Emperor Taizong of Tang in the context of "Ming dynasty in Inner Asia"

Empress Zetian (624 – 16 December 705), commonly known as Wu Zetian, personal name Wu Zhao, was the empress regnant (huangdi, 皇帝) and only ruler of the (Wu) Zhou dynasty from 690 to 705. She had previously held power as the second wife and empress consort of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang dynasty from 660 to 683 and as empress dowager during the reigns of her sons Emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong of Tang between 683 and 690, holding de facto power during these periods. She was the only female sovereign in the history of China who is widely regarded as legitimate. Modern scholarship has re-examined Wu Zetian's rule beyond traditional portrayals of manipulation and cruelty. Recent studies highlight her administrative reforms, expansions of the civil-service examination system, and support of Buddhist symbolism as instruments of governance and legitimacy. During her 45 year tenure, China grew larger, its culture and economy were revitalized, and corruption in the court was reduced. She was eventually removed from power during the Shenlong Coup [zh] and died a few months later.

In early life, Empress Wu was a concubine of Emperor Taizong. After his death, she married his ninth son and successor, Emperor Gaozong, officially becoming Gaozong's empress, the highest-ranking of his consorts, in 655. Empress Wu held considerable political power even before becoming empress, and began to control the court after her appointment. After Gaozong's debilitating stroke in 660, she became administrator of the court, a position with similar authority to the emperor's, until 683. History records that she "was at the helm of the country for long years, her power no different from that of the emperor". On Emperor Gaozong's death in 683, rather than entering retirement, and not interfering in the government, Empress Wu broke with tradition and took acquisition of complete power, refusing to allow either of her sons to rule. She took the throne in 690 by officially changing the name of the dynasty from Tang to Zhou, changing the name of the imperial family from Li to Wu, and holding a formal ceremony to crown herself as emperor.

Historian Dimitri Obolensky asserts that the preservation of civilization in Southern Europe was due to the skill and resourcefulness of the diplomacy of the Byzantine Empire, which remains one of Byzantium's lasting contributions to the history of Europe and the Middle East.

Korea's military history spans thousands of years, beginning with the ancient nation of Gojoseon and continuing into the present day with the countries of North Korea and South Korea, and is notable for its many successful triumphs over invaders.

Throughout its history, Korea has boasted numerous exceptional leaders who gained outstanding victories against numerically superior enemies. Famed leaders credited with defending Korea against foreign invasions include: Ŭlchi Mundŏk of Goguryeo, who defeated Sui China during the Goguryeo–Sui War; Yŏn Kaesomun of Goguryeo, who defeated Emperor Taizong of Tang China during the Goguryeo–Tang War; Kang Kam-ch'an of Goryeo, who defeated the Khitan Empire during the Goryeo-Khitan War; Ch'oe Yŏng and Yi Sŏnggye of Goryeo, who defeated the Red Turbans during the Red Turban Invasions; and Yi Sun-shin of Joseon, who defeated the Japanese at sea during the Imjin War.

Emperor Gaozong of Tang (21 July 628 – 27 December 683), personal name Li Zhi, was the third emperor of the Chinese Tang dynasty, ruling from 649 to 683; after January 665, he handed power over the empire to his second wife Empress Wu (the future Wu Zetian), and her decrees were carried out with greater force than the decrees of Emperor Gaozong's. Emperor Gaozong was the youngest son of Emperor Taizong and Empress Zhangsun; his elder brothers were Li Chengqian and Li Tai.

