Power And Authority In Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty is an important aspect of Chinese history.  Lasting from 618 AD to 907 AD, it received the nickname “The Golden Age of Ancient China” because it was a very prosperous time.  This powerful empire came into control when the reign of the Sui Dynasty before it ended.

China was divided for almost four centuries. It became unified in 581 with the founding of the new dynasties, Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties. During the time of these dynasties, many changes took place. There were changes in the political, social, and economic structures. The first changes took place during the Sui dynasty in 581. Additional changes took place during the Tang dynasty in 618, and the Song dynasty in 960.

Plato, a greek philosopher, once said, “The measure of a man is what he does with power” (Brainyquote 1). In other words, when giving someone power, their true character is revealed. For instance, in William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, some character’s genuine personalities were unveiled once obtaining high authority over others. In the drama with Macbeth, he portrays both coercive power and referent power throughout the written work, as defined in, “French and Raven’s Five Forms of Power.”

Power is the possession of control, authority, or influence over others, one having such power puts them in control, and to be in control is the power to influence or direct people's behavior. How does power and control affect the characters in the novel? In the novels Night by Elie Wiesal and 1984 by George Orwell, power and control is shown by the superiors towards the subordinates, by comparing and the themes of loss of humanity, fear, and self preservation. In both novels it is clear to see that power and control affects the way the characters act and think.

From 618-907, the unprecedented leniency and tolerance of the Tang dynasty created a large hyper power, with alliances and trading and such. This empire left a lasting impression on the Chinese. “These and other factors converged to produce a dynasty more tolerant of foreign cultures, religions, and influences than any other in Chinese history.” Taizong was the first emperor of the tang dynasty and set the precedent for his successors. His main goal was to establish equality throughout the regions. He achieved this and became “the first Chinese ruler to establish dominion over the steppes.” As the Tang rule grew larger and larger, it engulfed areas like Manchuria, Vietnam, and parts of Iran. The way they chose to handle the commerce and diplomacy

Humans have made huge accomplishments throughout history. Many of these accomplishments have changed the world. Some of these accomplishments have come from dynasties and empires that wanted to expand their knowledge and ideas. Some of these things have affected other civilizations after them and some didn’t have that much of an impact. A lot of these achievements and accomplishments are basic things in our everyday lives that these civilizations have took time and effort to come up with. Ancient China has been one of the numerous places that have made accomplishments. Many ancient Chinese dynasties have accomplished many things that have affected the world. The Tang dynasty’s accomplishments in art, farming, gunpowder, and literature have

New agricultural techniques, porcelain, metallurgy, printing, and naval technology were few of the technological elements that reinforced the established features of social order. New agricultural techniques helped in the expand of their agricultural potential, the dynasties gained reputation from porcelain technology which moderately diffused to other societies producing porcelain in large quantities, metallurgical techniques as well diffused to lands beyond China, printing produced texts quickly and popular works appeared in huge quantities, and naval technology included of the magnetic compass which soon became common for mariners to use. Population growth, patriarchal social structures, and gunpowder were technological elements reinforcing established features of political order. Population growth reflected the capacity of economy and distribution of food, patriarchal social structures included of concern to preserve family fortunes and foot binding, and gunpowder was an element used for military effectiveness. These aspects provided a fundamental change in traditions because they changed their whole concepts of how to use goods as in previous Chinese eras.

Many of Tao Qian’s poems illustrate a life of farming and drinking wine, encompassing themes that urge its audience to remove themselves from official life, move to the countryside, and take up a cultivated life of drinking wine, writing poetry, and avoiding the complicated aspects of life such as working in high society. Earlier scholars believed that Tao was “neither Confucian nor this-worldly, neither egocentric nor defiant, neither gallant nor stubborn, Tao is contented, free from the unnatural, he has got all Nature can offer” (Lu 2017). It is evident in Tao Qian’s poetry that he utilized nature as a means to escape what reality had to offer, corruption and political instability, as opposed to his own idea of utopia or a simple, easy life in recluse.

