In the endless flow of history, the status and role of each period in the whole historical process are different.The Tang Dynasty lasted for 289 years. It was a long and particularly important dynasty in Chinese history. It had a profound impact on the subsequent history of China.Historian Huang Renyu believes that the Tang Dynasty, together with the Song Dynasty, is the period of China's Second Empire after the Qin and Han Dynasties. During the Kaiyuan period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the national power of the Tang Dynasty reached its peak, and the famous scene of "the heyday of Kaiyuan" appeared in history. "At the beginning of the Kaiyuan period, Shangli was motivated to rationalize Taoism and eradicate corruption. In less than six or seven years, the world was in great order, the rivers were clear and the sea was clean, and the things were prosperous. In Yuli, the taxation of Hehuang. There are treasuries on the left and right, and there are mountains of wealth, which are incomparable. The four directions are rich, the people are wealthy, and there are more than ten million households. A bucket of rice is three or four coins. The young and strong people do not know weapons. The road does not pick up relics, and the traveler does not pack food." Hundreds of officials have their own duties, and all things have their own rituals. Tang Xuanzong came to the court every day to judge right and wrong, as smooth as flowing water.The world is in great order, and domestic singing and dancing are peaceful.

The Tang Dynasty was the most powerful empire in the world at that time, and made brilliant achievements in culture, politics, economy, diplomacy and other aspects.The Silk Road can lead to Central Asia, West Asia and South Asia; from Sichuan, Tibet and Yunnan to South Asia; from Hebei to North Korea through Liaodong.Guangzhou and Quanzhou are the two major ports connecting Japan, the Malay Peninsula, the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf.Businessmen, monks and scholars from various Asian countries continued to come to China to study, and Chang'an at that time became the hub of economic and cultural exchanges among Asian countries.Neighboring countries in East Asia, including Silla, Balhae and Japan, were all deeply influenced by the Tang Dynasty in terms of political system and culture.It can be said that the prosperous age of Kaiyuan was not only in the Tang Dynasty, but even in ancient China, it was recognized as an era of golden prosperity.

However, the good times didn't last long.During the Tianbao period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the virtues of the emperor disappeared and the government changed.In 755 AD, the Anshi Rebellion broke out and lasted for eight years.As a result, the political and economic situation of the Tang Dynasty took a sharp turn for the worse, and it never recovered. After the Anshi Rebellion, the local vassals and towns were separated, the eunuchs in the inner court monopolized power, cronies in the court and China fought, and the frontiers reported endlessly.Tang Xianzong revived the imperial power, weakened the vassals and towns, and there was a short-lived "Zhongxing".However, in the complicated contradictions, the army of feudal towns and towns could drive the court into exile, and eunuchs could abolish the emperor by taking power, and the powerful Tang Empire could not regain its glory.Since Emperor Yizong of the Tang Dynasty, the situation of "nine destructions of the state and eight sufferings of the people" has intensified, and the people's resistance and struggles have continued one after another, and the Tang Dynasty has entered a desperate situation of existence in name only.The festivals and towns in various places merged with each other, forming a new division pattern.

At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the situation deteriorated day by day, resulting in frequent civil upheavals.In 880 A.D., Huang Chao led a peasant uprising army to enter Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty.After the "Golden Armor", Chang'an, a city that was once inclusive, has become fragmented, and people's hearts have also become dissociated in panic.In 884 AD, Huang Chao was defeated and died, and his great cause was not accomplished.However, his "Golden Armor" triggered a series of turmoil and wars, and China fell into another violent social turmoil in history. Warlords from all walks of life fought in chaos, violence determined everything, and the darkness was dark.By the time everything settled down again, the Tang Dynasty had entered the sunset.

When the Tang Empire was at its peak, even the Western Roman Empire could not hold a candle to it.After the fall of the Roman Empire, there was no more Rome.After the fall of the Tang Empire, China was still there, followed by the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties.This phenomenon is undoubtedly worthy of consideration, as Mr. Qian Mu said: "This is the most valuable and most worthy of research in Chinese history." This book is not a history of the emperors and generals of the Tang Dynasty, but uses Huang Chao's entry into Chang'an in 880 AD as an introduction, and selects relevant people and events to truly restore the history of the Tang Dynasty's decline until its demise.Man is always the subject of history.This book does not directly show the magnificence and vicissitudes of the Tang Dynasty from the common perspective of describing major historical events. Relevant characters, with the fate and development of these historical figures as the main line, show the causes and consequences of the demise of the Tang Dynasty by telling the joys and sorrows of the characters in the turbulent situation, thus reflecting the characteristics of the times that cannot be obliterated in the long history.

It is worth emphasizing that the focus of this book is to restore the fall of the Tang Empire.At the end of the Tang Dynasty, in the declining days of the Western Mountains, in that era of crisis, all kinds of characters appeared on the stage, and they did everything they could to achieve their goals.However, they all ended in failure in the end.What the reader sees can be said to be a summary of the failure of the characters in a book, sad but not strong, only tragedy, sorrow, desolation and pathos.The failures caused by the combination of these inevitable and accidental factors are not only the failure of personal destiny, but also reflect the breath of the big era, and individuals all become victims of the big background.

Vivid and popular language, gorgeous and fluent writing style, emotional description, and magnificent demeanor are the major features of this book.There are not only wonderful stories in it, but also the author's thinking on history and analysis of human nature, so that readers can step into the long river of Chinese history unconsciously while reading it well. In particular, the history books of later generations are always just the tip of the iceberg.In order to better restore the history, this book has a lot of the author's own scrutiny, including the psychological changes of historical figures, the internal causes of the dramatic evolution of the situation at that time, etc.This book is positioned as an essay between official history and historical novels. On the premise of fully respecting official history, the author tries to tell a piece of human history from a more humane perspective, so as to arouse readers' deeper thinking.