Influence Of The Tang Dynasty On Chinese Politics, Economics, Religion And Art

Introduction

Considered by historians to have been a golden age in Chinese history, Tang dynasty was able to unite China after nearly four centuries of division. It was also able to link the North and the South after the construction of the Grand Canal. Next to this, it also became one of the most successful dynasties thanks to its strong government and the perfection and implementation of the imperial examination. Citizens were not promoted based on their status, but on their abilities and intellect. This meant that everyone got the opportunity to rise in society no matter the family in which they were born. Furthermore, the empire’s legal code was adapted by the emperor because he did not want to commit the same mistakes as the previous emperor. In addition to this, the one and only female emperor in Chinese history came to power during Tang dynasty. She was also of the people who helped spreading Buddhism across the empire. Finally, another factor responsible for its success was innovation made during that time which put China on the path to modernisation. Woodblock printing was one of the major inventions made during Tang dynasty. Early Tang Dynasty After the creation of Tang dynasty, the Emperor Gaozu changed all the policies which led to the previous dynasty’ fall. Although he implemented some changes, his son, Li Shimin, thought there was still some room for improvement. He had fought alongside his father when establishing Tang and was convinced that he would become his heir to the throne, so he was greatly angered when the emperor named one of his others sons as his successor. Tang Legal Code During his rule, Emperor Gaozu came up with the Tang Legal Code, which would be used as example by other dynasties and other nations. It was quite similar to the Han Code, but some adjustments were made. After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, it would become a model which was followed by many dynasties and other nations.

The Song dynasty’s Code was practically a copy of Tang’s and about forty percent of the Qing dynasty’s Code was taken straight from the Tang Legal Code. In general, the Tang Legal Code was divided into three categories. The first being crimes involving the ten abominations. These were crimes like plotting rebellion, plotting treason and incest. Following these were listed crimes punished by penal servitude or a more serious punishment like, for example, exile or death. Finally, in the last category were listed crimes punished by beating. The new code limited the use of torture, abolished the amputation of feet, which was a punishment still in use at that time, and reduced the number of crime punishable by the death sentence. Another way in which it deferred from the previous Han Code was the legal recognition of status groups. Men who came from high-ranking families enjoyed many privileges. Firstly, if they committed an offense, they could not be punished with torture. Secondly, the court would need at least three witnesses to be able to convict him. Furthermore, if they ended up being sentenced, they could avoid punishment by giving up their rank or paying a fee. Finally, the highest ranking men had the right to automatically reduce any punishment they received and got special treatment when they committed a crime which could be punished with the death sentence. At the opposite end of the spectrum, a new rank was added to the Code called “base people”. Citizens who belonged to this category were thought to be lower than free commoners. This class was further divided into those who belonged to the state and those who belonged to individuals. If a commoner committed a crime against a “base person”, he would be less harshly punished than if he had committed the exact same crime against another commoner. Vice versa, if a “base person” committed a crime against a commoner, he would he more severely punished than if a commoner had committed the crime. In addition, this principle was not only applied to “base people” but all over the board. In short, the higher the rank of a person, the less severe his punishment would be. Thus, we can conclude, that Tang dynasty measured the severity of a crime based on the status of the victim and the perpetrator. A crime which would be particularly severely punished was if a slave harmed his master. If a slave was found guilty of trying to murder his master, he would be decapitated, while if a master murdered a slave, he was only beaten. Because the way in which someone was judged depended heavily on his rank, the Tang Legal Code gave a detailed description of how the bureaucracy was organised and which rank each of the different groups possessed. Next to this, according to the Tang Legal Code, children were legally obliged to take care of their parents or else they would be subject to penal servitude. If a child failed to perform the proper mourning for one of his ancestors, he would be sentenced to exile. Historians say that it is not likely that the laws were actually applied during those times and even questions if they could be called laws. Unearthed manuscripts show that during some trials, the laws of the Code were applied correctly, while they were completely ignored in other instances. Thus, there seems to have been great discrepancies in the way the Code was applied in real life.

