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143-572: The following account is based on legend or folklore, with little, if any, documentary evidence to support it. During the Tang dynasty in the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang , warrior monks from Henan Shaolin were deployed from the Shaolin temple to combat piracy. With the pirates suppressed, the monks remained in support of the local garrison and established the Southern Shaolin Monastery. During

286-446: A Tang princess. Emperor Taizong agreed this time. Also in 638, believing that Xueyantuo was growing increasingly strong and difficult to control, Emperor Taizong granted Yinan's sons Bazhuo and Jialibi ( 頡利苾 ) both lesser khan titles, to try to create dissensions between them. In summer 639, Ashina Jiesheshuai ( 阿史那結社率 ), the younger brother of Ashina Shibobi, whom Emperor Taizong did not favor and gave little recognition to, formed

429-480: A conspiracy with Ashina Shibobi's son Ashina Hexiangu ( 阿史那賀暹鶻 ) to assassinate Emperor Taizong. They had planned to wait for Li Zhi the Prince of Jin to depart from the palace in the morning and use that opportunity to attack the palace. On the day they planned, however, Li Zhi did not leave the palace, and Ashina Jiesheshuai attacked anyway but was quickly defeated, captured, and executed. After this incident, however,

572-431: A coup led by the general Yuwen Huaji , Li Yuan had Emperor Gong yield the throne to him, establishing Tang dynasty as its Emperor Gaozu. He created Li Jiancheng crown prince but created Li Shimin the Prince of Qin, also making him Shangshu Ling ( 尚書令 ), the head of the executive bureau of the government ( 尚書省 ; Shàngshū Shěng ) and a post considered one for a chancellor , while continuing to have Li Shimin serve as

715-539: A daughter of a clansman as the Princess Wencheng , and in 641 sent Li Daozong to accompany Princess Wencheng to Tibet to preside over the wedding. In winter 641, believing that Emperor Taizong was about to carry out sacrifices to heaven and earth at Mount Tai and would be unable to aid the Eastern Turks , Yinan launched a major attack on them, commanded by his son Dadu ( 大度 ). Li Simo was forced to retreat inside

858-485: A falling out, Ashina Shibobi submitted to Emperor Taizong, as did the chieftains of Khitan tribes, who had previously submitted to the Eastern Turks . With their khaganate in turmoil, Ashina Duobi was no longer able to protect the last late-Sui rebel ruler who alone remained standing against Tang pressure— Liang Shidu the Emperor of Liang, and in summer 628, with the Tang generals Chai Shao and Xue Wanjun ( 薛萬均 ) sieging

1001-472: A general call was made for men to join the army to help rescue the emperor. Li Shimin answered that call and served under the general Yun Dingxing ( 雲定興 ), apparently doing so with distinction. In 616, when Li Yuan was put in charge of the important city of Taiyuan , he brought Li Shimin with him to Taiyuan, while leaving at least three other sons – Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, and Li Zhiyun ( 李智雲 , by Li Yuan's concubine Lady Wan) – at

1144-530: A large Sui army, he captured Chang'an from imperial forces and declared Yang You emperor (as Emperor Gong). He had himself made regent (with the title of grand chancellor) and created the Prince of Tang. (Meanwhile, most of the Sui territories and armies did not recognize Emperor Gong as emperor and continued to recognize Emperor Yang as emperor and not as retired emperor.) He made Li Shimin the Duke of Qin. Li Yuan's control of

1287-529: A major attack with forces of 200,000 on Tuyuhun and then on several Tang prefectures, putting Song Prefecture ( 松州 , roughly modern Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture , Sichuan) under siege. Emperor Taizong commissioned Hou Junji , assisted by Zhishi Sili ( 執失思力 ), Niu Jinda ( 牛進達 ), and Liu Jian ( 劉簡 ), of a total of force of 50,000 to counterattack, and Niu, who commanded the forward forces, defeated Tibetan forces at Song Prefecture. Songsän Gampo withdrew and sued for peace, but still sought to marry

1430-405: A major defeat. Yuchi and Xun surrendered, and after Li Shimin chased further, both Liu and Song fled to the Eastern Turks . All of Dingyang territory fell into Tang hands. In summer 620, Emperor Gaozu again commissioned Li Shimin against a major enemy—the former Sui general Wang Shichong , who had Sui's last emperor, Emperor Yang's grandson Yang Tong , yield the throne to him in 619, establishing

1573-725: A major general as well. The first thing that Li Shimin had to deal with was another incursion by Xue Ju, as Xue attacked Jing Prefecture ( 涇州 , roughly modern Pingliang , Gansu) and Emperor Gaozu sent Li Shimin to resist Xue. Li Shimin established his defenses and refused to engage Xue to try to wear Xue Ju out, but at that time, he was afflicted with malaria, and he let his assistants Liu Wenjing and Yin Kaishan ( 殷開山 ) take command, ordering them not to engage Xue Ju. Liu and Yin, however, did not take Xue Ju seriously, and Xue Ju ambushed them at Qianshui Plain ( 淺水原 , in modern Xianyang), crushing Tang forces and inflicting 50–60% casualties. Li Shimin

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1716-465: A major incursion toward Chang'an, and just 19 days after Emperor Taizong took the throne, the two khans were just across the Wei River from Chang'an. Emperor Taizong, accompanied by Gao Shilian and Fang Xuanling , was forced to meet Ashina Duobi across the river and personally negotiate peace terms, including tributes to Eastern Turks , before Ashina Duobi withdrew. Late in 626, Emperor Taizong ranked

1859-494: A major threat in the future. Emperor Gaozu agreed and allowed Li Shimin to continue to siege Luoyang. When Xia forward troops arrived first, Li Shimin surprised and defeated them, and then sent Dou a letter suggesting that he withdraw. Dou would not do so, and, against the advice of his wife Empress Cao and secretary general Ling Jing ( 凌敬 ) that he should instead attack Tang's prefectures in modern southern Shanxi, he marched toward Luoyang. Anticipating Dou's maneuver, Li Shimin left

2002-504: A negative example), as well as by employing capable chancellors such as Fang Xuanling , Du Ruhui , and Wei Zheng . Emperor Taizong's wife Empress Zhangsun also proved to be a capable assistant. Li Shimin was born in 598 at Wugong , in modern Xianyang , Shaanxi. His father Li Yuan , the Duke of Tang , was a general of the Sui dynasty , and a nephew, by marriage, to Sui's founding emperor Emperor Wen . Li Shimin's grandmother Duchess Dugu

2145-413: A new khan to govern them. In 631, Emperor Taizong established a feudal scheme, where the contributors to his reign were given, in addition to their current posts, additional posts as prefectural governors, to be passed on to their descendants. Soon, however, receiving much opposition to the plan, the strongest of which came from Zhangsun Wuji , Emperor Taizong cancelled the scheme. After the conquest of

2288-456: A new state of Zheng as its emperor. When Li Shimin arrived at the Zheng capital Luoyang, Wang offered peace, but Li Shimin rebuffed him and put Luoyang under siege. Meanwhile, his subordinates took Zheng cities one by one. By winter 620, most of Zheng territory, other than Luoyang and Xiangyang , defended by Wang Shichong's nephew Wang Honglie ( 王弘烈 ), had submitted to Tang. Wang sought aid Dou Jiande

2431-632: A number of literary men. The former Xia territory did not remain in Tang hands for long. In the winter of 621, the Xia general Liu Heita rose against Tang rule, claiming to be avenging Dou, whom Emperor Gaozu had executed against Li Shimin's wishes after he had been brought back to Chang'an. Liu was allied with Xu Yuanlang , a former agrarian rebel general who was nominally under Wang Shichong and who had submitted to Tang after Wang's defeat. Liu dealt successive defeats to Emperor Gaozu's cousin Li Shentong ( 李神通 ),

2574-462: A part of the emperor's army or take orders from him. In an effort to crush the growing rebellion, the Qing army attacked and burned the Southern Shaolin Monastery during middle of the 19th century. Only the most skilled Shaolin monks escaped the attack. Professor Barend J. ter Haar has suggested "that stories on the burning of a real or mythological Shaolin monastery were circulating in southern China towards

