Fall of Tang- Beginning of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Anarchy: 唐灭-五代十国初期

A tang dynasty warrior in heavy armor. Digital painting by Haijun Wang. The officer carries a Tang era straight single edged long sword (Tang Dao.) 

This article will briefly give insight to the final 2 decades of the Tang dynasty- the rebellion that irrevocably weakened it to the brink of collapse, the high warlordom it primed, and a bitter rivalry that set the realm ablaze for the next 72 years. Arguably, the chaos that was wrought from the death spiral of the Tang would not be harmonized until the unification of the Chinese realm under the Mongol- led Yuan dynasty nearly 4 centuries later. 

Music: Nonsense!

LAST DAYS OF THE TANG DYNASTY

The last days of the Tang dynasty was marked by multiple compounding crises. Since the An Lushan rebellion much of the Tang's western regions were lost. To foster more ad hoc defense against external threats the court made concessions that empowered various governors to became hereditary military- governors called Jiedushi, effectively turning their territories into de facto feudal fiefs each with a private army loyal above all to these warlords. It was a decision that the Tang immediately regretted. Such men were not only openly disloyal but one time were even brazen enough as to assassinate the Emperor's Chancellor in the imperial capital. 

Mid & Late Tang. Tang lost much of its west, though after the Tibetan Empire's implosion a Tang loyalist state (Guiyi Circuit) rose up and reintegrated itself back into the empire. In the northeast a number of extremely disloyal Jiedushi retained their territories as feudal fiefs and were more nightmarish vassals than subjects. Morever in obstinacy they married and aligned with each other to resist Tang efforts to reincorporate them. To make situation worse, Tang court was seized by eunuchs.

The legitimization of parallel states came at great cost to the dynasty. Though initially the position was not hereditary: the Jiedushi had to be appointed by the Emperor and were only meant to command a large territorial army to defend the empire as an allied vassal. At times strong Tang emperors checked their ambitious by withholding appointments or invaded their territories whenever powerful clan patriarchs died. In time as imperial authority weakened, they solicited more power by making their titles hereditary~ effectively becoming warlords with their own fiefs. 

To counter such vultures, the Tang attempted to recentralize power through forging a strong imperial army without any of these men's influence and have the reins of power solely in those subservient to the Tang emperors. However they trusted eunuchs with such military power. Though initially several generations of eunuchs did prove loyal as generals and decisively destroyed several of the disloyal Jiedushi's armies ~ rolling back some of these rogue statelets back in Tang fold. By the 9th century they usurped imperial power by becoming kingmakers and imprisoned the Tang emperors in the palace while they reigned and drafted imperial edicts for the last century of Tang rule. The empire fell into ill- management, triggering massive shortages and famines.

This perfect nightmarish storm culminated in a massive uprising by the ascension of the new Xizong Emperor, when drought and flood caused a massive famine in the heartland of the empire the heavily taxed subjects erupted in rebellion in many parts of the empire in 874. Millions of desperate dispossessed farmers became roving bands of refugees and in time armed themselves to secure food and protection, they soon turned their full fury on the empire. One of the figures that rose was the deeply populist and reactionary rebel Huang Chao who blamed the empire's ills on foreign merchants and foreign religions.

Huang led his rebel army south in 878-879, capturing several prefectures and eventually taking Guangzhou. This campaign reportedly resulted in the massacre of tens of thousands of foreign merchants, including Arabs, Persians, and Christians. Then he veered north again and captured a string of cities and defeated Tang armies that stood in his way. In 881, Huang's forces captured the twin Tang capitals of Luoyang and Chang'an, forcing Emperor Xizong to flee. Huang then proclaimed himself emperor of a new dynasty called Qi but his reign was short lived. 

TIMELY INTERVENTION 

It was at this time the Tang struck back in force. The imperial army- together with the intervention of several desperate powerful minority- led military blocs within the Tang soon rolled back Huang Chao's army and crushed it on the field- leading to the rebellion's collapse (the Tang army that crushed Huang's rebel army was an ethnic Shatuo Turk Li Keyong. His Turkic clan would be a significant player in the north for decades after.) Among this loyalist alliance were also the ethnic Tangut general Tuoba Sigong. 

飞虎子 "Son of the Flying Tiger," and later 独眼龙 "One Eyed Dragon." A formidable martial man. The ethnic Turkic Li Keyong gaining fame at age 14 for his fierce fighting skills that earned him the nickname "Son of the Flying Tiger." Early in the Rebellion he joined the rebels in 878, but his rebellion was unsuccessful, having failed his bid, he raced back to his people. After petitioning and being pardoned by Emperor Xizong in 881, with Tang patronage Li Keyong proved devastating and was instrumental in crushing Huang's army and recapturing Chang 'an in 883. For his merits, he was granted the northern fief in what is today's Shanxi mountains and his fief was called Jin.

