- Luoyang was the Capital of China under the Eastern Han Dynasty, from 27 November 25 CE until 189 CE, when the Han Dynasty fell.
Description
- Luoyang was considered to be in a Sacred Area, and also considered to be the geographical centre of China.
- The city had the first Buddhist Temple built in China in 68 CE, the White Horse Temple.
- Luoyang became the Capital of Wei under Cao Cao after 216 CE until it was sacked in 311 CE by the Xiongnu army from Mongolia.
Civil Unrest and the end of the Han Dynasty (166-220 CE)
- The Disasters of Partisan Prohibitions (166 and 169 CE):
- Confucian scholars who acted as Officials in the Han Government opposed the Authority of the Imperial Eunuchs. They were supported by the University students.
- However, the Eunuchs were too powerful and had the Leaders executed or removed.
- Zhang Jue and the Yellow Turban Rebellion (184-205 CE):
- Zhang Jue was the Leader of a Taoist Sect and was determined to bring down the Han Dynasty.
- In 184 CE an unsuccessful Rebellion by the Yellow Turbans triggered a series of civil wars, resulting in Luoyang being burnt in 189 CE.
- The Han Dynasty then fell, and China disintegrated into the three Kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu by the 220’s CE.
The Rise of Cao Cao (155-220 CE)
- Cao Cao, (c. 155 CE – 22 March 220 CE) was a Warlord and Imperial Chancellor under the Han Emperors, who rose to Power and fame during this period of civil wars. He brilliantly defeated his opponents and eventually founded the Kingdom of Wei.
- Cao Cao adopted Taoism in his Kingdom, instead of Confucianism, which had been the official state religion of the Han Dynasty.
- In 216 CE Cao Cao became King of Wei which lasted until 260 CE. The other two rival Kingdoms being Shu under Liu Bei, and Wu under Sun Quan. In 317 CE Northern China fell to the Huns.
- Luoyang later returned to being the Capital of Wei under Cao Cao, and of several subsequent Chinese Dynasties.
- Luoyang was sacked in 311 CE by the Xiongnu Army, a nomadic people from the area of modern Mongolia.
‘The Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ (169-280 CE)
- Luo Guanzhong (1330-1400 CE) wrote the Historical Novel called ‘The Romance of the Three Kingdoms’.
- This historical novel describes the Rebellion which led to the establishment of the three separate Kingdoms, including the rise of Cao Cao. It deals with the Period between 169-280 CE.
Luoyang, China