The Kaifūsō (Fond Recollections of Poetry), the…
751 CE
The Kaifūsō (Fond Recollections of Poetry), the oldest collection of Chinese poetry (kanshi) written by Japanese poets, is created by an unknown compiler in 751.
In the brief introductions of the poets, the unknown writer seems sympathetic to Emperor Kōbun and his regents who had been overthrown in 672 by Emperor Temmu after only eight months of the rule.
Thus, it has been traditionally credited to Awami Mifune, a great grandson of Emperor Kōbun.
It is a collection of one hundred and twenty works by sixty-four poets written in the elegant style of poetry popular in China in the eighth century.
Most of the poets are princes and high ranking regents, such as Prince Ōtsu.
Eighteen of the Kaifūsō poets, including Prince Ōtsu, also have poems in the later anthology of Japanese poetry, the Man'yōshū.
At the time Kaifūsō is written, Chinese poetry has a higher place in the Japanese literary world than waka, and Chinese characters are used for official documents.
Most of the works collected are read on a public occasion.
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The Tang Dynasty has fought successfully against the Turks and Tibetans but suffers a major military defeat by the Arabs in 751.
The storm of this year at the southern Chinese seaport of Yangzhou, lLike the storm of 721, reportedly destroys over a thousand ships engaged in canal and river traffic.
The son of the first king of the Bai state of Nanzhao had succeeded his father to the throne and in 750 had refused any longer to recognize Chinese suzerainty.
In retaliation, the Tang send an army against Nanzhao in 751, but this army is soundly defeated at Xiaguan. (It is in the same year that the Tang suffer another serious defeat at the hands of the Arabs at the Battle of Talas in Central Asia; these defeats weaken the dynasty both internally and externally.)
Today the General's Cave (two kilometers west of Xiaguan), and the Tomb of Ten Thousand Soldiers (in Tianbao Park) bear witness to this great massacre.
The military might of China had been projected beyond the harsh continental climate and the dry, desolate, and difficult terrain of the Tarim Basin, much of which consists of the Taklamakan Desert, as early as the Han Dynasty, when Emperor Wu of Han sent military expeditions to seize horses, which got as far as the Ferghana Valley.
Then, in 715, Alutar, the new king of Fergana Valley, had been installed with the help of the Arabs of the Umayyad Caliphate.
The deposed king Ikhshid had fled to Kucha (seat of Anxi Protectorate), and sought Chinese intervention.
The Chinese had sent ten thousand troops under Zhang Xiaosong to Ferghana, where he had defeated the Arab puppet-ruler Alutar at Namangan and reinstalled Ikhshid.
The inhabitants of three Sogdian cities had been massacred as a result of the battle.
The second encounter had occurred in 717, when Arabs, guided by the Turgesh, had besieged two cities in the area of Aksu.
The commander of the Chinese Protectorate General to Pacify the West, Tang Jiahui, had responded using two armies, one composed of Karluk mercenaries led by Ashina Xin (client qaghan of Onoq) and another composed of Tang regulars led by Jiahui himself.
After his decisive victory at the Battle of the Zab and eliminating those of the Umayyad family who failed to escape to Al-Andalus, As-Saffah had sent his forces to consolidate his Abbasid caliphate, including Central Asia, where his forces confront many regional powers, including those of China's Tang Dynasty.
In the month of July 751, the Abbasid forces join in combat with the Tang Chinese force (the combined army of Tang Chinese and Karluk mercenaries) on the banks of the Talas river, which starts in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan and winds down into Kazakhstan.
The Chinese name Daluosi (Talas) is first seen in the account of Xuanzang.
Du Huan locates the city near the western drain of the Chui River.
The exact location of the battle has not been confirmed but is believed to be near Talas in present day Kyrgyzstan.
The Tang dynasty's devastating defeat is due to the defection of Karluk mercenaries and the retreat of Ferghana allies who originally supported the Chinese.
The Karluk forces, which comprise two-thirds of the Tang army, change to the Muslim side while the battle is ongoing so that Karluk troops attack the Tang army from close quarters and the main Abbasid forces attack from the front; the Tang troops are unable to hold their positions.
Ferghana forces inadvertently cut the Chinese troops off from the rest of their army and their route of retreat.
The commander of the Tang forces, Gao Xianzhi, recognizing that defeat is imminent, manages to escape with some of his Tang regulars with the help of Li Siye.
Out of an estimated ten thousand Tang troops, only two thousand manage to return from Talas to their territory in Central Asia.
Despite losing the battle, Li does inflict heavy losses on the pursuing Arab army after being reproached by Duan Xiushi.
Though Gao will be able to rebuild his forces within months, he will never again gain the confidence of the local tribes residing in the area.
