Fun fact, Tang Dynasty paintings had everyone painted fat because being fat meant they were well-fed and wealthy. Even the horses and other animals were painted fat.
ikr i think this might be the case. of course there are fat women but the fact all of them literally have equal fat. no one is fatter or skinnier than the other is just fake af xD
In many cultures, in history, concepts of what is beautiful, or what is the most beautiful body have differed. Between the two ends of the scales, one side is `skin and bones´, the middle is ´chubby´ and ´obese´is at the other side of the scales. There is a whole range of bodytypes. I believe this was true in the past too.
This video was really really interesting thank you! However, I can't stand it when people talk about Wu Zetian and only talk about her cunning and brutal ways when male royals have been doing the exact same things (and worse) for millennia. Just because she's a woman, doesn't make it any more or less calculated and brutal, but that's just how it was back then. She had to adapt to the men around her to get to where she wanted to be, simple as that
Agreed! Maybe Ladies of the Palace were seldom mentioned in history , so if they were famous for one reason or the other , they were quite captivating to history buffs!
@@potatosnap not saying she wasn't but I feel like it's more emphasized because she's a woman and every other man in history doing the same if not worse is not regarded as harshly, it's more like "just another Tuesday, him killing a bunch of people" you know
@@clarimm6675 I think it has more to do with her not being directly from the imperial lineage. As long as you are the rightful emperor all the horrible things you did are mostly excused, but if you usurped the throne, even if you didn’t do things nearly as bad as the past emperors, you are viewed worse than them.
I'm an overseas born Chinese and had been English educated throughout my life. Since my retirement 10 years ago, I have begun to research into my cultural roots and have since learnt a lot of its history. I had even travelled many times to China, including Xian, being the capital of many imperial dynasties and was most impressed with its preservation of many historical buildings and mausoleums. I would love to re-visit Xian again and your video gives me more reason to do so.
Same but if u want to see xi'an in its heyday. U should just go to Nara, japan where they copid Chang'an architecture and culture. Also chang'an the biggest city at that time is display on the new "mulan" trailer
I admire her. She was a woman who had to be strong to be able to rule as hard as a man and she did that. Just because she was a woman people say she was cruel, i think she stood strong because she had too. The history of China is truly fascinating. I love learning about it.
Chinese are well familiar with Wu's story. She gained "strength" murdering her own descendants and laying blame to others. She nearly killed off her own family! This video is "tongue-in-cheek" in fact Wu killed her pregnant grand daughter+her husband(also Wu's nephew) because the grand daughter walked into Wu(in 80s) sleeping naked with 2 young men.
Don’t give her credit just because your are a women she killed many officials for greed he force emperor to abdicate and found her own dynasty she misused everything
When I was in high school, my mom brought me to China. Our roots are Chinese, but we were born and raised in the West. I got to see the terracotta warriors in Xi’an and still remember how great and awe inspiring it was to this day. It really was a great feat, all the buildings, tombs, soldiers, palaces...it was a great empire.
@@joniangelsrreal6262 No, it ain't...it's a joke, played at the expense of 6000 years of Chinese culture and it has the potency, to end it once and for all
@@soren9310 No, it is not a joke. @mooncake was rightfully inspired by the craftsmanship of the terracotta warriors. But the tomb with all of those fancy stuff and the murdering of thousands and thousands of people were not beneficial to the conquered people then. It was more than a huge burden the evil Emperor placed upon the people he governed. The terracotta warriors are marvelous but also remind us of how one devil can bring so much suffering to millions and millions of people.
@@benthekeeshond545 I was replying to "Joni Angels R Real" and the comment, that China is still a great empire is absolutely a joke, played at the expense of that country's great history...today's Chinese leadership is nothing but an abomination and deserves to be wiped out...hopefully soon, so that China can at least try to regain it's grandeur of old again
I wish they focus on the thombs, murals, and everything found inside that aerial shots of mountains and night city.. i love to see more of those artifacts.
I agree. These documentaries always love impressive aerial and far-away shots of big things. But the "little" things, like the priceless porcelain, bronze vessels, paintings, murals, calligraphy, etc. are what is most impressive about this time. Like the oldest still-existing printed book was from the Tang Dynasty, from 868 A.D. And it was a Buddhist book, showing that the Tang had adopted a foreign religion! An image of that faded book would be far more fascinating than a shot of a huge burial mound.
i agree but i think most of item has been robbed only a few survived. not pipa from this era survived, but Thank god the tang emperor gift japanese emperor with amazing music ensamble, most well known are 5 beautifully hand crafted pipa now kept in shosoin ( royal treasury ). pattern on one of the pipa eventually inspired the iconic louis vuitton monogram pattern when it was showcased in Paris, of course people think its japanese because it was in japanese shosoin collection www.reddit.com/r/ArtefactPorn/comments/izpkjl/8th_century_tang_dynasty_pipa_the_inspiration/
You'll have to visit the Shaanxi History Museum (SHM) because Wiki says the murals in the Yong Tai tomb have been replaced (how did they do that?) with copies and the originals are now in the SHM: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaanxi_History_Museum Going to China anytime soon?
The CCP destroyed a great many Tang dynasty artefacts due to its religious connotations during the cultural revolution. If you would like to see Chinese treasures, you need to go to Taiwan, which preserved the most precious aspects of Chinese culture before the CCP had a chance to destroy it.
I’m surprised that not one expert mentioned that the history of Wu Zetian was written by men who came after her, and that they would have done everything possible to keep another woman from amassing so much power. The biggest criticism by men of powerful women is that they act “unwomanly”-ie, like them, men-and they have always tainted these women’s legacies by painting them with their own brushes. Of course, a woman who could proclaim herself emperor of China must have had very tough qualities, but her reign was prosperous, peaceful, and provided wealth and security to the majority of her subjects. The arts and crafts are truly amazing. There was religious tolerance. And after Wu Zetian? The men after her went back to stupid factional strife leading to civil war, which destroyed the wealth and security she gave her country….what’s so great about _that?!?_ China obviously needed more female emperors!
Well, as a Chinese woman, I agree that there may be some problems with some of the accounts of Wu Zetian and that there should have been more women in power, but Wu Zetian's era was not the most prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty's heyday was 40-50 years after Wu Zetian's death and was ruled by a male ruler. The most prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty was the Kaiyuan Era under the rule of Wu Zetian's grandson, which is also the era that Chinese people miss most today.
Tang was a great dynasty after the 3 Kingdom Period. Would love to travel to Chang An one day to visit all the histories. Everyone needs to watch “the longest day in Chang An”. Great movie set during the Tang Dynasty.
I’m only just learning about Chinese ancient history and it is fascinating. I’m glad they are excavating so slowly since so much was lost in the rushed excavations of Egypt. The Chinese have so much respect for their ancestors and it is beautiful to see.
The Chinese Communist Party want to create their own history. They don´t want to preserve the real Chinese history. By the meantime, they distroy the historical evidence. They call it Cultural Revolution.
I'm not sure, but archaeology excavators are probably more careful when they feel respect of the culture being studied. Rushed excavations and crude restorations of ruins are performed by disrespectful people, no matter if they are from local origin or foreigners. Disrespect grows in conquered nations, when a culture had been destroyed. Chinese had probably been invaded several times in the course of History, but anyway they managed to recover their territory, and now they are the masters of their own country. The coexistence of conquerors and conquered is the cradle of hate. Even when the conquered had been eliminated, hate remains as a black shadow over the country. Conquest is never good.
Great documentary, however one mistake they made was the name of the Tang Capital. Nowadays it is called 西安 “xī ān, Western Peace”, but during the Tang it was known as 長安 “cháng ān, Perpetual Peace.”
I'm not confused because I didn't know, but because of how they didn't use the name of the capital as it was called historically during that dynasty because it's supposed to be a historical documentary. Therefore, for those less familiar with Chinese history, it would truly be confusing. Besides, to my knowledge, these people in the documentary, didn't explain the name change. People will assume that it was called Xi'an back then as well, which is inaccurate.
You'll have to visit the Shaanxi History Museum (SHM) because Wiki says the murals in the Yong Tai tomb have been replaced (how did they do that?) with copies and the originals are now in the SHM: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaanxi_History_Museum Going to China anytime soon?
The tomb of the princess and her relatives is open for tourists. And they are the most valuable royal tombs in China which are open now. But most royal tombs which are even more famous or more valuable are forbidden to open. They may be more protected too.
@@ernestlee9461 Most of the Mausoleums of the emperors in Tang Dynasty are not open and are likely never opened since the emperors were buried in. And the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang (the first emperor in Chinese history).
I feasted my eyes on this grandiose deeds of the emperor in ancient China that seems an unparalleled, almost incomparable,& rare splendor unlike any others in the entire world. Sooo unutterably impressive & remarkable that those historical remains made an impressive & favorable impact on my mind & body, & will probably last in my mind for eons. Soundly enjoyed, admired, & appreciated it to the core at the comfort of my home,,,,,(02/18/24)
I'm a huge anime fan which got me interested in Japanese culture; now I've been learning more about the Chinese cultural history's. I recall the damage of the cultural revolution & its devastating iconoclasm. But there is a wealth of knowledge, history & secret yet uncovered to tackle. From Confucius, to Dao Buddhism, Tangs, Songs to Mings, Great Walls to Silky roads. China is amazing, forget the Politics for now, we need to understand each other, taking an example from our ancestors that shared ideas, philosophy, religion and technology, were our forefathers enlightened where we are xenophobes ?
