Hist 387_11 The Fall of the Tang Dynasty

Restauration of the Li clan and the consequences of the An Lushan rebellion

Li (Tang): Emperors Zhongzong (r. 707-710), Ruizong (r. 710-712): Ruizong abdicated in favor of his son, who had been pushed aside by Wu Zetian. He became Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712-756). Under his rule the golden age received first setbacks:
- the agrarian system deteriorated
- the power of local army leaders increased when military regions at the frontiers were installed that grew increasingly independent from imperial supervision though they were originally headed by imperial commissioners; large armies of professional soldiers were formed.
- Emperor Xuanzong lost interest in ruling the empire and dedicated increasing periods of time to his Consort Yang. When her cousin Yang Guozhong became prime minister in 752, a position for which he had competed with An Lushan, a northern general of Turk and Sogdian descent, An prepared his rebellion which was unleashed in 755 and lasted until 763. It destroyed the economic basis of the Tang since the population registers became invalid due to large migratory shifts of the population towards the south. With unreliable population registers tax revenues were not calculable in advance.
The crisis lead to economic and consequently military weakness: After 790 the (Uighur) territories west of the Yumen Pass were lost for the Tang.

Increasing regional autonomy finally led to the disintegration of the Tang into five dynasties led by dominant former military commissioners.

The 'journey' was in fact the emperor's flight to Sichuan in order to evade the confronatation with the rebellious army headed by An Lushan. During this 'journey' Yang Guifei, the concubine of Emperor Minghuang, was strangled. In the painting the emperor is depicted as the first rider approaching the bridge.