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122-499: The Pavilion of Prince Teng was first built in 653 AD, by Li Yuanying, the younger brother of Emperor Taizong of Tang and uncle of Emperor Gaozong of Tang . Li Yuanying was enfeoffed as Prince Teng in 639 and spent his early years in Suzhou . In 652 he was assigned the governorship of Nanchang where the pavilion served as his townhouse. The Pavilion of Prince Teng is the only existing royal architecture in southern China. Twenty years later,

244-446: 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

366-586: A calligraphy work of Mao Zedong : 「 落霞与孤鹜齐飞，秋水共长天一色。 」 ("Falling sunset and lone goose flying together; a single hue, autumn water and the long stretch of sky."), a quotation from Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng . The garden was also built in 1989. The building mainly serves as a tourist attraction. Apart from internal decoration, attractions include a theater that stages performances of period music and displays of reconstructed ancient instruments. There are some restaurants and souvenir shops. The streets around

488-503: A certain extent in South Korea , remain virtually identical to traditional characters, with variations between the two forms largely stylistic. There has historically been a debate on traditional and simplified Chinese characters . Because the simplifications are fairly systematic, it is possible to convert computer-encoded characters between the two sets, with the main issue being ambiguities in simplified representations resulting from

610-480: 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,

732-431: 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

854-539: 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

976-532: 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

1098-472: 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

1220-530: 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

1342-407: A large number of precious scriptures and poems. According to Wang: 28°41′2.76″N 115°52′32.88″E  /  28.6841000°N 115.8758000°E  / 28.6841000; 115.8758000 Emperor Taizong of Tang Emperor Taizong of Tang (28   January 598 – 10   July 649), previously Prince of Qin , personal name Li Shimin , was the second emperor of

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1464-529: 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

1586-405: 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

1708-725: 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

1830-465: 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

1952-494: 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

2074-504: 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

2196-413: 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

2318-456: 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

2440-632: 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 ),

2562-625: 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

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2684-583: 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

2806-548: 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 ),

2928-401: 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

3050-779: 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

3172-413: 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. Traditional Chinese characters Traditional Chinese characters are a standard set of Chinese character forms used to write Chinese languages . In Taiwan , the set of traditional characters is regulated by

3294-499: 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

3416-850: Is 産 (also the accepted form in Japan and Korea), while in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan the accepted form is 產 (also the accepted form in Vietnamese chữ Nôm ). The PRC tends to print material intended for people in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese in traditional characters. For example, versions of the People's Daily are printed in traditional characters, and both People's Daily and Xinhua have traditional character versions of their website available, using Big5 encoding. Mainland companies selling products in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan use traditional characters in order to communicate with consumers;

3538-456: Is of reinforced concrete , but decorated in Song Dynasty style. It is 57.5 meters (189 ft) tall and has nine stories. The building has a total floor area of 13,000 square meters (140,000 sq ft). The building sits atop a 12 meters (39 ft) tall concrete platform, which symbolizes the now-destroyed ancient city wall . A stainless steel tablet at the entrance is engraved with

3660-483: The Chinese Commercial News , World News , and United Daily News all use traditional characters, as do some Hong Kong–based magazines such as Yazhou Zhoukan . The Philippine Chinese Daily uses simplified characters. DVDs are usually subtitled using traditional characters, influenced by media from Taiwan as well as by the two countries sharing the same DVD region , 3. With most having immigrated to

3782-571: 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

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3904-495: 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

4026-826: 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

4148-525: The Ministry of Education and standardized in the Standard Form of National Characters . These forms were predominant in written Chinese until the middle of the 20th century, when various countries that use Chinese characters began standardizing simplified sets of characters, often with characters that existed before as well-known variants of the predominant forms. Simplified characters as codified by

4270-759: The People's Republic of China are predominantly used in mainland China , Malaysia, and Singapore. "Traditional" as such is a retronym applied to non-simplified character sets in the wake of widespread use of simplified characters. Traditional characters are commonly used in Taiwan , Hong Kong , and Macau , as well as in most overseas Chinese communities outside of Southeast Asia. As for non-Chinese languages written using Chinese characters, Japanese kanji include many simplified characters known as shinjitai standardized after World War II, sometimes distinct from their simplified Chinese counterparts . Korean hanja , still used to