I totally agree. And so would our forefathers. Ben Franklin called China "the wisest of nations," saying that if he were young again, he would like to travel to China. He wrote about Confucius in one of the first printed newspapers in Philadelphia! Interesting that you mentioned being "enlightened"; enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire and Leibniz (who invented calculus) intensely studied Chinese philosophy. And Chinese wares like porcelain, silk, tea, furniture and wallpaper filled the houses of the well-to-do in 18th century colonial America.
@@joeyp1927 Unfortunately Imperialism and Western Supremacist mindsets inflicted long-lasting damage to Chinese perception of the West. Virtually everyone in China today is still seething with resentment when they talk about the Century of Humiliation of the Chinese civilization which coincided with the hundred years between the First Opium War and the founding of People's Republic of China. It's part of the reasons why the state, led by the CCP, enjoys extremely high level of trust and legitimacy among the Chinese citizens (contrary to what American media would have you believe). In spite of missteps (Cultural Revolution being a prime example), the Communist party has succeeded in transforming China into an industrialized world power with economic, political, cultural and military strength befitting its long and proud history. The Chinese are no longer "Communist/Marxist" in the traditional sense o the word - they are now a people who believe in a LOCALIZED version of socialism informed by the thoughts of Marx, Lenin, Mao and Deng Xiaoping and his successors, and capitalism. They for the most part agree that CCP is the one with sufficient wisdom, leadership and governing competency to usher in a new age of Chinese renaissance (with no need to waste precious time and resources on petty political bickering and showmanship-elections!)
@@angelabby2379 Of course it would be... Japan once had a worse case of colonial mentality for China the same way we Filipinos now have a huge colonial mentality for USA & (in small percentage) Korea...
Im an archeologyst student and i spent time in China working in an exavation, i can't see these tombs, or the famous terracotta soldiers, but i saw so many historycal places, and its realy fascinating. There you have a feeling that people truly live whit their history. And thru this video i can see, how much more thing is there that i should, and will see.
I am amazed at how many Terra Cotta soldiers died in the Emperor of Qin's tomb. He utilized all those soldiers to unite China during his reign. (must've been a head count). He also had his servants, concubines, etc buried with him.
@@lindaliang3825 when did they excavate his tomb? I thought it was still sealed until they resolved the problem of the lacquer and the peeling paint? Are you referring to actual ppl? The terracotta soldiers are just that clay soldiers. I don't doubt that ppl were sacrificed.
Awesome! I hope you love that field! If you find any treasure dont forget about us ❣❣❣... Though if you find murals as well on the wall let the world know 😂🤣😋 but if you find something that lol( chinese movies items that will destroy the world) haha let's pretend I never commented your comment haha
@@danmoua7686 haha good, lol if i get to dig up the mausoleum of the first emperor and found something earhshaking we share, but untill then we have to be accept the potteries and bones, graves, and houses we have. : )
Women where more free, they could study and be part of the ministry during the reign of Wu Zetian. But of course, we are going to ignore this and say that it was all thanks to men that women were freer during that period. Amazing work ¬¬
Exactly... That's the sad part... Women once made this possible then suddenly men returned to rule & constricted us again after being "emasculated" like what they did with Hatshepsut...
Misleading documentary. The ruling family of Tang dynasty( Li clan 李氏家族) was NOT Turkic nor Turkic-speaking clan, they're Han Chinese(漢人) inter-mixed with Snicized Xinbei(漢化鮮卑) maternal line (about 1/4), they all spoke and wrote Chinese and self-identified as Han Chinese, even their surname "李Li" is clearly Chinese, they NEVER ever claimed to be Turkic in any historical record, such "claim" is modern distorted "interpretation"(or propaganda) from some modern scholars, on the contrary, ancient Turkish khanates such as Goktuks actually treated Tang China's emperors as "Chinese" and foreigners, not their kins. Search " Orkhon inscriptions"(闕特勤碑) if anyone interested. Anyone who can read Chinese and has studied some actual Chinese history can find this out.
My Chinese History professor talked about whatever non-Chinese people were controlling China at a given point adapting themselves to Chinese culture as a means of better controlling them being a pretty common occurrence throughout history, and the Tang were given as an example. To call them Turkic would be an oversimplification. Proto-Turkic and Proto-Mongol peoples both occupied the area that the Xianbei moved into China from, and Proto-Turkic people later migrated to Central Asia to later become what we'd today consider Turkish
The Tang Dynasty was created and ruled by a Han Chinese family, the original Li family. Only some relatives and bureaucrats were Turkic or part Turkic. After Tang Dynasty collapsed in 907, it broke apart and became the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. As the name suggests, many short-lived states were formed. And during this period, a Turkic warlord named Li Keyong took control of part of the land. Then his son Li Cunxu expanded the territory and decided to name himself the Emperor of the Later Tang. Please note, his father and his last name Li was not their birth name, but rather it was awarded to them before Tang's collapse by a Tang emperor for their clan's war contribution. Their original Turkic last name was Zhuye. After all, the Later Tang Dynasty only lasted for a few years before Li was killed.
They said also it's the Greek that open the silk road lol when they got to India no near the ancient silk road this documentary are for Anglo-Saxon my by them for them don't bother they lie cheat and pretend they angels
Yes, I was surprised when the speaker said they were Turkic and Turkic speaking. The Li lineage is traceable to the founder of Western Liang and Emperor Gaozu, the founder of the Tang dynasty himself was a quarter Xianbei because of his maternal Xianbei grandfather. Gaozu himself was a cousin of the last Sui Emperor. Moreover the Turkic invasions were the bane of the Tang Dynasty and were brought under control by Emperor Taizong. The other surprise was the dynastic language claim by this video. I had understood Middle Chinese was spoken during Tang dynasty and had been since the Sui Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty brought the characteristics of Middle Chinese to the Southern provinces which are retained to this day in the Southern languages.
It actually feels more like a documentary about Tang dynasty itself more than about the Princess. I feel like they ran out of stuff to talk about... I wish they touched on her life and the archeological findings.
Wonderful Documentary, fascinating information, good quality HD video. I do not like the narrator - he lisps unpleasantly... then the London Chinese expert - I can not understand her well at all, her English is pretty bad - but no subtitles. I do wish she opened her mouth more when pronouncing English words. Then the other chinese expert - best if they spoke their language instead of English, a huge ouch in listening to the R L reversals... Impossible to just listen to the audio - I have to be glued to the screen to understand it all!
I think this narrator is my friend Phillip from Central Lutheran Church in Capitol Hill Seattle. I love this video on China. Can you make more like this?
Professor McCausland is wrong. Some western historians say the rulers of the tang dynasty were turkic people. This point of view seems to be widespread in the west, can be traced back to a chinese historian of the early 20th century named Chen Yinke. He believed that the rulers of the Tang might have ancestors from Xianbei, a nomadic people from northern China. He in turn relies on unofficial sources such as historical novels that appeared hundreds of years after the Tang Dynasty. It is very controversial whether Xianbei was a Turkic people, because very little is known about this missing people. Therefore, it is misleading to claim that the rulers of Tang spoke Turkic, without mentioning that it was an unproven view that is not universally recognized by historians! In addition, the historian Chen only suspected that the emperors of the Tang Dynasty might have ancestors from the Xianbei people. So the correct description would be Han-Xianbei emperor. Queen Elisabeth II is known to have German ancestors. Still, you wouldn't call her the German Queen. This would also be imprecise because the queen does not have EXCLUSIVELY German ancestors.
The "Han Chinese'' is a political construct. There is no such thing as a pure Han Chinese, not anymore far into the present nor after the 2nd century CE. This is what I think. Thousands of years of wars and segregation between the ancient states prove that there is not a one single lineage, nationality or bloodline that existed in the past, but rather, a conglomeration of many bloodlines, tribes and nationalities. How else would historians call the people (and their kingdoms and leaders) of every state by their indigenous names and nationalities? Zhou, Wei, Qin, Han, etc... why make the distinctions if they're all coming from the same bloodline or tribe? And didn't they allegedly speak languages distinct from one another? To infer that all Chinese are of the Han lineage is like saying that all ancient Israelites are Jews. That is wrong. The ancient Israelites are all generally Hebrews down the line of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob {whose name was later changed to "Israel''}. Jacob (Israel) raised up 12 sons who became the progenitors of the respective 12 tribes of Israel. And one of them is Judah, from whose name the word ''Jew'' was derived. Judah was just one member of the family of Jacob/Israel, who by reason of bloodline, are Hebrews. So, while all ancient Jews are Hebrews, not all Hebrews are Jews, simply because there are others who belong to the 11 other tribes whose identity would likewise be called historically by their progenitor's name, such as ''Benjaminites'', ''Reubenites'', etc etc. We cannot discount the fact that this is also true about the people that existed and lived in the China basin, that they're all composed of different tribes/nationalities that have most likely survived thru the centuries of wars and diaspora by mixing with the nationalities of every other ancient states. About a decade ago I came across a DNA study done in China by a scientist (whose name I have forgotten) whose work was under the auspices of one of the leading unversities there, and his findings was sort of bizarre and shocking in that he says that the Han DNA has long been extinct ''since the first century CE''! I am not making a certified conclusion here, I encourage you to google and locate that study (if it's still there, that's how I came across it). I suppose it's a detrimental piece of study that could rock the Chinese ''Han'' political construct. I don't particularly agree with it, but then, I am not an expert so what do I know?
I may not have gotten to this part of the video yet, but I don't think they said the Tang was a Turkish dynasty. The Xianbei were possibly proto-Turkic people, and proto-Turkic people migrated from that area to Central/West Asia to later become what would be considered Turkish people.
