daily life in traditional china_ the tang dynasty by charles benn.pdf

8/10/2019 Daily Life in Traditional China_ The Tang Dynasty by Charles Benn.pdf

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DALY LIE TRITION

CHe Tang Dyast

CHES BEN

Th Grnwd Prss "Daily Lif Thrugh Histry Sris

GREENWOO PRESS

esor Coeiu Lodo


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Preface

Ths ex s he prduc a cllege curse led "aly Le n Trad-

nl hna h have augh hal a dzen es The ecve hecurse ws nrduce sudens hsry, phlsphy, relgn, leraure, r, and her dscplnes he nygry ancen hna Iscnen cvered he pyscal nd aeral aspecs (r les s),as well as he cuss prede es (r esvals unerals),eaures h re sees verlked n curses h cncenrae nherecal ssues The scpe he curse, hwever, s ar large r des survey such as hs snce cvers 3 years nsequenlyhs wrk wll cver he Tng dynasy 897 ny, an epch se

3 years ha s he perd y schlarly endeavrsThe Tang dynasy s wrhy specal reaen ecause was heglden age hnese culure, a leas n he pnn any laer hnese. ey have eseeed w s pes as he greaes n her hsryAn anhlgy hree hundred Tang pes cpled n he egheenhcenury s sll e prer r chldren when hey egn her study verse. I was a ex reasured y nellecuals sen prsn caps durnghe ulural Revlun Tang wrers devsed a spled and erser prse ha suseuenly ece he dnan syle unl heweneh cenury One s paners was regarded as he greaes alle r cenures aer hs deah, even hugh ew hs wrks survvedhe all he dynasy The Tang was als ne he greaes n hegreaes, perds n he develpen usc, sng, and dnce durgChnese hsry Is law cde, pruged n 637, reaned n rce unl


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X refac

he Ming dynasy (13681644 revised i in 139 Fory percen of i survived unil he fall of he Qing dynasy (16441911). I also served as heasis for he law codes of preode apan Korea and Viena Two

new fors of hisorical copilaions eerged during he Tang and e-ce sandard genres in laer dynasies The dynasy was he firs ocopile a naional aeria edica (copendiu of edicnal susances a ex ha was also he firs o have illusraions Boh priningas well as he firs prined illusraions and gunpowderdevelopensha profoundly affeced he eergence of he odern worldwere in-vened during he period e Tang was he golden age of BuddhisThe religion araced large nuers of adherens aassed iensewealh and exered grea influence a cour. I also produced he only

uniuely Chese sec of he religion Chan (en) Fally ea ecaehe naioal drink during he dynasyThe hisory of he Tag dynasy is largely he sory of is paricians

(noles and andarins) inellecuals and clergy (Taois priess and Buddhis onks) Annals iographies docuens ficion and oher sourcesfurnish a wealh of inforaion aou he daily lives of hose elies Hisorians and oher wriers eers of he upper classes heselves paidlile aenion o erchans arisans peasans and slaves hose lowerclasses lef no wriings of heir own They appear occasionall in poery

ficio prose skeches accouns of legal proceedings and so forh. Mosof wha is known aou he derives fro laws eics and official re-pors where hey are reaed collecively Wih soe excepions he na-ure of heir daily exisence is oscure. Woenainly he oherswives or daughers of he eliefared soewha eer. A leas iperialrecorders and oher auhors copiled iographies and coposed oi-uaries for he However hey were in a disc inoriy Tang hisoryis largey he sory of en

The Wese reader will find uch in s ex ha is unfailiar per-

haps izarre. Soe of he sgeness derives fro culural differencesFor uch of hisory urope and China developed in relaive isolaionfro one anoher. The ideas and cusos of he wo were and are dis-inc and uniue Soe of i is due o ie leven cenuries have passedsince he deise of he Tang and grea changes have aken plce scehen Mode Chinese will also fd any aspecs of he dynasy un-usual

To a large exen he conens of his ex are y own ranslaions orparaphrases done for his ook or oher works a I a wring Sincehe original sources are in classical Chinese accessile only o sinologissraed in ha language I have oied noes. I have however appended a lis of suggesed readings Wesern languages ha can econsuled for furher inforaion on he opics covered here.

