Ep. 304 | The History of Guangzhou (Part 2)

We're picking up in the Tang Dynasty. Guangzhou continues its leading role as the gateway to Southern China coming from the South China Sea and beyond. Heaven is high and the emperor is far away. Despite its importance to the dynasty even in the 7th century, Guangzhou was still a place of banishment and not yet completely integrated with everything happening in the north. Arab and Persian traders and diplomats were regular visitors to Guangzhou and enjoyed a mini-golden age of cultural and commercial interaction. The Maritime Silk Road was in full bloom and Guangzhou was at the center of it. But all was not business as usual.

Two violent disturbances will hit Guangzhou that shatters the peace. And Guangzhou's misfortune will become Quanzhou's opportunity. In this episode, we'll also look at the Southern Han Dynasty from the Five Dynasties Ten Kingdoms period that followed the fall of the Tang. Liu Yan based his dynasty in Guangzhou and left behind ruins and relics that are still around today. We'll finish off in the Southern Song Dynasty when Guangzhou's economic importance to the country reached an all-time high.

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Terms in Episode

Pinyin/Term	Chinese	English/Meaning
Guǎngzhōu	广州	Capital of Guangdong province
Nánhǎi	南海	The South China Sea
Sòng Dynasty	宋朝	Chinese dynasty established by Zhao Kuangyin that ruled China 960-1279
Bǎiyuè	百越	The Hundred Yue, a term to descirbe the many tribes of indigeous people of southern China
Qín Shǐhuáng	秦始皇	The First Qin Emperor, personal name Ying Zheng. He lived 259-210 BC
Nánhǎi Commandery	南海郡	The Nanhai Commandery setup in Guangdong during the Qin Dynasty
Qín	秦朝	First imperial dynasty in China that lasted 221-206 BC
Zhào Tuó	赵陀	240-137 BC, Qin general who headed up the Nanhai Commandery and later revolted against the Qin and went on to found the Nanyue Kingdom.
Lǐngnán	岭南	A geographic area referring to the lands in the south of the Nanling Mountains: Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, Macau, as well as modern northern to central Vietnam
Nányuè	南越	Kingdom founded after the fall of the Qin by Zhao Tuo and ruled by members iof his Zhao family. It fell to the Han dynasty in 111 BC
Hàn Dynasty	汉朝	Chinese dynasty that ran 202 BC to 220 AD with an interregnum from 9-23 AD
Gāozǔ	高祖	Emperor Han Gāozǔ, founder of the Han dynasty. Her lived 256-195 BC
Hàn Wǔdì	汉武帝	One of China's great emperors, he lived 156-87 BC and reigned 141-87 BC
Sūn Quán	孙权	182-252, founder of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period.
Three Kingdoms	三国	Period of division in China that lasted 220-280 AD. The three kingdoms were Wei, Eastern Wu and Shu
Eastern Wú	东吴	Also known as Sun Wu, it was one of the three kingdoms
Guǎng Prefecture	广州	The prefecture established by Sun Quan during the Three Kingdoms era that gave the city its name
Zhōu	州	a prefecture (in ancient times)
Táng Dynasty	唐朝	Chinese imperial dynasty that lasted 618-907
Táng Tàizōng	唐太宗	Great Tang emperor who reigned 626-649
Wǔ Zétiān	武则天	Also known as Wu Zhao, she lived 624-705, serving as Empress Consort, Empress Dowager, Empress Regent and finally as Empress of the Zhou Dynasty (690-705)
Tiānbǎo Era	天宝	Era in Tang dynasty history during the reign of Xuanzong that lasted 742-756
Xuánzōng	玄宗	Tang emperor who reigned 712-756
Ān Lùshān Rebellion	安禄山之乱	Also called the An Shi Rebellion, it was a major uprisinmg against the Tang Dynasty that lasted 755-763