2717-625: A prophecy that the next emperor would be named Li—Emperor Yang had previously killed another official, Li Hun ( 李渾 ), and Li Hun's clan over his fear that Li Hun's nephew, Li Min ( 李敏 ), would seize the throne. Fearful for his life, Li Yuan considered rebellion. However, he did not know that Li Shimin had also been secretly discussing plans for rebellion with Li Yuan's associates Pei Ji and Liu Wenjing . Once Li Shimin's plans matured, he had Pei inform Li Yuan of them—and also had Pei warn Li Yuan that if it were revealed that Li Yuan had had sexual relations with some of Emperor Yang's ladies in waiting at

2860-600: A secret headquarters in Taiyuan. Yan, under the slogan "resistance against the enemy and defense of the soil", attempted to recruit young patriotic intellectuals to his government from across China. By 1936 Taiyuan became a gathering point for anti-Japanese intellectuals who had fled from Beijing , Tianjin , and Northeast China . A representative of the Japanese army, speaking of the final defense of Taiyuan, said that "nowhere in China have

3003-583: A series of campaigns against the oasis states of the Tarim Basin , and against their main ally , the Western Turks . During his reign, Tang armies annexed Karakhoja in 640 , Karasahr in 644 , and Kucha in 648 . Eventually, the Tang defeated and annexed the Western Turkic Khaganate after Su Dingfang defeated Qaghan Ashina Helu in 657. Unlike much of the nobility in his time, Emperor Taizong

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3146-548: A shortened form of the phrase "save the earth and pacify the people" ( 濟世安民 ; jìshì ānmín ). Li Shimin apparently showed talent early in his life, and in 613, the official Gao Shilian , impressed with him, gave him a niece (the later Empress Zhangsun ) in marriage as his wife; he was 14 and she was 12. In 615, when Emperor Wen's son and successor Emperor Yang was ambushed by Eastern Turkic ( Dongtujue ) forces under Shibi Khan at Yanmen Commandery (present-day Daixian in Shanxi ),

3289-693: A significant trading center, due to its political and economical status in Shanxi. In 1900, the Taiyuan Massacre occurred, during which a number of Western missionaries were killed. The warlord Yan Xishan retained control of Shanxi from the Xinhai Revolution in 1911 to the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Taiyuan consequently flourished as the center of his comparatively progressive province and experienced extensive industrial development. It

3432-401: A small detachment, commanded by Li Yuanji, at Luoyang, while marching east himself, taking up position at the strategic Hulao Pass . When the armies engaged at Hulao, Li Shimin defeated Dou and captured him. He took Dou back to Luoyang and displayed him to Wang Shichong. Wang, in fear, considered abandoning Luoyang and fleeing south to Xiangyang, but as his generals pointed out that his only hope

3575-779: A suggestion that Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, and Pei Ji agreed with. Li Shimin opposed, however, and the plan was not carried out. Meanwhile, Li Shimin himself was sending his confidants to Luoyang to build up personal control of the army there. After an incident in which Li Shimin suffered a severe case of food poisoning after feasting at Li Jiancheng's palace—an event that both Emperor Gaozu and Li Shimin apparently interpreted as an assassination attempt—Emperor Gaozu considered sending Li Shimin to guard Luoyang to prevent further conflict, but Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, after consulting each other, believed that this would only give Li Shimin an opportunity to build up his personal power there, and therefore opposed it. Emperor Gaozu therefore did not carry out

3718-509: A temperate monsoon climate. Spring is dry, with occasional dust storms , followed by early summer heat waves . Summer tends to be warm to hot with most of the year's rainfall concentrated in July and August. Winter is long and cold, but dry and sunny. Because of the aridity, there tends to be considerable diurnal variation in temperature , except during the summer. The weather is much cooler than comparable-latitude cities, such as Shijiazhuang , due to

3861-489: A tent in his residence in imitation of a Turkic khan. Taizong removed him from the position of heir apparent and chose as his successor Li Zhi, who embraced Han Chinese cultural heritage. Taiyuan Taiyuan ( Taiyuan Jin : /tʰai˦˥ ye˩˩/) is the capital of Shanxi , China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. It is an industrial base focusing on energy and heavy chemicals. Throughout its long history, Taiyuan

4004-499: A work later to be known as the Records of Clans ( 氏族志 ), with the intent of dividing the clans into nine classes based on their past contributions, good deeds, and ill deeds. In an initial draft that Gao submitted, he nevertheless ranked the branch of the Cui clan that the official Cui Min'gan ( 崔民幹 ) belonged to as the highest, a decision that Emperor Taizong rebuked, as he pointed out that Gao

4147-568: Is considered to be one of the greatest emperors in China's history, and henceforth his reign became regarded as the exemplary model against which all future emperors were measured. His era, the "Reign of Zhenguan" ( Chinese : 貞觀之治 ; pinyin : Zhēnguàn Zhī Zhì ) is considered a golden age in ancient Chinese history and was treated as required studying material for future crown princes . Taizong continued to develop imperial examination systems. He asked his officials to be loyal to policies, not people, in order to eliminate corruption . Under

4290-602: Is said that after the government destroyed the first temple Chee Seen , one of the Five Elders went on to build a second southern Shaolin Temple at Jiulian Shan (Nine Lotus Mountain) which was also later destroyed by the Qing government with the help of Pak Mei and Fung Dou Dak, two of Five Elders who defected from the Shaolin. The Southern Shaolin Monastery is considered by some to be a construct of fiction and folklore. Shi Yongxin ,

4433-477: Is the largest production site of metallurgical coal in China. The tree population in Taiyuan is dominated by coniferous forest, pine , white pine , spruce , and cypress . Taiyuan belongs to the warm temperate continental monsoon climate, with long, dry and cold winters, hot and humid summers, short and windy spring and autumn, and distinct dry and wet seasons. Taiyuan experiences a cold semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification BSk ). Taiyuan has

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4576-571: The Eastern Turkic Khaganate , Emperor Taizong's officials repeatedly requested that he carry out sacrifices to heaven and earth at Mount Tai , and Emperor Taizong, while at times tempted by the proposal, was repeatedly dissuaded from doing so by Wei, who pointed out the expenses and the labors that would be imposed on the people as a result, and also that this would open China's borders to attack. In 634, Emperor Taizong sent 13 high level officials, including Li Jing and Xiao Yu , to examine

4719-447: The Eastern Turks . The main opposing views were from the chancellors Wen Yanbo (who advocated leaving the Turks within China's borders to serve as a defense perimeter) and Wei (who advocated leaving them outside the borders). Emperor Taizong accepted Wen's suggestion and established a number of prefectures to accommodate the Turks, leaving them governed by their chieftains without creating

4862-826: The Göktürks were making another attack, and under Li Jiancheng's suggestion, Emperor Gaozu, instead of sending Li Shimin to resist the Göktürks as he first was inclined, decided to send Li Yuanji instead. Li Yuanji was given command of much of the army previously under Li Shimin's control, further troubling Li Shimin, who believed that with the army in Li Yuanji's hands, he would be unable to resist an attack. Li Shimin had Yuchi summon Fang and Du back to his mansion secretly, and then on one night submitted an accusation to Emperor Gaozu that Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were committing adultery with Emperor Gaozu's concubines. Emperor Gaozu, in response, issued summonses to Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji for

5005-565: The Khitan state of Liao . Using the north-western route instead of the southern (used in the previous campaigns) the armies of Taizong defeated a major Liao force. Isolated, the Northern Han resisted for only fifteen days before surrendering. In contrast to the mild policies of his brother, Taizong dealt harshly with the city. He ordered the flooding of Taiyuan by releasing the Fen River , and set

5148-555: The Qing dynasty and defeated the Great Shun Army in Taiyuan in the same year. Throughout the Qing dynasty, the international trade with Russia, especially of tea, and the creation and development of so-called draft banks, or Piaohao , boosted the central Shanxi basin to become the financial center of Qing China. Even though most of these Piaohao were based in different neighboring counties of Qi County , Taigu , and Yuci , Taiyuan became

