Lesson 5: The An-Shi Rebellion and the Fall of the Tang Dynasty（638words）

The An-Shi Rebellion

After the end of the Kaiyuan period, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang pursued pleasure and cronyism, and the imperial government became increasingly corrupt. Various conflicts in society became more and more acute, and the situation on the frontier became increasingly tense. The local governors gradually combined military, administrative and financial powers and their power expanded. The balance of power between the central government and the local government was out of balance, forming a situation where the outside was heavy and the inside was light. An Lushan, a border general, was the governor of three places, including Fangyang, and was responsible for the defense of the northeast region, gradually expanding his power.

In 755, on the pretext that there were traitors in the imperial court, An Lushan, together with his general Shi Siming, started a rebellion, which was called the An-shi Rebellion. The An-shi rebels came from the north of the river and captured Luoyang, the eastern capital, and then the Tongguan Pass, which was close to Chang'an. Emperor Xuanzong fled to Sichuan and Prince Li Heng went north to Lingwu and was crowned Emperor Suzong. The Tang dynasty transferred all the best troops from the northwest to the north, and with the assistance of the minority armies in the north, they fought back against the rebels. The An-shi rebellion was finally put down in 763 after successive civil unrests.

The An-shi Rebellion, which lasted for eight years, caused great socio-economic damage, especially to the northern regions. From then on, the Tang dynasty went from strength to weakness, and various conflicts became increasingly acute. The central power of the Tang dynasty declined, and the power of the old generals of An-shi and the mainland envoys increased, gradually forming a situation of clan and town.

Huang Chao uprising and the fall of Tang Dynasty

In the late Tang Dynasty, the rule was corrupt, the eunuchs were dictatorial, and the situation of clans and towns were becoming more and more serious. The people were suffering from heavy taxation and hardships, and they had to launch a large-scale uprising because they had no means of livelihood due to successive years of famine. Under the leadership of Huang Chao, the uprising army fought in the north and south and invaded Chang'an, establishing a regime and dealing a fatal blow to the Tang Dynasty.

Zhu Wen, who was a general of the peasant rebellion, surrendered to the Tang Dynasty and was made a provincial governor, and joined with other clans to suppress Huang Chao's uprising. In 907, Zhu Wen established the Houliang regime, which led to the end of the Tang Dynasty.

Change and Separation of the Ten Kingdoms of the Five Dynasties

After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, five regimes emerged in the Yellow River region in the north, namely the Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han and Later Zhou, and nine regimes emerged in the south, namely Wu, Southern Tang, Wu Yue, Former Shu, Later Shu, Chu, Min, Southern Han and Nanping, together with the Northern Han in Taiyuan in the north.

The Ten Kingdoms of the Five Dynasties were a continuation of the feudalism since the end of the Tang Dynasty, and their founding monarchs were all military generals who held military power. In the north, there was a change of regime, constant warfare and political turmoil. The southern region, however, was less affected by the war, and the political situation was relatively stable, and the economy had developed on the basis of the previous one. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, although there were separate regimes, the historical influence of long-term political unification and the close connection between the economic development of different regions made unification an objective and inevitable trend.（638words）