Mos of he aerials in D Le Trdt C: Te Tg Dst


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Preface x

derve fro orgnl Tng sources or secondry sudes The os noleexcepon o hs rule s work on grculure wren ou ney yersefore he foundng of he dynsy Th ook conns recpes for he

prepron of food rre foruls h cn e found nowhere else forseverl cenures fer he fll of he Tng The fc h survved whenos oher exs on fng nd cunry rs dd no ess o s pop-ulry nd uly long fer e e of s pulcon For h reson hve rnsled soe of s recpes for he chper on food nd fess

All f he llusrtons n hs ook re y own There re two ce-gores he frs consss of hose h I coposed yself soe of whchpper n oher works I wrng xcep for he ps nd cernllusrons of clohng hey re sed on woodlock llusrons fro

ooks prned durng he golden ge of Chnese woodcus (100150)The second consss of llusrons sed on gures n Cnese exsdng fro 91 o 1905 Alhough hey re fhful o the orgnls ngenerl I hve redrwn os nd lered he respcures o ncenChnese works re nvrly n poor shpe due o ge Ink fuls ndrrelevn ckground hve een excsed Broken lnes hve een re-pred The oecve ws o ehnce he clry of he llusrons (n-forunely durng the producon of hs ex he llusrons werereduced nd hve los her orgnl defnon nd clry) one n-

snce I de n ddon o he orgnl "Crng Flesh o Feed nAlng lder (cully pcure of loodleng n he Mng dynsy)does no show he wound nced or he lood drppng fro

Two pevous works on dly lfe n ncen Chn re well worhredng: Mchel oewes Evrydy L n Erly Iil hn (New ork1970) whch covers he Hn perod 20 BE.-E 220) d JcquesGees Dily L in hin on h Ev of h Mongol Invsion -7(rns y H M rgh Snford 192)

I deeply grefu o ly Brch Dvd ler nd he res of he

sff Greenwood ress for edng e nuscrp of s ex nd overseeng s producon Any errors h ren n hs ook re y re-sponsly, no hers


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1

Histor1

REBELLION (617-618)

The Tang was the successor to the Sui (, the dynasty that fiedChina after neary four centuries of division Despite that monumentalachievement, the second ruler of the Sui suandered the state's resources,human and material, on three disastrous campaigns of conquest againstnorthe Korea in 2, 3, and 4. Those debacles caused widespreaddisaffection and reellions throughout northe China In the face ofmountng surrections, the Sui court ed south to Yangzhou. After theemeror abandoned his capital uoyang in the north, one of his com-manders, Li Yuanthe Duke of Tang, known posthumously as Gaozu

rose in revolt i led his armies out o his base at Taiyuan and marchedsouthwest to seize the western capita a feat that he accomplished ate 7

REONSRUION (618-683)

June , , Gaozu assumed the throne, adopted the name of hisfief Tang as the title of his new dynasty, and changed the name of theweste capital to Changan His declaration of sovereignty was auda-cious and premature because he had not yet subjugated other antiSuicontenders for power or conuered all of Cha It was not until 24 thatTang forces defeated his last major rivals However, Gaozu's troubleswere not over s soon as he establshed his dominion over Chia


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2 Daiy fe in Tadtoa h

proper, the Easter Turks orth of his orders ega akig troue yauchig uerous icursios to Ca Their depredatios cotiued for six years efore e aries of the secod Tag eperor, Taizog,

fiay vaquished the Thereafter e epire ejoyed ore tha hafa cetry of peace ad staiityThe reeios agaist the S exacted a heavy to o Cias popu

atio Durig the ast years of e Sui, rees ipressed arge uersof aeodied e to serve i their aries, ad cosequety the peopewere uae to sustai theseves through farg or other occupatiosMiitary service at the time was so oerous that e took to reakigtheir is to escape forced coscriptio They caed their ars ad egspropitious paws ad fortate feet The custo persisted we ito

the Tag dyasty 64 the peror issued a decree icreasig thepuishet for deleratey iictig ouds o oesef i a eort toeradicate the practice