5291-507: The Song dynasty and embarked on the campaign of re-unification of China. Using a power struggle at the Northern Han court Taizu moved against it in the late 968. By early 969 his armies encircled Taiyuan and defeated the reinforcements sent by the Khitan . However, an attempt to flood the city failed. The siege was lifted after three months, as heavy rains caused diseases in the besieging army,

5434-679: The Tang dynasty and subsequent Five Dynasties , the status of the city of Taiyuan was elevated to be the Northern Capital, hence the name Běidū ( 北都 ), and Běijīng ( 北京 , different from present-day Beijing ). Taiyuan is an ancient city with more than 2500 years of urban history, dating back from 497 BC. It was the capital or secondary capital ( 陪 都 , 别 都 ) of Zhao , Former Qin , Eastern Wei , Northern Qi , Northern Jin , Later Tang , Later Jin , Later Han , Northern Han . Its strategic location and rich history make Taiyuan one of

5577-516: The Tong Pass region to prevent Sui forces at Luoyang from reinforcing Chang'an and Li Shimin north of the Wei River to capture territory there. Meanwhile, Li Shimin's sister Pingyang had also risen in rebellion in support of him, and she was able to gather a sizeable army and capture some cities. She joined forces with Li Shimin and her husband Chai Shao. Soon, Li Yuan reconsolidated his forces and put Chang'an under siege. In winter 617, after defeating

5720-539: The Western Turks . In 640, Emperor Taizong commissioned Hou Junji , assisted by Xue Wanjun , to launch a major attack on Gaochang. As they approached Gaochang, Qu Wentai died in fear and was succeeded by his son Qu Zhisheng ( 麴智盛 ). Qu Zhisheng offered to submit, but Hou demanded a surrender, which Qu Zhisheng refused. However, Hou put Gaochang under siege, and with aid from the Western Turks not arriving, Qu Zhisheng surrendered. Wei Zheng suggested that Emperor Taizong allow Qu Zhisheng to remain king, pointing out that

5863-461: The Xiongnu state of Former Zhao , whose army raided the area around Taiyuan for years and eventually obtained Taiyuan in 316. In 319, Taiyuan became part of Later Zhao , founded by Shi Le . Later, Taiyuan was obtained by Former Yan in 358, and by Former Qin in 370. Fu Jian died in 384. His son Fu Pi declared himself an emperor in 385, with Jinyang (central city of Taiyuan) as the capital. But

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6006-660: The 24 great contributors to his reign. The Old Book of Tang and New Book of Tang mention several embassies made by Fu lin ( 拂菻 ; i.e. the Byzantine Empire ), which they equated with Daqin (which may refer to the Roman Empire or Middle East), beginning in 643 with an embassy sent by the king Boduoli ( 波多力 , i.e. Constans II Pogonatos ) to Emperor Taizong, bearing gifts such as red glass and green gemstones . These histories also provided cursory descriptions of Constantinople and its walls , as well as how it

6149-672: The 6 urban districts on 1,460 km (560 sq mi). Consistent with China's economic expansion throughout the 2010s, Taiyuan's economy has shown consistent growth in recent years. In 2018, Taiyuan's GDP was worth 388.450 billion Yuan, more than double what it was in 2010. Disposable income per capita was reported to be 31,031 Yuan in 2018, a 7.2% increase from 2017. In 2015, Taiyuan imported 4,085.130 million USD worth of goods, and exported 6,592.250 million USD worth. Taiyuan's primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were worth 3.9 billion yuan, 105.2 billion yuan, and 132.2 billion yuan respectively in 2007. Shanxi produces

6292-547: The Chang'an region became almost immediately contested by the rebel ruler Xue Ju , the Emperor of Qin, who sent his son Xue Rengao toward Chang'an. Li Yuan sent Li Shimin to resist Xue Rengao, and Li Shimin defeated Xue Rengao at Fufeng (in modern Baoji , Shaanxi), temporarily causing Xue Ju to toy with the idea of surrendering to Li Yuan, although Xue was subsequently dissuaded by his strategist Hao Yuan ( 郝瑗 ) from doing so. In spring 618, with Sui's eastern capital Luoyang (where

6435-467: The Chinese fought so obstinately". From the Japanese occupation of Taiyuan to the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Japanese continued to exploit Taiyuan's industries and resources to supply the Japanese army. After the Japanese army in Shanxi surrendered to Yan Xishan, 10,000–15,000 Japanese troops, including both enlisted men and officers, decided to fight for Yan rather than return to Japan. Yan also retained

6578-638: The Great Wall. Emperor Taizong commissioned Li Shiji , assisted by Zhang Jian ( 張儉 ), Li Daliang , Zhang Shigui ( 張士貴 ), and Li Xiyu ( 李襲譽 ), to attack Xueyantuo. Li Shiji soon defeated Dadu at Nuozhen River ( 諾真水 , flowing through modern Baotou , Inner Mongolia), and Dadu fled. By 642, it was clear that Li Tai had ambitions on replacing his brother Li Chengqian, and the governmental officials began to be divided into pro-Li Chengqian and pro-Li Tai factions. After urging by Wei Zheng and Chu Suiliang to take actions that would clarify that Li Chengqian's position

6721-607: The Liang capital Shuofang (in modern Yulin , Shaanxi), Liang Shidu's cousin Liang Luoren ( 梁洛仁 ) killed Liang Shidu and surrendered, finally uniting China. With the Eastern Turkic Khaganate weakened, their vassal Xueyantuo also broke away and formed its own khanate, and Emperor Taizong entered into an alliance with Xueyantuo's leader Yinan, creating Yinan the Zhenzhupiqie Khan (or Zhenzhu Khan in short). In late 629, believing

6864-464: The Prince of Changle, the commandant at Liang Prefecture ( 涼州 , roughly modern Wuwei , Gansu), was accused of allowing his staff to oppress the people and to trade with Qiang and Xiongnu tribesmen, Emperor Taizong sent the chancellor Yuwen Shiji (Yuwen Huaji's brother) to investigate, and in fear, Li Youliang's staff members plotted to hold him hostage and rebel. When this was discovered, Emperor Taizong forced Li Youliang to commit suicide. Late in

7007-494: The Prince of Huai'an; Li Xiaochang ( 李孝常 ), the Prince of Yi'an; and Li Shiji . By the end, he had recovered almost all of the former Xia territory, established his capital at Mingzhou , and proclaimed himself the Prince of Handong. Emperor Gaozu finally sent Li Shimin and Li Yuanji against him in 622 and, after some indecisive battles, Li Shimin defeated him by first erecting a dam across the Ming River and then destroying it, with

7150-642: The Prince of Huaiyang, he again regained most of former Xia territory. Li Jiancheng's staff members Wang Gui and Wei Zheng suggested that Li Jiancheng needed to enhance his own reputation in battle, and so Li Jiancheng volunteered for the mission. Emperor Gaozu thus sent Li Jiancheng, assisted by Li Yuanji, to attack Liu. Li Jiancheng defeated Liu around the new year of 623, and Liu was subsequently betrayed by his own official Zhuge Dewei ( 諸葛德威 ) and delivered to Li Jiancheng. Li Jiancheng executed Liu in his former capital and returned to Chang'an in triumph. China was, by this point, roughly united under Tang rule. For

7293-604: The Prince of Tianzhu and surrendered. Emperor Taizong created Murong Shun the new khan, although Murong Shun was soon assassinated. Emperor Taizong then created Murong Shun's son Murong Nuohebo as the new khan. Also in 635, Emperor Gaozu died, and Emperor Taizong, observing a mourning period, briefly had Li Chengqian serve as regent, and after he resumed his authorities less than two months later, he still authorized Li Chengqian to thereafter rule on minor matters. In spring 636, Emperor Taizong commissioned his brothers and sons as commandants and changed their titles in accordance with

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7436-635: The Prince of Xia, who controlled most of modern Hebei . Dou, reasoning that if Tang were able to destroy Zheng, his own Xia state would be next, agreed. He sent his official Li Dashi to try to persuade Li Shimin to withdraw, but Li Shimin detained Li Dashi and gave no response. Meanwhile, during the campaign, Li Shimin chose some 1,000 elite soldiers ( 玄甲軍 ), clad in black uniform and black armor, commanded by himself, to serve as advance troops, with Qin Shubao , Yuchi Jingde , Cheng Zhijie ( 程知節 ), and Zhai Zhangsun ( 翟長孫 ) as his assistants. By spring 621, Luoyang

