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96-624: It is not known when Wang Tingcou was born. His ancestors were of the Huigu Abusi ( 阿布思 ) tribe, which had been submissive to the Tang dynasty Protectorate General to Pacify the East . His great-grandfather Wugezhi ( 五哥之 ) came to serve under Li Baochen the military governor ( Jiedushi ) of Chengde and Li Baochen's son Li Weiyue . After Li Weiyue's death, Li Weiyue's successor Wang Wujun , because of Wugezhi's bravery in battle, adopted Wugezhi as

192-719: A 2024 study was found to have carried primarily ancestry derived from Ancient Northeast Asians (c. 83% ±2–3%) with the remainder ancestry being derived from Western Steppe Herders ( Sarmatians ; c. 17% ±2–3%). The authors note that this is "providing a new piece of information on this understudied period". Below is a set of images of Buddhist and Manichean Uyghurs, found from the Bezeklik caves and Mogao grottoes. ( Tokhara Yabghus , Turk Shahis ) Han Yu Han Yu ( Chinese : 韓愈 ; 768 – 25 December 824), courtesy name Tuizhi ( Chinese : 退之 ), and commonly known by his posthumous name Han Wengong (韓文公),

288-530: A Uyghur-Manichean text of that period demonstrates the unbridled enthusiasm of the khaghan for Manichaeism: "At that time when the divine Bogu Khan had thus spoken, we the Elects of all the people living within the land rejoiced. It is impossible to describe this ourjoy. The people told the story to one another and rejoiced. At that time, groups of thousands and tens of thousands assembled and with pastimes of all sorts they entertained themselves even unto dawn. And at

384-595: A brother of Kürebir, and Tang dynasty troops in Ordos and today Shaanxi . His brother, Enian Qaghan , was decisively defeated by Tang forces in 847. The Yenisei Kyrgyz who replaced the Uyghur Khaganate were unsophisticated and had little interest in running the empire which they had destroyed. They held the territory from Lake Baikal in the east to the Irtysh River in the west and left Kulug Bagha,

480-879: A fantasy. All available evidence suggests that despite some brief extensions of their power onto the Mongolian Plateau, the Kyrgyz did not maintain a significant political or military presence there after their victories in the 840s. After the fall of the Uyghur Khaganate, the Uyghurs migrated south and established the Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom in modern Gansu and the Kingdom of Qocho near modern Turpan . The Uyghurs in Qocho converted to Buddhism, and, according to Mahmud al-Kashgari , were "the strongest of

576-503: A large quantity of verse, frequently playful, on an immense variety of subjects, and under his touch the commonplace was often transmuted into wit. Among other pieces there is one on his teeth, which seemed to drop out at regular intervals, so that he could calculate roughly what span of life remained to him. Altogether, his poetry cannot be classed with that of the highest order, unlike his prose writings". The poem where Han Yu ruminated on getting old by recounting how he lost his own teeth

672-660: A mission to persuade a rebellious military commander to return to the fold. Han Yu held a number of other distinguished government posts such as the rector of the Imperial university . At the age of fifty-six, Han Yu died in Chang'an on December 25, 824 and was buried on April 21, 825 in the ancestral cemetery at Heyang. Although generally not considered a philosopher, Han Yu was an important Confucian intellectual who influenced later generations of Confucian thinkers and Confucian philosophy. He also sponsored many literary figures of

768-576: A moralist. Most modern scholarship, although content to assign to Han Yu a secure place in the history of Chinese literature, has been embarrassed by the violence of his Confucian passions. In honor of Han's contribution to Chaoshan when he was exiled to Chaozhou, the Han River flowing through Chaozhou is named after him. Han Yu Temple ( 韓文公祠 ) in Chaozhou was established since the Song dynasty at

864-516: A new dynasty, the Ädiz ( Chinese : 阿跌氏 ). In 803, the Uyghurs captured Qocho . In 808, Qutluq II died and his son, Baoyi , succeeded him. In the same year, the Uyghurs seized Liang Province from the Tibetans. In 816, a Tibetan raid reached within two days' journey of the Uyghur capital, Ordu-Baliq . In 821, Baoyi Qaghan died, and his son, Chongde , succeeded him. Chongde was considered

960-629: A number of trading outposts with the Tang, Bayanchur Khan used the profits to construct the capital, Ordu-Baliq, and another city further up the Selenga River , Bai Baliq . The new khagan then embarked on a series of campaigns to bring all the steppe peoples under his banner. During this time the Empire expanded rapidly and brought the Sekiz Oghuz, Kyrgyz, Karluks, Turgesh, Toquz Tatars, Chiks and

1056-774: A protected storage space for trade goods from China. They could hold a stable, fixed court, receive traders, and effectively cement their central role in Silk Road exchange. However, the vulnerability that came with having a fixed city was to be the downfall of the Uyghurs. The following list is based on Yihong Pan's "Sui-Tang Foreign Policy: Four case studies". Changshou Tianqin Qaghan (長壽天親可汗) Yaoluoge Guduolu Yaoluoge Hesa Menglig Qaghan (r. 848–?), (personal name, Mang/Pang Te-qin 厖特勤), sovereign title: Ay Tengride Qut Bolmiş Alp Kutlugh Bilge Qaghan 溫祿登里邏汩沒密施合俱錄毗伽, Chinese title: Huaijian Qaghan 懷建可汗. He moved his political centre to

