The Chinese Empire in the III-XII centuries
At the end of the II century. the uprising of the “yellow bandages” caused the Khan Empire an irreparable blow and in 220 it broke up into three states. In 280, the ruler of one of them, Sima Yan, united under his authority all of China and founded the Jin Empire. However, she was not strong. Relatives of the emperor quarreled among themselves in pursuit of power.
Already at the beginning of the IV. the country was in a difficult condition and therefore the tribes of the nomads started a war against the Jin Empire. The population ran to the south beyond the Yangtze River an insurmountable obstacle to the cavalry of the conquerors. There, in the south, in 317, the descendants of Sima Jan founded the Eastern Jin dynasty. China almost for three centuries was divided into two parts.
In 581, the power in North China was captured by the warlike commander Yang Jian. He was proclaimed emperor and a flock of the founder of the Sui dynasty. In 589, Yang Jian conquered
The great Wall of China. Modern look
The new state was called the Sui Empire. Yang Jian actively took up the renovation of the country. The number of arable land was increased, a system of state barns was created, where grain was stored in case of a crop failure, finances were improved, etc.
The son and heir of Yang Jian, the emperor Yang Guang extended the irrigation system. He ordered the digging of the Great Canal, 2,500 km in length, connecting the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. At its construction, 5 million people worked. After that, Yuan Guan undertook the restoration of the Great Wall of China in order to strengthen the state’s defensive capability.
The emperor ordered the capital to be transferred to the ancient city of Luoyang. Here, large-scale construction works were started, on which 2 million Chinese worked. In a short time, luxurious palaces were erected in Luoyang and blooming parks were broken. Some of Yang Guan’s desires were meaningless. The Ras called it that in the winter trees in his park were
Yang Guang sought to create a huge empire, but, as a result, doomed Sui dynasty to perish. The unsuccessful war with Korea led to general discontent in the country. Among those who rebelled against the emperor, there was also the military leader Li Yuan. The frightened Yang Guang ran from the capital, in 617 he was captured and executed. The Sui dynasty ceased to exist. Soon the emperor became Li Yuan, who founded Diastia Tan.
Li Yuan came to power in a hungry and devastated country. But a little time passed and the fields began to be processed. The land was given to the poor. Agriculture and craft were revived, domestic and foreign trade developed. Chinese goods were betrayed in India, the Arab state, Southeast Asia. An important measure of Tanov was the reform of the financial system. The country minted round copper coins with a hole in the middle, so they could be threaded on a silk thread. In a short period, the treasury was significantly enlarged. Changyang became the capital of the country.
In foreign policy, the rulers of the Tang dynasty focused on ensuring control over the Great Silk Road. Here their main rivals were nomadic Turks, whom in the middle of VII century. the Chinese managed to smash. During successful wars with Korea, Tibet, India, Japan, Vietnam, the borders of the Tang state were expanded from the Aral Sea to the Pacific, from the Gobi desert to the banks of the Ganges. China became a world empire and controlled half of the Great Silk Road. Chinese diplomacy was finally formed. It represented China as the dominant power of the then world, which in the person of the emperor must obey all foreign countries.
The highest flourishing of the Tang Empire, albeit temporary, occurred during the reign of Xuan-tszung. Already in the second half of the VIII century. China began to lose conquered territory, ceased to control the Great Silk Road, he was constantly threatened by militant neighbors. In such conditions the peasants languished from excessive taxes, taxes and various state obligations, were poor and lived in poverty. Therefore, in 874, China began a peasant war. The insurgents were headed by the former small salt trader Huang Chao. The peasant army under his command captured the capital of the Chiang’an Empire. The frightened emperor and the courtiers fled.
XI century. “New Tang history” about the peasant war
… Huang Chao rode in a chariot of yellow gold, guard was in luxurious robes and colorful hats. His immediate circle rode after him in the chariots of chariots, accompanied by riders. A total of several hundred thousand people entered the capital… A few days later, a terrible robbery began. The people were tied up, beaten with whips and seized their property… The well-off people rozovali and drove barefoot. All the detained officials were killed, set on fire at home, if they could not find anything there, and all the princes and noblemen were exterminated.
Huang Chao made the palace of Taicin his residence and… proclaimed himself… the emperor… Instead of imperial clothes and crowns, which were not lucky enough to obtain, he wore clothing made of black cloth. Instead of old musical instruments they beat hundreds of big drums; the guard stood in rows with long swords and large daggers…
However, the power of the insurgents proved to be extremely weak. The behavior of Huang Chao and his closest associates was so vile that it caused disappointment and indignation among the people. The insurgent army quickly lost its fighting capacity. Leading warlord Zhu Wen hurried to go over to the side of the legitimate emperor and with Tal commander-in-chief of his troops. Fate turned away from Huang Chao and he, aware of all the horror of the situation, committed suicide. His family was not circumvented by the horrible massacre. In 884 the uprising was finally suppressed.
The peasant war inflicted an irreparable blow on the Ghanaian dynasty. Its representatives remained in power for some time, but it became weaker every day. The point of palace intrigue was put by Zhu Ven. In 907, he took Changyan and threw off the last emperor. The single state broke up into numerous small possessions. The so-called era of the “Five dynasties and ten kingdoms” began, which did not bring anything good to the Chinese people.
In the middle of the X century. In China, there was a definite economic upturn, which led to a new unification of the country in 960 under the rule of the Song dynasty. The Song Empire was different from Tang. Sun rulers have increased the capital’s guard. The number of officials of different levels has also grown. All financial, administrative, military and judicial power was concentrated in the capital, and local power was constantly monitored by the police. At first the financial position of the empire was stable, but already in the middle of the 11th century. huge expenses for the maintenance of officials, the army, luxurious life of the imperial palace devastated the treasury.
In these conditions, the reform of the first minister of the Sung court of Wang Anshi played an important role in the economic recovery. First of all, he conducted a new land census and streamlined the tax system. Taxes were supposed to be paid not only by peasants and townspeople, but also by officials and nobles. Small officials have increased their salaries. Much attention was paid to the establishment of irrigation works. From the treasury the peasants began to allocate loans for the future harvest. Solid prices for commodities were established, etc. However, Wang Anshi continued to initiate reforms without a sharp opposition to the nobility. The resignation of the minister put an end to his reforms.
At the beginning of the XII century. the empire of Sun appeared a dangerous enemy – nomads are jurgied. Having seized the north of China, they founded the state of Jin, that is, the Golden State. The Chinese emperor fled to the south of the country. Here the state of the Southern Song emerged.
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