The Noon of the Empire - An Alternative History of the Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties

Author: Mei Yi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: The author observes the golden age of Chinese history—Sui, Tang, and the Five Dynasties—from a unique perspective, showcasing the supreme glory and bloody turmoil of the Chinese empire over four hundred years. He explains how the incredible energy released when (chance) and (heroes) combine in the course of history. Dreaming back to the Tang Dynasty, it lingers in the mind for a thousand years. The influence of poetry, the impact of Hu culture, the prevalence of music and dance, the peak of calligraphy art, the rich diversity of folk life, the flourishing of various religious forms, the exchange and integration of different civilizations—all grew on the land of the Chinese empire, forming a dazzling and magnificent golden age. Eight directions and nine extremes, with a lingering charm, it is deeply yearned for. From Sui and Tang to the Five Dynasties, the Chinese empire slid from a prosperous golden age to an extremely declining late period: rebellion, slaughter, famine, plague, deception, betrayal—sweat and blood soaked the pages of history. Amidst the chaos, countless greedy eyes coveted the supreme throne adorned with nine golden dragons. In the midst of the turmoil, the actual territory under the rule of the Chinese empire shrank drastically, and the cession of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun laid a huge foreshadowing for the catastrophe of the Central Plains empire centuries later. The Tang inherited and expanded upon the system of the Sui, but the Five Dynasties brought chaos. This book profoundly reveals the internal logic of the rise and fall of Chinese civilization.