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1152-483: A religion that was then popular at the Tang court. In 819, he sent a letter, "Memorial on Bone-relics of the Buddha", to the emperor in which he denounced "the elaborate preparations being made by the state to receive the Buddha's fingerbone, which he called 'a filthy object' and which he said should be 'handed over to the proper officials for destruction by water and fire to eradicate forever its origin'. Han Yu contrasted

1248-409: A son, and thus Wugezhi took on the surname of Wang. Both Wang Tingcou's grandfather Wang Modahuo ( 王末怛活 ) and father Wang Shengchao ( 王升朝 ) continued to serve under Wang Wujun's family as cavalry officers. Wang Tingcou himself was said to be brave and quiet, but decisive. When Wang Wujun's grandson Wang Chengzong died in 820, Wang Chengzong's brother Wang Chengyuan temporarily took over command of

1344-626: A vassal of Yelü Dashi 's nascent Qara Khitai empire. In 1209, the Qocho ruler Idiqut (" Lord of happiness") Barchuk Art Tegin declared his allegiance to Genghis Khan , and the Uyghurs became important civil servants in the later Mongol Empire , which adapted the Old Uyghur alphabet as its official script. According to the New Book of Tang , a third group went to seek refuge among the Karluks. The Karluks, together with other tribes such as

1440-601: Is "Losing Teeth" ( 落齒 ). Han Yu ranks among the most important personalities in the history of traditional Chinese culture. His works not only become classics in Chinese literature, but his writings redefined and changed the course of the tradition itself. He was a stylistic innovator in the many genres he wrote in, and was a major influence on the literary and intellectual life of his time as well as later dynasties. The writings of Han Yu were influential to Song Dynasty writers and poets, in particular Ouyang Xiu who popularized

1536-567: Is often considered the greatest master of classical prose in the Tang. He was listed first among the "Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song" by Ming Dynasty scholar Mao Kun. Together with Liu Zongyuan he headed the Classical Prose Movement to return to the unornamented prose of the Han Dynasty. He considered the classical "old style prose" (古文, guwen ) to be the kind of writing more suited to argumentation and

1632-709: The Chigils and Yagmas , later founded the Kara-Khanid Khanate (940–1212). Some historians associate the Karakhanids with the Uyghurs as the Yaghmas were linked to the Toquz Oghuz . Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan , believed to be a Yagma from Artux , converted to Islam in 932 and seized control of Kashgar in 940, giving rise to the new dynasty, known as Karakhanids . In order to control trade along

1728-634: The Gobi Desert , so it covered the entire territory of the ancient Xiongnu ". In 745, the Uyghurs killed the last khagan of the Göktürks, Kulun Beg ( 白眉可汗 鶻隴匐 ), and sent his head to the Tang. Tang Huiyao , vol. 98, listed nine Toquz Oghuz surname tribes (姓部 xìngbù ); another list of tribes (部落 bùluò ) was recorded in the Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang . According to Japanese scholars Hashimoto, Katayama, and Senga, each name in

1824-544: The Shatuo chieftain Zhuxie Zhiyi ( 朱邪執宜 ), trying to get Zhuxie to ally with him, but Zhuxie refused. Emperor Wenzong subsequently declared a general campaign against Li Tongjie, but with Wang assisting Li Tongjie and supplying him with both troops and supplies in the other circuits' campaign against Li Tongjie, in fall 828, Emperor Wenzong declared Wang a renegade but did not order a campaign against him, merely ordering

1920-643: The Silk Road , the Uyghurs established a trading relationship with the Sogdian merchants who controlled some oases of Central Asia . As described above, the Uyghur adoption of Manichaeism was one aspect of this relationship—choosing Manichaeism over Buddhism may have been motivated by a desire to show independence from Tang influence. Not all Uyghurs supported conversion - an inscription at Ordu-Baliq states that Manichaens tried to divert people from their ancient shamanistic beliefs. A rather partisan account from

2016-687: The Slab Grave culture . The admixture between West and East Eurasian sources was estimated to have occurred around the year 500 CE . Of the 5 Uyghur males analyzed, 4 (or 80%) carried the West Eurasian paternal haplogroup Haplogroup R1b , while 1 (or 20%) carried the East Eurasian haplogroup Q1a . Of the 12 maternal haplogroups detected, 58% were of East Eurasian origin ( A , B , D , G ) while 41% were of West Eurasian origin ( J T , H ). An Uyghur remain (GD1-3) analysed in

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2112-678: The Western Turkic Khaganate was defeated by the Tang dynasty , after which the Uyghurs defected to the Tang. Prior to this the Uyghurs had already shown an inclination towards alliances with the Tang when they fought with them against the Tibetan Empire and Turks in 627. In 742, the Uyghurs, Karluks , and Basmyls rebelled against the Second Turkic Khaganate . In 744, the Basmyls captured

2208-461: The eunuch monitor of the army, Song Weicheng ( 宋惟澄 ), to submit a request on his behalf to be made military governor. Meanwhile, he had Wang Jinji ( 王進岌 ), the prefect of another of Chengde's prefectures, Ji Prefecture (冀州, in modern Hengshui , Hebei ) assassinated and took over Ji Prefecture. The prefect of another of Chengde's prefectures, Shen Prefecture (深州, in modern Hengshui), Niu Yuanyi ( 牛元翼 ), refused to follow Wang and followed orders from