According to historians, Tang dynasty covered such a large territory, different cities applied the law differently. Wu Zetian Wu Zetian, also called Wu Zhao, is the woman who rose from concubine to empress of China during Tang Dynasty, from 690-705. She was the only woman in the history of China to assume the title of Emperor although other women had acted as regents before, usually until their sons reached adulthood. Wu Zetian was the daughter of a chancellor of the Tang Dynasty. Her mother was a member of the former Sui imperial family. Unlike most young girls in China during that time, she was encouraged by her father to learn to read and write. She also learned to play instruments, write poetry and be a good public speaker. This helped her to develop intellectual skills which were usually only found in men. Thanks to her beauty she was selected by emperor Taizong, so Wu Zetian entered the palace at the age of 14 to become a junior concubine. The function of a concubine is always associated with sex, but a woman in this position could also have a number of other responsibilities like doing the laundry, writing poetry and playing music. Wu Zetian began her life at the court by taking care of the laundry, but one day she built up the courage to go speak to the emperor privately about Chinese history. Some sources say that her deep knowledge on the matter impressed the emperor and he was even more surprised that she could also read and write. Taizong we so impressed by her skills that he promoted her and gave her a new position as his secretary. In this position, Wu Zetian came in contact with political affairs relating the state. Eventually, she became one of Taizong’s favourite concubines. Other sources suggest that an incident happened where Taizong became displeased with her, but could not kill her because of her beauty, so she became his personal servant. Wu Zetian attracted the attention of many men at the court, including the son of the emperor himself, Li Zhi, who would become the next emperor, Gaozong. Some historians say that the pair began an affair when Taizong was still alive, while others say it started after his death. Like tradition dictated, when the emperor died, Wu Zetian and the other concubines had their heads shaved and were sent to a temple to live as nuns. The emperor’s concubines could not be passed on to others, but were forced to start a new life of chastity. But Gaozong, who had then become the new emperor of China, was deeply infatuated with her. One of the first things he did after obtaining the title of emperor was bringing her back to the palace and choosing her as one of his favourite concubine. If we believe traditional history, the fact that the emperor had taken one of his father’s concubines as his own shocked Confucian moralists. Gaozong’s wife and first concubine were jealous of the attention Gaozong gave to Wu Zetian and Wu Zetian was not satisfied with her position and wanted to rise to a higher position. Historians give two different versions of the story. Some say the two women conspired against Wu Zetian, while others say that it was Wu Zetian who got rid of them. At this point, Gaozong had already chosen his heir, who was the son of his wife’s uncle. Gaozong’s wife, who was called Lady Wang, didn’t have children at the time. Wu Zetian also gave birth to two sons in a row and then one daughter, but her daughter was strangled to death in her crib. Wu Zetian claimed that it was Gaozong’s wife who murdered the baby.

Apparently eyewitnesses had seen her near the child’s room before her death. Lady Wang had no alibi and could not prove her innocence. Gaozong divorced his wife and Lady Xiao was demoted from her rank, which made Wu Zetian the empress consort. Lady Wang’s uncle was removed from his position as chancellor and, thus, his son was cut off as Gaozong’s heir. Later, Wu Zetian had Wang and Xiao executed in a cruel manner: their arms and legs were broken, and they were put in large wine urns to be left to die after several days of agony. Like this, Wu Zetian was able to get rid of all the people standing between her and the position of empress of China. She was also assured that her sons would rule over the country after her husband’s death. In public, Wu Zetian played the role of the shy and respectable wife, but, behind closed doors, she slowly took over the power. After Emperor Gaozong started to suffer from strokes, she began to govern China from behind the scenes. She gained even more power after she had one of the dynasty’s officials executed and after the demoted crown prince was forced to commit suicide. She sat behind the silent emperor during court audiences and took decisions while at the same time, slowly but surely getting rid of hostile officials. She reigned in his name and, after his death, in the name of the puppet emperors, who were her sons. Wu Zetian only officially assumed power when she proclaimed Zhou Dynasty. The dynasty was named after her father and was also a references to the previous Zhou dynasty, which she claimed she was a descendant from. Ten months after she ascended the throne, she had the government create the character zhao, an entirely new invention, and was also the character she chose as her given name. This character was created along with eleven other characters to show her absolute power. The character is made up of two pre-existing characters: ming on top meaning ‘light’ or ‘clearness’, and kong at the bottom meaning ‘sky’. This implied that she was like the light shining from the sky. The pronunciation of the new characters is the same as the character for ‘shine’. Wu Zetian proclaimed herself emperor. She was the first and only woman to ever use the title emperor and to sit on the throne. Even though women still enjoyed a relative amount of freedom during this time, traditional Chinese beliefs still did not allow a woman to ascend the throne. Nevertheless, Wu Zetian was determined to get rid of the opposition and promoted loyal officials. She gained popular support by advocating Buddhism and implementing the imperial examination.

