Description
In recent decades, the Tang dynasty (618-907) has acquired a reputation as the most 'cosmopolitan' period in Chinese history. The standard narrative also claims that this cosmopolitan openness faded after the An Lushan Rebellion of 755-763, to be replaced by xenophobic hostility toward all things foreign. This Element reassesses the cosmopolitanism-to-xenophobia narrative and presents a more empirically-grounded and nuanced interpretation of the Tang empire's foreign relations after 755.
Table of Contents
Introduction; 1. The Transformation of the Tang Frontier Military; 2. The Battle of Talas (751 CE); 3. The An Lushan Rebellion and Its Consequences; 4. An Anti-Foreign (Or Anti-Sogdian) Backlash?; 5. The Uighur Crisis and the Huichang Persecution of 842–846; 6. Tang China and the Making of the Sinographic Sphere; Conclusion: The Fall of the Tang in East Asian History.
