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The Reforms of Liu Yan [Sui & Tang]
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Brief: This article introduces Liu Yan’s key financial reforms in the mid‑Tang Dynasty after the An‑Shi Rebellion. He improved disaster relief, reformed the salt monopoly to boost state revenue without overburdening the people, and restored the Grand Canal transport system to secure grain supplies for Chang’an. His pragmatic measures stabilized the crisis‑stricken empire and…
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The Twin Peaks of Tang Poetry: Li Bai and Du Fu [Sui & Tang]
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Brief: This article profiles Li Bai and Du Fu, the two greatest poets of Tang Dynasty. It covers their contrasting styles – Li Bai as the free-spirited “Poet Immortal” and Du Fu as the compassionate “Poet Sage” – their lives through the An-Shi Rebellion, their brief friendship, and their tragic later years. Their works…
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Yan Zhenqing
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Yan Zhenqing (709–784 CE) was a renowned calligrapher, statesman, and loyalist of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Qingchen, and he was a native of Wannian, Jingzhao (modern-day Xi’an, Shaanxi), though his ancestral home was Langye Linyi (in present-day Shandong Province).
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Yan Shigu
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Yan Shigu (581–645 CE) was a prominent Confucian classicist and philologist of the Sui and Tang dynasties. His given name was Zhou, but he was universally known by his courtesy name, Shigu.
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The Tragedy at Mawei and the Fracture of the Tang [Sui & Tang]
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Brief: This article narrates the tragic Mawei Incident during the An-Shi Rebellion. After the Tang defeat at Tong Pass, Emperor Xuanzong fled Chang’an with Yang Guifei. Enraged imperial guards mutinied, killing Yang Guozhong and forcing the emperor to order Yang Guifei’s death. The imperial family split; the crown prince declared himself Emperor Suzong. Though…
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The Cataclysm of An and Shi: The Fall of the Golden Age [Sui & Tang]
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Brief: This article explores the outbreak of the An-Shi Rebellion, which ended the Tang Dynasty’s golden age. It traces the rise of the corrupt Yang clan under Yang Guifei, the ambition of the powerful general An Lushan, and his bitter conflict with Yang Guozhong. The rebellion erupted in 755, and a fatal order at…