The empress also ruthlessly executed opponents within the royal family and the nobility. She achieved popular support through lowering taxes and initiating some agricultural reforms that benefited the peasants. She recruited civil servants based on merit, not birth. When Wu Zetian reached her eighties and became sick, she was unable to hold back a coup. That day her power ended and she had to step down while her first son regained the position of emperor. This allowed for the Tang Dynasty to resume. Nine months later, Wu Zetian died. Imperial Examination Wu Zetian was also of importance because she was a fierce promotor of the imperial examination system, which is a system of competitive examinations in order to recruit officials. Candidates would have to prove themselves by participating in a series of exams revolving primarily around their knowledge of Confucian texts. Participants were also tested on their ability to write and on their knowledge of the “Five Studies”, namely civil law, military strategy, agriculture, revenue and taxation and geography. The exams were given on four levels: local, provincial, metropolitan and national. During Tang dynasty, local schools were established where scholars could pursue their studies. Those who wanted to rise to the upper levels of bureaucracy could ultimately compete in the jinshi exams, which required deep knowledge of the Confucian Classics. Eventually, this system would become the primary method of recruiting bureaucrats and by the end of Tang Dynasty, the old bureaucracy had almost been entirely destroyed. A class which was only composed of nobles was now made up of scholar-gentry, who were not necessarily noblemen, but could also have been commoners. The imperial examination remained in use until its abolishment during Qing dynasty. Buddhism Buddhism first reached Chinese territory after the establishment of the Silk Roads, but Wu Zhao played an important role in the promotion of the religion during Tang dynasty, which increased the influence it held in the empire. The teachings of Buddhism appealed to population’s concerns in that time. The creation of woodblock printing also helped spreading Buddhism throughout China, because it gave Buddhist monks the ability to mass-produce texts. Proof of Buddhism’s influence can be found in poetry and art from this period of time. Ultimately, after Wu Zhao’s death and the end of the dynasty, the practise of Buddhism declined. Woodblock Printing One of the many innovations of the Tang dynasty, was Woodblock printing. Woodblock printing is the art of carving words and pictures into a large block of wood.

Following this, ink is spread across the block and sheets of paper are pressed against it. Most of the printings during this time depicted religious themes. Later, woodblock printing would also be used when producing books on the classics and literature. The Diamond Sutra is by far the most famous work which was produced by woodblock printing during Tang dynasty. It depicts the Buddha addressing his elderly disciple and was discovered in the Caves of a Thousand Buddhas, an important Buddhist centre from the 4th to the 14th century. Each section was printed separately by using one single woodblock. Then, the different sections would be joined together in order to form a five-metre long roll. The Diamond Sutra is the earliest surviving piece of woodblock printing and also the most substantial one. Taxation At the beginning of Tang dynasty, almost all of the state’s revenues were coming from a system of direct taxation by labour services. This system was born in the semi-barbarian northern dynasties during the fifth and sixth century and was adopted by Tang dynasty. During Tang dynasty, a new system of direct taxation was put together in which land remained under the state’s possession and was granted to taxpayers. Each married couple was entitled to a grant of land for the entirety of their taxpaying lives. If there was more than one man in the household, the grant would be doubled. In addition, families who owned slaves received a supplement of land for each male slave they owned. Specifically in the northwest part of the empire, land was granted for the sole purpose of keeping cattle, but this was not in application anywhere else. The system was divided into four categories: a tax in grain, a tax paid in terms of cloth, the annual labour work and miscellaneous labour service. The grain tax was very light. The tax in kind amounted to a length of approximately six meters of silk or eight meters of hempen cloth. How much taxes an individual had to pay was fixed. The state did not take into account personal circumstances since it assumed that each person had received an equal amount of land from the government. For normal taxes, it was not the individual who had to pay it, but the head of the household. Usually, all males could be taxpayers except if they were considered physically disabled or exempted one way or another. All males related to the imperial family and noble families were exempted from paying taxes along with officials working for the government. Furthermore, Buddhist and Taoist clergy were also granted exemption. The age group who had to pay taxes varied during Tang dynasty, but normally taxpayers were between the ages of 21 and 59 years old.

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