@@sweetLemonist According to Wikipedia, turkic people are a collection of ethnic groups, who speak turkic languages. Of course, turkic peoples are not the same thing as turkic languages. but there is still a very close connection between the two. that is why there are also academics who are of the opinion that the rulers of the tang dynasty were turk people, because they believe that these people spoke a turkic language. Since I know the Chinese history very well. I know the turkic people is not the same as the people from Turkey. You don’t have to tell me that
Thanks for the very captivating video on Tang Dynasty & Silk Route. It mesmerized me and just can’t help but to express 看过五岳不看山，黄山归来不看岳。大唐荣耀三百年当今中国千秋超大唐！
I wanted to know what the evaluation of the princess' sarcophagus was and if the body was till intact. I have a lot of information during the dynasty but I wanted to know more about the lives of the princess, her husband and her brother. There was no picture of the princess?
Great content. Just want to point out a mistake. One of the portraits used to depict Gao Zong is actually Qian Long, another great emperor during the Qing Dynasty.
It's quite sloppy to use the portrait of Yongzheng Emperor of Qing Dynasty for Wu Zetian, 16:45-16:50. Not to mention that Yongzheng was a male, born more than 1,000 years after Wu Zetian.
The portrait at 19:57 was that of a Song Dynasty empress. Some of the desert landscapes were from North Africa and they conflated them as the Chinese silk road lol
Empress Wu Zetian didn't dethrone her first son because he was too independent-minded. On the contrary, he wasn't a very smart and good ruler and it was easy for her to get rid of him to take control of power.
Non of her children are competent enough for her because she wants the power of ruling herself. Same with Cixi, she condemn her son for being stupid to justify herself from keep ruling after her son became adult.
Exactly... The proper word is Bull-minded XD ... To survive, you need to be smarter than your predecessor... It isn't enough to be innovative or better in Thinking... How can you graduate when you can't beat the first exam?
What's Qian Long's portrait doing in this docu?The Qing dress is so obviously not Tang. Also, wouldn't Wu Zetian have ruled as Empress Dowager as regent before declaring herself as Emperor?
The Tang Dynasty was created and ruled by a Han Chinese family, the original Li family. Only some relatives and bureaucrats were Turkic or part Turkic. After Tang Dynasty collapsed in 907, it broke apart and became the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period that lasted for more than 70 years. During this period, many short-lived states were formed, including a Turkic warlord named Li Keyong who took control of part of the land to form a state. His son Li Cunxu later took over and decided to crown himself the Emperor of the Later Tang. PLEASE NOTE, their last name Li was not their birth name, but was rather awarded to them before Tang's collapse by a Tang emperor for their Turkic clan's war contribution. Their original Turkic last name was Zhuye. The Later Tang Dynasty was not the same as the Tang. It only lasted for a few years during Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and its territory only covered about 50% of what the Tang used to cover.
@@mr.cebuano2843 The royal family of Tang, the Li family, was a prominent Han family since the Sui dynasty with a general named Li Yuan. He successfully took over after Sui dynasty collapsed and claimed himself king of his new dynasty Tang. There were some Xianbei linkage from the maternal side through the marriages with some Xianbei princesses and concubines. However, Xianbei people were genetically close to Eastern Asian, Tungusic, Manchurian, and Mongolian people. Language was originally close to Tungusic (Siberian region), not Turkic. Turkic influence or Turkic alphabets were only incorporated much later during the Yuan dynasty, almost 400 years after Tang has disappeared. In fact, the Li family of Tang actually defeated two separate Turkic states, the Eastern Turkic Khaganate and the Western Turkic Khaganate, in later stages to successfully expand Tang's territory.
One of the outstanding dynasties in Chinese history. Women were much freer in this dynasty, and their clothing reflected this idea of more feminine freedom by showing the decollete ( exposing the neck).
Never mind, I, for one, loved each and every sand shot. What a different place to what one born amid the giant trees of B C, is use to. It seems like an ocean, in constant motion, like tree tops in the wind; I could watch all day. Sip a local tea while I did.
I think as with western art restoration, restoring these wall painting to original states would be of huge benefit to the world, the grandeur on display would be excellent.
WAIT, the founder of Tang Dynasty was not Turkic. The Li family was Han Chinese. University of London, you guys need to either do more work or be honest ;)
@@minhthai4915 Many American teachers and professors nowadays teach their students that Tang Dynasty was ruled by the Turks because they claim that the Li family is a Turkic family. Yes, although in this video Prof. Shane McCausland did say that they were a "Turkic speaking family" rather than straightforwardly saying a "Turkic family", what is the point of saying they are a Turkic speaking family? I can speak a little bit of Korean, can i say that my family is a Korean speaking family? NO! I can speak English, but my family is NOT AN ENGLISH SPEAKING FAMILY!
@@minhthai4915 how this historians knows the people long dead spoke whatever language? or how they should pronounce it. This western historian and narrator can’t even pronounce proper modern chinese language.
16:44 - is that Qing Dynasty imperial emperor painting? While on a Tang Dynasty narrative? 20:01 - Is that Song Dynasty painting? While again we are on Tang Dynasty narrative? 3DD or Little Dot Studios..... Disappointed that a documentary would wantonly add pictures of conflicting era periods, this would make this documentary so subpar and confusing for those that are learning history.
At 16:06, I believe that this is an actual Tang Dynasty painting because the decollete (exposed neck) is depicted. However, I think that you are correct in stating that 16:44 actually looks like QianLong (who looks like an aging FuCha FuHung).
Yeah, I would definitely argue that point about the Li family being Turks; they may have mixed blood. It is true, though, that by the Tang Dynasty, because of it's great cultural openness, it was nearly impossible for Central Plains people (generalized as the Han people) to remain pure-blooded. No one in modern times, now, can say they are true pure Han Chinese. China was never pure Han in the first place because of all the ethnic minorities included. This should be embraced as it is what makes China a truly culturally and historically beautiful nation.
@@Hitori15 Li families have many women from Xianbei. So Maximally, the maternal linage is Xianbei. Whether Xianbeis are turkic, it's still controversial how can they can say Tang Li was turkic.
So Merneith, Sobekneferu, Cleopatra, Hatshepsut then after a long while Wu ZeTian... After a long line of Egyptian Queens, a Chinese Empress followed to lead alone...
Yeah, that's the one thing I wish people doing historical documentaries would keep consistent with the period they're discussing. It gets me so annoyed that they think they can get away with using random pics.
Great video full of history however its title should be changed to that of the History of the Tang Dinasty. Part of this, is the story or the finding of this poor princess tomb.
It's too complicated to summarise Tang Dynasty in one episode. Thanks for your sympathy for the pregnant Princess. She was put to death because she walked into Wu(in 80s) sleeping in naked with 2 young men. Her husband(Wu's nephew) was executed too. Very sad 🥹
@4:37 Tang's royal family does have Xianbei ancestors on their maternal bloodline. However it is still a debate whether Xianbei was a Mongolic people, a Turkic people or a Tungusic people. And no they do not speak a Turkic language. Xianbei was Sinicized to the point that their language went extinction around the time Tang was founded. Through DNA analysis the modern ethnic groups Sibe and Oroqen, two Tungusic peoples, were discovered to be closely related to Xianbei.
The Tang Dynasty emperor claimed to be Han nation (also in history and poetry), and the army claimed to be Han soldiers. They claimed to be the Han family. Culture was also Han. They worshiped the ancestors of the Han nationality. They were proud of themselves as Han nation. * Tang Dynasty emperor think that non -Han people are barbarians, and many history have been recorded. This is why the ancient Japanese want to copy the Han culture in the Tang Dynasty (Han Dynasty, Song Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty ...), ancient Japanese worshiped the Chinese very much (Han and Han culture).
Today , The Chinese are also called "Tang people 唐人". "Tang people唐人" refers to the Chinese (Han nationality). The ancient Chinese refer to the Han nationality. Chinatown in the world, in Chinese is called " Tong people town唐人街", the clothes represented by the Chinese are called "Tang costumes 唐裝"
The Tang Dynasty is one of Chinas' most outstanding dynasties in Chinese history. Paintings, ceramics, fashions (clothing that exposed a woman's decolette (expose the neck), Artsy cultural, creative expressions flourished during this period. I am not clear about who Chen Ling was. Is Chen Ling Wu Zetians grand-daughter that was re-buried in a grand fashion after Wu Zetian was dead?
The Tang Dynasty claimed to be Han nation (also in history and poetry), and the army claimed to be Han soldiers. They claimed to be the Han family. Culture was also Han. They worshiped the ancestors of the Han nationality. They were proud of themselves.They believe that non -Han people are human barbarians, and many history have been recorded. This is why the Japanese want to copy the culture of the Tang Dynasty in the Tang Dynasty (Han Dynasty, Song Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty ...), ancient Japanese worshiped the Chinese very much (Han and Han culture). Today the Chinese are also called self -proclaimed "Tang people 唐人". "Tang people唐人" refers to the Chinese (Han nationality). The ancient Chinese refer to the Han nationality.
"Hidden Tomb" is right. We never actually got to see it did we? We did see footage reused over and over. Even backwards at the end! It looks like a wonderful place. Now where is a real documentary about it?
Inadvertently, 'CHINA' to me HOLDS A Myriad-of-VAST-KNOWLEDGE tying into the Fabric of where EAST-transverses Deeper into the WEST ...and ADDING -to-that-where the WEST CAN GREATLY APPRECIATE LEARNING from ....
I would like to know if there is a historical drama about this lady emperor Wu Zetian made by movie productions like the drama RUYI the Royal Love Palace.
