The most down-to-earth popular history of the Tang dynasty on the internet, told with the witty, conversational style of "Those Things in the Ming Dynasty". Even beginners will find it impossible to put down!
No need to memorize reign dates or struggle through classical texts. No dry, tedious historical minutiae.
In plain language, discover the passion, power struggles, romance, and tragedy of the Tang dynasty's 289 years.
At the end of the Sui dynasty, war engulfed the land. Heroes vied for supremacy, and rebel kings sprang up everywhere.
The honest Li Yuan only wanted a quiet career as an official, but his son Li Shimin manipulated him into rebellion, forcing him to embark on the path of revolution and empire-building overnight.
The secrets of Jinyang Palace, the bloody battle at Huoyi, the wars among the rival powers: the truths glossed over by official histories and distorted by popular tales are all laid bare!
He was an emperor for the ages, yet he once shot and killed his own brothers.
She was an empress for the ages, breaking a thousand years of male rule and leaving her achievements and failings for posterity to debate before her wordless stele.
At the height of the Kaiyuan era, envoys from every nation came to pay tribute. Li Bai drank and sang with wild abandon, while Du Fu saw a land at peace. It was a pinnacle of glory that Chinese people have always longed for.
But splendor is fragile.
The An Lushan Rebellion brought the golden age crashing down.
The regional military governors grew too powerful to control, eunuchs deposed and murdered emperors, and factional infighting drained the court for a century.
Huang Chao's uprising swept across the realm. The last emperor struggled to hold on, but in the end the dynasty fell, its splendor reduced to dust.
Here you'll find:
The helplessness of emperors, the struggles of generals and ministers, betrayal among family, the suffering of common people, the integrity of poets, and the struggle to survive in times of chaos.
We correct biases in historical sources, debunk myths from popular tales, and weave in famous battles, palace secrets, and the warmth and cruelty of human nature.
No cheap sentiment, no whitewashing, no padding. It's witty yet profound, easy to read, and utterly addictive.