2304-517: The " Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song ". Han Yu was born in 768, in Heyang (河陽, present day Mengzhou ) in Henan to a family of noble lineage. His father worked as a minor official but died when Han Yu was two. He was then raised in the family of his older brother, Han Hui ( 韓會 ). He was a student of philosophical writings and Confucian thought. His family moved to Chang'an in 774 but

2400-585: The "teacher" (師, shi ) who embodies the Way as expressed in "Discourse on Teachers" (師說, Shishuo ). Although Han Yu attacked Buddhism and Taoism, some of his ideas have Buddhist and/or Taoist roots; for example, the succession of the Way was inspired by the Buddhist idea of transmission of the dharma , while his concept of the "teacher" originated from the Buddhist and Taoist idea of religious mentor. In his "Discourse on Teachers" (師說, Shishuo ), Han Yu discussed

2496-520: The Barbarians" Mountain (Shahu). Öge was wounded. After the defeat of Öge, Wuzong ordered Ormïzt's troops to be broken up and dispersed among different units. Ormïzt refused to obey. His troops were massacred by general Liu Mian. With the defeat of the two major Uyghur groups, Wuzong saw his chance to get rid of the Manichaeans. He ordered Manichaean temples in several cities to be destroyed,

2592-697: The Black-robed Dashi [Abbasid Caliphate], Nao-wen and others, totaling eight people, come at the same time to pay a visit [to the Tang court]; when they walk to the side entrance of the palace, [both delegations] argue who should be the first [to see the Emperor]. The interpreters and palace secretaries arrange them as left team and right team, and enter through the Eastern Gate and the Western Gate all at once. [After this,] Wen-she-shi and

2688-488: The Black-robed Dashi envoy pay their visit [to the Chinese Emperor]. In 759 the Uyghurs attempted to assist the Tang in stamping out the rebels but failed. Bayanchur Khan died and his son Tengri Bögü succeeded him as Khagan Qutlugh Tarkhan sengün . In 762 Tengri Bögü planned to invade the Tang with 4,000 soldiers but after negotiations switched sides and assisted them in defeating the rebels at Luoyang. After

2784-548: The Buddha" and "The Origin of Dao". Other notable works include "Text for the Crocodiles" ( 祭鱷魚文 ) in which he declares that crocodiles be formally banished from Chaozhou, and "Goodbye to Penury" ( 送窮文 ) that describes his failed attempt to rid himself of the ghost of poverty. Han Yu also wrote poetry. However, while Han Yu's essays are highly regarded, his poetry is not considered exceptional. According to A History of Chinese Literature by Herbert Giles , Han Yu "wrote

2880-500: The Chinese civilization and barbarism where people were "like birds and wild beast or like the barbarians". He considered Buddhism to be of barbarian ( 夷狄 ) origin, therefore an unsuitable religion for the Chinese people. Again from Han Yu's letter, "Memorial on Bone-relics of the Buddha": "Your servant begs leave to say that Buddhism is no more than a cult of the barbarian peoples which spread to China. It did not exist here in ancient times. Now I hear that Your Majesty has ordered

2976-455: The Kyrgyz in 890 and no further opposition from the Kyrgyz is recorded. The Khitan ruler Abaoji did extend his influence onto the Mongolian Plateau in 924, but there is no indication whatsoever of any conflict with the Kyrgyz. The only information we have from Khitan (Liao) sources regarding the Kyrgyz indicates that the two powers maintained diplomatic relations. Scholars who write of a Kyrgyz "empire" from about 840 to about 924 are describing

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3072-431: The Silk Road, with concentric walls and lookout towers, stables, military and commercial stores, and administrative buildings. Certain areas of the town were allotted for trade and handcrafts, while in the center of the town were palaces and temples, including a monastery. The palace had fortified walls and two main gates, as well as moats filled with water and watchtowers. The khaghan maintained his court there and decided

3168-493: The Silk Roads. The Uyghurs created an empire with clear Persian influences, particularly in areas of government. Soon after the empire was founded, they emulated sedentary states by establishing a permanent, settled capital, Karabalghasun ( Ordu-Baliq ), built on the site of the former Göktürk imperial capital, northwest of the later Mongol capital, Karakorum . The city was a fully fortified commercial center, typical along

3264-587: The Tang dynasty Chinese princess Ningguo 寧國公主, daughter of Emperor Suzong , married Uyghur Khagan Bayanchur. In 758, the Uyghurs turned their attention to the northern Yenisei Kyrgyz . Bayanchur Khan destroyed several of their trading outposts before slaughtering a Kyrgyz army and executing their Khan. On the ren-shen day of the fifth month of the first year of the Qianyuan reign [on March 29, 758 CE], The envoys from Hui-he [Uyghur Khaganate], Duo-yi-hai-a-bo and others, totaling eighty people, and an emir from

3360-460: The Tang dynasty based on the advice of his Sogdian courtiers. However, Tengri Bögü's uncle, Tun Baga Tarkhan , opposed this plan and killed him and "nearly two thousand people from among the kaghan's family, his clique and the Sogdians." Tun Bagha Tarkhan ascended the throne, with the title Alp Qutlugh Bilge "Victorious, glorious, wise", and enforced a new set of laws, which he designed to secure