The Tang Dynasty was a time period that lasted from 608 up until 907 b.c. The tang was also a very tolerant era. They were tolerant of many things such as other religions and other culture beliefs other than only Chinese beliefs, but was being tolerant a good or bad thing in this time period? An example of tolerance at its finest in this period is the royal family of Tang, surnamed Li, was of non-Han Chinese origin. One benefit of the Tang being tolerant is a better war defense for protection from rivals. Another way being tolerant benefits them is by not only having a good defense but also by having more allies for attacking in war. Lastly, being tolerant in the Tang dynasty was beneficial to them by providing more opportunities to learn about other cultures.

Wu Zhao belonged to the Tang Empire, which according to the author which “…was a true empire, encompassing many lands, many peoples, and many ideologies. Multi ethnic and cosmopolitan, Tang China was perfectly suited for the ascent of a historical anomaly like Wu Zhao…” (Rothschild, 2008, p. 11) In a sense, there was a conflict of traditional Confucian values which promoted a patriarchal society and the liberal Steppe culture which gave women more freedom and rights. China at that time was a cocktail of these cultures which led to a significant impact on the lifestyle and values of peoples in that era. Women were bold and tough, and unlike earlier societies, were no longer confined socially and sexually (Rothschild, 2008, p. 12). While did not exist a perfect equality between men and women, women of that era were allowed to live without hiding under the dominance of the male Yang. As the author talks of the Silk Road, it is mentioned that,”…In this free-wheeling milieu, women donned men’s attire and rode horses…” (Rothschild, 2008, p. 15) .This “cosmopolitan” (Rothschild, 2008, p. 16) society was the foundation for the Tang Empire. Another important factor was the prevalence of Buddhism as a religion of the masses. Buddhism, in itself, helped united much of Asia, and was a common platform for men and women, unlike in Confucianism where

The first reason why the Tang dynasty is the most impactful is that many cultural advancements occurred which affected the future culture of China. For example, a form of novel was created called Chuan Qi. This type of novel had a complex storyline and often reflected real life. These novels later became the basis for future stories (“Tang Dynasty”). In other words, the novels created in the Tang dynasty influenced the structure of future stories. Another example of the Tang dynasty’s cultural impact is through poems and

Power is something one can find in all aspects of life. Whether in a relationship between two people or over an entire country, many people hold power in their lives. What is done with that power is up to the person who holds it and can be a strong reflection of their character. Too many people in positions of power become so wrapped up in wanting total control, that they lose sight of what is right and wrong. In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, power is demonstrated many ways through many different characters. Power and ambition greatly affects the choices people make everyday.

In the conclusion, this end of a story to a great extent reflects the features of the age—the last vestiges of patriarch system in the Tang Dynasty. In specific, equal-field system, a system worked on the basis that the government owned all land, and then assigned it to individual families, was adopted and used by the Tang dynasty, farming was still the leading factor in the national economy at that time, adult males hold primary power and predominate over all respects in the society. There is no doubt that Ying-ying is an innocent victim of patriarchy and sexism, her experiences reflect the real lives and social status of females at that time. Under this circumstance, the tragic ending of Ying-ying becomes

Tao Yuanming regards the money and officialdom as the unimportant thing and wants to pursue the freedom’s life because these characteristics of himself could be showed on Returning to My Home in the Country, No.1. He says, “ By mistake I got caught in that dusty snare, went away once and stayed thirteen years.” This sentence shows he was tired of the officialdom. Also he mentions, “ Elm and willow shade the back eaves, peach and damson ranged in front of the hall.” He describes the beautiful sight of the countryside in order to indirectly express that he was tired of the officialdom and wants live in the freedom and comfortable countryside. From this poem, in my opinion, Tao Yuanming has thoughts of he’s own and brave to abandon more than ten

Rhoads Murphey describes the history of China history is on the succession of dynasties that ruled it over a period of time until around 1912 when Republic of china was formed before rising to the current People’s Republic of China was formed in 1949. In China, a dynasty was made up of Kings or emperors that came from the same family. They ruled in succession where a king could be inherited by his son or his immediate relatives. Although china’s history is majorly regarded on the basis of dynastic ruling, other small kingdoms were established that ruled different part of china. For example, in 200AD, the fall of great Han dynasty triggered formation of smaller kingdoms all over the china which were later united by a short lived Sui Dynasty that reigned between 580 and 618 AD.