Great Tang Empire - Three Hundred Years of Sui Chaos and Tang Prosperity

Author: Chen Shunren
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: History always lingers in memory, even behind the splendid and magnificent Tang Dynasty, where the shadows of swords and blood are ever-present. Power, money, honor, and beauty are always the root of evil and the spoils of war. The Tang Empire—Three Hundred Years of Sui Chaos and Tang Prosperity is born from the historical masterpiece The Brief History of Eighteen Dynasties by the Song Dynasty scholar Zeng Xianzhi, a work that has long been overlooked by the Chinese. Renowned Chinese-American popular historian Chen Shunren has spent decades of effort to complete this book. Drawing on folk records scattered outside official histories, it reconstructs historical details with the cultivation of a scholar and the popular style of a storyteller, offering a fresh interpretation of the well-known figures of the Tang Dynasty. For instance, it delves into the complex behind the forced uprising of Li Yuan in Jin'an by means of beauty, the intricate details of the Xuanwu Gate Incident, the consequences of Li Shimin's concubinage with the daughter of Emperor Yang of Sui for the later dynasty, the issue of the crown prince's homosexuality, the historical logic of Wu Zetian's autocratic rule, and the love story between Li Longji and Yang Guifei. These seemingly ordinary historical events, as they occurred at critical junctures in history, profoundly influenced the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty. The author's remarkable insights and analyses truly grasp the pulse of history.
The book's features include:
1. Delving deep into the core of history, piercing through the depths of human nature, and revealing the power dynamics of emperors. It can be called the "white paper of China's power game."
2. Analyzing the unchanging essence of history—human desires in constant interplay—through sharp and engaging historical insights. It guides readers to interpret Chinese history from the perspective of interpersonal dynamics, enabling a deeper understanding of the human aspects behind historical events and striking at the heart of China's power game for millennia.
3. Focusing on historical details and bringing them close to daily life. For readers at different levels, it offers both the stratagems of power struggles at the pinnacle and the wisdom of survival in everyday life.
In short, Chen Shunren's portrayal of history is captivating.