4392-622: The Shanghainese -language character U+20C8E 𠲎 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-20C8E —a composition of 伐 with the ⼝   'MOUTH' radical—used instead of the Standard Chinese 嗎 ; 吗 . Typefaces often use the initialism TC to signify the use of traditional Chinese characters, as well as SC for simplified Chinese characters . In addition, the Noto, Italy family of typefaces, for example, also provides separate fonts for

4514-470: 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 is considered to be one of

4636-516: 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

4758-539: 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

4880-660: 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

5002-547: 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

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5124-638: 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

5246-607: 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

5368-616: The Pavilion of Prince Teng and the Yellow Crane Pavilion as depicted in Song Dynasty paintings. (Strangely, both pavilions are depicted identically in surviving paintings). These uniquely structured corner towers remain some of the most valued architectural treasures of the Forbidden City. The Pavilion of Prince Teng was very highly regarded in several dynasties during the history of China. It also served as an ancient library, storing

5490-547: The People's Republic of China, traditional Chinese characters are standardised according to the Table of Comparison between Standard, Traditional and Variant Chinese Characters . Dictionaries published in mainland China generally show both simplified and their traditional counterparts. There are differences between the accepted traditional forms in mainland China and elsewhere, for example the accepted traditional form of 产 in mainland China

5612-464: 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

5734-494: 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

5856-642: 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

5978-604: 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

6100-635: 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

6222-660: 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 )

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6344-510: 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

6466-555: 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 ,

6588-403: 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,

6710-571: The United States during the second half of the 19th century, Chinese Americans have long used traditional characters. When not providing both, US public notices and signs in Chinese are generally written in traditional characters, more often than in simplified characters. In the past, traditional Chinese was most often encoded on computers using the Big5 standard, which favored traditional characters. However,

6832-654: 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

6954-569: 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

7076-563: 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

7198-466: The building was rebuilt by the new governor. Upon its completion, a group of local intelligentsia gathered to compose prose and poetry about the building. The most famous of these is the Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng by Wang Bo . This piece made the Pavilion of Prince Teng a household name in China down to the present day. The Pavilion was subsequently destroyed and rebuilt a total of 29 times over

7320-424: 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

7442-547: 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

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7564-411: 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

7686-446: 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

7808-677: 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

7930-406: 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 ,

8052-453: 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

8174-447: 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

8296-459: 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

8418-403: 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

8540-541: 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

8662-493: The inverse is equally true as well. In digital media, many cultural phenomena imported from Hong Kong and Taiwan into mainland China, such as music videos, karaoke videos, subtitled movies, and subtitled dramas, use traditional Chinese characters. In Hong Kong and Macau , traditional characters were retained during the colonial period, while the mainland adopted simplified characters. Simplified characters are contemporaneously used to accommodate immigrants and tourists, often from

8784-461: 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

8906-681: 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

9028-725: The mainland. The increasing use of simplified characters has led to concern among residents regarding protecting what they see as their local heritage. Taiwan has never adopted simplified characters. The use of simplified characters in government documents and educational settings is discouraged by the government of Taiwan. Nevertheless, with sufficient context simplified characters are likely to be successfully read by those used to traditional characters, especially given some previous exposure. Many simplified characters were previously variants that had long been in some use, with systematic stroke simplifications used in folk handwriting since antiquity. Traditional characters were recognized as

9150-682: The majority of Chinese text in mainland China are simplified characters , there is no legislation prohibiting the use of traditional Chinese characters, and often traditional Chinese characters remain in use for stylistic and commercial purposes, such as in shopfront displays and advertising. Traditional Chinese characters remain ubiquitous on buildings that predate the promulgation of the current simplification scheme, such as former government buildings, religious buildings, educational institutions, and historical monuments. Traditional Chinese characters continue to be used for ceremonial, cultural, scholarly/academic research, and artistic/decorative purposes. In

9272-975: The merging of previously distinct character forms. Many Chinese online newspapers allow users to switch between these character sets. Traditional characters are known by different names throughout the Chinese-speaking world. The government of Taiwan officially refers to traditional Chinese characters as 正體字 ; 正体字 ; zhèngtǐzì ; 'orthodox characters'. This term is also used outside Taiwan to distinguish standard characters, including both simplified, and traditional, from other variants and idiomatic characters . Users of traditional characters elsewhere, as well as those using simplified characters, call traditional characters 繁體字 ; 繁体字 ; fántǐzì ; 'complex characters', 老字 ; lǎozì ; 'old characters', or 全體字 ; 全体字 ; quántǐzì ; 'full characters' to distinguish them from simplified characters. Some argue that since traditional characters are often