Cháng’ān	长安	Capital of many Chinese dynasties, located in and around present day Xian
Huáishèng Mosque	怀圣寺	Great Mosque of Canton
guāngtǎ	光塔	A minaret or pagoda. The one found in the Huaisheng Mosque was 36 meters high
Yuèxiù district	越秀区	One of 11 urban districts of Guangzhou, located west of the Tianhe District and east of the Liwan District. It's the commercial, political and cultural centre of Guangdong province as well as the capital of the province and the city of Guangzhou. Established in 1960, the district absorbed the former Dongshan District in May 2005 along with several former subdistricts of the Baiyun and Tianhe district.
Jiāozhǐ	交趾	A historical region corresponding to present-day northern Vietnam
Ānnám	安南	Also called the Protectorate General to Pacify the South. It was located in Vietnam and lasted 679-866
Yángzhōu	扬州	Historic city in Jiangsu located on the north bank of the Yangzi River
Jiāngsū	江苏	Coastal province in China, north of Zhejiang
Jiù Tángshū	旧唐书	Old Book of Tang, the first historic work about the Tang Dynasty, compiled during the Five Dynasties Ten Kingdoms period
Huáng Cháo Rebellion	黄巢之乱	The second major rebellion during the Tang Dynasty. It was led by Huang Chao and Wang Xianzhi and lasted 874-884. Although the dynasty was already cruisin' for a bruisin', this rebellion put the final nail in the coffin
Wáng Xiānzhī	王仙芝	Died in 878, former Tang general, he co-starred with Huang Chao in the Huang Chao Rebellion
Fújiàn	福建	Coastal province in China, south of Zhejiang
Quánzhōu	泉州	Major port city in southern Fujian
Northern Zhōu Dynasty	北周	A Xianbei Mongol-led dynasty that lasted 557-581 during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. It was ultimately overthrown by the Sui Dynasty
Zhào Kuāngyìn	赵匡胤	Also known as Emperor Taizu of Song, he was the founder of the dynasty, reigning 960-976
Wǔ Dài Shíguó	五代十国	The period of disunity in between the fall of the Tang and founding of the Song. It lasted 907-979
Liáo Dynasty	辽朝	The Great Liao Dyansty lasted 916-1125 and was founded by the Khitan leader Yelü Abaoji
Southern Hàn Dynasty	南汉	One of the Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties Ten Kingdoms period. The Southern Han was locasted in the south of China and lasted 917-971
Liú Yǐn	刘隐	874-911, older brother of Southern Han founder Liu Yan
Liú Yǎn	刘䶮	Southern Hàn founder Emperor Gāozǔ, younger brother to Liu Yin. He reigned 917-942
Zhàoqìng	肇庆	City in southern Guangdong, west of Guangzhou
Later Liáng Dynasty	后梁	The first of the Five Dynasties Ten Kingdoms, founded by Zhu Wen. It lasted from the fall of the Tang in 907 to 923
Zhū Wén	朱文	Also known as Emperor Taizu of Later Liang, he reigned 907-912
Emperor Tàizǔ of Later Liáng	梁太祖	See above
Yuè Dynasty	越朝	Before Liu Yan named his dynasty the Southern Han, it was first called the Yue Dynasty
Hǎinán	海南	Island province off the coast of Guangdong
Pānyú	番禺	The most ancient part of Guangzhou, now a district in the south of the city
Xìngwáng Fǔ	兴王府	The capital of the Southern Han, modern day Guangzhou
Liú Bāng	刘邦	Emperor Han Gāozǔ, founder of the Han dynasty. He reigned 202-195 BC
Liú Héng	刘恒	Emperor Wen of Han, who reigned 180-157 BC
Liú Qǐ	刘启	Emperor Jing of Han, who reigned 157-141 BC
Liú Chè	刘彻	Emperor Wu of Han, who reigned 141-87 BC
Liú Xiù	刘秀	Emperor Guangwu of Eastern Han, who reigned 25-57 AD
Ānnán Dūhùfǔ	安南都护府	The Protectorate General to Pacify the South (see Annam above)