It was a distinguished privilege to be awarded the imperial last name. The Tang often conferred it upon loyal vassals such as the Khotanese King and loyal vassal generals. Aside from the Tangut general Li Sigong, this also included the loyalist general that crushed the rebellion Li Keyong himself, whose original last name was Shuye (Shuye Keyong) and was rewarded the last name Li some decade ago.

A House of Cards: It is important to note that though players arrived under the banner of Tang loyalists, in an era where personal interest was tied to their hereditary state it meant all of the decisions had a selfish dimension to it. The early phased of Huang Chao's rebellion toppled many great previous Jiedushi in the heartlands and these new men were eager to fill in the void. Though the rebellion was ultimately crushed, it left the venom that would end the Tang. Xizong had restored the Tang realm by portioning it all out to these ambitious warlords. When Xizong died, his son no longer can wrangle these feral warlords back into the fold.

For Tuoba Sigong's meritorious service, the Tang awarded him and his Tangut tribe 3 prefectures in the north west (Xia prefecture) and his clan the privilege of using the imperial last name of Li. Thereby the Tangut leaders would be named Li and be resettled in northwestern China as its frontier wardens. 

Music: Such Wind! Powerful Indeed!

THE HEARTLAND IMPLODES- AN AGE OF FRATRICIDE

Major military governors (Jiedushi) and their Circuits by the 2 decade twilight of the Tang dynasty. The large center was monopolized by the treacherous and nearly universally reviled rebel- turned Jiedushi Zhu Wen, while much of the north was held by the Shatuo Turk general Li Keyong. The 2 men were life long rivals. 

Zhu Wen also began as an opportunistic rebel and joined Huang Chao's rebellion. However when Huang was defeated Zhu immediately defected with his army- including the best of Huang's remaining troops to the imperials in 882. 

The Two Future Emperors. Zhu Wen was a ruthless, nakedly treacherous and perverted man who reputedly slept/ forced upon the wives and daughters of his subordinates, he eventually imprisoned the last 2 Tang emperors and made them his puppets. He ended up murdering both of them thereby destroying the Tang and declaring himself the emperor of a new dynasty called (Later) Liang. His outrageous usurpation shocked the realm and would trigger the next 7 decades of civil war and high warlordom in China. What's more directly lead to the ensuing centuries of weakened and fragmented Chinese position.

Zhu Wen's biggest mistake included trying to assassinate Li Keyong thereby further cementing their deep hatred of each other. The north (with Khitan Liao support) thus staunchly opposed Zhu Wen and Zhu would spent most of his brief 6 year reign trying and failing to absorb the Shatuo Turks under his fold. While the north descended into chaos- without a central umbrella authority the various southern circuits effectively became independent kingdoms and ruled themselves. Perhaps fittingly to his ruthlessly treasonous character, Zhu was murdered in 912 by his own treacherous son, who then was swiftly slain by his brother. It should be noted with cosmic irony that Zhu Wen's original name before he remade himself was Zhu Quanzhong 朱全忠 literally translated as Zhu "Completely | Utterly Loyal."

Art by Lin Sun (merasgar)

Later Liang would totter on for 10 years until the Shatuo Turks under the late Li Keyong's vengeful son Li Cunxu crushed the Liang army and encircled the Liang capital. Faced with certain defeat and capture the last Liang Emperor committed suicide. 

Painted sculpture of an armored military officer. Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Kingdom of Later Shu, 934-965. General Zhao Tingyin 趙廷隱's Tomb.

And Li Cunxu- still acting under the auspice of avenging the Tang and crushing rebels declared his own dynasty Tang again (because of the different lineage and to differentiate it from Tang it was called Later Tang.) Retroactively Li Keyong was named the progenitor emperor of this dynasty. However by this time the realm was already in chaos and Later Tang was no longer in position to restore "Tang" truly back to its shape. In time~ from this chaos, Song would be born and reunite the realm under its sway. But for the Tanguts in the northwest, their future had just began. In time, they would make a kingdom of their own- Xixia (Western Xia.)

Song dynasty general in heavy armor. Art by Jack Huang.

Music: Resonate Wave Profound

The wars between Northern Song and Western Xia would be some of the biggest among Eurasian states before the Mongol Conquest and the two sides frequently fielded well organized and well equipped armies hundreds of thousands strong. Join us next time as we explore the Song Xixia wars in detail.

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Credit: Twitter: William C 飞廉超. Chinese Armormen 铁羽踏白: 中国甲胄男团