Maritime East Asia (676–819 CE): Cultural Flourishing and State Consolidation

Between 676 CE and 819 CE, Maritime East Asia—comprising lower Primorsky Krai, the Korean Peninsula, the Japanese Archipelago below northern Hokkaido, Taiwan, and southern, central, and northeastern China—experiences significant political stabilization, cultural flowering, and administrative refinement.

Tang Dynasty Stability and Cultural Achievements

China’s Tang Dynasty (618–907), despite facing the severe An Lushan Rebellion and subsequent weakening of central authority in the late eighth century, continues to be marked overall by significant cultural and technological advancements. During this period, Chinese ceramic ware shows the earliest evidence of cobalt use, highlighting advancements in craftsmanship and material technology.

The Tang period remains a cultural pinnacle, demonstrating extraordinary literary, artistic, and scholarly achievements. The Tang capital at Chang'an continues to thrive as a cosmopolitan hub of international trade, cultural exchange, and intellectual pursuit, solidifying China's historical role as a major civilizational center.

Consolidation and Cultural Prosperity in Japan

In Japan, imperial and bureaucratic reforms initiated during earlier periods are further consolidated in 701 with the establishment of the Taiho-ryoritsu (Taiho Code). This code, influenced by Confucian and Chinese models, introduces refined penal provisions, administrative structuring, and civil service examination systems based on Confucian classics. Although designed for merit-based governance, aristocratic lineage remains dominant for high positions.

The reforms establish a permanent imperial capital at Heijokyo (Nara) in 710, modeled on China's Tang capital, Chang'an. Nara quickly becomes Japan's first true urban center, with a population reaching approximately two hundred thousand, including a large bureaucratic class of civil servants. This capital shift marks the beginning of the culturally rich Nara period (710–794), during which Chinese cultural influences permeate deeply into Japanese society, politics, and religion.

The Flourishing of Balhae in Korea and Manchuria

North of the Korean Peninsula, the kingdom of Balhae emerges as a prominent state, strongly influenced by Tang China's political structure and cultural practices. Balhae actively engages in educational exchanges with Tang China, sending students to learn from Tang institutions, which significantly shapes its administrative systems and cultural identity. Recognized by China as a "flourishing land in the East," Balhae develops a sophisticated civilization that blends indigenous practices with Chinese influences.

Silla’s Golden Age

On the Korean Peninsula, Unified Silla experiences its golden age after consolidating control over most of the peninsula. The period sees extensive urban development, administrative standardization, and flourishing Buddhist art and architecture, reflecting the broader East Asian cultural milieu of the era. Silla maintains diplomatic ties with Tang China and Japan, facilitating vibrant cultural and commercial exchanges throughout Lower East Asia.

Legacy of the Age: A Period of Integration and Advancement

The era from 676 to 819 CE is defined by political stabilization, administrative sophistication, and cultural flourishing across Maritime East Asia. Through sustained exchanges and shared influences, China, Korea, and Japan each experience profound developments that shape their respective cultural and historical trajectories, setting foundations for subsequent regional dynamics.

China’s Tang Dynasty is largely a period of progress and stability, except during the An Lushan Rebellion and the decline of central authority in the later half of the dynasty.

The An Lushan Rebellion, a devastating rebellion against the Tang Dynasty of China, overtly begins on December 16, 755, when general An Lushan declares himself emperor in Northern China, thus establishing a rival Yan Dynasty.

It is not known when An Lushan's son An Renzhi was born, although he was said to be not yet twenty when Emperor Xuanzong gave him the mostly honorary title of minister of vassal affairs, likely in 751.

He is An Lushan's second son, and his mother is An Lushan's first wife Lady Kang.

At some point, Emperor Xuanzong had given him the name of Qingxu.

The first definitive historical references to him were in 752, when, in a defeat that An Lushan suffered against the Xi, An Lushan was said to have fallen into a hole and was only saved through the effort of An Qingxu and others.

Also that year, when An Lushan's close associate Ji Wen went to meet An Lushan before departing for the Tang capital Chang'an, it was An Qingxu that An Lushan sent to accompany Ji to the borders of his territory.

When An Lushan rebelled at his post at Fanyang Circuit (headquartered in modern Beijing) in 755, An Qingxu was apparently with his father and accompanied his father south.

In response to An Lushan's rebellion, An Qingxu's mother Lady Kang and older brother An Qingzong, then at Chang'an, were executed, and after An Lushan captures Chenliu Prefecture (roughly modern Kaifeng, Henan), it is An Qingxu who realizes that An Qingzong had been executed and who tearfully informs his father, sending his father into a rage in which he executes the Tang soldiers who had surrendered to him at Chenliu.

Tang military commanders have begun to accumulate independent political strength in the latter years of Xuoyang’s reign.

When the emperor's concubine, Yang Guifei, becomes a power at the imperial court, one such general, An Lushan, rebels against the empire rather than lose influence.

A semi-barbarian of Persian and Turkish descent, raised in Mongolia, An Lushan had moved to China as a young man and joined the army, rising rapidly through the ranks to become a court favorite of the emperor and military governor of three northern Chinese provinces.

At the death of the emperor’s powerful chief minister, An Lushan had applied for the vacant post but was denied it; Yang Guifei’s appointment had been the final straw.

An launches his rebellion on December 16, 755, claiming that he has received a secret edict from Emperor Xuanzong to advance on Chang'an to remove Yang.

The imperial officials are all apprehensive, because An has the strongest troops of the realm at the time, except for Yang, who believes that An can be suppressed easily.

Emperor Xuanzong, meanwhile, commissions the general Feng Changqing as the military governor of Fanyang and Pinglu, intending to have him replace An after An's rebellion is defeated.

The Emperor also sends Feng to the eastern capital, Luoyang, to build up the defense there; another general, Gao Xianzhi, is ordered to command a secondary defense at Shan Prefecture (roughly modern Sanmenxia, Henan).

He also executes An Qingzong and An's first wife Lady Kang, and forces An Qingzong's wife Lady Rongyi to commit suicide.

An Lushan crosses the Yellow River on January 8, 756, quickly capturing Chenliu (roughly modern Kaifeng, Henan) and …

…Yingyang (roughly modern Zhengzhou, Henan) Prefectures.

Approaching Luoyang, An Lushan encounters an ill-prepared army commanded by Feng.

Defeating Feng quickly, he forces Feng to flee and concede Luoyang to him.

Feng joins forces with Gao and urges a retreat to Tong Pass; Gao agrees, and they take up defensive positions there.

An does not proceed quickly, but remains at Luoyang, planning to declare himself emperor there.

(Emperor Xuanzong, Soon, due to accusations of the eunuch Bian Lingcheng, soon executes Feng and Gao and replaces Gao with Geshu Han.)

Some Tang officials north of the Yellow River resist An under the leadership of Yan Zhenqing, the governor of Pingyuan Prefecture (roughly modern Dezhou, Shandong).

An Lushan declares himself Emperor at Luoyang on Lunar New Year's day, 756 (February 5), establishing a new state of Yan, making Zhang Tongru and the surrendered Tang official Daxi Xun his chancellors.

He creates An Qingxu the Prince of Jin and another son, An Qinghe, the Prince of Zheng.

Meanwhile, Yan Zhenqing's cousin Yan Gaoqing who initially submits to An, rises against An at Changshan Prefecture (roughly modern Baoding, Hebei) but is quickly defeated and delivered to An in Luoyang; An executes him.

An also sends An Qingxu to make a preliminary assault on …