Dec 9, 2010
As the Sui peters out, Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang, seizes power and establishes the Tang Dynasty in 618. Along with the Song, the Tang Dynasty is considered the pinnacle of China’s long history. In culture, art, poetry, painting, ceramics, science, navigation, diplomacy this was a golden age. Buddhism made even...
Dec 1, 2010
The demise of the Southern & Northern Dynasties brought us a China unified under the Sui emperors Wen and Yang. This ephemeral dynasty laid the groundwork for the splendor of the Tang dynasty. Lasting only 37 years, the Sui Dynasty doesn’t get the limelight enjoyed by the great dynasties of Han, Tang, Song, Ming and...
Nov 24, 2010
The Southern & Northern Dynasties were a collection of dynasties that lasted 170 years and preceded the time of unification under the Sui Dynasty. North of the Yangzi River you had the Northern Wei, the Northern Qi and the Northern Zhou. South of the great river reigned the Liu Song, Southern Qi, the Liang and
Nov 16, 2010
This week we are back with more Chinese history. We will look at a very confusing but exciting time when there was mostly a period of disunity and China was broken up into contending kingdoms. However this period of chaos brought us some of the richest tales of ancient China filled with amazing battles, events
Oct 30, 2010
In this final installment of the Han Dynasty overview we look at the reign of Wang Mang during the short lived Xin Dynasty and the Eastern (or Later) Han Dynasty that followed. The Eastern Han was a period of endless skullduggery at the imperial court where the palace eunuchs rose to power and meddled endlessly