3456-541: The Turk capital of Ötüken and killed the reigning Özmiş Khagan . Later that year, a Uyghur-Karluk alliance formed against the Basmyls and defeated them. Their khagan was killed, and the Basmyls ceased to exist as a people. Hostilities between the Uyghurs and Karluks then forced the Karluks to migrate west into Zhetysu and conflict with the Türgesh , whom they defeated and conquered in 766. The Uyghur khagan's personal name

3552-442: The Uyghur Khaganate agreed and ordered his eldest son to provide military service to the Tang emperor. Approximately 4,000 Uyghur horsemen assisted Tang armies in retaking Chang'an and Luoyang in 757. After the battle at Luoyang the Uyghurs looted the city for three days and only stopped after large quantities of silk were extracted. For their aid, the Tang sent 20,000 rolls of silk and bestowed them with honorary titles. In addition

3648-546: The Uyghur who defected to them, in charge of the Orkhon Valley . During the reign of Emperor Yizong of Tang (860–873), there were three recorded contacts between the Tang and Kyrgyz, but the nature of their relationship remains unclear. Tang policy makers argued that there was no point in building any relations with the Kyrgyz since the Uyghurs no longer threatened them. The Khitans seized the Orkhon Valley from

3744-445: The Uyghurs and Tang forces were defeated by Tibetan Empire at Tingzhou ( Beshbalik ). Külüg Qaghan died, and his son, A-ch'o, succeeded him as Qutluq Bilge Qaghan . In 791, the Tibetans attacked Lingzhou but were driven off by the Uyghurs, who presented captured prisoners and cattle to Emperor Dezong of Tang . The Tibetans and Karluks suffered another defeat against the Uyghurs at Beiting . The captured Tibetan general Zan Rgyal sum

3840-488: The Uyghurs benefited enormously from this alliance. The Sogdians enabled the Uyghurs to trade in the Western Regions and exchange silk from China for other goods. For the Sogdians it provided their Chinese trading communities with Uyghur protection. The 5th and 6th centuries saw a large emigration of Sogdians to China. The Sogdians were main traders along the Silk Roads, and China was always their biggest market. Among

3936-512: The Uyghurs. In 839, Hu was forced to commit suicide and a minister named Kürebir seized the throne with the help of 20,000 Shatuo horsemen from Ordos . In the same year, there was a famine and an epidemic, with a particularly severe winter that killed much of the livestock the Uyghur economy was based on. In 840, one of nine Uyghur ministers, Kulug Bagha, rival of Kurebir, fled to the Yenisei Kyrgyz and invited them to invade from

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4032-472: The attempts by some soldiers to detain him at Chengde. However, Tian, while at Weibo, had engaged in many campaigns against Chengde, and therefore was hated by the Chengde soldiers. He therefore took 2,000 Weibo soldiers to Chengde with him to protect him. He requested the imperial government to pay these soldiers' salaries. The director of finances, Cui Ling ( 崔倰 ), however, did not realize the seriousness of

4128-452: The battle the Uyghurs looted the city. When the people fled to Buddhist temples for protection, the Uyghurs burnt them down, killing over 10,000. For their aid, the Tang was forced to pay 100,000 pieces of silk to get them to leave. During the campaign the khagan encountered Manichaean priests who converted him to Manichaeism . From then on the official religion of the Uyghur Khaganate became Manichaeism. In 779, Tengri Bögü planned to invade

4224-425: The borders to be closed. The other group, 100,000 strong, led by Öge , son of Baoyi and the new khagan of the defeated Uyghur Khaganate, also fled to Tang territory. However Öge demanded a Tang city for residence as well as the protection of Manichaeans and food. Wuzong found the demands unacceptable and refused. He granted Ormïzt asylum in return for the use of his troops against Öge. Two years later, Wuzong extended

4320-419: The break of the day they made a short fast. The divine ruler Bogu Khan and all the elects of his retinue mounted on horses, and all the princes and the princesses led by those of high repute, the big and the small, the whole people, amidst great rejoicing proceeded to the gate of the city. And when the divine ruler had entered the city, he put the crown on his head... and sat upon the golden throne." As conversion

4416-455: The chanting of poems, so that they were enraptured with his teaching and forgot about returning home". The sense of humor that is so obvious in his writing was also important in his life. Herbert Giles judged that it was "due to his calm and dignified patriotism that the Chinese still keep his memory green". Han Yu led a defense of Confucianism at a time when Confucian doctrine was in decline, and attacked both Buddhism and Taoism which were then

4512-489: The circuit but requested to be transferred, fearing to be targeted as a warlord. At that time, Wang Tingcou served as the commander of Wang Chengyuan's guards. Then-reigning Emperor Muzong transferred Tian Hongzheng the military governor of Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan , Hebei ) to Chengde and transferred Wang Chengyuan to Yicheng Circuit (義成, headquartered in modern Anyang , Henan ). Wang Chengyuan subsequently left Chengde and headed for Yicheng despite