The Turkish ivasios were euay devastatig Accordig to a reportwritte i 69, ore tha iio Chiese had surredered to, ed to,or ee aducted y the Easter Turks i the ast years of the Sui adthe eary years of the Tg 63, after the defeat of the Easter Turks,the throe set a evoy earig god ad sik to redee Chiese whothe Turks had esaved The eissary aaged to save 80000 e ad

woeSoo after assuig the throe, Gaozu set to ork restorig the iperia goveret that he had herited fro the Sui At he apex of itwere the chief iisters, the ost powerfu ureaucrats i the coutryThey seved o a couci resposie for akig poicy decisios Theoreticay, ey et with the eperor daiy, ut that was ofte ot thecase e ost powerfu agecies i the goveet were three secretariats charged with coposig d trasttig edicts as we as suppyig advice Oe of the aso cotroed the six departets

personne, rites, war, househods reveue), justice, ad puic worksthat ipeeted the decisio ade y the throe additio therewas a idepedet cesoria agecy that was resposie for aitaig surveiace over the coduct of officias to prevet corruptio adiscoduct Aoter cass of cesors as i charge specificay of oitorig the ehavior of the eperor ad adoishig hi for his fautsad shortcogs fact, it was the custo that ay officia coud reprove hi for his istakes ad wrogdoigs Such cesure ight, however, cost hi his head Gaozu aso recostituted oca govereteprefectures ad eeath the the coutiesas his aries coqueredew territories urtherore, he reestaished the civi service exaiatios reopeed coeges i the capita, ad estaished schoos i aprefectures ad couties to provide the goveret with uaified cadidats for appoitet to offices


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Hity 3

To provide ecurity te Tg etbied frotier grrio cotiiglarge umber of Eate Turki cvlry tat d urredered to teTg i 30 itituted umber of regioal commd tat cotrolled

military ffir i large area ad rtored te old militia ytem Aratioalied i 3 te militia ko te Itrepid Militi ad 33uit. More ta oetird of te troop ere ttioed i te immediteviciity of Caga ad te ret roud uoyg ad i te oreatTe oldier preferably from large ad elltodo fmilie erved omte ge of tetyoe to ixty. Tey tried te lck farmig eofall d iter) prticipted formal bttle exercie ell gretut at e ed of e iter d ejoyed exemptio from txe dcompulory lbor. Te oop rotted ito poitio a member of te

telve gurd of te emperor or te ix guard of te eir apparet forort term A uc ey fuctioed defeder of te cpit. Tegovermet upplied tem it pck mule or ore proviio rmor epo ad tet

e mot preg problem for te Tag i te early evet ceturya te retortio of ficl olvecy Te govermet' grarie dtreaurie ere virtually empty t te dyaty foudig Te tateterefore reititued te "eul eld ytem becaue it eured teady o of tx reveue Te tte parceled out ld ll of ic te

emperor eoreticlly oed i equl are to te peat. t lloctedapproximtely tirtee d a tird acre to ll adult mle betee tege of evetee d fiftyie teir orkig yer I retu te frm-er ad to py to kid of txe ully mout of grai equiv-let to 2 or 3 percet of te ual arvet for eac male adult i tefmily (ome ere txexempt) d tety feet of ilk or tetyfivefeet of lie tt teir ome ove Male alo oed te cetral govermet tety day of compulory lbor (corve) ad te localgovermet to mot of pecil duty (corve). ocal officil took

ceu very tree year ad reditributed te lad Tey reclimed 80percet of it from me ixty yer of ge ad o te bai of it redi-tributed it to me o ad reced te age of evetee.

Te roe lo took meure to etabli a vible currecy i teke of lrgecle couterfeitig tt d broke out t te ed of teSui dyaty I 2 te emperor ordered te itig of e copper ttad uiform pe eigt d metl cotet He lo impoed tedeat pelty o yoe cugt rivately ctg coi. By 755 te gov-ermet d eleve mit it ietyie fuace producig coi ivriou plce i Cia Toe copper lo clled c ere mllroud coi it qure ole i te eter. Te ole permitted tetreadig of coi o cord A trg of ,000 copper cotituted teext iger uit of currecy. eedle to ay lrge qutitie of cere very bulky ad dificult to traport Coequetly it a te prac


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4 Daiy fe n Tradtinal hn

ng Ce

ti i Tg hi to mk pymts for rg trstios i god, sivr, d sik.