Jìnghǎi Circuit	静海军	Also known as Annam, was an administrative division of the Tang administered by Chinese governors, later becaming a quasi-independent regime ruled by successive local Vietnamese warlords and monarchs. It was centered around what is now northern Vietnam from 866 to 967
Battle of the Bạch Đằng River	白藤江之战	First of two major battles on this river. First in 938 near Hạ Long Bay in northern Vietnam the military force of the Vietnamese Principality of Jinghai, led by Ngô Quyền, a Vietnamese lord, defeated the invading forces of the Chinese state of Southern Han and put an end to centuries of Chinese imperial domination in Vietnam. There was a second one that happened in 1288 following the Mongol invasion of Vietnam
Ngô Quyền	吴权	Vietnamese warlord who later became the founding king of the Ngô dynasty of Vietnam. He reigned from 939 to 944. In 938, he defeated the Southern Han dynasty at the Battle of Bạch Đằng River north of modern Haiphong.
Jiàoyù Road	教育路	Major road in Guangzhou
Xīhú Road	西湖路	Major road in Guangzhou
Yàozhōu Yízhǐ	药洲遗址	Yàozhōu Ruins, a pleasure park built in the center of Guangzhou by the Southern Han emperor
Jiǔ Yào Yuán	九曜园	A garden locaterd inside the Yaozhou Ruins
Guāngxiào Temple	光孝寺	Ancient Buddhist temple in Guangzhou
Liú Cháng	刘鋹	The fourth and final Southern Han Emperor, reigning 958-972
Xīnjiāng	新疆	Province in northwest China
Gānsù	甘肃	Province in northwest China east of Xinjiang
Níngxià	宁夏	Province in north China located in between Gansu, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia
Shǎnxī	陕西	Province in north China east of Gansu
Huīzōng	徽宗	Eighth and 2nd to last emperor of the Northern Song. He reigned 1100-1126
Jīn Dynasty	大金朝	Jürchen dynasty in northern China that lasted 1115-1234. They were conquered by the Mongols
Xīxià	西夏	Also known as the Western Xia, a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China that existed from 1038 to 1227. At its peak, the dynasty ruled over the modern-day northwestern Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, eastern Qinghai, northern Shaanxi, northeastern Xinjiang, and southwest Inner Mongolia, and southernmost Outer Mongolia,
Zhèjiāng	浙江	Coastal Province south of Jiangsu and north of Fujian
Níngbō	宁波	Major port city in Zhejiang
Méiguān	梅关	Also known as Dàyǔlǐng 大庾岭, it was a road originally built during Qín Shǐhuáng’s time as a means to facilitate the transport of luxury goods from the south to the north
Jiāngxī	江西	Interior province in southern China, north of Guangdong, east of Hunan and west of Fujian
Fānfāng	蕃坊	The district inside Guangzhou where the foreigners resided
Guāngtǎ District	光塔区	A sub-district of the Yuexiu District of Guangzhou where the Huaisheng Mosque is located
Yuán Dynasty	元朝	Dyansty established by Kublai Khan that ruled 1271-1368
Táishān	台山	Also known as Toisan (pronounced Hoisan) it's a city on southwest Guangdong, west of Guangzhou, famous for the local people who migrated to countries all over the world
Battle of Mount Yáshān	崖山海战	Also called the Battle of Yámén 崖门战役. March 19, 1279. This was the official end of the Southern Song Dynasty
Lù Xiùfū	陆秀夫	Lived 1236-1279, Chinese statesman and military man, called one of the "Three Loyal Princes of the Song"
Zhāng Shìjié	张世杰	Died 1279, Chinese statesman and military man, called one of the "Three Loyal Princes of the Song"
Zhào Bǐng	赵昺	"Reigned" 1278-1279, he was the final emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty
Pīnyīn	拼音	Known as Hanyu Pinyin, it is the official romanization system of Standard Mandarin Chinese

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