4608-467: The city for too long and executed Zang and 180 other officials in the city. When Emperor Muzong subsequently sent the eunuch messenger Yang Zaichang ( 楊再昌 ) to Wang to order him to turn over Tian Hongzheng's body and Niu's family, Wang responded that Tian's body could no longer be located and that he would soon release Niu's family — but he never actually did so, despite Niu's repeatedly sending Wang gifts and requests to release his family, while Niu served as

4704-509: The community of monks to go to greet the finger bone of the Buddha [a relic from India], and that Your Majesty will ascend a tower to watch the procession as this relic is brought into the palace. [...] The Buddha was a man of the barbarians who did not speak Chinese and who wore clothes of a different fashion. The Buddha’s sayings contain nothing about our ancient kings and the Buddha’s manner of dress did not conform to our laws; he understood neither

4800-519: The confiscation of their estates, and the execution of the clergy. In the fourth moon of 843 an Imperial edict was issued [ordering] the Manichaean priests of the empire to be killed. [...] The Manichaean priests are highly respected by the Uighurs. In 846, the penultimate Uyghur khagan, Öge, was killed after having spent his 6-year reign fighting the Kyrgyz, the supporters of his rival Ormïzt ,

4896-536: The court, and was thusly demoted and exiled to Chaozhou instead. After Han Yu offered a formal apology to the Emperor a few months later, he was transferred to a province nearer to the capital. Emperor Xianzong died within a year, and his successor Emperor Muzong brought Han Yu back to the capital where he worked in the War Office. He was then appointed to a high-ranking position after he successfully completed

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4992-425: The distinction between Taoism, a homegrown religion, and Buddhism, a foreign faith. In "The Origin of Dao" (原道, Yuandao ), he argued that the monasticism of both Buddhism and Taoism to be economically nonproductive, creating economic and social dislocation. He also criticized both of these beliefs for being unable to deal with social problems. He considered Confucianism to be distinct from these two beliefs in linking

5088-462: The dominant belief systems. His writings would have a significant influence on Neo-Confucians of later eras, such as the Song dynasty scholars Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi . Although usually not considered a philosopher, he introduced a new intellectual direction for Confucianism as well as influential ideas to later Confucians. However, he was criticized by Song Confucians for being much more of a stylist than

5184-432: The duties that bind sovereign and subject, not the affections of father and son. If the Buddha were still alive today and came to our court, Your Majesty might condescend to receive him, but he would then be escorted to the borders of the nation, dismissed, and not allowed to delude the masses. How then, when he has long been dead, could the Buddha’s rotten bones, the foul and unlucky remains of his body, be rightly admitted to

5280-404: The eastern capital Luoyang and restoring the early Tang customs of the emperor spending time in both the main capital Chang'an and Luoyang. Both Wang and Zhu Kerong sent arrogantly worded offers to contribute troops to repair the long-ruined palaces and governmental offices at Luoyang, offers that Emperor Jingzong declined, and Emperor Jingzong subsequently abandoned the plan to visit Luoyang, at

5376-406: The expression of ideas. Han Yu's guwen however was not an imitation of ancient prose, but a new style based on the ancient ideals of clarity, concision, and utility. Han Yu wrote in many modes, often with discursiveness and daring experimentation. Among his most renowned essays are his polemics against Buddhism and Taoism and support for Confucianism, such as "Buddhism Memorial on Bone-relics of

5472-672: The horse trade was fixed at 40 rolls of silk for every horse and Uyghurs were given "guest" status while staying in Tang China. The Tang and Uyghurs conducted an exchange marriage. Bayanchur Khan married Princess Ninguo while a Uyghur princess was married to a Tang prince. The Uyghur Khaganate exchanged princesses in marriage with Tang dynasty China in 756 to seal the alliance against An Lushan. The Uyghur Khagan Bayanchur Khan had his daughter Uyghur Princess Pijia (毗伽公主) married to Tang dynasty Chinese Prince Li Chengcai ( 李承采 ), Prince of Dunhuang (敦煌王李承采), son of Li Shouli, Prince of Bin . while

5568-681: The imperial general Li Su , who had succeeded Tian as the military governor of Weibo. Emperor Muzong named Niu the new military governor of Chengde. However, Li Su soon grew ill, and his command was instead given to Tian's son Tian Bu . When five Chengde officers, led by Wang Jian ( 王儉 ), tried to assassinate Wang Tingcou, Wang Tingcou not only killed them but also the 3,000 soldiers under their command. He subsequently took his own soldiers and those of his ally Zhu Kerong (who had seized Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing )) and put Shen Prefecture under siege. The imperial troops soon tried to attack Wang Tingcou from three directions — Pei Du

5664-445: The imperial government was concerned that the other circuit governors would encourage Li Tongjie to resist, Emperor Wenzong bestowed various honorific titles on the military governors, including Wang, around Henghai. Wang, however, requested commission for Li Tongjie, and when his request was denied, mobilized his own troops to interfere with the operations by Weibo's military governor Shi Xiancheng against Henghai. He also tried to bribe

5760-610: The infidels", while the Ganzhou Uyghurs were conquered by the Tangut people in the 1030s. Even so, Kashgari praised contemporary Uyghurs as bilingual Turkophones whose Turkic dialect remained "pure" and "most correct" (just like dialects spoken by monolingual Yagmas , and Tuhsis ); meanwhile, Kashgari derided other bilingual Turkophones ( Qay , Tatars , Basmyls , Chömüls , Yabakus , etc.), for incorporating foreign loanwords and "slurring" in their speech. In 1134, Qocho became

