, but a re-examination of neglected contemporary records by modern historians has sought to rebalance the biased and often fabricated accounts which minimised Gaozu's role in taking power and forming the dynasty.Gaozu first set about bolstering the defence of China's northern borders against further Turk attacks. Then he took important steps to centralise government and increase its efficiency, albeit using a good number of the same personnel who had previously held positions of responsibility under the Sui. This provided much-needed continuity and government experience to the new dynasty but also ensured the old elite had a vested interest in its continuance.
The three main ministries of the Secretariat, Chancellery, and Department of State Affairs were maintained, but the high degree of overlap between them was minimised. In the new system, after a short period of confusion where Gaozu himself often intervened, the Secretariat drafted edicts, the Chancellery reviewed and amended them, and the Department of State Affairs was charged with putting them into practice. Another development was that Gaozu ensured all regions were represented by officials at the highest level.
Korean Ambassadors to the Tang Court
Gaozu relaxed the harsh law code of the Sui and began the process of replacing them with a more codified and detailed system of records, especially for the state administration. Land reforms were made to increase tax revenues, which were made more uniform across the country. He continued the Sui policy of improving the country's irrigation and transport networks, notably irrigating 80,000 acres with diverted waters from the Huang-ho River in 624 CE. The state actively promoted education and preparation for the reinstated civil service entrance examinations. A new coinage was minted from 621 CE in an effort to battle the massive counterfeiting that had gone on under the Sui. All markets across China were supervised by an appointed official who controlled such matters as official weights and measures as well as inspecting the quality of goods on sale and their prices - consumers had never had it so good.
In the area of religion much was as before, with Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism dominating. The number of Buddhist temples was limited as this “non-Chinese” religion was thought by many officials to be becoming too powerful for their own good. Similarly, Taoist temples were controlled and their numbers limited, too. Most of these measures against the monasteries though would be reversed by Gaozu's successors. Finally, a more peaceful strategy was adopted towards Goguryeo with the Korean state offering tribute and Chinese captives from the Sui campaigns. Goguryeo was, no doubt, quick to realise that China was back on its feet again and a powerful dynasty was in the making.
SUCCESSOR & LEGACY
As an able administrator who surrounded himself with equally gifted advisors Gaozu, then, laid the groundwork on which his highly successful dynasty would stand until its fall 300 years later in 907 CE. Yuan was not to leave any succession to chance, either, as he had 22 sons, but it was his second son Li Shimin who become his successor as Emperor Taizong in 626 CE. Li Shimin was not actually Gaozu's first choice, but as he murdered his elder brother and had huge prestige from his military exploits in his father's campaign against the Sui, he was able to push himself forward as the only viable candidate. Such was his power at court that Li Shimin even forced his father to abdicate in his favour and take on the merely honorary title of Retired Emperor. Taizong would go on to become one of China's most revered emperors, but his criminal and political manoeuvres to gain the throne set a dangerous precedent - a problem which beset many of the Tang dynasty's subsequent rulers and their children.
Tang Dynasty Provinces c. 742 CE
Gaozu was not without his critics amongst the Chinese historians of subsequent periods, as we have seen in regard to his role as founder of the Tang state apparatus. Other criticisms aimed at him was that he was rather too fond of hunting and musical entertainment than was proper for a good ruler who should follow the classic principles of Confucianism. It was said he made decisions on a whim, was guilty of nepotism, or listened too much to his lady entourage, and once scandalously gave an official post to a favourite musician. As the historian HJ Wechsler reminds us, though,
These character traits, however, should not be allowed to obscure his solid and impressive achievement: the re-establishment of a strong and highly centralised state which endured for almost three centuries. Under Gaozu the Tang successfully established political, economic and military institutions which became the hallmarks of the Tang age, which in many cases continued to influence deeply Chinese civilization down to the present century, and which provided the basic institutional models for the newly emergent states of Chinese-dominated east Asia - Japan, Korea and Vietnam. (in Twitchett, 169)
Heiankyo › Ancient History
Definition and Origins
Heiankyo (Kyoto), located in the centre of Honshu island, was the capital of Japan for over a thousand years and gave its name to one of the golden ages of Japanese history, the Heian Period (794-1185 CE). Built according to Chinese design by Emperor Kammu, the city had a huge palace complex, wide avenues, pleasure parks, and many Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples of national importance. Tokyo became the new capital in 1868 CE, but in many ways, Kyoto remains Japan's cultural capital, boasting, for example, 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites in or around its precincts.
