Legends of the Tang and Song Dynasties

Thanks to Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the chaos of the Three Kingdoms era is familiar to us all; thanks to Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, we can survey the turbulent events of the Sui and Tang; and thanks to The Heroes of the Great Ming, the power struggles between the Yuan and Ming no longer feel unfamiliar. The author, all too aware of his own limitations, imitates these works and draws on stories of rulers and their ministers from the Tang and Song periods, bringing readers closer to an age of constant warfare and fervent passions.

The Tang Dynasty is widely regarded as one of the strongest and most prosperous dynasties in Chinese history. People of the Song liked to pair “Han and Tang,” seeing them as the greatest imperial eras in their nation’s history. Even today, “Tang people” is sometimes used as another name for the Chinese. The Tang dynasty’s achievements in civil governance and military affairs are forever etched into history.

By the time of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, dozens of military regimes had risen and fallen in turn, constantly fighting, massacring, annexing, splintering, rising, and perishing... The land of China had become a complete mess, as one power after another took the stage, until people and birds alike had fled and nothing remained but a vast, empty wasteland.

Later, Zhao Kuangyin, a soldier by birth, seized the opportunity presented by a child emperor and a doubtful succession to stage the Chenqiao Mutiny and have the yellow robe placed upon him. He then put on a show of relinquishing military power over cups of wine, consolidating the Zhao regime as the country was gradually reunified...