5856-541: The last great khagan of the Uyghur Khaganate and bore the title Kün tengride ülüg bulmïsh alp küchlüg bilge "Greatly born in sun heaven, victorious, strong and wise". His achievements included improved trade up with the region of Sogdia , and on the battlefield he repulsed a force of invading Tibetans in 821. After defeating the Tibetan and Karluk force, the Uyghurs entered the Principality of Ushrusana and plundered

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5952-579: The law, hoping to be forgiven. But as it comes to being violent, malevolent, treasonous, having no regard for the emperor, and being unkind, none exceeded Wang Tingcou. Huigu The Uyghur Khaganate (also Uyghur Empire or Uighur Khaganate , self defined as Toquz-Oghuz country ; Old Turkic : 𐱃𐰆𐰴𐰕:𐰆𐰍𐰕:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣 , romanized:  Toquz Oγuz budun , lit.   'Nine clan people', Tang -era names, with modern Hanyu Pinyin : Chinese : 回鶻 ; pinyin : Huíhú or Chinese : 回紇 ; pinyin : Huíhé )

6048-752: The lists in the Books of Tang recorded each subtribal surname of each chief, while the other list in Tang Huiyao recorded the names of the Toquz Oghuz tribes proper. Walter Bruno Henning (1938) linked nine names recorded in the Saka language " Staël-Holstein Scroll" with those recorded by Han Chinese authors. In 747, Qutlugh Bilge Köl Kaghan died, leaving his youngest son, Bayanchur Khan to reign as Khagan El etmish bilge "State settled, wise". After building

6144-537: The military governor of Xuzhou . He gained his first central government position in 802 on the recommendation of the military governor. However, he was soon exiled for several possible reasons: for failing to support the heir apparent's faction, his criticism of the misbehavior of the emperor's servants, or his request for reduction of taxes during a famine. From 807 to 819 he held a series of government posts, first in Luoyang and then in Chang'an. During these years, he

6240-444: The military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan , Shanxi ) from the west, Tian Bu from the south, and Wu Chongyin the military governor of Henghai Circuit (橫海, headquartered in modern Cangzhou , Hebei ) from the east. (Wu was soon succeeded by Li Guangyan .) After the key outpost Gonggao (弓高, in modern Cangzhou) fell to Zhu's troops in spring 822, however, the imperial army's own supply routes, as well as

6336-425: The military governor of Shannan East Circuit (山南東道, headquartered in modern Xiangfan , Hubei ), until Niu's death in 823. Shortly after Emperor Muzong died in 824 and was succeeded by his son Emperor Jingzong , Wang Tingcou heard of Niu Yuanyi's death and slaughtered Niu's family — leading the new emperor to lament that the chancellors were incompetent. As of 826, Emperor Jingzong was originally intent on visiting

6432-457: The necessity and principles of learning from teachers, and criticized the phenomenon of "shame to learn from the teacher" in the society at that time. He stated that "a disciple need not be necessarily inferior to the teacher, [while] the teacher need not be necessarily more virtuous than the disciple. The only fact is that [one may] acquire Dao earlier or later [than the others], [and there may be] specific field that one specialized in." Han Yu

6528-537: The new regime would be willing to let him inherit the circuit, and in early 827 sent his secretary Cui Congzhang ( 崔從長 ) and his brothers Li Tongzhi ( 李同志 ) and Li Tongsun ( 李同巽 ) to Chang'an to pay homage to Emperor Wenzong. Emperor Wenzong, however, did not intend to let Li Tongjie take over the circuit, subsequently issued an edict transferring Wu Chongyin from Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an , Shandong ) to Henghai and Li Tongjie to Yanhai Circuit (兗海, headquartered in modern Jining , Shandong ). As

6624-526: The north. With a force of around 80,000 horsemen, they sacked the Uyghur capital at Ordu-Baliq , razing it to the ground. The Kyrgyz captured the Uyghur Khagan, Kürebir ( Hesa/Qasar ), and promptly beheaded him. They went on to destroy other cities throughout the Uyghur empire, burning them to the ground. The Uyghurs fled in two groups. A 30,000-strong group led by the aristocrat Ormïzt sought refuge in Tang territory but Emperor Wuzong of Tang ordered

6720-462: The order to ban Christianity , Zoroastrianism , and especially Buddhism . The Yenisei Kyrgyz and Tang dynasty launched a successful war between 840 and 848 against the Uyghur Khaganate using their claimed familial ties as justification for an alliance. In 841, Öge led the Uyghurs in an invasion of today's Shaanxi . In 843, a Tang army led by Shi Xiong attacked the Uyghurs led by Öge and slaughtered 10,000 Uyghurs on February 13, 843, at "Kill

6816-516: The other circuits to treat him as a renegade and wait for his repentance. Soon thereafter, however, he stripped Wang and his sons of their titles and ordered a general campaign against him. Meanwhile, with the other circuits' armies making headway against Li Tongjie and Wang unable to relieve him, in winter 828, Wang persuaded the Weibo officer Qi Zhishao ( 亓志紹 ) to rebel and turn against Shi, attacking Weibo's capital Wei Prefecture ( 魏州 ). Emperor Wenzong