There are many but the most recent one is acted by Fan Bing Bing years ago. However, that is more like a made up romantic story -- not real story. So you probably won't get much of the history from there at all.
How did these women follow dressings of their European counterparts where there was no evidence of any such exchanges except from Central Asia? Who from Western Europe travelled to China some 1200 years ago?
This video is actually genuinely underated and damm and this is actually the actual real China that the actual American and British BBC propaganda mainstream media actually don't show you is actually really like and actually capable of actually doing and damm and 🇨🇳🇨🇳🇨🇳.
I knew it! SOMETIMES a General Rebellion or a Corrupted Official can ruin a dynasty. I always I thought it was family in fights, thus, brought an end to an era.
@danmoua7686 Even if you're a well known emperor,can't control the emotions and thinking of his subordinates(a lot of them even his immediate family),there's always dissatisfaction that created a havoc within his empire towards their downfall.And a lot of enemies surrounding them wanted to control their power.Sad that in this way it ended his 300 yrs. as an emperor that brought positive and bright future for his economic and broad mindedness of his culture,dealing with silk road that's flourishing at their time and they experienced what a luxurious life they have.
A tomb but no coffin nor remains. No explanation even as to why. I feel somewhat unsettled. Don't get me wrong, I love the video and it's production content, it's just that I would have loved to see the actual coffin which in itself might be an astounding sight to see.
You'll have to visit the Shaanxi History Museum (SHM) because Wiki says the murals in the Yong Tai tomb have been replaced (how did they do that?) with copies and the originals are now in the SHM: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaanxi_History_Museum Going to China anytime soon? The coffin is probably in the SHM.
Tim Cargile Thanks very much for your enlightening response. I was in Beijing in '99 till mid Y2K but work didn't permit me to travel outside of the capital. But thanks to the goodhearted manager who organized a trip to the Ming Tombs with it's enigmatic relics display, the glorious Summer Palace and of course, the Great Wall in that area I forgot the name. I had been hoping to travel back there as a tourist but then Covid happened. Thanks to your advice though. Maybe one day it can still happen.
@@tuberobotto Thanks for the thoughtful reply. Have you been watching the serpentAZ and Laowhy86 channel videos on UA-cam (as well as others)? These two lived in China for a decade, have Chinese wives and have a lot to say about China. Anyway, take care.
at 16:49, the image is of another emperor from Qing Dynasty (more than 1000 years later) and is irrelevant to the story of the Tang Dynasty presented here. Great documentary but could have been better edited to prevent mistakes like this.
You showed a Qing emperor picture for a Tang Dynasty around 16-17 minutes. Be more careful with details. Otherwise, it spoiled the professional look of the video.
When a Historian opinion start with "I think or I believe" is not an statement So she left track marks to follow her path, and probably by walking the Silk Rout, the Faith rout, the buildings Rout you can say your self Wow she was bigger than Words
1. 3900 years ago, the nomadic Aryans began to invade India; between 3900 and 3100 years ago, the Aryans as conquerors brought the caste system that affected India for thousands of years; 2. 2600 years ago, the Persians Following in the footsteps of the Aryans, they entered India from the Khyber Pass in Afghanistan and conquered the Indus River Basin; 3. The Greeks became the third nation to invade India; 4. The nation that invaded India was the Serbs, about 2200 invaded India years ago; the fifth nation to invade India was the Parthians; the sixth nation to invade India was the Yuezhi; 7, the Turks; 8, the Persian Sasanian Dynasty; 9, the Arabs conquered India; 10, In the 11th century, the Turks established the Ghaznavid dynasty in Central Asia, and they began to invade India continuously; 11. The descendants of Timur, the conqueror of Central Asia, invaded India in 1526 and established the Mughal Kingdom; 12. The earliest It was the Portuguese who established a foothold in India, but their colonies lay outside the boundaries of the Mughal Empire. After that, the Dutch also actively intervened and defeated the Portuguese. In the 18th century, France and Britain established colonies in India. In the end, the British gained the upper hand; in total, India was colonized for 2,800 years. It was also the area colonized by the most ethnic groups in the world, so most Indians did not know where they came from.
It said 'the Tang dynasty was ruled by a Turkic speaking aristocrat family from the north west of China'. It is obvious that the people are nowadays Uyghur people. So is the mural pictures where woman wearing open collared coat which are typical dresse at the west of China at that time.
Ok so if a man does all she did as a king he is great if a women does same things... is a despot??? During that time libraries were opened to everyone and the poor were protected by the grain keeps she built! MANY GOOD things came from her reign!!
Even the Chinese know how horrible her reign was but for purposes of being astute, this documentary tries to remain within the bounds of a decent history telling. Other than that, there are clues of her failures as a leader and her monstrosity towards her subjects which included her own bloodline, if only to maintain her illicit and immoral relationships. This is a pattern so true about despots and mad people (male or female) excessively drunk with power. Many centuries later, her copycat in the person of Empress Dowager Cixi exhibited the same disposition for capricious dispensation of her power and authority. It is said that after one of the halls burned down, despite the Qing coffers almost bankrupt she insisted on rebuilding it. Now tell me if this isn't tyranny?
Xi'an used to be the mundane capital as well the world's biggest city. Currently, the mundane capital is New York, home of the chief United Nations Headquarters. NYC isn't the biggest city on earth but ONE of the biggest cities on earth. At least it's the biggest city in the USA.
I'm 76 years old today. I read about the magnificence of the Chinese culture in my formative years, some 60 years ago. I don't need to be persuaded about the greatness of the Chinese culture. However, I still find your presentation, and other archaeological presentations about recent discovering, too slow, too boring. We need to instill the magnificence of China into the young Chinese, including those in Hong Kong and Taiwan. But your presentations will NOT keep the attentions of our ideal audience. Can we do something about it? Short presentation of 8 to 10 minutes with dazzling pictures of glorious China? We need to capture our young ones.
Wrong, the ruling family is only 1/4th xianbei (xianbei were not turkic, they were either mongolic or tungusic but turkic.) Tang taizong Li shimins mother is xianbei his paternal side is han chines and just as other empires, the emperors or kings always had foreign wives, it's not like China is unique in this case.
Fun fact, Tang Dynasty paintings had everyone painted fat because being fat meant they were well-fed and wealthy. Even the horses and other animals were painted fat.
ikr i think this might be the case. of course there are fat women but the fact all of them literally have equal fat. no one is fatter or skinnier than the other is just fake af xD
Also because the northern nomad influence. The fat beauty seems only occurred in Tang dynasty.
Perhaps, to them fat is beautiful
In many cultures, in history, concepts of what is beautiful, or what is the most beautiful body have differed. Between the two ends of the scales, one side is `skin and bones´, the middle is ´chubby´ and ´obese´is at the other side of the scales. There is a whole range of bodytypes. I believe this was true in the past too.
@The Year of Dragon not true
This video was really really interesting thank you! However, I can't stand it when people talk about Wu Zetian and only talk about her cunning and brutal ways when male royals have been doing the exact same things (and worse) for millennia. Just because she's a woman, doesn't make it any more or less calculated and brutal, but that's just how it was back then. She had to adapt to the men around her to get to where she wanted to be, simple as that
Agreed! Maybe Ladies of the Palace were seldom mentioned in history , so if they were famous for one reason or the other , they were quite captivating to history buffs!
Well she did kill alot of her family and own children. She was obviously a psychopath.
@@potatosnap not saying she wasn't but I feel like it's more emphasized because she's a woman and every other man in history doing the same if not worse is not regarded as harshly, it's more like "just another Tuesday, him killing a bunch of people" you know
@@clarimm6675 I think it has more to do with her not being directly from the imperial lineage. As long as you are the rightful emperor all the horrible things you did are mostly excused, but if you usurped the throne, even if you didn’t do things nearly as bad as the past emperors, you are viewed worse than them.
@@andrzejszpak688 that could actually be true, it would make sense
I'm an overseas born Chinese and had been English educated throughout my life.
Since my retirement 10 years ago, I have begun to research into my cultural roots and have since learnt a lot of its history.
I had even travelled many times to China, including Xian, being the capital of many imperial dynasties and was most impressed with its preservation of many historical buildings and mausoleums.
I would love to re-visit Xian again and your video gives me more reason to do so.
Same but if u want to see xi'an in its heyday. U should just go to Nara, japan where they copid Chang'an architecture and culture.
Also chang'an the biggest city at that time is display on the new "mulan" trailer
This is a great education, but now the ccp has to learn the manners of the old ways along with pride being Chinese and not western.
You guys had global trade 2000 years ago. And the Tang kept it going, made it even bigger. Amazing.
@@gl241 I am pretty sure they are pride of being Chinese.
I wish i could see the forbidden City with my natural eyes
I admire her. She was a woman who had to be strong to be able to rule as hard as a man and she did that. Just because she was a woman people say she was cruel, i think she stood strong because she had too. The history of China is truly fascinating. I love learning about it.
Chinese are well familiar with Wu's story. She gained "strength" murdering her own descendants and laying blame to others. She nearly killed off her own family! This video is "tongue-in-cheek" in fact Wu killed her pregnant grand daughter+her husband(also Wu's nephew) because the grand daughter walked into Wu(in 80s) sleeping naked with 2 young men.
Don’t give her credit just because your are a women she killed many officials for greed he force emperor to abdicate and found her own dynasty she misused everything
@@Hamzep-ri6ci exactly how many rulers were there that didn't kill others to rule? Or are you criticizing her just because she's a woman?