7579-660: The Sacred Teachings ( 大唐三藏聖教序 ), and Emperor Taizong was at least a nominal Taoist. Also in 627, the general Li Yi the Prince of Yan—a late-Sui warlord who later submitted to Tang, who associated with Li Jiancheng—fearing that Emperor Taizong would eventually take action against him, rebelled at Bin Prefecture ( 豳州 , in modern Xianyang), but was quickly crushed by the official Yang Ji ( 楊岌 ) and killed in flight. Later that year, when Emperor Gaozu's cousin Li Youliang ( 李幼良 )

7722-510: The Sui capital Sui Chang'an, according to the 16th-century Persian traveler Hajji Mahomed, or Chaggi Memet). This account may correspond to the conquest of the Chen dynasty and reunification of China by Emperor Wen of Sui (r. 581–604). Simocatta names their ruler as Taisson , which he claimed meant Son of God , either correlating to the Chinese Tianzi (i.e. Son of Heaven ) or even the name of

7865-426: The Tang dynasty, Shaolin warriors were used in support of the regular army, and at its peak, there were nine subsidiary Shaolin monasteries. With the demise of the Shaolin warrior units, the subsidiary Shaolin monasteries disappeared, so that by the end of the Qing dynasty only the temple at Henan remained. The Southern Shaolin Temple gained a reputation for being a revolutionary center and the abbot refused to become

8008-433: The Tang dynasty, partly because Taiyuan was the military base of the founding emperors Li Yuan and Li Shimin . As Li Shimin wrote in 619: "Taiyuan, the base of the imperial regime and the foundation of the state." ( 太原，王业所基，国之根本 ) In 690, Wu Zetian set Taiyuan as the Northern Capital, ( 北 都 ; Běidū ), one of the three capitals, along with Chang'an and Luoyang , as depicted in the poem by Li Bai : "The king of

8151-555: The Tang general Qibi Heli ( 契苾何力 ), the chieftain of the Qibi Tribe, was kidnapped by his own subordinates and taken to Xueyantuo. In order to ransom Qibi, Emperor Taizong made a promise to eventually give his daughter Princess Xinxing to Yinan in marriage, and Yinan released Qibi. In the winter 642, an event took place in Goguryeo that would eventually precipitate wars between Tang and Goguryeo. According to Chinese accounts King Yeongnyu ,

8294-403: The Turks were fearful of Xueyantuo and initially refused to head to their new location. Emperor Taizong issued an edict to Yinan that he and Li Simo keep their peace and not attack each other, and after receiving from Yinan the assurance that he would not attack, the Turks advanced to the new location. Taizong began a series of campaigns against the Western Turks ( Xitujue ) and their allies,

8437-654: The West. Theophylact Simocatta , a Byzantine Greek historian during the reign of Heraclius (r. 610–641), wrote that Taugast (or Taugas ; Old Turkic : Tabghach , from Tuoba , the Xianbei clan of Northern Wei ), was a great eastern empire in the Far East that ruled over Turkic people , with a capital city roughly 1,500 miles northeast from India that he called Khubdan (from the Turkic word Khumdan , meaning, Chang'an ), where idolatry

8580-569: The Zhenguan era, Tang China flourished economically and militarily. For more than a century after his death, China enjoyed prosperity and peace brought about by the solidification of imperial protection over the Chinese regions. In territorial extent, it covered most of the territories previously held by the Han dynasty as well as parts of modern-day Korea , Vietnam , Russia , Mongolia , Xinjiang , and Central Asia . This era of consolidation and conquest laid

8723-567: The Zhi army, with the help from Wei and Han. The Tripartition of Jin happened in 403 BC, when the state of Jin, then a strong power in Northern China, was divided into three smaller states of Han , Zhao and Wei . This event is the watershed between the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods in Chinese history. In 248 BC, the state of Qin attacked Zhao under General Meng'ao , and obtained

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8866-757: The abbot of the Shaolin Monastery has said "In all the records of the Shaolin Monastery, I have never seen the words 'Southern Shaolin'." In response, the abbot of the Shaolin Monastery at Quanzhou said "Shaolin is definitely present in Fujian, it is not up to anyone to say it does or does not, its history can be found, its history can be proven, in this kind of argument these are of no consequence." Emperor Taizong of Tang Emperor Taizong of Tang (28   January 598 – 10   July 649), previously Prince of Qin , personal name Li Shimin ,

9009-563: The ancestral home Hedong ( 河東 , in modern Yuncheng , Shanxi). Emperor Yang was soon dissatisfied with Li Yuan and Wang Rengong ( 王仁恭 ), the governor of Mayi Commandery ( 馬邑 , roughly modern Shuozhou , Shanxi), over their inability to stop Eastern Turkic incursions and the growing strength of agrarian rebels, particularly the Eastern Turkic -supported Liu Wuzhou , who soon rose against Wang, killed him, and captured Emperor Yang's secondary palace near Taiyuan. Li Yuan also became fearful of

9152-571: The area around Jinyang from Zhao. Qin set up the Commandery of Taiyuan ( 太原郡 ), with the city of Jinyang as its administrative center. Although, the name Taiyuan had appeared in historic records before, potentially referring to different regions in nowadays southern and central Shanxi , this was the first time Taiyuan was officially used to refer to present-day Taiyuan. Between 229 and 228 BC, Qin General Li Xin lead two armies that marched from

9295-726: The burning of the Shaolin Temple, it was the Southern temple that was burnt and destroyed by the Qing authorities, not the Northern temple. In these accounts with the Southern temple destroyed there remained just the Five Elders to continue the traditions of the Southern temple, and as the elders fled and dispersed throughout Southern China they established the lineages that gave rise to the Hung , Lau , Choi , Lee , Mok and Wing Chun styles and those styles that derive from them such as Cai Li Fo . It

9438-463: The capital from Daming to Luoyang , and Taiyuan was set as a provisional capital, titled "Beidu" (北都, literally 'Northern Capital'). In 936, Shi Jingtang established Later Jin in Taiyuan with the help from Khitan Liao dynasty . The next year, Shi Jingtang moved the capital from Taiyuan to Luoyang , and then to Kaifeng , and Taiyuan became a provisional northern capital ("Beijing") again. Zhao Kuangyin ( Emperor Taizu of Song ) established

9581-424: The circuits to see whether the local officials were capable, to find out whether the people were suffering, to comfort the poor, and to select capable people to serve in civil service. (Li Jing initially recommended Wei Zheng , but Emperor Taizong declined sending Wei, stating that Wei needed to stay to point out his faults and that he could not afford to have Wei away even for a single day.) Around this time, Tang

9724-414: The cities of Taiyuan and Yunzhong to attack Zhao's northern commandery of Dai. Three months after General Li Mu 's death; Wang Jian, Li Xin & Qiang Lei conquered Zhao. In 221 BC, Qin conquered the rest of China, and officially started the first imperial dynasty of China. Qin established thirty-six commanderies on its territory, and Taiyuan was one of them. Also, the capital of commandery of Taiyuan

9867-572: The city has taken further action to combat air pollution, creating a "coal-free zone" of 1,460 km in 2017. This zone prevents most people and organizations from buying, selling, storing, transporting, burning, or using coal. In 2019, the Taiyuan City Government expanded the size of this zone slightly, to a total of 1,574 km . As of the 2020 census, Taiyuan prefecture had a total population of 5,304,061 inhabitants on 6,959 km (2,687 sq mi), from whom 4,529,141 lived in

10010-544: The city on fire. The former capital was downgraded from prefecture to county town status. It was not until 982 that a new city was founded on the banks of the Fen River . The oldest existing building in Taiyuan today is the Temple of the Goddess ( simplified Chinese : 圣 母 殿 ; traditional Chinese : 聖 母 殿 ) inside the Jin Ci Complex. It was originally built in 1023 and reconstructed in 1102. From 1027 one of