6912-426: The palace? Confucius said: “Respect ghosts and spirits, but keep them at a distance!” Your servant is deeply ashamed and begs that this bone from the Buddha be given to the proper authorities to be cast into fire and water, that this evil be rooted out, and later generations spared this delusion." Han Yu was also critical of Taoism , which he considered to be a harmful accretion to Chinese culture. He nevertheless made

7008-536: The paper clothing found in the Astana cemetery near Turfan is a list of taxes paid on caravan trade in the Gaochang kingdom in the 620s. The text is incomplete, but out of the 35 commercial operations it lists, 29 involve a Sogdian trader. Ultimately both rulers of nomadic origin and sedentary states recognized the importance of merchants like the Sogdians and made alliances to further their own agendas in controlling

7104-472: The policies of the empire. With no fixed settlement, the Xiongnu had been limited in their acquisition of Chinese goods to what they could carry. As stated by Thomas Barfield, "the more goods a nomadic society acquired the less mobility it had, hence, at some point, one was more vulnerable trying to protect a rich treasure house by moving it than by fortifying it." By building a fixed city, the Uyghurs created

7200-439: The posture of declaring Wang a renegade but not waging a campaign against him. Wang soon sent a letter to Li Cheng the military governor of Hedong Circuit, offering to resubmit and surrender Henghai's Jing Prefecture (景州, in modern Cangzhou), which Wang had seized during the campaign, and reporting that Qi had committed suicide. In fall 829, Emperor Wenzong pardoned Wang and his subordinates and restored their titles. Wang Tingcou

7296-406: The private, moral life of the individual with the public welfare of the state. He emphasized Mencius 's method of assuring public morality and social order, and his concept of the expression of Confucian spirituality through political action would later form the intellectual basis for neo-Confucianism. Han introduced the ideas of the succession of the Way (道統, daotong ), as well as the concept of

7392-476: The region. In 822, the Uyghurs sent troops to help the Tang in quelling rebels. The Tang refused the offer but had to pay them 70,000 pieces of silk to go home. In 823, the Tibetan Empire waged war on the Uyghurs. In 824, Chongde died and was succeeded by a brother, Qasar . In 832, Qasar was murdered. He was succeeded by the son of Chongde, Hu . In the same year, the Tibetan Empire failed to make war on

7488-582: The remnants of the Basmyls under Uyghur rule. In 751, the Tang Empire suffered a strategic defeat against the Arabs at the Battle of Talas . After that, the Tang retreated from Central Asia , allowing the Uyghur to emerge as the new dominant power. In 755 An Lushan instigated a rebellion against the Tang dynasty and Emperor Suzong of Tang turned to Bayanchur Khan for assistance in 756. The khagan of

7584-550: The riverside of Mount Han, which also named after him. Due to his dealings with crocodiles in South China, the extinct gharial Hanyusuchus was named after him in 2022. Erwin von Zach wrote Han Yüs poetische Werke , a German language study. The Poetry of Meng Chiao and Han Yü , a book by Stephen Owen published by the Yale University Press , was the first substantial English-language study of Han Yu. It

7680-401: The situation and rejected Tian's request. Tian was forced to send the Weibo soldiers back to Weibo. Meanwhile, Wang Tingcou had been inciting the soldiers against Tian, and as soon as Weibo soldiers left, in fall 821, he gathered the troops at Chengde's capital Zhen Prefecture ( 鎮州 ) and attacked Tian's headquarters, killing Tian, his staff members, and their families — some 300 people. He forced

7776-452: The supply routes for Shen Prefecture, were cut off. With Shen Prefecture in dire straits, Emperor Muzong was forced to commission Wang Tingcou the military governor of Chengde. Wang accepted the commission, but refused to lift the siege on Shen Prefecture, even when the imperial official Han Yu was sent to urge him. Eventually, Niu fought his way out of the siege, and his subordinate Zang Ping ( 臧平 ) surrendered. Wang rebuked Zang for defending

7872-419: The turn of the ninth century. He led a revolt against pianwen ( 駢文 ), a formal, richly ornamented literary style, advocating a return to a classical, simple, logical, and exact style. He felt that this classical style of writing—called guwen ( 古文 ), literally, "ancient writing"—would be appropriate for the restoration of Confucianism. Han Yu promoted Confucianism but was also deeply opposed to Buddhism,

7968-512: The unity of the khaganate. During his reign, Manichaeism was suppressed, but his successors restored it as the official religion. In 780, a group of Uyghurs and Sogdians was killed while leaving Chang'an with tribute. Tun demanded 1,800,000 strings of cash in compensation and the Tang agreed to pay this amount in gold and silk. In 789, Tun Bagha Tarkhan died and his son succeeded him as Külüg Qaghan . The Karluks took this opportunity to encroach on Uyghur territory and annexed Futu Valley. In 790,

8064-400: The urging of the senior chancellor Pei Du . Also in 826, after Li Quanlüe ( 李全略 ) the military governor of Henghai Circuit died, his son Li Tongjie took over the circuit without imperial sanction. The imperial government initially took no reaction against Li Tongjie. After Emperor Jingzong was assassinated in late 826 and was succeeded by his brother Emperor Wenzong , Li Tongjie hoped that

