Late Tang China and the World, 750–907 CE

A new look at the late Tang period that explodes some well-worn myths and re-evaluates its place in world history.

Shao-yun Yang (Author)

9781009397254, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 25 May 2023

75 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 0.4 cm, 0.126 kg

In recent decades, the Tang dynasty (618-907) has acquired a reputation as the most 'cosmopolitan' period in Chinese history. The standard narrative also claims that this cosmopolitan openness faded after the An Lushan Rebellion of 755-763, to be replaced by xenophobic hostility toward all things foreign. This Element reassesses the cosmopolitanism-to-xenophobia narrative and presents a more empirically-grounded and nuanced interpretation of the Tang empire's foreign relations after 755.

Introduction
1. The Transformation of the Tang Frontier Military
2. The Battle of Talas (751 CE)
3. The An Lushan Rebellion and Its Consequences
4. An Anti-Foreign (Or Anti-Sogdian) Backlash?
5. The Uighur Crisis and the Huichang Persecution of 842–846
6. Tang China and the Making of the Sinographic Sphere
Conclusion: The Fall of the Tang in East Asian History.

Subject Areas: General & world history [HBG]