10153-417: The city required the support of 1,300 pieces of artillery. Many Nationalist officers committed suicide when the city fell to a Communist army. Taiyuan lies on the Fen River in the north of its fertile upper basin. The city is located at the center of the province with an east–west span of 144 km (89 mi) and a north–south span of 107 km (66 mi). It commands the north–south route through

10296-417: The city's name are 太 ( tài , "great") and 原 ( yuán , "plain"), referring to the location where the Fen River leaves the mountains and enters a relatively flat plain. Throughout its long history, the city had various names, including Bīngzhōu ( 并州 ) (from which the city's abbreviated single-character name Bīng ( 并 ) is derived), Jìnyáng ( 晋阳 ) and Lóngchéng ( 龙城 ). During

10439-547: The commands that they received, sending them to their posts—with the exception of his son Li Tai the Prince of Wei, who by this point was beginning to be highly favored by him. He further allowed Li Tai to engage literary men to serve as his assistants, as Li Tai favored literature. From this point on, Li Tai would be so favored that there began to be talks that Emperor Taizong might let him displace Li Chengqian, whose favors began to wane. In fall 636, Empress Zhangsun died. Emperor Taizong mourned her bitterly and personally wrote

10582-411: The contemporary ruler Emperor Taizong. Also in 643, Emperor Taizong would see major turmoil among his own closest family. In spring 643, his son Li You ( 李祐 ) the Prince of Qi, angry over restrictions that his secretary general Quan Wanji ( 權萬紀 ) had often placed on him, killed Quan and declared a rebellion. Emperor Taizong sent Li Shiji against Li You, but before Li Shiji could engage Li You, Li You

10725-446: The contributors to Tang rule and granted them titles and fiefs, naming among the first rank of contributors Zhangsun Wuji , Fang Xuanling , Du Ruhui , Yuchi Jingde , and Hou Junji . When Li Shentong, as his distant uncle, objected to being ranked under Fang and Du, Emperor Taizong personally explained how Fang and Du's strategies allowed him to be successful, and this managed to get the other objectors to quiet down, as Emperor Taizong

10868-677: The development, considered abandoning the region altogether. Li Shimin opposed doing so and offered to lead the army against Liu. Emperor Gaozu agreed and commissioned him with an army. He crossed the Yellow River and approached Liu's major general Song Jingang ( 宋金剛 ) but did not engage him, choosing to try to wear Song out, only having his subordinates Yin Kaishan and Qin Shubao engage the other Dingyang generals Yuchi Jingde and Xun Xiang ( 尋相 ) in relatively low-level engagements. Eventually, in spring 620, when Liu and Song ran out of food supplies, they retreated, and Li Shimin gave chase, dealing Song

11011-406: The discord between him and Li Shimin on Li Jiancheng's staff members Wang Gui and Wei Ting ( 韋挺 ) and Li Shimin's staff member Du Yan , exiling them to Xi Prefecture ( 巂州 , roughly modern Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture , Sichuan). Later that year, Emperor Gaozu, troubled by repeated Göktürk incursions, seriously considered burning Chang'an to the ground and moving the capital to Fancheng ,

11154-453: The earnest opposition by Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, continued to advance. After defeating Sui forces at Huoyi ( 霍邑 , also in modern Yuncheng), he decided to leave a small contingent to watch over Hedong while advancing across the Yellow River into Guanzhong (i.e., the Chang'an region). Once he did, he headed for Chang'an himself, while sending Li Jiancheng to capture the territory around

11297-597: The economic, political, military, and cultural centers of Northern China. From about 859 BC the area around modern-day Taiyuan was occupied by the Rong people . In 662 BC the Rong were driven out by the Di people. In 497 BC, the first ancient city of Jinyang was built around the southern Jinyuan District of present-day Taiyuan, by Dong Anyu ( 董 安 于 ), who was a steward of Zhao Jianzi  [ zh ] ( 赵鞅 ), an upper-level official of

11440-447: The emissary Feng Dexia ( 馮德遐 ) to Tibet with an eye toward an alliance against Tuyuhun. In winter 634, he commissioned Li Jing , assisted by the other generals Hou Junji , Xue Wanjun , Xue Wanche , Qibi Heli , Li Daozong , Li Daliang , Li Daoyan ( 李道彥 ), and Gao Zengsheng ( 高甑生 ), to attack Tuyuhun. In 635, Li Jing's forces crushed Tuyuhun forces. Murong Fuyun was killed by his own subordinates, and his son Murong Shun killed

11583-580: The end of the eighteenth century, which were then taken up in different ways by martial arts specialists and by the Triads." The book Martial Arts of the World: Regions and individual arts gives these stories of a Southern temple as an example of the unverifiable claims often made for the establishment of Chinese martial art styles. It says "One example involves a Shaolin monastery in Fujian Province. During

11726-471: The first decade of the 21st century, and once it was even listed among the ten most air-polluted cities in the world. Recently, the air quality has been gradually improved with increasing public awareness of air quality control and stricter and more detailed rules for pollution applied. However, according to the 2014 statistical book issued by the National Bureau of Statistics , even though no longer among

11869-459: The foundation for Xuanzong 's reign, which is considered to be the height of the Tang dynasty. In 630, Emperor Taizong sent his general Li Jing against the Eastern Turks , defeating and capturing their Jiali Khan Ashina Duobi and destroying their power . This made Tang the dominant power in East and Central Asia, and Emperor Taizong subsequently took the title of Tengri Qaghan . He also launched

12012-403: The general Li Anyan ( 李安儼 ), and his brothers-in-law Zhao Jie ( 趙節 ) and Du He ( 杜荷 , Du Ruhui's son) to overthrow Emperor Taizong. During the investigations in the aftermaths of Li You's rebellion, one of the co-conspirators, Li Chengqian's guard Gegan Chengji ( 紇干承基 ), was implicated by association, and in order to save himself, he revealed Li Chengqian's plot. Emperor Taizong was shocked by

12155-463: The heaven has three capitals, the Northern capital is one of them." (" 天王三京，北都居一 "). In 742 AD, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang changed its name further to Beijing ( 北京 ). During the Tang dynasty, the title Northern Capital to Taiyuan had been endowed or abolished multiple times. In 923, Li Cunxu , son of Li Keyong , founded Later Tang with capital of Daming , and soon conquered most of North China, and ended Later Liang. Afterwards, Li Cunxu moved

12298-461: The king of Goguryeo, was apprehensive about his general Yeon Gaesomun and was plotting with his other officials to kill Yeon. When Yeon received the news, he started a coup and killed the king and the high level officials. He declared King Yeongnyu's nephew Go Jang ( King Bojang ) king, while taking power himself with the title of Dae Mangniji ( Korean :  대막리지 ; Hanja :  大莫離支 , Generalissimo ). When Emperor Taizong received

12441-681: The loss of the Persian heartland to the Islamic Rashidun Caliphate , which may have also prompted the Byzantines to send envoys to China amid their recent loss of Syria to the Muslims . Tang Chinese sources also recorded how Sassanid prince Peroz III (636–679) fled to Tang China following the conquest of Persia by the growing Islamic caliphate . The expansion of China's power into Central Asia under Emperor Taizong seems to have been noticed in

12584-621: The moderately high altitude. The monthly 24-hour average temperature range from −4.7 °C (23.5 °F) in January to 24.3 °C (75.7 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 10.9 °C (51.6 °F). With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 51 percent in July to 61 percent in May, there are 2,493 hours of sunshine annually. Extremes since 1951 have ranged from −25.5 °C (−13.9 °F) to 39.4 °C (102.9 °F), though an unofficial record low of −29.5 °C (−21.1 °F)

12727-454: The monetary and human costs would be high to keep a permanent garrison at Gaochang, but Emperor Taizong disagreed, and he converted Gaochang into two prefectures and annexed it into his state. In winter 640, Songsän Gampo sent his prime minister Gar Tongtsen Yülsung ("Lu Dongzan" ( 祿東贊 ) in Chinese) as an emissary to Tang, offering tributes and again requesting marriage. Emperor Taizong created