I th svth tury Tg fors tdd his doio ovr trritoy grtr i t th prviousy kow y 661 th rmis

hd stishd th dysy's swy ovr tr Asi s fr s potorth of Kshmir, o th ordr with Prsi I 668 omd for ofhis d south Kors (Si) oqurd orth Kor (Kogury), ft tht hd udd oth th st mpror of th Sui d Epror Tizog owvr, Tg ws ot to suugt th outryompty Furthror, w d vry powrfu kigdo i Titg to roh o his wst trritoris

Th r dd o sd ot Du to foods, droughts, oust pgus,d pidis, fmi rok out i th two pits i 682 Th orpss

of th dd d th strts, d itizs rsortd to iis i ordrto surviv Th srity of food drov th pri of gri to uprdtdhights

USURPAIN, OVERHROW AND ORRUPION

684-712)

Th priod foowig dth of th third Tg mpror o D

r 27 68 ws uiqu i th s of his history It ws sigurus rmrk wo Emprss Wu, rud th mpir i hr owright Gozog, hr husd, suffd from hroi ss prhps strok, tht ft him sut to dizziss prysis d ipird visio. s so wkwid Tkg dvtg of th situtio th mpssssud th powr hid th thro y 660 d morh irity if ot i Aftr Gozogs dth sh dposd hr dst so,Zhogzog, d st hi ito i. Th sh istd hr sod so,Ruizog, o th thro d govrd for t si yrs s rgt,th mr y whih wom i trdito hi took otro of thgovmt I 690 sh dposd Ruizog ovrthrw th Tg ssudth thro, d stishd hr ow dsty, th Zhou 690 705). Shws th oy wo i his history to opish suh ft

Th dughtr of umr mrht, Emprss Wu ws try giftd


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ity 5

ad tellet ad had a atural t or oltcs a suerb ablty to udee ad a excetoal talet or aulat the. owever she alsowas sularly ruthless ad cruel Ater a rebello aast her ree

broe out Yazhou dur 684 she tated a re o terror thatrew testy over the ext decade. She establshed a secret servcto erret out her eees or those suosed to be her oes ad 690establshed a scal vestatve oce at a ate Luoya where heraets subected susected trators to useaable tortures. The ersecuto culated the exle ad executos o thousads At rst drected at ebers o the Ta cla (the s) t evetually cae toecoass ayoe she thouht to be a threat to her ower ro chesters to alace servats. May ot ost o the rosecutos dur-

that erod were uust uerous ocet e ad woa dedas result o alse accusatos or the carce o her aets Others sueredro hscal dsabltes or the rest o ther lves as a result o urescted by the eresss laceys A rce who set te years rs-oed the alace receved a beat several tes a year Aterward hecould redct the weather Whe t was about to ra hs welts wouldeel heavy ad deressed Whe t was about to clear they elt lht advorous

The re o terror roud to a halt 693, ad the eress eoyed

wo years o relatve cal I 696 however trouble eruted o Chasborders rst e sr the Tbetas vaded ro the west adcted a reat deeat o a Chese ary less tha 00 les roChaa The the suer the Khta a astoral eole lv theortheast rebelled aast ther cruel ad arroat Chese oveorad ahlated a Chese orce. The bodes o the sla solders lled aouta valley ear what s ow Be The the rebels drove deeto Ta terrtory The loss o Chese troos those battles was soheavy that the eress reed rsoers d eacated rvate slaves

who were wll to ht. She rosed the ew recruts rewards theyelsted her ares To ae atters worse the Tursh ha sezedseveral reectures the orthwest dur the all Whle hold othe Turs ad Tbetas wth sllul dloacy ad brbery the eressset a orce o 00000 troos to attac the Khta the suer o 697.The Khta olded d ed to o the Turs. I the autu o 698 theTurs vaded alo a route slar to that tae by the Khta EressWu satched 450000 solders to thwart e but the hue orce aledto exel the eey. Whe she called or ew recruts less tha 000e resoded. I deserato she recalled her eldest so ro exlestalled h as her aaret ad aoted h eeralsso o a-other ary. Alost edately 50000 e voluteered to serveThereater the eress was able to asseble a substatal orce that coelled the h to wthdraw to e stees


