Li Shimin killed his own brothers, executed their sons, and forced his father to abdicate.
Yet he's remembered as one of China's greatest emperors.
How did Taizong transform from ruthless general to model Confucian ruler?
Tang Founding: 618-626
Li Yuan and son Li Shimin came from same northwest military aristocracy as Sui:
Sui generals who rebelled when dynasty collapsed
Li Shimin brilliant commander from age 18
Captured Chang'an in 617
Li Yuan declared emperor in 618
Defeated rival warlords by 624
The Xuanwu Gate Incident: 626 CE
Background: Li Shimin won victories but elder brother was crown prince
July 2, 626: Li Shimin ambushed brothers at palace gate, killed both
Same day: Executed all ten nephews
Two months later: Li Yuan "voluntarily" abdicated
"Taizong ambushed two of his brothers... He later had the histories record that he was forced to take this step because his brothers were plotting against him."
— Textbook
From Violence to Virtue
Governance
Selected wise advisers
Listened to criticism
Reduced taxes and labor demands
Maintained Sui institutions
Culture
Standard editions of Confucian classics
Compiled dynastic histories
Issued Tang legal code
Patronized calligraphy
⏸ Pause & Process #1
Evaluating Historical Figures
Partner Discussion:
Can someone who gains power through violence become a good ruler?
Should we separate "how they got power" from "what they did with it"?
5 minutes total
Tang Government Structure
Three Departments: Secretariat, Chancellery, State Affairs
Six Ministries: Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, Justice, Public Works
Strong central control over local officials
Legal code influenced Vietnam, Korea, Japan
Key Innovation: Separation of Powers
No single official could draft, approve, AND implement policy.
The Examination System
Two Main Examinations:
Mingjing — classics knowledge
Jinshi — literary skill and policy essays (highest prestige)
Impact:
Reduced power of old aristocracy
Created new path to elite status
9 million households registered by 609
IMAGE PLACEHOLDER
"Tang examination hall painting"
National Palace Museum
Equal-Field System and Fubing Militia
Land Redistribution:
Adult males received land allotments from state
Land returned upon death for redistribution
Goal: ensure tax base, prevent land concentration
Fubing (Divisional Militia):
Farmer-soldiers served in rotation
Provided own equipment and supplies
Low cost to government; effective for defense
Dominating the Turks
IMAGE PLACEHOLDER
"Tang Dynasty Central Asia expansion map"
Show Turkish territories, Silk Road routes
630: Taizong defeated Eastern Turks, won title "Great Khan"
Tang dominated steppe for next 50 years
Using Turks to Fight Turks
Military Integration
Turkish cavalry in Tang armies
Joint Chinese-Turkish campaigns
Turkish generals given Tang titles
Turkish families settled near capital
Central Asian Expansion
640s-650s: Joint campaigns
Regained Han overlordship
Control of Silk Road trade
Protectorates established
⏸ Pause & Process #2
Imperial Strategy
Think-Pair-Share:
Tang used Turks to fight Turks and recruited former enemies.
What does this reveal about Tang imperial ideology?
What might be the risks?
5 minutes total
Defeating Korea: 668
Where Sui failed, Tang succeeded through alliance:
Allied with Silla (southeastern Korean kingdom)
660: Defeated Baekje
668: Finally conquered Goguryeo
Ended 70 years of failed invasions
Key Difference: Tang built alliances and used diplomacy rather than massive frontal assaults.
Chang'an: World Capital
Largest city in the world at the time
Nearly 6 miles east-west, over 5 miles north-south
Grid layout with 108 walled wards
Population over 2 million (including suburbs)
Cosmopolitan Culture:
Envoys, merchants, pilgrims from across Asia
Foreign religions: Nestorian Christianity, Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, Islam
Foreign fashions, music, polo popular at court
Key Terms for Lecture 2
Taizong — Tang consolidator
Xuanwu Gate — 626 coup
Three Departments — government structure
Jinshi — literary examination
Equal-field system — land distribution
Fubing — militia system
Great Khan — Taizong's title
Silla — Korean ally
Chang'an — Tang capital
Closing: Foundations of Greatness
Early Tang created institutional foundations for a multi-ethnic empire: sophisticated bureaucracy, examination system, effective military, cosmopolitan culture.
Preview for Lecture 3:
Only one woman declared herself emperor of her own dynasty. How did Empress Wu rise from concubine to ruler?
And what happens when the strategy of recruiting talented outsiders turns against the dynasty?