Emperor Gaozong's reign saw the primacy of Empress Wu, who became the effective power behind the Tang rule. Empress Wu aided Emperor Gaozong in his rule during the later years of his reign after a series of strokes left him incapacitated. Emperor Gaozong effectively after January 665 delegated all matters of state to Empress Wu; after that the empress acted as the power behind the emperor, "hanging the curtain and listening to politics" (垂簾聼政; Chuílián tīngzhèng). Gaozong's personal illness, affection and trust of Wu led to her wielding a great deal of power in affairs of state until the end of his reign. From official histories from the later Tang Dynasty to contemporary historians, there exists a lively debate about whether Wu exerted undue influence on Gaozong, or whether they were equal partners in the government. Empress Wu was partially in control of power from November 660 and then totally from January 665 to December 683; there was an equality of power between Gaozong and Wu, which caused them to be called "two saints" (二聖; Er Sheng, literally two emperors) both inside and outside. After Emperor Gaozong died in December 683, power fell completely and solely into the hands of Empress Wu, acting as Empress Dowager-regent, "presiding over court and issuing edicts" (臨朝稱制; lin chao chengzhi); she subsequently became the only empress regnant in Chinese history. After his death, he was interred at the Qian Mausoleum along with Wu Zetian.

Woncheuk (Korean: 원측; MR: Wŏnch'ŭk, c. 613–696) was a Korean Buddhist monk who worked in seventh century China. Woncheuk was a follower of Paramārtha (499–569) and the Shelun school of Yogacara. This school defended the view that there was a ninth consciousness called the "pure consciousness" (amalavijñāna), as opposed to just the eight consciousnesses of classical Yogacara. This position had been rejected by Xuanzang and Kuiji. Woncheuk later became a student of Xuanzang (c. 600–664) and worked in his translation team. Woncheuk's works attempt to reconcile the two traditions of East Asian Yogacara and often diverges from the interpretations of Xuanzang and Kuiji in favor of the views of Paramārtha.

Woncheuk's work was revered throughout China and Korea, even reaching Chinese rulers like Emperors Taizong, Gaozong of Tang and Empress Wu of Zhou. Woncheuk's exegetical work also influenced Tibetan Buddhism and the greater Himalayan region.

Zhong County or Zhongxian (simplified Chinese: 忠县; traditional Chinese: 忠縣; pinyin: Zhōng Xiàn) is a county of Chongqing Municipality, China. The name "Zhong" (忠) means "loyalty." It is named after the historical story of General Ba Manzi, who chose to be killed to keep his Kingdom together. Emperor Li Shimin (李世民) of the Tang Dynasty named Zhong County "Loyalty County" to honor General Ba Manzi.

The Shibaozhai Temple, which was endangered by the rising waters caused by the Three Gorges Dam, is located there. Zhong County has two Yangtze River crossings: the Zhongxian Yangtze River Bridge and Zhongzhou Yangtze River Bridge.

The Xi'an Stele or the Jingjiao Stele (Chinese: 景教碑; pinyin: Jǐngjiào bēi), sometimes translated as the "Nestorian Stele," is a Tang Chinese stele erected in 781 that documents 150 years of early Christianity in China. It is a limestone block 279 centimetres (9 ft 2 in) high with text in both Chinese and Syriac describing the existence of Christian communities in several cities in northern China. It reveals that the initial Church of the East had met recognition by the Tang Emperor Taizong, due to efforts of the Christian missionary Alopen in 635. According to the stele, Alopen and his fellow Syriac missionaries came to China from Daqin (the Eastern Roman Empire) in the ninth year of Emperor Taizong (Tai Tsung) (635), bringing sacred books and images. The Church of the East monk Adam (Jingjing in Chinese) composed the text on the stele. Buried in 845, probably during the Huichang persecution of Buddhism, the stele was not rediscovered until 1625. It is now in the Stele Forest in Xi'an.

Yŏn Kaesomun (Korean: 연개소문; Hanja: 淵蓋蘇文; 594–666) was a powerful military dictator in the waning days of the Goguryeo kingdom, one of the Three Kingdoms of ancient Korea. Traditional Korean histories from Joseon painted Yŏn Kaesomun as a despotic leader, whose cruel policies and disobedience to his monarch led to the fall of Goguryeo. His successful resistance against Tang China under Emperor Taizong and his son Emperor Gaozong inspired early Korean nationalist historians, most notably the 19th-century Korean historian and intellectual Shin Chae-ho, to term Yŏn Kaesomun the greatest hero in Korean history. In popular culture Yŏn Kaesomun is often portrayed as an exceptional soldier-statesman without equal in Korean history.