FOUNDATION
During the Nara Period (710-794 CE) the Japanese imperial court was beset by rivalries between noble families and an excessive influence on policy from Buddhist sects whose temples were dotted around the capital. Emperor Kammu (r. 781-806 CE), wanting to start afresh, moved the capital from Nara to Nagaokakyo on the Yodo River in 784 CE. However, Nagaokakyo soon gained a reputation as a place of ill luck following various deaths at court, an epidemic, and flood. Kammu, therefore, moved the capital again in 794 CE, this time to Heiankyo. The move marked the beginning of the Heian Period which would last until the end of the 12th century CE.
The site was located on a plain with fertile alluvial soil and rivers which had already been optimised using irrigation techniques.It had also long been a region of rice growing, sake production and silk farming. The mountains in the north and the presence of at least three major rivers meant the site was also good for defence. The climate was, and of course remains, one of the negative features of the city which must bear cold winters, hot summers and a high humidity. Still, spring and autumn were thought especially charming, as this poem from the 11th century CE poet Izumi Shikibu, a lady of the Heiankyo court, reflects:
If only the worldInto spring and fallWe could forever makeAnd summer and winterWere never more.(Whitney Hall, 99)
LAYOUT
Heiankyo means 'the capital of peace and tranquillity,' and it is the name given by Emperor Kammu in an official edict.However, from the 11th century CE, the city's longtime informal name meaning simply 'the capital city' was officially adopted: Kyoto. The city was now the centre of a government which consisted of the emperor, his high ministers, a council of state and eight ministries which, with the help of an extensive bureaucracy, ruled over some 7,000,000 people. The architecture of the city would have to reflect its position as the centre of the Japanese world.
Emperor Kammu
As next to no ancient buildings survive in the city today, its layout and architecture must be reconstructed from surviving 10th-century CE official regulations, 12th-13th-century CE maps, and other textual references. Heiankyo was laid out on a regular grid plan with right angled streets creating regular sized blocks along the Chinese model of the Western Capital at Ch'ang-an (although some historians maintain the model was Fujiwara which copied Nanking).
The city had an 83-metre (270 ft) wide central avenue which dissected the eastern and western quarters, known as Rakuyo and Choan respectively. There were perhaps eight gates around the city although likely no exterior walls to speak of except a short stretch to the south. The city was elsewhere modestly protected by ditches and moats which were spanned by many wooden bridges. The main city gate was the southern Rampart Gate which had two stories, a width of 33.5 metres (110 ft), and reached a height of possibly 21 metres (70 ft).
HEIANKYO HAD 24 AVENUES, 72 STREETS & A POPULATION OF 150,000, MAKING IT ONE OF THE GREAT CITIES OF EAST ASIA.
Running from north to south were some 33 streets and avenues with another 39 streets going from east to west. Most streets measured 10.5 metres (35 ft.) across, and many were lined with thick earth walls and ditches. The 24 avenues of the city were double the width of the streets, and several were around 30 metres (100 ft) across. Such wide streets gave the city an open feel, created many large squares at various intersections, and would have given unobstructed views of the mountains to the north. By the 10th century CE, the city covered a rectangular area measuring some 4.8 km (3 miles) across and 14.5 km (9 miles) in length and boasted a population of between 100,000 and 150,000, some 50,000 of which were employed in the government administration. Heiankyo, then, was undoubtedly one of the great cities of East Asia.
THE ROYAL PALACE
The rectangular royal palace complex, known as the Greater Imperial Palace or Daidairi measured around 1.2 x 1.4 km (7% of the city's total area) and was entirely surrounded by a high earth wall with 14 gates, the most important of which was the Vermillion Sparrow Gate. Inside were 200 structures of one kind or another, including palace residence buildings, banquet halls, government offices and storage facilities, Shinto shrines, pagodas, towers, covered walkways, gardens, trees and streams. Architecture followed Chinese models, with the largest building being the Daigokuden or Great Hall of State which contained the imperial throne room. The massive structure, with its green roof tiles, dolphin finials and vermillion pillars typical of all government buildings, measured 53 m (175 ft) by 20 m (65 ft). Burnt down by fire, it was rebuilt on a smaller scale and is today part of the Heian Shrine (see below). Another survivor, albeit reconstructed after another disastrous fire, is the Shishen-den or Audience Hall.