8160-430: The use of guwen as advocated by Han Yu, a style that would stay as the model for Chinese prose until the revolution in Chinese literature of modern China. In an inscription for a shrine to Han Yu, Song Dynasty poet Su Shi praised Han Yu: 文起八代之衰，而道濟天下之溺；忠犯人主之怒，而勇奪三軍之帥。 His prose reversed the literary decline of eight dynasties, his teachings aided the misguided throughout the world, his loyalty led him to risk

8256-399: The west. A 2020 study analyzed the genetic ancestry of 12 Uyghur Khaganate individuals c. 9th Century C.E. from Mongolia . The sample exhibited high (~60%) but variable West Eurasian ancestry, modeled as a mixture of Indo-Iranian Alans and Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex ancestry. The sample also carried substantial (~40%) ancestry from an East Asian source, closely related to

8352-462: The wrath of his master, his courage surpassed the generals of three armies. All the major accounts of Han Yu's life agree that he had an open and forthright character, which manifested itself in his unswerving loyalty to his friends. According to Li Ao , Han Yu was a great conversationalist and an inspired teacher: "His teaching and his efforts to mold his students were unrelenting, fearing they would not be perfect. Yet he amused them with jokes and with

8448-535: Was Qullığ Boyla ( Chinese : 骨力裴羅 ). He took the title Kutlug Bilge Kol Khagan ( Glorious, wise, mighty khagan ), claiming to be the supreme ruler of all the tribes. He built his capital at Ordu-Baliq . According to Chinese sources, the territory of the Uyghur Empire then reached "on its eastern extremity, the territory of Shiwei , on the west the Altai Mountains , on the south it controlled

8544-705: Was a Turkic empire that existed for about a century between the mid 8th and 9th centuries. It was a tribal confederation under the Orkhon Uyghur ( 回鶻 ) nobility, referred to by the Chinese as the Jiu Xing ("Nine Clans"), a calque of the name Toquz Oghuz or Toquz Tughluq . In the mid-5th century, Uyghurs constituted a tribe of the Tiele , which was also under the Turkic Khaganate. In 657,

8640-434: Was a strong advocate of reimposing central control over separatist northeastern provinces. This period of service came to an end when he wrote his famous Memorial on Bone-relics of the Buddha ( 諫迎佛骨表 ) presented to Emperor Xianzong . The memorial is a strongly worded protest against Buddhist influence on the country. The Emperor, offended by Han Yu's criticism, ordered his execution. He was however saved by his friends at

8736-513: Was an essayist, Confucian scholar, poet, and government official during the Tang dynasty who significantly influenced the development of Neo-Confucianism . Described as "comparable in stature to Dante , Shakespeare or Goethe " for his influence on the Chinese literary tradition, Han Yu stood for strong central authority in politics and orthodoxy in cultural matters. He is often considered to be among China's finest prose writers. Ming dynasty scholar Mao Kun ( 茅坤 ) ranked him first among

8832-490: Was banished to Southern China in 777 because of its association with disgraced minister Yuan Zai. Han Hui died in 781 while serving as a prefect in Guangdong province. In 792, after four attempts, Han Yu passed the jinshi imperial examination . In 796, after failing to secure a position in the civil service at the capital, he went into the service of the provincial military governor of Bianzhou until 799, and then of

8928-411: Was based on political and economic concerns regarding trade with the Sogdians, it was driven by the rulers and often encountered resistance in lower societal strata. Furthermore, as the khaghan's political power depended on his ability to provide economically for his subjects, "alliance with the Sogdians through adopting their religion was an important way of securing this objective." Both the Sogdians and

9024-408: Was forced to order the troops from Yicheng and Heyang (河陽, headquartered in modern Luoyang , Henan ) to aid Weibo. In spring 829, after Shi Xiancheng's son Shi Tang ( 史唐 ) and the military governor of Yicheng, Li Ting ( 李聽 ), defeated Qi, Qi fled to Chengde. After Li Tongjie soon surrendered but was killed by the imperial official Bo Qi ( 柏耆 ) after he surrendered, Emperor Wenzong thereafter resumed

9120-605: Was sent to Dezong. In 792, the Uyghurs, led by Baoyi Qaghan , defeated the Tibetans and Karluks, taking Gaochang . Not long after the Tibetans attacked Yushu, a fortified town 560 li east of Kucha . They were besieged by Baoyi there and destroyed. In 795, Qutluq Bilge Qaghan died and the Yaghlakar dynasty came to an end. A general, Qutluq II , declared himself the new qaghan under the title Ay Tängridä ülüg bulmïsh alp qutlugh ulugh bilgä qaghan "Greatly born in moon heaven, victorious, glorious, great and wise qaghan", founding

9216-499: Was subsequently created the Duke of Taiyuan. In 834, he died. The soldiers supported his son Wang Yuankui to succeed him, and Emperor Wenzong subsequently approved. Wang Tingcou was given posthumous honors. Wang Tingcou's biography in the Old Book of Tang commented: Ever since the time of Li Baochen, although Zhenji [(i.e., Chengde)] saw the rebellions of Li Weiyue and Wang Chengzong, it nevertheless befriended its neighbors and feared

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