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

Author: Chen Shun-chin (Author), Liao Wei-chi (Translator)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: History always lingers in our memories. Even behind the splendid and magnificent Tang Dynasty, the shadow of swords and blood has never ceased to appear. Power, money, honor, and beauty have always been 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 A Brief History of the Eighteen Dynasties by the Song Dynasty scholar Zeng Xianzhi, a work that has yet to be fully appreciated by the Chinese. Renowned Chinese-American popular historian Mr. Chen Shun-chin has spent decades of effort to complete this book. Drawing on folk records scattered outside official histories, it reconstructs historical details with scholarly rigor while employing a popular writing style to reinterpret the figures of the Tang Dynasty that readers are familiar with. For events such as the manipulation of Li Yuan’s uprising in Jin’an through beauty, the complex behind the Xuanwu Gate Incident, the consequences of Li Shimin’s marriage to the daughter of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, the issue of the crown prince’s homosexuality, Wu Zetian’s autocratic rule, and the love story between Li Longji and Yang Guifei, which may seem ordinary, their significance in critical historical junctures undeniably shaped 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, providing 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 all levels, it offers both the strategies of power struggles at the pinnacle and the wisdom of survival in everyday life. In short, Chen Shun-chin’s portrayal of history is captivating.