12870-547: The news, and he appointed Zhangsun Wuji , Fang Xuanling , Xiao Yu , and Li Shiji , along with the officials in charge of the supreme court and the legislative and examination bureaus of the government to carry out a joint investigation. At the suggestion of the mid-level official Lai Ji , Emperor Taizong deposed, but did not kill, Li Chengqian, while ordering Li Yuanchang to commit suicide and executing Hou Junji, Li Anyan, Zhao, and Du. Taizong's eldest son Li Chengqian chose to speak Turkic, dress in Turkic clothes and even set up

13013-450: The news, there were suggestions that an attack be launched against Goguryeo, suggestions that Emperor Taizong initially declined. In spring 643, Wei died, and Emperor Taizong mourned him bitterly, authoring Wei's monument himself and, prior to Wei's death, promising to give his daughter Princess Hengshan in marriage to Wei's son Wei Shuyu ( 魏叔玉 ). Later in spring, Emperor Taizong commissioned 24 portraits at Lingyan Pavilion to commemorate

13156-575: The next few years, the rivalry intensified, although during the meantime both Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin served as generals when the Eastern Göktürks made incursions. In 623, when the general Fu Gongshi rebelled at Danyang ( 丹楊 , in modern Nanjing , Jiangsu), Emperor Gaozu briefly commissioned Li Shimin to attack Fu, but soon cancelled the order and sent Li Shimin's cousin Li Xiaogong the Prince of Zhao Commandery instead. In 624, when Li Jiancheng

13299-413: The next morning, convening the senior officials Pei Ji, Xiao Yu , and Chen Shuda to examine Li Shimin's accusations. As Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji approached the central gate leading to Emperor Gaozu's palace, Xuanwu Gate ( 玄武門 ), Li Shimin carried out the ambush he had set. He personally fired an arrow that killed Li Jiancheng. Subsequently, Yuchi Jingde killed Li Yuanji. Li Shimin's forces entered

13442-513: The next year, Fu Pi was defeated by the Western Yan prince Murong Yong in 386, and Taiyuan became part of Western Yan. In 386, Tuoba Gui founded Northern Wei . In 396, Northern Wei expanded to Taiyuan. In 543, Eastern Wei was founded by Gao Huan , with the capital at the city of Ye , and Taiyuan as the alternative capital ( 别都 ), where the Mansion of the "Great Chancellor" Gao Huan ( 大丞相府 )

13585-497: The nineteenth century, Heaven and Earth Society documents referred to a southern Shaolin monastery in Fujian Province from whence so-called southern Shaolin martial arts styles such as Hong Quan reportedly originated. Although this assertion has been repeated many times, and claimants from three locations ( Quanzhou , Putian , and Fuqing ) have each made a case for their location, none of the claimants has been able to provide much evidence to support their claims." In some accounts of

13728-517: The northern territory during the reign of the Hongzhi Emperor , which included the Garrison of Taiyuan ( 太 原 镇 ). Shanxi merchants became prominent in Chinese business history since the beginning of Ming dynasty, thanks to the logistic requirements of the military around the borders of northern Shanxi to defend Ming against the remnant Mongol Northern Yuan dynasty . In 1644, Shunzhi founded

13871-529: The oasis states of the Tarim Basin , around 640. These hostilities between the Western Turks and Tang would continue until the defeat and conquest of the Western Turks in 657 under Taizong's successor, Gaozong. The kingdoms of Shule and Khotan surrendered to the Chinese in 632, as did the kingdom of Yarkand in 635. Qu Wentai ( 麴文泰 ), the king of Gaochang , who had previously been submissive to Tang, had become increasingly hostile to Tang, allying with

14014-475: The officials began advocating sending the Turks away from the heart of the state. In fall 639, Emperor Taizong created a Turkish prince who had served him faithfully, Li Simo (né Ashina Simo) as the khan of a newly recreated Eastern Turkic state (as Qilibi Khan ), giving him all of the Turks and Xiongnu who had surrendered as his subordinates, to be settled north of the Great Wall and the Yellow River. However,

14157-629: The officials in charge did not recognize Li Yuan's authorities) under attack by the rebel ruler Li Mi the Duke of Wei, Li Yuan sent Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin to Luoyang, ostensibly to aid the Sui forces at Luoyang but instead intending to test whether Luoyang might submit to him. The officials at Luoyang rebuffed his attempt at rapprochement, and Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, not wanting to fight either them or Li Mi for control of Luoyang at this stage, withdrew. Li Yuan subsequently changed Li Shimin's title to Duke of Zhao. In summer 618, when news arrived at Chang'an that Emperor Yang had been killed at Jiangdu in

14300-456: The ones that arrived first. Li Shimin's staff was full of talented men, but Li Jiancheng was supported by Li Yuanji, as well as Emperor Gaozu's concubines , who had better relationships with Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji than they did with Li Shimin. Late in 622, when Liu Heita returned east after receiving aid from the Eastern Turks , defeating and killing Li Shimin's cousin Li Daoxuan ( 李道玄 ),

14443-429: The palace and, under the intimidation of Li Shimin's forces, Emperor Gaozu agreed to create Li Shimin crown prince. Li Jiancheng's and Li Yuanji's sons were killed, and Li Shimin took Li Yuanji's wife Princess Yang as a concubine. Two months later, with Li Shimin firmly in control of power, Emperor Gaozu yielded the throne to him (as Emperor Taizong). One of the first actions that Emperor Taizong carried out as emperor

14586-471: The plan. Meanwhile, the rivalry continued. Traditional historical accounts also indicated that at one point, when Li Shimin visited Li Yuanji's mansion, Li Yuanji wanted to assassinate Li Shimin, but Li Jiancheng, who could not resolve to kill a brother, stopped the plot. There was yet another incident in which Li Jiancheng, knowing that a horse threw its rider easily, had Li Shimin ride it, causing Li Shimin to fall off from it several times. By 626, Li Shimin

14729-501: The province, as well as important natural lines of transportation through the Taihang Mountains to Hebei in the east and to northern Shaanxi in the west. Taiyuan is abundant in natural resources such as coal , iron , marble , silica, bauxite , limestone , graphite , quartz , phosphorus , gypsum , mica , copper , and gold . It boasts high production of coal, iron, silica and marble. The western satellite city of Gujiao

14872-646: The resultant flood destroying the rebel army. Liu fled to the Eastern Turks , while Li Shimin then headed east and defeated Xu. After leaving Li Shiji, Li Shentong, and Ren Gui ( 任瓌 ) to continue attacking Xu, Li Shimin returned to Chang'an. By this point, Li Shimin and his older brother Li Jiancheng, who was created crown prince in 618, reportedly after Emperor Gaozu first offered the position to Li Shimin due to his contributions, were locked in an intense rivalry, as Li Shimin's accomplishments caused people to speculate that he would displace Li Jiancheng as crown prince, and Li Jiancheng, while an accomplished general himself,

15015-630: The secondary Jinyang Palace ( 晉陽宮 , which Pei was in charge with and had allowed Li Yuan to do so), all of them would be slaughtered. Li Yuan agreed to rebel, and after secretly summoning Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji from Hedong and his son-in-law Chai Shao ( 柴紹 ) from the capital Chang'an , he declared a rebellion, claiming to want to support Emperor Yang's grandson Yang You the Prince of Dai, nominally in charge at Chang'an with Emperor Yang at Jiangdu ( 江都 , in modern Yangzhou , Jiangsu), as emperor. He made both Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin major generals and advanced southwest, toward Chang'an. He gave Li Shimin

15158-524: The services of experienced and foreign-educated Japanese technicians and professional staff brought into Taiyuan by the Japanese to run the complex of industries that they had developed around Taiyuan. Taiyuan was the last area in Shanxi to resist Communist control during the final stages of the Chinese Civil War . The city was taken by the Communists on 22 April 1949, after they surrounded Taiyuan and cut it off from all means of land and air supply, and taking

15301-547: The state of Jin. During the Battle of Jinyang in 453 BC, Zhi Yao diverted the flow of the Fen River to inundate the city of Jinyang, caused significant damage to the Zhao. Later, Zhao Xiangzi alerted Wei and Han, who both decided to ally with Zhao. On the night of 8 May 453 BC, Zhao troops broke the dams of the Fen River and let the river flood the Zhi armies, and eventually annihilated