When I was in high school, my mom brought me to China. Our roots are Chinese, but we were born and raised in the West. I got to see the terracotta warriors in Xi’an and still remember how great and awe inspiring it was to this day. It really was a great feat, all the buildings, tombs, soldiers, palaces...it was a great empire.
Still is….
@@joniangelsrreal6262 No, it ain't...it's a joke, played at the expense of 6000 years of Chinese culture and it has the potency, to end it once and for all
@@soren9310
No, it is not a joke. @mooncake was rightfully inspired by the craftsmanship of the terracotta warriors. But the tomb with all of those fancy stuff and the murdering of thousands and thousands of people were not beneficial to the conquered people then. It was more than a huge burden the evil Emperor placed upon the people he governed.
The terracotta warriors are marvelous but also remind us of how one devil can bring so much suffering to millions and millions of people.
@@benthekeeshond545 I was replying to "Joni Angels R Real" and the comment, that China is still a great empire is absolutely a joke, played at the expense of that country's great history...today's Chinese leadership is nothing but an abomination and deserves to be wiped out...hopefully soon, so that China can at least try to regain it's grandeur of old again
@@benthekeeshond545 That's unfortunately the background of most of historical monuments around the world
I wish they focus on the thombs, murals, and everything found inside that aerial shots of mountains and night city.. i love to see more of those artifacts.
I agree. These documentaries always love impressive aerial and far-away shots of big things. But the "little" things, like the priceless porcelain, bronze vessels, paintings, murals, calligraphy, etc. are what is most impressive about this time. Like the oldest still-existing printed book was from the Tang Dynasty, from 868 A.D. And it was a Buddhist book, showing that the Tang had adopted a foreign religion! An image of that faded book would be far more fascinating than a shot of a huge burial mound.
i agree but i think most of item has been robbed only a few survived. not pipa from this era survived, but Thank god the tang emperor gift japanese emperor with amazing music ensamble, most well known are 5 beautifully hand crafted pipa now kept in shosoin ( royal treasury ).
pattern on one of the pipa eventually inspired the iconic louis vuitton monogram pattern when it was showcased in Paris, of course people think its japanese because it was in japanese shosoin collection
www.reddit.com/r/ArtefactPorn/comments/izpkjl/8th_century_tang_dynasty_pipa_the_inspiration/
You'll have to visit the Shaanxi History Museum (SHM) because Wiki says the murals in the Yong Tai tomb have been replaced (how did they do that?) with copies and the originals are now in the SHM: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaanxi_History_Museum Going to China anytime soon?
The CCP destroyed a great many Tang dynasty artefacts due to its religious connotations during the cultural revolution. If you would like to see Chinese treasures, you need to go to Taiwan, which preserved the most precious aspects of Chinese culture before the CCP had a chance to destroy it.
@@sebastianmelmoth685 Thanks. Should do this before Xi gets heavy-handed and turns Taiwan into another Hong Kong, I suppose. This crazy world!
I’m surprised that not one expert mentioned that the history of Wu Zetian was written by men who came after her, and that they would have done everything possible to keep another woman from amassing so much power. The biggest criticism by men of powerful women is that they act “unwomanly”-ie, like them, men-and they have always tainted these women’s legacies by painting them with their own brushes. Of course, a woman who could proclaim herself emperor of China must have had very tough qualities, but her reign was prosperous, peaceful, and provided wealth and security to the majority of her subjects. The arts and crafts are truly amazing. There was religious tolerance. And after Wu Zetian? The men after her went back to stupid factional strife leading to civil war, which destroyed the wealth and security she gave her country….what’s so great about _that?!?_ China obviously needed more female emperors!
I think this is true of most cultures, men should be banned from ruling at all, bring on the Amazons!
Well, as a Chinese woman, I agree that there may be some problems with some of the accounts of Wu Zetian and that there should have been more women in power, but Wu Zetian's era was not the most prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty's heyday was 40-50 years after Wu Zetian's death and was ruled by a male ruler. The most prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty was the Kaiyuan Era under the rule of Wu Zetian's grandson, which is also the era that Chinese people miss most today.
First why you impose your liberal views in history and not yours
Secondly your talking about a theory which based on nothing but assumption
Tang was a great dynasty after the 3 Kingdom Period. Would love to travel to Chang An one day to visit all the histories. Everyone needs to watch “the longest day in Chang An”. Great movie set during the Tang Dynasty.
I’m only just learning about Chinese ancient history and it is fascinating. I’m glad they are excavating so slowly since so much was lost in the rushed excavations of Egypt. The Chinese have so much respect for their ancestors and it is beautiful to see.
The Chinese Communist Party want to create their own history. They don´t want to preserve the real Chinese history. By the meantime, they distroy the historical evidence. They call it Cultural Revolution.
I'm not sure, but archaeology excavators are probably more careful when they feel respect of the culture being studied. Rushed excavations and crude restorations of ruins are performed by disrespectful people, no matter if they are from local origin or foreigners. Disrespect grows in conquered nations, when a culture had been destroyed. Chinese had probably been invaded several times in the course of History, but anyway they managed to recover their territory, and now they are the masters of their own country.
The coexistence of conquerors and conquered is the cradle of hate. Even when the conquered had been eliminated, hate remains as a black shadow over the country. Conquest is never good.
Great documentary, however one mistake they made was the name of the Tang Capital. Nowadays it is called 西安 “xī ān, Western Peace”, but during the Tang it was known as 長安 “cháng ān, Perpetual Peace.”
Yes, I was a bit confused since I thought the capital during the Tang Dynasty was called Chang An, not Xi'an...
@@Hitori15 How could you be confused? It was then called Chang 'An in the Tang dynasty era but in modern day it was renamed.
I'm not confused because I didn't know, but because of how they didn't use the name of the capital as it was called historically during that dynasty because it's supposed to be a historical documentary. Therefore, for those less familiar with Chinese history, it would truly be confusing. Besides, to my knowledge, these people in the documentary, didn't explain the name change. People will assume that it was called Xi'an back then as well, which is inaccurate.
Thanks Thomas! I learned something new today
@@cruisepaige you’re welcome!
Very interesting, but I would like to have seen more of the murals, and less of the aerial desert shots.
You'll have to visit the Shaanxi History Museum (SHM) because Wiki says the murals in the Yong Tai tomb have been replaced (how did they do that?) with copies and the originals are now in the SHM: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaanxi_History_Museum Going to China anytime soon?
The tomb of the princess and her relatives is open for tourists. And they are the most valuable royal tombs in China which are open now. But most royal tombs which are even more famous or more valuable are forbidden to open. They may be more protected too.
@@bonbonmichele5017 such as?
@@ernestlee9461 Most of the Mausoleums of the emperors in Tang Dynasty are not open and are likely never opened since the emperors were buried in. And the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang (the first emperor in Chinese history).
I understood the government as waiting to open tombs until technology to preserve them improved?
Those wall paintings are so vibrant and beautiful!
yes. it gives me goosebumps
I feasted my eyes on this grandiose deeds of the emperor in ancient China that seems an unparalleled, almost incomparable,& rare splendor unlike any others in the entire world. Sooo unutterably impressive & remarkable that those historical remains made an impressive & favorable impact on my mind & body, & will probably last in my mind for eons. Soundly enjoyed, admired, & appreciated it to the core at the comfort of my home,,,,,(02/18/24)
I'm a huge anime fan which got me interested in Japanese culture; now I've been learning more about the Chinese cultural history's. I recall the damage of the cultural revolution & its devastating iconoclasm. But there is a wealth of knowledge, history & secret yet uncovered to tackle. From Confucius, to Dao Buddhism, Tangs, Songs to Mings, Great Walls to Silky roads. China is amazing, forget the Politics for now, we need to understand each other, taking an example from our ancestors that shared ideas, philosophy, religion and technology, were our forefathers enlightened where we are xenophobes ?
I totally agree. And so would our forefathers. Ben Franklin called China "the wisest of nations," saying that if he were young again, he would like to travel to China. He wrote about Confucius in one of the first printed newspapers in Philadelphia! Interesting that you mentioned being "enlightened"; enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire and Leibniz (who invented calculus) intensely studied Chinese philosophy. And Chinese wares like porcelain, silk, tea, furniture and wallpaper filled the houses of the well-to-do in 18th century colonial America.
@@joeyp1927 Unfortunately Imperialism and Western Supremacist mindsets inflicted long-lasting damage to Chinese perception of the West. Virtually everyone in China today is still seething with resentment when they talk about the Century of Humiliation of the Chinese civilization which coincided with the hundred years between the First Opium War and the founding of People's Republic of China. It's part of the reasons why the state, led by the CCP, enjoys extremely high level of trust and legitimacy among the Chinese citizens (contrary to what American media would have you believe). In spite of missteps (Cultural Revolution being a prime example), the Communist party has succeeded in transforming China into an industrialized world power with economic, political, cultural and military strength befitting its long and proud history. The Chinese are no longer "Communist/Marxist" in the traditional sense o the word - they are now a people who believe in a LOCALIZED version of socialism informed by the thoughts of Marx, Lenin, Mao and Deng Xiaoping and his successors, and capitalism. They for the most part agree that CCP is the one with sufficient wisdom, leadership and governing competency to usher in a new age of Chinese renaissance (with no need to waste precious time and resources on petty political bickering and showmanship-elections!)
ikr when u learn japanese culture u actually also learn chinese golden age culture
@@angelabby2379 Of course it would be... Japan once had a worse case of colonial mentality for China the same way we Filipinos now have a huge colonial mentality for USA & (in small percentage) Korea...
