IO

THE  CHINESE  EMPIRE
The  history  of  the  Sung,  and  the  succeeding  short-lived
dynasties—the  Tsi  (a.d.  479-502),  the  Liang  (a.d.  502-557).
the  Chen  (a.d.  557-589),  and  the  Sui  (a.d.  589-619)—is
chiefly  occupied  with  this  conflict,  and  the  whole  Empire
was  not  again  under  the  rule  of  a  Chinese  Emperor  until  the
establishment  of  the
Tang  Dynasty  (a.d.  618-907)
This  was  one  of  the  most  illustrious  periods  in  Chinese
history.  Its  great  Emperor,  Tai-tsung,  did  much  to
enhance  the  prestige  of  the  Empire.  He  remodelled  his
army,  so  that  he  had  a  force  at  his  command  powerful  enough
to  defeat  and  hold  in  check  the  northern  barbarians.  He
encouraged  literature  and  learning,  and  built  an  enormous
library  at  his  capital  in  Changan  in  Shensi,  consisting  of
200,000  volumes.  He  was  devoted  to  the  Confucian  classics,
and  to  him  is  ascribed  the  saying,  “  that  Confucius  is  to  the
Chinese  what  the  water  is  to  the  fish.”
The  boundaries  of  the  Empire  were  further  extended  to
the  south,  and  it  was  divided  up  anew  into  ten  provinces.
In  the  year  630  embassies  from  a  large  number  of  vassal
states  presented  themselves  at  the  capital  to  offer  tribute,
and  the  variety  of  languages  spoken  by  these  envoys,  and
the  diversity  of  their  costumes,  attested  to  the  growing
power  of  the  Chinese  Empire.
During  the  Tang  Dynasty,  for  a  time,  a  woman  of
exceptional  ability  and  force  of  character  exercised  the
imperial  prerogatives.  This  was  the  Empress  Wu  Hou,  one
of  the  wives  of  the  Emperor  Kao-tsung.  She  ruled  conjointly ­
  with  him,  and  after  his  death,  as  Empress  Dowager
during  the  reign  of  his  son  Chung-tsung,  completely  dominated ­
  the  Empire  (a.d.  684-705).  She  invested  herself  in  the
Imperial  robes,  and  offered  the  sacrifices  that  of  right  could
only  be  offered  by  the  Emperor.  Even  after  she  was  forced
to  retire  on  account  of  old  age,  she  was  still  regarded  with
awe,  and  retained  the  title  of  “  the  great  and  sacred  Empress.” ­
  The  Chinese  have  strict  ideas  in  regard  to  the
impropriety  of  a  woman  ruling  the  Empire,  and  future