15444-471: The supplies were running low, and another Khitan relief force was advancing towards the city. Taizu launched the second invasion of Northern Han in September 969, but the armies were recalled after his death (November 14,969). Taizu's brother Taizong subjugated the last independent kingdoms in the south of China by 978, and in 979 launched the third campaign against the Northern Han and its overlord

15587-499: The text of her monument. In summer 637, Emperor Taizong recreated the feudal scheme that he had considered and abandoned in 631, creating 35 hereditary prefect posts. (By 639, however, the system was again abandoned after much opposition.) Sometime before 638, Emperor Taizong, disgusted with the traditional noble clans of Cui, Lu, Li, and Zheng and believing that they were abusing their highly honored names, commissioned Gao Shilian , Wei Ting, Linghu Defen , and Cen Wenben to compile

15730-457: The throne, Li Shimin engaged him, and after a fierce battle between Li Shimin and Xue Rengao's major general Zong Luohou ( 宗羅睺 ), Li Shimin crushed Zong's forces, and then attacked Xue Rengao. Xue Rengao was forced to withdraw into the city of Gaozhi ( 高墌 , in modern Xianyang as well), and once he did, his soldiers began surrendering to Li Shimin en masse. Xue Rengao was himself forced to surrender. Li Shimin had him delivered to Chang'an, where he

15873-609: The time ripe for a major attack on the Eastern Turks , Emperor Taizong commissioned the general Li Jing with overall command of a multi-pronged army, assisted by the generals Li Shiji , Li Daozong , Chai Shao, Xue Wanche ( 薛萬徹 , Xue Wanjun's brother) and Su Dingfang , attacking the Eastern Turks at multiple points. The army was successful in its attacks, forcing Ashina Duobi to flee, and by late spring 630, Ashina Duobi had been captured, and Eastern-Turkic chieftains all submitted to Tang. Emperor Taizong spared Ashina Duobi but detained him at Chang'an, and he considered what to do with

16016-493: The title of Duke of Dunhuang. After defeating local Sui forces loyal to Emperor Yang, he defeated a Sui army of 30,000 men under the command of a veteran general of the wars in Korea outside of modern-day Beijing. However, when Li Yuan arrived near Hedong, his army was bogged down by the weather. With food running out, there were rumors that the Eastern Turks and Liu Wuzhou would attack Taiyuan. Li Yuan initially ordered retreat, but at

16159-399: The two private markets for Tangut goods, particularly salt, operated in Taiyuan. During the Song period many people, including the family of chancellor Wang Anshi , migrated south. The Jurchen Jin dynasty was founded in 1115, and in 1125, Taiyuan was conquered by Jin. The Mongol empire emerged in 1206 under the leadership of Genghis Khan , and it expanded quickly. In 1218, Taiyuan

16302-481: The wedding. In summer 634, Emperor Taizong had the generals Duan Zhixuan and Fan Xing ( 樊興 ) lead forces against Tuyuhun, but with Tuyuhun's forces highly mobile and avoiding direct confrontation, Duan, while not defeated, could not make major gains. Once Duan withdrew, Tuyuhun resumed hostilities. In winter 634, with the Tibetan king Songtsän Gampo making overtures to marry a Tang princess as well, Emperor Taizong sent

16445-513: The worst polluted cities in China, Taiyuan still has below-average ambient air quality, compared with other major Chinese cities. A 2019 study estimated that in 2016, there were 228,000 households in the city burning coal, burning a total of 1,096,000 tons that year alone. The authors of the study suggested that the local government should do more to transition from coal energy to gas energy, provide more electrical heating infrastructure, and transition to more renewable energy sources. In recent years,

16588-745: The year, Wang Junkuo ( 王君廓 ), the commandant at You Prefecture ( 幽州 , roughly modern Beijing), also rebelled, but was defeated quickly and killed in flight. However, although there were also reports that Feng Ang ( 馮盎 ), a warlord in the Lingnan region, was rebelling, Emperor Taizong, at Wei's suggestion, sent messengers to comfort Feng, and Feng submitted. Also in 627, Emperor Taizong, seeing that there were too many prefectures and counties, consolidated and merged many of them, and further created another level of local political organization above prefectures—the circuit ( 道 ; dào )—dividing his state into 10 circuits. In 628, with Ashina Duobi and Ashina Shibobi having

16731-578: Was Dou, he surrendered. Xia forces, after initially fleeing back to their capital Mingzhou (now Guangfu, Hebei ), also surrendered. Zheng and Xia territory were Tang's. Li Shimin returned to Chang'an in a grand victory procession and, to reward Li Shimin, Emperor Gaozu awarded both him and Li Yuanji three mints so that they could mint money of their own. He also bestowed on Li Shimin the special title of "Grand General of Heavenly Strategies" ( 天策上將 ; tiāncè shàngjiàng ). Meanwhile, Li Shimin's staff, already full of generals and strategists, were supplemented with

16874-532: Was Jinyang. During the Jin dynasty , Taiyuan was again changed into a vassal state. Following the ending of the Jin dynasty, ethnic minority peoples settled a series of short-lived sovereign states in northern China, commonly referred to as Sixteen Kingdoms . Taiyuan was part of Former Zhao , Later Zhao , Former Qin , Former Yan , Former Qin again, Western Yan , and Later Yan chronologically. In 304, Liu Yuan founded

17017-464: Was a frank rationalist and scholar of logic and scientific reason , openly scorning superstitions and claims of signs from the heavens. He also modified important rites in order to ease the burden of agricultural labour. The modern Chinese historian Bo Yang opined that Emperor Taizong achieved greatness by enduring criticism which others would find difficult to accept whilst trying hard not to abuse his absolute power (using Emperor Yang of Sui as

17160-622: Was a sister of Empress Dugu , both of whom were daughters of Dugu Xin , a major Xianbei general during Sui's predecessor dynasty Northern Zhou . Li Shimin's mother, Li Yuan's wife Duchess Dou , was a daughter of Dou Yi ( 竇毅 ), the Duke of Shenwu, and his wife, Northern Zhou's Princess Xiangyang. Li Shimin was also of partial Xianbei descent. Duchess Dou bore Li Yuan four sons—an older brother to Li Shimin, Li Jiancheng , and two younger brothers, Li Yuanba ( 李元霸 ), who would die in 614, and Li Yuanji – and at least one daughter (the later Princess Pingyang ). Li Yuan named Li Shimin "Shimin" as

17303-668: Was besieged by Da shi ( 大食 ; the Arabs of the Umayyad Caliphate ) and their commander "Mo-yi" ( 摩拽 ; i.e. Muawiyah I , governor of Syria before becoming caliph ), who forced the Byzantines to pay tribute. Henry Yule highlights the fact that Yazdegerd III (r. 632–651), last ruler of the Sasanian Empire , sent diplomats to China for securing aid from Emperor Taizong ( considered the suzerain over Ferghana in Central Asia) during

17446-445: Was captured by his own subordinate Du Xingmin ( 杜行敏 ) and delivered to Chang'an, where Emperor Taizong ordered him to commit suicide and executed 44 of his associates. The death of Li You drew out news of another plot. Li Chengqian, who had been fearful that Emperor Taizong would eventually remove him and replace him with Li Tai, had begun to conspire with Hou Junji , Li Yuanchang ( 李元昌 ) the Prince of Han (Emperor Taizong's brother),

17589-505: Was concerned. He was also willing to demote his own trusted advisors, as he demoted Gao Shilian after finding that Gao had held back submissions from his deputy Wang Gui. Viewing Sui's Emperor Yang as a negative example, he frequently solicited criticism, rewarding those officials willing to offer them, particularly Wei and Wang Gui. His openness to opposing ideas was also evident in his attempt to reconcile traditional Taoist religion and Buddhism , as demonstrated in his Emperor's Preface to

17732-619: Was conquered by the Mongol army led by General Muqali . Kublai Khan established the Yuan dynasty in 1271, and the administrative area of Taiyuan Lu ( 太原 路 ) was expanded. The Taoist Longshan Grottoes was built in early Yuan dynasty, initiated by Taoist monk Song Defang ( 宋 德 芳 ). In 1368, Hongwu Emperor established the Ming dynasty , and Taiyuan was obtained from Yuan, by General Xu Da . The Ming dynasty installed Nine Military Garrisons to defend

