Page 27 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol V

1804 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

Thank God for tea! What would the world do
without tea? How did it exist? I am glad I was not
born before tea. • Sydney Smith (1771–1845)

Foreign Affairs of the Zhenguan Period) became part of the imperial cur-
In foreign affairs,Taizong preferred alliances and winning riculum for later Tang and all subsequent Chinese emper-
allegiance through the appeal of fair and kind treatment, ors as well as for the rulers of Japan and Korea. It even
but he used military force when necessary. In 630 he dis- influenced the non-Chinese Khitan, Jurchen, and Mongol
patched troops and defeated the eastern Turks (in mod- peoples. Taizong’s theory and practice of rulership have
ern Mongolia), who often raided Tang cities. In the a unique place in world history.
following years his army conquered more territory, but
Lily Hwa
more importantly, it secured the submission of tribes and
kingdoms in Central Asia and around the Silk Road with- See also China
out wars. Often,Taizong offered Tang princesses in mar-
riage to tribal leaders to forge friendly diplomatic
relations. When leaders submitted to Tang rule, Taizong Further Reading
made them governors of the regions they had formerly Fitzgerald, C. P. (1933). Son of heaven: A biography of Li Shih-min,
founder of the T’ang dynasty. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
ruled independently, and he rarely intervened in their Press.
affairs. He allowed migration and in some instances ran- Liu Xu. (1975). Jiu Tangshu [Old Tang history]. Shanghai, China:
Zhonghua Shuju. (Original work compiled 940–945)
somed back (nomad’s) clansmen who were seized by
Ouyang Xiu. (1975). Xin Tangshu [New Tang history]. Shanghai, China:
their enemies. Zhonghua Shuju. (Original work compiled 1043–1060)
Schafer, E. H. (1963). The golden peaches of Samarkand:A study of T’ang
exotics. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Arts and Culture Si-ma Guang. (1972). Zi-zhi tong-jian [Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in
Taizong loved fine horses, but he was also well versed in Government]. Taipei, China: Shijie Shuju. (Original work compiled
1084)
poetry and was an accomplished calligrapher. He ordered
Twitchett, D. (1996). How to be an emperor: T’ang T’ai-tsung’s vision of
the compilation of the five Confucian Classics, as well as his role. Asia Major 9(1–2), 1–102.
a commentary on them, and these became the standard Wechsler, H. (1974). Mirror to the Son of Heaven:Wei Cheng at the court
of T’ang Tai-tsung. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
texts for later dynasties. He wrote a preface for Xuan- Wechsler, H. (1979). T’ai-tsung (reign 626–49) the consolidator. In D.
zang’s monumental translation of hundreds of Buddhist Twitchett (Ed.), The Cambridge history of China:Vol. 3. Sui and T’ang
China, 589–906, Part 1 (pp. 188–241). Cambridge, UK: Cam-
sutras; he also wrote three commentaries in the official
bridge University Press.
history of the previous dynasties. He revered Daoism and Wechsler, H. (1985). Offerings of jade and silk: Ritual and symbol in the
claimed its founder Laozi, whose family name was Li, as legitimation of the T’ang dynasty. New Haven, CT: Yale University
Press.
his royal ancestor. Wu Jing. (1991). Zhenguan zhengyao [Essentials of government of the
Zhenguan period]. Shanghai, China: Shanghai Guji Chuban She.
(Original work compiled c. 707–709)
Legacy
Xiong,V. (2000). Sui-Tang Chang’an: A study in the urban history of late
When Taizong died in 649, he was buried in Zhaoling, medieval China (Michigan Monographs in Chinese Studies No. 85).
on a majestic mountain, which eventually was home to Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies.
a constellation of over 160 tombs. Some of these were the
resting places of imperial relatives, but most of the tombs
housed meritorious officials, including over a dozen
nomadic generals:Taizong had granted meritorious min- Tea
isters the right to be buried in his mausoleum complex
and included them in his extended political family. ince its accidental discovery over ten thousand years
Tang Taizong and his officials created a political legend Sago in the jungles in the triangle on the borders of
in Chinese history. His recorded discussions with offi- Myanmar (Burma), Assam (in present-day India), and
cials, the Zhenguan zhengyao (Essentials of Government China, tea has become the most consumed substance on