Among the Chinese prisoners taken by the Arabs of Samarkand in their successful defense of that city are several skilled in the art of papermaking, or so the story goes.
The city's governor soon forces them to build and operate a paper mill, fueled by Samarkand's abundant supply of water, flax, and hemp.
In a short time, Samarkand will become the papermaking center of the Arab world.
In fact, high quality paper had been known—and made—in Central Asia for centuries; a letter on paper survives from the fourth century to a merchant in Samarkand, but the Islamic conquest of Central Asia in the late seventh and early eighth centuries has opened up this knowledge for the first time to what becomes the Muslim world.
Among the Chinese prisoners taken by the Arabs of Samarkand in their successful defense of that city are several skilled in the art of papermaking, or so the story goes.
The city's governor soon forces them to build and operate a paper mill, fueled by Samarkand's abundant supply of water, flax, and hemp.
In a short time, Samarkand will become the papermaking center of the Arab world.
In fact, high quality paper had been known—and made—in Central Asia for centuries; a letter on paper survives from the fourth century to a merchant in Samarkand, but the Islamic conquest of Central Asia in the late seventh and early eighth centuries has opened up this knowledge for the first time to what becomes the Muslim world.
Abu Muslim receives the governorship of Khorasan in reward for his services.
The 'Abbasids still depend on him to keep order, and Abu Muslim serves his patrons well by defeating both internal and external enemies.
The empire's resources are engaged in fighting the Bulgarian Empire, enabling Aistulf to capture the Exarchate of Ravenna and the Romagna in 751, thus ending imperial influence in north and central Italy and indirectly fostering the historic alliance between the papacy and the Franks.
Victims of the Abbasids’ campaign of extermination against the Umayyads had included eighty Marwanid family members at Antipatris near present day Rosh Ha'ayin, but one of the survivors, 'Abd ar-Rahman, had escaped, barely.
Abd al-Rahman and Bedr, his former Greek slave (a freedman), had continued south through Palestine, the Sinai, and then into Egypt.
Abd al-Rahman had had to keep a low profile as he traveled.
It may be assumed that he intended to go at least as far as northwestern Africa (Maghreb), the land of his mother, which had been partly conquered by his Umayyad predecessors.
The journey across Egypt had proved perilous.
Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib al-Fihri is the semi-autonomous governor of Ifriqiya (roughly, modern Tunisia) and a former Umayyad client.
The ambitious Ibn Habib, a member of the illustrious Fihrid family, has long sought to carve out Ifriqiya as a private dominion for himself.
At first, he seeks an understanding with the Abbasids, but when they refuse his terms and demand his submission, Ibn Habib breaks openly with the Abbasids and invites the remnants of the Umayyad dynasty to take refuge in his dominions.
Abd al-Rahman is only one of several surviving Umayyad family members to make their way to Ifriqiya at this time.
The Deposition of Childeric III and the Rise of the Carolingian Dynasty (751)
In 751, Pepin the Short, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia, formally deposes Childeric III, the last Merovingian king, with the backing of Pope Zachary. This momentous event marks the end of the Merovingian dynasty, which had long been reduced to a ceremonial role, and the official rise of the Carolingians as rulers of Francia.
Papal Support and the Justification for Deposition
Pepin’s claim to the throne is strengthened by papal endorsement, as Pope Zachary seeks Frankish military assistance against the Lombards, who threaten Rome. The alliance with the papacy is a deliberate break from the Carolingians’ earlier loosely allied relationship with the Lombards, shifting Frankish priorities toward protecting the papal states.
In exchange for Pepin’s pledge to defend the Church, Zachary sanctions the deposition of Childeric III, arguing that "it is better for he who has the power to be king rather than he who is king in name alone." This ruling provides religious legitimacy for Pepin’s seizure of power, ensuring broad support from the Frankish nobility and clergy.
Pepin the Short Becomes King of the Franks
Following Childeric’s deposition, Pepin is elected king by the Frankish nobility, a traditional Germanic practice, and formally assumes the Frankish throne. With this act, the Carolingian dynasty is established, replacing the centuries-old Merovingian line.
Pepin’s ascension not only reshapes Frankish governance but also cements the alliance between the Carolingians and the Papacy, a relationship that will define medieval European politics and reach its zenith under Pepin’s son, Charlemagne.
Retired Emperor Shomu takes part in the dedication ceremony of the colossal statue of Vairocana Buddha at Nara’s Todai-ji, and declares himself a Buddhist.
The great Golden Buddha Hall is the centerpiece in the Todai-ji, flanked by twin pagodas placed like sentries at the outer edges of the spacious courtyard.
The compound is evidently designed along the lines of Chinese palaces as an expression of the divine power of the emperor in his role as chief delegate of the “Roshana” (all-powerful) Buddha.