17875-478: Was even willing to rank low such an honored individual as Li Shentong. Emperor Taizong also buried Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji with honors due imperial princes and had their staff members attend the funeral processions. Meanwhile, he appeared to begin to reshuffle government further—which he had already begun after being created crown prince—by dismissing his father's trusted advisors Xiao Yu and Chen Shuda , making his own trusted advisors chancellors. (Xiao, however,

18018-703: Was executed. Around new year 619, Emperor Gaozu made Li Shimin Taiwei ( 太尉 , one of the Three Excellencies ) and put him in charge of Tang operations east of the Tong Pass. In spring 619, Liu Wuzhou launched a major offensive against Tang. He captured Taiyuan in summer 619, forcing Li Yuanji , who had been in charge there, to flee, and then continued his offensive south. Emperor Gaozu sent Pei Ji against him, but by winter 619, Liu had crushed Pei's forces and taken over nearly all of modern Shanxi. Emperor Gaozu, shocked at

18161-570: Was fearful that he would be killed by Li Jiancheng, and his staff members Fang Xuanling , Du Ruhui , and Zhangsun Wuji were repeatedly encouraging Li Shimin to attack Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji first—while Wei Zheng was encouraging Li Jiancheng to attack Li Shimin first. Li Jiancheng persuaded Emperor Gaozu to remove Fang and Du, as well as Li Shimin's trusted guard generals Yuchi Jingde and Cheng Zhijie , from Li Shimin's staff. Zhangsun Wuji , who remained on Li Shimin's staff, continued to try to persuade Li Shimin to attack first. In summer 626,

18304-521: Was forced to withdraw back to Chang'an, and Liu and Yin were removed from their posts. (This would be Li Shimin's only defeat recorded in historical records until the Goguryeo campaign of 645.) Xue Ju, in light of his victory, was ready to launch an assault on Chang'an itself, under Hao Yuan's advice, but suddenly died of an illness in fall 618 and was succeeded by Xue Rengao. Emperor Gaozu then sent Li Shimin against Xue Rengao. Three months after Xue Rengao took

18447-536: Was found to have, against regulations, tried to add soldiers to his guard corps, Emperor Gaozu was so angry that he put Li Jiancheng under arrest. In fear, Li Jiancheng's guard commander Yang Wen'gan ( 楊文幹 ) rebelled. Emperor Gaozu sent Li Shimin against Yang, offering to make him crown prince after he returned. After Li Shimin left, however, Feng Deyi (now a chancellor), Li Yuanji, and the concubines all spoke on Li Jiancheng's behalf, and after Li Shimin returned, Emperor Gaozu did not depose Li Jiancheng, but instead blamed

18590-416: Was having increasing conflicts with Tuyuhun , whose Busabo Khan Murong Fuyun , under instigation by his strategist the Prince of Tianzhu, had been repeatedly attacking Tang prefectures on the borders. At one point, Murong Fuyun sought to have a Tang princess marry his son the Prince of Zun, but the marriage negotiations broke down over Emperor Taizong's insistence that the Prince of Zun come to Chang'an for

18733-432: Was in desperate situation, and Xia forces had not yet arrived, but Tang troops had also suffered serious casualties, as Luoyang's defenses, aided by powerful bows and catapults, were holding. Emperor Gaozu, hearing that Dou had decided to come to Wang's aid, ordered Li Shimin to withdraw, but Li Shimin sent his secretary Feng Deyi to Chang'an to explain to Emperor Gaozu that if he did withdraw, Wang would recover and again be

18876-401: Was linked by rail both to the far southwest of Shanxi and to Datong in the north. Until the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, Yan's arsenal in Taiyuan was the only factory in China sufficiently advanced to produce field artillery. Because Yan succeeded in keeping Shanxi uninvolved in most of the major battles between rival warlords that occurred in China during the 1910s and 1920s, Taiyuan

19019-471: Was located. In 577, Taiyuan was conquered and became part of Northern Zhou . In 581, Emperor Wen of Sui founded Sui dynasty . Jinyang was first the administrative center of Bing Zhou ( 并州 ), which was changed into Taiyuan Commandery . In 617, Li Yuan rose in rebellion based in Taiyuan, and expanded quickly. In 618, Li Yuan founded Tang dynasty , which is generally considered a golden age of Chinese civilization. Taiyuan expanded significantly during

19162-400: Was merely again looking at tradition and not the recent contributions. He therefore personally intervened in revising the work, reducing Cui's clan to the third class. In fall 638, Tibet's Songtsän Gampo, displeased that Emperor Taizong had declined to give him a Tang princess in marriage and believing that Murong Nuohebo had persuaded Emperor Taizong to decline the marriage proposal, launched

19305-507: Was never taken from Yan by an invading army until the Japanese conquered it in 1937. Yan was aware of the threat posed by the Japanese; and, in order to defend against the impending Japanese invasion of Shanxi, Yan entered into a secret "united front" agreement with the Communists in November 1936. After concluding his alliance with the Communists, he allowed agents under Zhou Enlai to establish

19448-481: Was overshadowed by his younger brother. The court became divided into a faction favoring the Crown Prince and a faction favoring the Prince of Qin. The rivalry was particularly causing problems within the capital, as the commands of the Crown Prince, the Prince of Qin, and the Prince of Qi Li Yuanji were said to have the same force as the emperor's edicts, and the officials had to carry conflicting orders out by acting on

19591-480: Was practiced but the people were wise and lived by just laws. He depicted the Chinese empire as being divided by a great river (i.e. the Yangzi ) that served as the boundary between two rival states at war , yet during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Maurice (582–602 AD) the northerners wearing "black coats" conquered the "red coats" of the south (black being a distinctive color worn by the people of Shaanxi , location of

19734-406: Was recorded on 7 January 1930. The municipality of Taiyuan is 6,988 km (2,698 sq mi). Taiyuan has a forest area of 146,700 hectares. and total grassland area of 422.5 km (163.1 sq mi) in 2007. The forest area coverage rate in the six urban districts has been increased to 21.69% in 2015. Taiyuan had suffered from severe air pollution , especially in the 1990s, and

19877-430: Was releasing a number of ladies in waiting from the palace and returning them to their homes, so that they could be married. He made his wife Princess Zhangsun the empress, and their oldest son Li Chengqian the crown prince. Emperor Taizong also immediately faced a crisis, as the Eastern Turkic leader Illig Qaghan (Ashina Duobi), along with his nephew the subordinate Tuli Khan Ashina Shibobi ( 阿史那什鉢苾 ), launched

20020-465: Was secure, Emperor Taizong attempted to do so by making repeated statements to that effect, but his continued favoring of Li Tai led to continued speculation among officials. Also by 642, Xueyantuo had posed a sufficiently serious threat (albeit still formally submissive) that Emperor Taizong saw two alternatives—destroying it by force or forming into a heqin relationship by marrying one of his daughters to Yinan. This particularly became an issue after

20163-417: Was soon restored to being chancellor, although his career during Emperor Taizong's reign would see repeated dismissals and repeated restorations.) However, he also began to greatly pay attention to the officials' submissions and their criticism of imperial governance, making changes where he saw needed. He also particularly began to trust Wei Zheng , accepting much advice from Wei as far as his personal conduct

20306-440: Was the capital or provisional capital of many dynasties in China, hence the name Lóngchéng ( 龙城 ; Dragon City ). As of 2021, the city will govern 6 districts, 3 counties, and host a county-level city with a total area of 6,988 square kilometers and a permanent population of 5,390,957. Taiyuan is located roughly in the centre of Shanxi, with the Fen River flowing through the central city. The two Chinese characters of

20449-425: Was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty for his role in encouraging his father Li Yuan (Emperor Gaozu) to rebel against the Sui dynasty at Jinyang in 617. Taizong subsequently played a pivotal role in defeating several of the dynasty's most dangerous opponents and solidifying its rule over China proper . Taizong

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