L12 The Early Tang Dynasty

Tang rule was established by the fatherandson team of Li Yuan and Li Shimin. The early Tang also saw the only period in Chinese history when the imperial throne was occupied by a woman ruling in her own name. Wu Zetian deposed her nephew in 690 and ruled as empress until 705. She has remained a controversial figure in later Chinese historical writing, largely because it has almost all been written by men. In the first half of the 8 th century, Emperor Xuanzong presided over a long period of economic growth and cultural flourishing. But at midcentury, the dynasty was nearly brought to an end by a great rebellion, led by a general named An Lushan and sparked, in part, by rumors of Ans illicit relationship with the emperors favorite concubine, Yang Guifei.