Im an archeologyst student and i spent time in China working in an exavation, i can't see these tombs, or the famous terracotta soldiers, but i saw so many historycal places, and its realy fascinating. There you have a feeling that people truly live whit their history. And thru this video i can see, how much more thing is there that i should, and will see.
I am amazed at how many Terra Cotta soldiers died in the Emperor of Qin's tomb. He utilized all those soldiers to unite China during his reign. (must've been a head count). He also had his servants, concubines, etc buried with him.
@@lindaliang3825 when did they excavate his tomb? I thought it was still sealed until they resolved the problem of the lacquer and the peeling paint? Are you referring to actual ppl? The terracotta soldiers are just that clay soldiers. I don't doubt that ppl were sacrificed.
Awesome! I hope you love that field! If you find any treasure dont forget about us ❣❣❣... Though if you find murals as well on the wall let the world know 😂🤣😋 but if you find something that lol( chinese movies items that will destroy the world) haha let's pretend I never commented your comment haha
@@danmoua7686 haha good, lol if i get to dig up the mausoleum of the first emperor and found something earhshaking we share, but untill then we have to be accept the potteries and bones, graves, and houses we have. : )
Women where more free, they could study and be part of the ministry during the reign of Wu Zetian. But of course, we are going to ignore this and say that it was all thanks to men that women were freer during that period. Amazing work ¬¬
Exactly... That's the sad part... Women once made this possible then suddenly men returned to rule & constricted us again after being "emasculated" like what they did with Hatshepsut...
During tang dynasty women was more free (especially during taizong,gaozong, and wu zetian reign) than in any dynasty after that.
I'm so grateful for all these videos of ancient civilizations.
Misleading documentary. The ruling family of Tang dynasty( Li clan 李氏家族) was NOT Turkic nor Turkic-speaking clan, they're Han Chinese(漢人) inter-mixed with Snicized Xinbei(漢化鮮卑) maternal line (about 1/4), they all spoke and wrote Chinese and self-identified as Han Chinese, even their surname "李Li" is clearly Chinese, they NEVER ever claimed to be Turkic in any historical record, such "claim" is modern distorted "interpretation"(or propaganda) from some modern scholars, on the contrary, ancient Turkish khanates such as Goktuks actually treated Tang China's emperors as "Chinese" and foreigners, not their kins. Search " Orkhon inscriptions"(闕特勤碑) if anyone interested.
Anyone who can read Chinese and has studied some actual Chinese history can find this out.
My Chinese History professor talked about whatever non-Chinese people were controlling China at a given point adapting themselves to Chinese culture as a means of better controlling them being a pretty common occurrence throughout history, and the Tang were given as an example.
To call them Turkic would be an oversimplification. Proto-Turkic and Proto-Mongol peoples both occupied the area that the Xianbei moved into China from, and Proto-Turkic people later migrated to Central Asia to later become what we'd today consider Turkish
The Tang Dynasty was created and ruled by a Han Chinese family, the original Li family. Only some relatives and bureaucrats were Turkic or part Turkic. After Tang Dynasty collapsed in 907, it broke apart and became the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. As the name suggests, many short-lived states were formed. And during this period, a Turkic warlord named Li Keyong took control of part of the land. Then his son Li Cunxu expanded the territory and decided to name himself the Emperor of the Later Tang. Please note, his father and his last name Li was not their birth name, but rather it was awarded to them before Tang's collapse by a Tang emperor for their clan's war contribution. Their original Turkic last name was Zhuye. After all, the Later Tang Dynasty only lasted for a few years before Li was killed.
They said also it's the Greek that open the silk road lol when they got to India no near the ancient silk road this documentary are for Anglo-Saxon my by them for them don't bother they lie cheat and pretend they angels
Founder of capital city Pekin ( Hanbalik ) ie today Beijing is Turkic Han Dynasty.
Yes, I was surprised when the speaker said they were Turkic and Turkic speaking. The Li lineage is traceable to the founder of Western Liang and Emperor Gaozu, the founder of the Tang dynasty himself was a quarter Xianbei because of his maternal Xianbei grandfather. Gaozu himself was a cousin of the last Sui Emperor. Moreover the Turkic invasions were the bane of the Tang Dynasty and were brought under control by Emperor Taizong. The other surprise was the dynastic language claim by this video. I had understood Middle Chinese was spoken during Tang dynasty and had been since the Sui Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty brought the characteristics of Middle Chinese to the Southern provinces which are retained to this day in the Southern languages.
Wonderful narrative and interviews with the 3 experts, thank you.
I did not like that they used images from the Song and Qing Dynasties out of context as visual fillers in a documentary about the Tang.
It actually feels more like a documentary about Tang dynasty itself more than about the Princess. I feel like they ran out of stuff to talk about... I wish they touched on her life and the archeological findings.
@@Hitori15 see Timeline doc on Wu Zetien.
More of a Tang Dynasty video then one about a Princess. I was hoping to see more of what was in her tomb and the tomb itself.
the title clickbait her name but very little about her tomb
That’s my thought too
thanks to these archeological discoveries, China costume/historical period dramas look very fascinating and realistic
Wonderful Documentary, fascinating information, good quality HD video.
I do not like the narrator - he lisps unpleasantly... then the London Chinese expert - I can not understand her well at all, her English is pretty bad - but no subtitles. I do wish she opened her mouth more when pronouncing English words. Then the other chinese expert - best if they spoke their language instead of English, a huge ouch in listening to the R L reversals...
Impossible to just listen to the audio - I have to be glued to the screen to understand it all!
What a great film of beautiful China, thank you.
I think this narrator is my friend Phillip from Central Lutheran Church in Capitol Hill Seattle. I love this video on China. Can you make more like this?
Beautiful documentry keep it up we went more this kind of video
Informative and interesting documentary. Thank you ✨
Professor McCausland is wrong. Some western historians say the rulers of the tang dynasty were turkic people. This point of view seems to be widespread in the west, can be traced back to a chinese historian of the early 20th century named Chen Yinke. He believed that the rulers of the Tang might have ancestors from Xianbei, a nomadic people from northern China. He in turn relies on unofficial sources such as historical novels that appeared hundreds of years after the Tang Dynasty. It is very controversial whether Xianbei was a Turkic people, because very little is known about this missing people. Therefore, it is misleading to claim that the rulers of Tang spoke Turkic, without mentioning that it was an unproven view that is not universally recognized by historians! In addition, the historian Chen only suspected that the emperors of the Tang Dynasty might have ancestors from the Xianbei people. So the correct description would be Han-Xianbei emperor. Queen Elisabeth II is known to have German ancestors. Still, you wouldn't call her the German Queen. This would also be imprecise because the queen does not have EXCLUSIVELY German ancestors.
The "Han Chinese'' is a political construct. There is no such thing as a pure Han Chinese, not anymore far into the present nor after the 2nd century CE. This is what I think. Thousands of years of wars and segregation between the ancient states prove that there is not a one single lineage, nationality or bloodline that existed in the past, but rather, a conglomeration of many bloodlines, tribes and nationalities. How else would historians call the people (and their kingdoms and leaders) of every state by their indigenous names and nationalities? Zhou, Wei, Qin, Han, etc... why make the distinctions if they're all coming from the same bloodline or tribe? And didn't they allegedly speak languages distinct from one another?
To infer that all Chinese are of the Han lineage is like saying that all ancient Israelites are Jews. That is wrong. The ancient Israelites are all generally Hebrews down the line of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob {whose name was later changed to "Israel''}. Jacob (Israel) raised up 12 sons who became the progenitors of the respective 12 tribes of Israel. And one of them is Judah, from whose name the word ''Jew'' was derived. Judah was just one member of the family of Jacob/Israel, who by reason of bloodline, are Hebrews. So, while all ancient Jews are Hebrews, not all Hebrews are Jews, simply because there are others who belong to the 11 other tribes whose identity would likewise be called historically by their progenitor's name, such as ''Benjaminites'', ''Reubenites'', etc etc.
We cannot discount the fact that this is also true about the people that existed and lived in the China basin, that they're all composed of different tribes/nationalities that have most likely survived thru the centuries of wars and diaspora by mixing with the nationalities of every other ancient states. About a decade ago I came across a DNA study done in China by a scientist (whose name I have forgotten) whose work was under the auspices of one of the leading unversities there, and his findings was sort of bizarre and shocking in that he says that the Han DNA has long been extinct ''since the first century CE''! I am not making a certified conclusion here, I encourage you to google and locate that study (if it's still there, that's how I came across it). I suppose it's a detrimental piece of study that could rock the Chinese ''Han'' political construct. I don't particularly agree with it, but then, I am not an expert so what do I know?
I may not have gotten to this part of the video yet, but I don't think they said the Tang was a Turkish dynasty. The Xianbei were possibly proto-Turkic people, and proto-Turkic people migrated from that area to Central/West Asia to later become what would be considered Turkish people.
He didn't say they were Turks, he was referring to the language they spoke.
Learn the difference between Turkish and Turkic and then write these long a$$ comments.
@@sweetLemonist
According to Wikipedia, turkic people are a collection of ethnic groups, who speak turkic languages. Of course, turkic peoples are not the same thing as turkic languages. but there is still a very close connection between the two. that is why there are also academics who are of the opinion that the rulers of the tang dynasty were turk people, because they believe that these people spoke a turkic language. Since I know the Chinese history very well. I know the turkic people is not the same as the people from Turkey. You don’t have to tell me that
Thanks for the very captivating video on Tang Dynasty & Silk Route. It mesmerized me and just can’t help but to express 看过五岳不看山，黄山归来不看岳。大唐荣耀三百年当今中国千秋超大唐！
I wanted to know what the evaluation of the princess' sarcophagus was and if the body was till intact. I have a lot of information during the dynasty but I wanted to know more about the lives of the princess, her husband and her brother. There was no picture of the princess?
