According to the wekapedia , The imperial Li family were Toban people of the Toban militant noble household elite groups of the Sui era who became sinofied . Emperor Tang Tai zhong and wife were Toban people . It was Zhang shun, the duke uncle or guo jiu wuji who subdued the Xianbei . Emperor Tang Tai Zhong subseuently subdued the Tanguts (Tujie) and the Gorturks which occupied and foraged into china through the Asain steppes and its trade route across Central asaia. Many of these such minority half chinese groups still exist today from that point in time .
Tai Zhong's conquest of the Tanguts and these babaric tribes led to the excavtion of the famous silk road trade which stretched across central asia to Tukestan in today's Afghan states . It linked the famous trade routes of Bukkarah , Symrandkhan and Orissa which were desert oasis towns connecting China to Persia , Arabia, greece, Egypt and the middle east. In Tai Zhong's day, the Goturks and other turkish empires, Khitan , uyghirs and Uzbek turks prior to the rise of the golden tartar huns or Jins or kins (who later emerged and challenged the Song Dynasty) and the turkish mongols who founded the Yuan) ruled these terains thorugh several empires all paying homage to Tang Tai zhong as the greatest Khanate .
Why then, would Tai zhong want to subdue his own nomadic tribal race if his matrachial llineange was xian be origianlly? Surely his turkish chinese blood must have some other origins that is also not pure Han Chinese and no doubt still retained a very semi-babaric savagous like blood . This was evident by the fact of the Tang emperors ruled the Tang empire as a vastly militant powrful, mighty and illustrious sovereign sate . So what is the real difference between a xian bei and a toban or tofan?
The era of its government political and economical diplomaitc history besides extending into the middle east also incoporated the trade routes of today's Xinjing, across the Talamakan deserts , autonomus regions and Ferghana in tody's soviet russia and the borders along Heilong Jiang paying its mercantile doors opened to Europre . This led to an influx of cultural and religious exchange beasieds its mercentile and economic transmissions .
The colossal might of the Tang even extended further down south the globe into gulf of Siam in Thailand, Malay archepalogo of Malaysia , Javanese islands and the Phillipines. They all had to recognise cthe dominance of Tang china's suzereintly . for instance, the 5th Malaysain civilization of Pan Pan had to surrnder millions of gold to Tang china as tribute . There was also the establsihment of the chinese civil service metroplotian exams so that capable admistrators and new talent could be sought to enable the Tang imperail regeime to rule wisely . This vogue , no doubtsethe established norm became the ladder to sucess and promience, fame , prestige and fortune to be mounted and it is educational foundations is still highly chersihed and observed today by overseas Chinese .
Back home, to secure its interior, the various minority groups were forced to assimialte into the Tang sinofied culture and taking on its identity . such assimilation into the might of the Tang identity caused Tang China to become a very cosmopolitian multi-racial and relgious tolerant puralist society . Trade relationships too flourished with Tai Zhong's expansion into Korea and Japan . It made the Tang nationals to be very proud and so they calll themselves Man of Tang which is a refrence to today's overseas' Chinese descent - Tang ren or Tong yan in the Cantonese meaning multi-cultuarised cosmopolitan Chinese in reflection of this era.
Unfortunately, in its later decadent years with weaker monarchs on the throne saw a vogue in the vengance and attacks by Korea in the time of emperor She Zhong and the more aggressively powerful Uyghir khanates in the south east . This period of decline brought China further into the fragmantation of the 5 dynasties and ten Kingdoms . Consequently, no re-unification came to light and was restored until General Zhao Kuan yin emerged victorious and establsihed the Song dynasty .
The contribution and efforts of Tang Tai zhong and its sucessors has set the precedence of Tang Dynasty China's sucess as a vast, very powerful and sucessful political socio economic trading nation. Tang Chinese ciritzens inspite of its sub-rural predominant economy was a very strong, self-enriched , highly literate and sophisicated nation able to embrace multi-ethncity and purality and diversity for such was the nature of comtempoary Tang thought in te spirit of the times. The arts ,literal works with classcial Tang peotry being the most ubiqious and other asthecis peaked and flourished and much admired so much so that in Singapore, the temples of the moral uplifiting society (DE jiao Hui) specialises in veneration of esoceritc Tang poets . The same is said for the Veitanese sect of Daoism where respect for accomplished Tang peots are a very restorspetive inspaartinal soucre of vietnamese national pride . Vietnamese imperail candidates of the Ly dynasty which corrosponded with Tang China made accomplishment in Tang peotry and classical literate works a very compulsory syllabus if canddidates were to sucess in the imperial civil service exams . Architectural construction soared with the raising of walled cities and fortififed towns in its ancient capital of Chang An and in its remote frontires with the arrival of various caravan traders and camelers from Afghanistan and Arabia into Luzhou . It was followed by the passage of Islam, Mahanyna and Zen Buddhism through Korea, Japan and Tibet , Manicheanism , Zorastarinism and Nestorain Chirstinirty from Persia , Roman catholicism from protguese traders and missionaries and Hinduism from India .
It was also in this era that Monk Xuan zang and famous apologist of Mahannayna buddhism and Brahman hinduism scholar made his prilgrimmage to India which set the story of journey to the west to follow .
This precedence was to be followed and re-enacted in the lateter dynasties of the emblsihed Song, the enlightned Ming and post modern Qing .
The current para restrospective projection is that can china now emerging as a new power glout revert and its role in the Asia Pacific diplomatic trading relations revert to this once gloriously brilliant and proserous nation as precedented by the Han and Tang commercial era and transformations ?
comment and discuss .
Edited by congxian, 21 August 2010 - 07:45 AM.
