14 CultureShock! China
The An Lu Shan Rebellion
Though still a feudal society, the Tang dynasty was a prosperous one
for much of its first century of rule. It was the An Lu Shan Rebellion
that marked the beginning of the end and China’s rapid descent into,
yet again, chaos and confusion.
An Lu Shan was a general who commanded territory in the North-
west. Leveraging power gained during the tenure of Empress Wu (the
only woman to hold the title Emperor officially), An Lu Shan eventually
rose in rebellion, starting a series of battles that continued from AD 755
to 763, shattering the Tang’s central control and ultimately causing
the downfall of the dynasty.
Total collapse took more than another century but come it did,
to be followed by another period of (yes, again) disunity—the Five
Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (AD 907–960)—during which
multiple rulers vied for penultimate control.Song (AD 960–1279)
Not for another 50 years after the official end of the Tang
was China united again, this time by a mutiny with General
Zhao Kuangyin in the lead. The reign of the Song line from
960 to 1279 (again, with a movement of capital from North
to South in the 1100s to escape invading barbarians) was
marked by steady advancement.
China’s ‘Four Great Inventions’—paper-making, printing,
the compass and gunpowder—were developed further; and
handicraft, industry and domestic and foreign trade also
boomed, with a steady stream of merchants and travellers
coming from abroad, typically to coastal cities like Canton,
which were rapidly becoming major ports.
Agricultural technology played a big part in China’s growth
under the Song by making her fully self-sustaining—there was
actually an abundance of food and labour. The tremendous
security that came with this led to a flourishing of the
economy, and subsequently the arts and culture, all of which
set the stage for much of the rest of the imperial era.
In the view of some, the comfortable situation of the Song
precluded an early industrial revolution as China did not have
a pressing need to mechanise in order to feed its people.
What they did have a pressing need for was protection, for
in the 13th century, the Great Wall that was constructed to
protect China from the barbarians to the North had its first