Hope for more presentation on ancient Chinese history
Great content. Just want to point out a mistake. One of the portraits used to depict Gao Zong is actually Qian Long, another great emperor during the Qing Dynasty.
It's quite sloppy to use the portrait of Yongzheng Emperor of Qing Dynasty for Wu Zetian, 16:45-16:50. Not to mention that Yongzheng was a male, born more than 1,000 years after Wu Zetian.
The portrait at 19:57 was that of a Song Dynasty empress. Some of the desert landscapes were from North Africa and they conflated them as the Chinese silk road lol
I love this type of documentary.
I liked the documentary buy I kind of wish it had been more about the tomb and the archeology related to it.
Empress Wu Zetian didn't dethrone her first son because he was too independent-minded. On the contrary, he wasn't a very smart and good ruler and it was easy for her to get rid of him to take control of power.
Non of her children are competent enough for her because she wants the power of ruling herself. Same with Cixi, she condemn her son for being stupid to justify herself from keep ruling after her son became adult.
Who she dethroned is her third son. Her first son is dead very young. And her second son is very good, but he is forced to suicide.
@@tandavid9069 Those days, it's either kill or be killed and the fittest survives
Exactly... The proper word is Bull-minded XD ... To survive, you need to be smarter than your predecessor... It isn't enough to be innovative or better in Thinking... How can you graduate when you can't beat the first exam?
What's Qian Long's portrait doing in this docu?The Qing dress is so obviously not Tang. Also, wouldn't Wu Zetian have ruled as Empress Dowager as regent before declaring herself as Emperor?
The Tang Dynasty was created and ruled by a Han Chinese family, the original Li family. Only some relatives and bureaucrats were Turkic or part Turkic. After Tang Dynasty collapsed in 907, it broke apart and became the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period that lasted for more than 70 years. During this period, many short-lived states were formed, including a Turkic warlord named Li Keyong who took control of part of the land to form a state. His son Li Cunxu later took over and decided to crown himself the Emperor of the Later Tang. PLEASE NOTE, their last name Li was not their birth name, but was rather awarded to them before Tang's collapse by a Tang emperor for their Turkic clan's war contribution. Their original Turkic last name was Zhuye. The Later Tang Dynasty was not the same as the Tang. It only lasted for a few years during Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and its territory only covered about 50% of what the Tang used to cover.
Are the royal family of the tang dynasty not a Han Chinese family with xianbei roots (,xianbei are a Mongolian tribe with turkic language and .... )
?
@@mr.cebuano2843 The royal family of Tang, the Li family, was a prominent Han family since the Sui dynasty with a general named Li Yuan. He successfully took over after Sui dynasty collapsed and claimed himself king of his new dynasty Tang. There were some Xianbei linkage from the maternal side through the marriages with some Xianbei princesses and concubines. However, Xianbei people were genetically close to Eastern Asian, Tungusic, Manchurian, and Mongolian people. Language was originally close to Tungusic (Siberian region), not Turkic. Turkic influence or Turkic alphabets were only incorporated much later during the Yuan dynasty, almost 400 years after Tang has disappeared. In fact, the Li family of Tang actually defeated two separate Turkic states, the Eastern Turkic Khaganate and the Western Turkic Khaganate, in later stages to successfully expand Tang's territory.
'Aging despot'? This documentary can't be serious with its description of Wu who ushered in one of the BEST periods in Chinese history.
One of the outstanding dynasties in Chinese history. Women were much freer in this dynasty, and their clothing reflected this idea of more feminine freedom by showing the decollete ( exposing the neck).
Never mind, I, for one, loved each and every sand shot. What a different place to what one born amid the giant trees of B C, is use to. It seems like an ocean, in constant motion, like tree tops in the wind; I could watch all day. Sip a local tea while I did.
Fun to follow History Show with Amazing Animation! Thank You So Much for the Efforts & for sharing!
I think as with western art restoration, restoring these wall painting to original states would be of huge benefit to the world, the grandeur on display would be excellent.
ThankU for sharing and posting.
Not Chinese but love their history
WAIT, the founder of Tang Dynasty was not Turkic. The Li family was Han Chinese. University of London, you guys need to either do more work or be honest ;)
They never said they were turk. They said that they spoke turkish!
@@minhthai4915 Many American teachers and professors nowadays teach their students that Tang Dynasty was ruled by the Turks because they claim that the Li family is a Turkic family. Yes, although in this video Prof. Shane McCausland did say that they were a "Turkic speaking family" rather than straightforwardly saying a "Turkic family", what is the point of saying they are a Turkic speaking family? I can speak a little bit of Korean, can i say that my family is a Korean speaking family? NO! I can speak English, but my family is NOT AN ENGLISH SPEAKING FAMILY!
@@minhthai4915 how this historians knows the people long dead spoke whatever language? or how they should pronounce it. This western historian and narrator can’t even pronounce proper modern chinese language.
16:44 - is that Qing Dynasty imperial emperor painting? While on a Tang Dynasty narrative? 20:01 - Is that Song Dynasty painting? While again we are on Tang Dynasty narrative? 3DD or Little Dot Studios..... Disappointed that a documentary would wantonly add pictures of conflicting era periods, this would make this documentary so subpar and confusing for those that are learning history.
Yes you are right! I was surprised to see a Qing Dynasty painting , I think it's one of the emperors! Careless!!!
At 16:06, I believe that this is an actual Tang Dynasty painting because the decollete (exposed neck) is depicted. However, I think that you are correct in stating that 16:44 actually looks like QianLong (who looks like an aging FuCha FuHung).
@@lindaliang3825 yes i agree it may be Qianlong portrait. Nonetheless it is Qing Dynasty when narrating about Tang Dynasty Wu Zhetian.
@@seikouchan What were they thinking when they did this?
@@lindaliang3825 Guess we will never know.
the ending though, "the spark of life"...
Well Done!
Tang was not Turkish.
Yeah, I would definitely argue that point about the Li family being Turks; they may have mixed blood. It is true, though, that by the Tang Dynasty, because of it's great cultural openness, it was nearly impossible for Central Plains people (generalized as the Han people) to remain pure-blooded. No one in modern times, now, can say they are true pure Han Chinese. China was never pure Han in the first place because of all the ethnic minorities included. This should be embraced as it is what makes China a truly culturally and historically beautiful nation.
@@Hitori15 Li families have many women from Xianbei. So Maximally, the maternal linage is Xianbei.
Whether Xianbeis are turkic, it's still controversial how can they can say Tang Li was turkic.
Evet Türktüler . Gerçekler bazen acıtıcı olabilir !
Video starts at 22:57.
So Merneith, Sobekneferu, Cleopatra, Hatshepsut then after a long while Wu ZeTian... After a long line of Egyptian Queens, a Chinese Empress followed to lead alone...
16:48 appears a picture of an emperor of Qing dynasty, what is the purpose of showing it?
Indeed, that's Qianlong. I stopped watching after I see that.
Yeah, that's the one thing I wish people doing historical documentaries would keep consistent with the period they're discussing. It gets me so annoyed that they think they can get away with using random pics.
Yeah, both called Gaozhong, but from different dynasties. Such an unprofessional mistake.
Great video full of history however its title should be changed to that of the History of the Tang Dinasty. Part of this, is the story or the finding of this poor princess tomb.
It's too complicated to summarise Tang Dynasty in one episode. Thanks for your sympathy for the pregnant Princess. She was put to death because she walked into Wu(in 80s) sleeping in naked with 2 young men. Her husband(Wu's nephew) was executed too. Very sad 🥹
@@szesze-bw8fz Indeed! I admire Empress Wu but she was scarily ruthless
@4:37 Tang's royal family does have Xianbei ancestors on their maternal bloodline. However it is still a debate whether Xianbei was a Mongolic people, a Turkic people or a Tungusic people. And no they do not speak a Turkic language. Xianbei was Sinicized to the point that their language went extinction around the time Tang was founded. Through DNA analysis the modern ethnic groups Sibe and Oroqen, two Tungusic peoples, were discovered to be closely related to Xianbei.
@Frank Lord Yeah @16:45 was Qianlong Emperor of Qing dynasty.
The proto-Turkic and proto-Mongol people intermarried a lot, so it feels likely they were both
The Tang Dynasty emperor claimed to be Han nation (also in history and poetry), and the army claimed to be Han soldiers. They claimed to be the Han family. Culture was also Han. They worshiped the ancestors of the Han nationality. They were proud of themselves as Han nation.
* Tang Dynasty emperor think that non -Han people are barbarians, and many history have been recorded.
This is why the ancient Japanese want to copy the Han culture in the Tang Dynasty (Han Dynasty, Song Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty ...), ancient Japanese worshiped the Chinese very much (Han and Han culture).
Today , The Chinese are also called "Tang people 唐人".
"Tang people唐人" refers to the Chinese (Han nationality). The ancient Chinese refer to the Han nationality.
Chinatown in the world, in Chinese is called " Tong people town唐人街", the clothes represented by the Chinese are called "Tang costumes 唐裝"
I love my name even more now hearing how historic it is
The Tang Dynasty is one of Chinas' most outstanding dynasties in Chinese history. Paintings, ceramics, fashions (clothing that exposed a woman's decolette (expose the neck), Artsy cultural, creative expressions flourished during this period. I am not clear about who Chen Ling was. Is Chen Ling Wu Zetians grand-daughter that was re-buried in a grand fashion after Wu Zetian was dead?