9394-454: 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

9516-547: 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

9638-450: 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

9760-570: The next centuries. The building itself changed shape and function many times. The penultimate construction was during the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty . That building was destroyed in October 1926 during the chaotic Warlord Era . The present Pavilion of Prince Teng was built according to the design of architect Liang Sicheng , and was completed on 8 October 1989; now a landmark of Nanchang. The building

9882-575: 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

10004-413: 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

10126-529: 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

10248-665: The official script in Singapore until 1969, when the government officially adopted Simplified characters. Traditional characters still are widely used in contexts such as in baby and corporation names, advertisements, decorations, official documents and in newspapers. The Chinese Filipino community continues to be one of the most conservative in Southeast Asia regarding simplification. Although major public universities teach in simplified characters, many well-established Chinese schools still use traditional characters. Publications such as

10370-475: 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,

10492-629: 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

10614-456: 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 ),

10736-700: The original standard forms, they should not be called 'complex'. Conversely, there is a common objection to the description of traditional characters as 'standard', due to them not being used by a large population of Chinese speakers. Additionally, as the process of Chinese character creation often made many characters more elaborate over time, there is sometimes a hesitation to characterize them as 'traditional'. Some people refer to traditional characters as 'proper characters' ( 正字 ; zhèngzì or 正寫 ; zhèngxiě ) and to simplified characters as 簡筆字 ; 简笔字 ; jiǎnbǐzì ; 'simplified-stroke characters' or 減筆字 ; 减笔字 ; jiǎnbǐzì ; 'reduced-stroke characters', as

10858-429: 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

10980-533: The pavilion have been designed to conform with its style. This area has become the epicenter of Nanchang's antiques trade. The Pavilion of Prince Teng achieved national fame through the Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng . As a result, it was endowed by later generations with almost legendary status as an example of magnificent architecture. When the Forbidden City was built, its corner towers were built to imitate

11102-471: 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

11224-646: 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,

11346-630: 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

11468-499: 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

11590-457: 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

11712-609: 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

11834-493: 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

11956-627: The traditional character set used in Taiwan ( TC ) and the set used in Hong Kong ( HK ). Most Chinese-language webpages now use Unicode for their text. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommends the use of the language tag zh-Hant to specify webpage content written with traditional characters. In the Japanese writing system , kyujitai are traditional forms, which were simplified to create shinjitai for standardized Japanese use following World War II. Kyūjitai are mostly congruent with

12078-970: The traditional characters in Chinese, save for minor stylistic variation. Characters that are not included in the jōyō kanji list are generally recommended to be printed in their traditional forms, with a few exceptions. Additionally, there are kokuji , which are kanji wholly created in Japan, rather than originally being borrowed from China. In the Korean writing system , hanja —replaced almost entirely by hangul in South Korea and totally replaced in North Korea —are mostly identical with their traditional counterparts, save minor stylistic variations. As with Japanese, there are autochthonous hanja, known as gukja . Traditional Chinese characters are also used by non-Chinese ethnic groups. The Maniq people living in Thailand and Malaysia use Chinese characters to write

12200-509: The ubiquitous Unicode standard gives equal weight to simplified and traditional Chinese characters, and has become by far the most popular encoding for Chinese-language text. There are various input method editors (IMEs) available for the input of Chinese characters . Many characters, often dialectical variants, are encoded in Unicode but cannot be inputted using certain IMEs, with one example being

12322-481: 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

12444-526: The words for simplified and reduced are homophonous in Standard Chinese , both pronounced as jiǎn . The modern shapes of traditional Chinese characters first appeared with the emergence of the clerical script during the Han dynasty c.  200 BCE , with the sets of forms and norms more or less stable since the Southern and Northern dynasties period c.  the 5th century . Although

12566-745: 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

12688-578: 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

12810-464: 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

12932-622: 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

13054-668: 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

13176-445: 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),

13298-505: 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

13420-478: 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,

13542-703: 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

13664-570: 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,

13786-521: 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

13908-536: 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

14030-416: 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

14152-432: 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

14274-400: 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

14396-481: 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

14518-480: 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

14640-430: 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

14762-465: 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

14884-417: 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

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