The Bloody Tang Dynasty

The glorious Tang Dynasty, three hundred years of rule. What it left to posterity was the enlightened grandeur of the “Reign of Zhenguan,” the dazzling splendor of the “Kaiyuan Prosperity,” the magnificent poems of Li Bai and Du Fu, and the distant, enduring echoes of camel bells along the Silk Road. Yet beneath this supreme glory lay an imperial path paved with endless political scheming, betrayal, and bloodshed. This book is no ode to a golden age. It is a vivid portrait of power and human nature. In an accessible, humorous style and drawing on meticulous historical sources, author Xue Er Zhi Ye probes the cracks in history to reveal the cold, bloody truth behind the “High Tang.” From the secret plans behind the uprising at Jinyang to brothers slaughtering one another before Xuanwu Gate; from Empress Wu Zhao’s revolution in the art of power to Li Longji creating a golden age and then bringing it to ruin with his own hands; from the earth-shaking drums of the An Lushan Rebellion to the self-destructive feud between the Niu and Li factions; from the bloodbath at court during the Sweet Dew Incident to Zhu Wen’s usurpation of the Tang and the tragic song of the White Horse Post... Across this sweeping narrative of more than 180 chapters, you will see: · The struggle for power: How emperors, meritorious officials, maternal relatives, eunuchs, and military governors fought to the death on the chessboard known as “All Under Heaven.” · The struggle of human nature: Li Shimin’s transformation from rebellious son to enlightened ruler; Wu Zetian’s choices between love and power; Li Longji’s wavering between glory and decline; and countless individuals making choices and struggling to stay afloat in the tides of history. · The rise and fall of institutions: The equal-field system, the fubing militia system, the imperial examination system... How did the foundations that once built a golden age become rigid and crumble, step by step? This is an epic of an empire, and a mirror reflecting the past and present.