The Tang Dynasty claimed to be Han nation (also in history and poetry), and the army claimed to be Han soldiers. They claimed to be the Han family. Culture was also Han. They worshiped the ancestors of the Han nationality. They were proud of themselves.They believe that non -Han people are human barbarians, and many history have been recorded.
This is why the Japanese want to copy the culture of the Tang Dynasty in the Tang Dynasty (Han Dynasty, Song Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty ...), ancient Japanese worshiped the Chinese very much (Han and Han culture).
Today the Chinese are also called self -proclaimed "Tang people 唐人".
"Tang people唐人" refers to the Chinese (Han nationality). The ancient Chinese refer to the Han nationality.
"Hidden Tomb" is right. We never actually got to see it did we?
We did see footage reused over and over. Even backwards at the end!
It looks like a wonderful place. Now where is a real documentary about it?
Inadvertently, 'CHINA' to me HOLDS A Myriad-of-VAST-KNOWLEDGE tying into the Fabric of where EAST-transverses Deeper into the WEST ...and ADDING -to-that-where the WEST CAN GREATLY APPRECIATE LEARNING from ....
Beautiful!
Amazing video
I would like to know if there is a historical drama about this lady emperor Wu Zetian made by movie productions like the drama RUYI the Royal Love Palace.
there was which starred fan bingbing in 2018
You can wacth. the empress of china, after emperor died wu zetian married the emperor son.
Yes, I have watched it
Yes there is one made by Fan Bing bing called Empress of China two to three years ago
There are many but the most recent one is acted by Fan Bing Bing years ago. However, that is more like a made up romantic story -- not real story. So you probably won't get much of the history from there at all.
amazing doku thx
You have mistakenly display a Qing emperor picture for the 3rd Tang emperor. 🤣
How did these women follow dressings of their European counterparts where there was no evidence of any such exchanges except from Central Asia? Who from Western Europe travelled to China some 1200 years ago?
Thank you
This video is actually genuinely underated and damm and this is actually the actual real China that the actual American and British BBC propaganda mainstream media actually don't show you is actually really like and actually capable of actually doing and damm and 🇨🇳🇨🇳🇨🇳.
I knew it! SOMETIMES a General Rebellion or a Corrupted Official can ruin a dynasty. I always I thought it was family in fights, thus, brought an end to an era.
@danmoua7686
Even if you're a well known emperor,can't control the emotions and thinking of his subordinates(a lot of them even his immediate family),there's always dissatisfaction that created a havoc within his empire towards their downfall.And a lot of enemies surrounding them wanted to control their power.Sad that in this way it ended his 300 yrs. as an emperor that brought positive and bright future for his economic and broad mindedness of his culture,dealing with silk road that's flourishing at their time and they experienced what a luxurious life they have.
very interesting
During the Tang dynasty, the Kutcha (in Xinjiang) is the most flourished dynasty in China, they speak Turkic Uyghur language.
At 16:45 the documentary display a Qing Emperor portrait while taling about Tang Dynasty so what is the link?
thank you
Great 👍👍
Im speechless
A tomb but no coffin nor remains. No explanation even as to why. I feel somewhat unsettled.
Don't get me wrong, I love the video and it's production content, it's just that I would have loved to see the actual coffin which in itself might be an astounding sight to see.
You'll have to visit the Shaanxi History Museum (SHM) because Wiki says the murals in the Yong Tai tomb have been replaced (how did they do that?) with copies and the originals are now in the SHM: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaanxi_History_Museum Going to China anytime soon? The coffin is probably in the SHM.
Tim Cargile
Thanks very much for your enlightening response. I was in Beijing in '99 till mid Y2K but work didn't permit me to travel outside of the capital. But thanks to the goodhearted manager who organized a trip to the Ming Tombs with it's enigmatic relics display, the glorious Summer Palace and of course, the Great Wall in that area I forgot the name.
I had been hoping to travel back there as a tourist but then Covid happened.
Thanks to your advice though. Maybe one day it can still happen.
@@tuberobotto Thanks for the thoughtful reply. Have you been watching the serpentAZ and Laowhy86 channel videos on UA-cam (as well as others)? These two lived in China for a decade, have Chinese wives and have a lot to say about China. Anyway, take care.
@@timcargile1562 yea they have a lot to say but be careful It's all negativity.
@@timcargile1562 don’t watch those too. Full of hate which biased their opinions and comments.
I do not want advertisement -free UA-cam. I like advertising. It informs me about new products.
Marco Polo brought pizza and pasta from china to the western world
They sort of lost all credibility at 16:44 when they show pic of a Qing emperor while talking about a Tang emperor. Seriously, such sloppy research!
Well, that picture wasn't appropriate
at 16:49, the image is of another emperor from Qing Dynasty (more than 1000 years later) and is irrelevant to the story of the Tang Dynasty presented here. Great documentary but could have been better edited to prevent mistakes like this.
You showed a Qing emperor picture for a Tang Dynasty around 16-17 minutes. Be more careful with details. Otherwise, it spoiled the professional look of the video.
16:45 How did he get into the scene?
Confusing title and content. Silk road or tomb of a princess.
can anyone tell me the part where they start talking about the end of tang dynasty?
When a Historian opinion start with "I think or I believe" is not an statement
So she left track marks to follow her path, and probably by walking the Silk Rout, the Faith rout, the buildings Rout you can say your self Wow she was bigger than Words
Goods.👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
You should have added subtitles.
I can't wait for the day a time is revealed with murals depicting everyone using iPhones and a Tesla
It's so interesting!How can I find her biography in Wikipedia?What's her name?
Princess yongtai @Lidiya
Love ancient China. Love ancient India.
1. 3900 years ago, the nomadic Aryans began to invade India; between 3900 and 3100 years ago, the Aryans as conquerors brought the caste system that affected India for thousands of years; 2. 2600 years ago, the Persians Following in the footsteps of the Aryans, they entered India from the Khyber Pass in Afghanistan and conquered the Indus River Basin; 3. The Greeks became the third nation to invade India; 4. The nation that invaded India was the Serbs, about 2200 invaded India years ago; the fifth nation to invade India was the Parthians; the sixth nation to invade India was the Yuezhi; 7, the Turks; 8, the Persian Sasanian Dynasty; 9, the Arabs conquered India; 10, In the 11th century, the Turks established the Ghaznavid dynasty in Central Asia, and they began to invade India continuously; 11. The descendants of Timur, the conqueror of Central Asia, invaded India in 1526 and established the Mughal Kingdom; 12. The earliest It was the Portuguese who established a foothold in India, but their colonies lay outside the boundaries of the Mughal Empire. After that, the Dutch also actively intervened and defeated the Portuguese. In the 18th century, France and Britain established colonies in India. In the end, the British gained the upper hand; in total, India was colonized for 2,800 years. It was also the area colonized by the most ethnic groups in the world, so most Indians did not know where they came from.
I would like to know more of development during queen era
Tehseen M. Not many lived as the elite there
It said 'the Tang dynasty was ruled by a Turkic speaking aristocrat family from the north west of China'. It is obvious that the people are nowadays Uyghur people. So is the mural pictures where woman wearing open collared coat which are typical dresse at the west of China at that time.
Tang didn't unify China. Sui did.
I am sure the Terra Cotta warriors' graves were found in a nearby orchard with proof the individuals followed their Emperor to the afterlife.
Ok so if a man does all she did as a king he is great if a women does same things... is a despot??? During that time libraries were opened to everyone and the poor were protected by the grain keeps she built! MANY GOOD things came from her reign!!
History normally don't speak well of usurpers, or at least in Chinese history.
Even the Chinese know how horrible her reign was but for purposes of being astute, this documentary tries to remain within the bounds of a decent history telling. Other than that, there are clues of her failures as a leader and her monstrosity towards her subjects which included her own bloodline, if only to maintain her illicit and immoral relationships. This is a pattern so true about despots and mad people (male or female) excessively drunk with power. Many centuries later, her copycat in the person of Empress Dowager Cixi exhibited the same disposition for capricious dispensation of her power and authority. It is said that after one of the halls burned down, despite the Qing coffers almost bankrupt she insisted on rebuilding it. Now tell me if this isn't tyranny?
16:45 The video producer put up a painting of a Qing dynasty emperor to illustrate a Tang emperor. That is wrong!
Xi'an used to be the mundane capital as well the world's biggest city. Currently, the mundane capital is New York, home of the chief United Nations Headquarters. NYC isn't the biggest city on earth but ONE of the biggest cities on earth. At least it's the biggest city in the USA.
Tho they may have actually existed, I find it hard to believe they would still be there.
I'm 76 years old today. I read about the magnificence of the Chinese culture in my formative years, some 60 years ago. I don't need to be persuaded about the greatness of the Chinese culture.
However, I still find your presentation, and other archaeological presentations about recent discovering, too slow, too boring.
We need to instill the magnificence of China into the young Chinese, including those in Hong Kong and Taiwan. But your presentations will NOT keep the attentions of our ideal audience.
Can we do something about it? Short presentation of 8 to 10 minutes with dazzling pictures of glorious China? We need to capture our young ones.
Amazing murals in the princess' tomb 4:50 Xi'an became the greatest city on the planet
It is a joke to compare China to Rome. China continues to prosper to this day while Rome failed.
it is like descendants talk about their great great great grandfather WAS a king.
Wrong, the ruling family is only 1/4th xianbei (xianbei were not turkic, they were either mongolic or tungusic but turkic.)
Tang taizong Li shimins mother is xianbei his paternal side is han chines and just as other empires, the emperors or kings always had foreign wives, it's not like China is unique in this case.