In 820 AD, Huang Chao was born in a salt merchant family. He was good at riding and shooting since he was a child. Because his family was powerful, he also hired a teacher to teach him knowledge. Huang Chao knew how to recite poems and compose poems from an early age. Although he was born in a salt merchant family, the society at that time emphasized agriculture over commerce. Although the salt merchant was very rich, he could not even wear silk clothes, and his status in all aspects was not high. At that time, the only way to change his destiny was the imperial examination. Huang Chao was also very confident in his talents. However, although Huang Chao's talents were well-known locally, they were not worth mentioning compared with the talents of the entire Tang Dynasty. Later, he failed the exam many times, and his resentment towards the Tang government became deeper and deeper.
After failing in the last imperial examination, Huang Chao completely lost confidence and finally wrote a poem to express his inner resentment. The name of the poem is "Ode to Chrysanthemums after Not Di". Although the title of the poem contains chrysanthemums, the four short lines of the poem contain a strong murderous intention: "When autumn comes on September 8th, when my flowers bloom, Hundreds of flowers kill. The incense formation soaring into the sky penetrated Chang'an, and the whole city was covered with golden armor. In this poem by Huang Chao, the oppressed people are compared to chrysanthemums, and the chrysanthemums are given a very elegant character. The metaphor of hundreds of flowers refers to the reactionary and decadent feudal ruling group. The artistic conception of the whole poem is very strange, and it is also difficult to read. Very heroic, and Huang Chao will also use actions to prove that what he said is true. Uprising at the end of the Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty at that time had lost its former glory. After the Anshi Rebellion, the power of the Tang Dynasty declined sharply. The court imposed exorbitant taxes and the people lived in dire straits. In 874 AD, a severe drought occurred in Guandong. The imperial court not only failed to provide disaster relief, but also forced the people to pay rent and taxes and perform military service. The people were forced to join the peasant uprising army. In February of the fourth year of Qianfu (877), Huang Chao led his army to capture Yunzhou and killed Xue Chong, the Jiedushi envoy. The following year, Wang Xianzhi, the leader of the rebel army, died in battle. Huang Chao was promoted as the leader of the rebel army, known as the "Songtian General", and was changed to the king of Yuan Dynasty. Tyrant. In the first month of the sixth year of Qianfu (879), Huang Chao led a large army to surround Guangzhou. On November 17, the first year of Guangming (880), Liu Yunzhang, who stayed in the Eastern Capital, welcomed Huang Chao's army into Luoyang. After occupying Luoyang, Huang Chao's footsteps did not stop, because he was only one step away from Chang'an in his poem. On December 13, the first year of Guangming (880), Huang Chao led his army to invade Chang'an, and finally became the emperor in Hanyuan Hall. The country was named "Daqi", and the reign of Yuan Dynasty was established.
Although Huang Chao launched an anti-feudal war, some of his actions during the war were really despicable, such as the mass killing of people, and the killing of Tang Dynasty clan members and officials after he invaded Chang'an. The purpose was to vent his hatred for repeatedly failing the rankings, so to be fair, Huang Chao cannot be called a hero.
However, the strength of the peasant uprising army was far from comparable to that of the imperial court. After all the soldiers and horses of the Tang Dynasty were assembled, under the leadership of the famous generals Li Keyong and Wang Chongrong, in the fourth year of Zhonghe On June 15 (884), Huang Chao was defeated and killed in Langhu Valley, and a peasant uprising that swept across the country finally came to an end.