Model of Kyoto
OTHER BUILDINGS
Outside the palace complex, the aristocracy had palaces with their own carefully landscaped gardens and the Park of the Divine Spring ( Shinsen'en ) was built south of the Daidairi. This leisure park was 120,000 square meters or 30 acres in area and was dominated by a lake with a banqueting hall for royal ceremonies, the Celestial Presidence Pavillion or Kenrinkaku.Many of the city's streams were diverted and managed to create artificial lakes for the city's parks. There were also dedicated artisan quarters for artists, metalworkers, and potters. Private homes of ordinary folks were, of course, much more modest and had thatch or bark roofs rather than tiles. The wider city also had more government offices, storage buildings, residences for government workers and foreign embassies, an Academy of Chinese Learning ( Daigaku-ryo ), Buddhist temples, two prisons, and two large markets each the size of four blocks with their own shops, merchant residences, warehouses, and government trade offices.
IMPORTANT TEMPLES & SHRINES
With the emperor wary of undue influence, no Buddhist temples were permitted in the central part of the city and no clergy were permitted to relocate from Nara, although, Kammu did permit the construction of two temples either side of the city's Rashomon gate: the Sai-ji (West Temple ) and To-ji (East Temple). The latter was expanded by the famous monk and founder of Shingon Buddhism Kukai in 823 CE and was given its splendid pagoda, Japan's largest and symbol of Kyoto, in 826 CE.The 55-metre (179 ft) tall pagoda burnt down five times but was restored for the last time in 1644 CE. Kammu did not neglect the Shinto religion either and built the important Hirano Jinja shrine in 794 CE. In 859 CE the important Iwashimizu Hachimangu shrine dedicated to Hachiman, the Shinto god of war and culture was built.
The Buddhist Kiyomizu-dera or 'Temple of the Pure Water' was founded before Heiankyo even became the capital, in 778 CE.It was a popular pilgrimage site as believers considered its waters to have healing properties. Fire destroyed many of the buildings, but they were rebuilt in 1633 CE with a new pagoda added. The site is the home of a famous statue of the bodhisattva Kannon by Enchin which is only displayed to the public every 33 years. It is the number one tourist attraction in the city today and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
In 947 CE the remains and literary works of Sugawara no Michizane, aka Tenman Tenjin (845-903 CE), who had been an important court official and who was later deified as the Shinto kami of learning and education, was enshrined at the Kitano Temmangu shrine at Kyoto which was specifically built in his honour.
Golden Pavilion, Kinkaku-ji
The Zen Buddhist Kinkaku-ji temple site, founded in 1397 CE by the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, includes the famous Golden Pavilion. Yet another victim of fire, the magnificent three-storey Golden Pavilion, with its gilded two top floors, was rebuilt in 1955 CE. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Other important temples which can be visited today in Kyoto, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage sites, are the Kamigamo Jinja (founded in the 6th century CE), Shimogamo Jinja (also 6th century CE), Ninna-ji (888 CE), Tenryu-ji (1339 CE), and the Hongan-ji (1591 CE). Finally, the Heian Shrine in Kyoto was founded in 1895 CE on the 1,100th anniversary of the city's foundation as the capital of Japan. It enshrines the kami of the deified Emperor Kammu, the man whose selection set Kyoto off on its road to fame and fortune.
LATER HISTORY
The city continued to expand through the 11th and 12th centuries CE, especially to the north and east. Unfortunately for posterity, though, next to no ancient buildings survive in Kyoto today. The use of wood panelling and beams, bamboo blinds, and paper walls and screens in ancient Japanese architecture meant that buildings were particularly susceptible to destruction by fire. Almost every decade saw a wave of devastating fires and so parts of the city were constantly being rebuilt. Even those large structures which did survive were regularly rebuilt anyway as part of the Shinto ideal of maintaining clear and pure surroundings, a tradition which continues today in all Shinto buildings, no matter their historical importance.
Although Kyoto remained the capital into the medieval period, its importance was diminished in the Kamakura Period (1185-1333 CE) when the shogunate military rulers took power with their own bases at Kamakura and Edo (Tokyo). Kyoto remained the official capital of Japan through the Edo Period (1600-1868 CE) when several important new buildings were erected including the Nijo Castle by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1603 CE. Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868 CE, when the emperor was restored, Tokyo was made the new capital. Still, Kyoto continued to enjoy a reputation as Japan's cultural capital even if it was no longer the political one, and even today it is an important cultural centre and a city with many fine (albeit, reconstructed) examples of traditional Japanese architecture.
This article was made possible with generous support from the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.
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