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6 Daiy e Tdtoa ha

Aft assumg tho, Empss Wu stutd may chags thatw tdd to stablsh th uquss of h dyasty ost of hovatos w supfcal ad shotlvd. y ad lag th was o

gat bak th cotuy of th govmt, socty, o coomybtw th ag ad th Zhou dyasts f wt o muh as t hadbfo h usupato Phaps h gatst lgacy was h lvato tooffc of m kow fo th tllgc ad talt A umb of thosm povdd th govmt wth abl ladshp fo yas aft hdath

I 70 ag loyalsts dposd Empss Wu ad stod Zhogzogto h tho o th xt ght yas wom joyd upcdtdpow cout poltcs, ad a damatc upsug coupto occud.

Empss W, th wf of Zhogzog, who assumd th tho thatya, oyd hs favo bcaus sh had gv h stadfast suppot adtalkd hm out of commttg sucd whl h was xl bw 4ad 9 akg advatag of hs goodwll ad wak dsposto, shpomotd th ghts of h daughts ad sought to acqu fo thm thsam pvlgs that oyal pcs oyd At h sstc h husbadstablshd offcs wth stafs of offcalspvously gatd oly tosos of h mofo hs sst ad hs daughts 70 709 Wqustd that hogzog gat wom th ght to quath hdtay

pvgs to th sos, pvously a mal pogatv olyh pcsss also pssd th causs I 70 Pcss l, th mpos favot daught, askd hm to am h h apat placof hs so, a qust that h god dspt hs wak wll. Sh, hssts, ad oth wom th mpsss clqu aogatd to thmslvsth ght to ak appotmts to h staffs wthout gog thoughbuaucatc chals hos commssos cam at a pc th ladschagd 300000 copps p ttl hy mad a p


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Day fe n Tadtoa h

His reig was one of great huaneness and enevolene he nubero eeutionsthe eperor had to approve all of thearried out inthe epire was onl twentour in 730 and teight in 73 In 747

Illustrious ugust also aolished the death penalt. In 71 when heleaed that venoous snakes were killg people in the southeast, heordered loal ofials to ut down the vegetation for ten paes alongboth sides of publi roads to ensure that serpents would not attak travelers In 7 Illustrious ugust distributed lands attahed to governentofies to the poor, and in 744 he rased the age of abilit or taationand orve fro neteen to twenttwo wo ears later the eperorgrnted ta eeptions to ten of the poorest ailies in ever villagethroughout the epire ater he raised the gure to thirt, about 5 per

ent of the populaion. During his reign he also epanded the shoolsste and iproved health are in the provines skilled usiian, poet, and alligrapher, Illustrious ugust fostered

the arts He and his brohers patronized the ost aous artists of theirda, and his reign was the ost glorious period of aeveents thosefields Illustrious ugust was espeiall fond o usiians, singers anddaners n aoplished perorer on a Central sian dru, he otenpersonall instruted his entertainers, orreting errors that he adehe peror was also responsile or ntegrating foreign ad Chese

usi He was proabl os renowned or estalishing the ear Gardenroue that trained usiians and singers Illustrious ugust personallseleted 300 perorers fro a larger institution, the EntertaentWard, nd taught eers of the troupe the proper wa to eeutehoral and instrutal usi e eperor used the troupe to tr outand reate new usi It was his own personal opan, and proablperfored onl at the palae in the eperors presene.

Relative peae etween China and its neighors prevailed while Illustrious ugust was on the throne. he noadi peoples of the north, as

alwas, periodiall onduted raids along the frontier to plunder. hesole grain, abduted people to serve as their slaves, and hased of livestok hough veing, the inursions did not endanger the seurit ofthe epire Onl the ibetans posed a real threat, beause the wereintent on seizing ang territor. he objetive of their invasions at thetie as not the land of China proper, but that of angs dependeniesto the orthwest Chinese fores were usuall vitorious over the ibetans during the epoh

Pea on e frontiers was partiall due to disarra aong the steppepeoples the ang's pursuit of diploa rather than war, and Chaslak of a epansionist poli However, the peae was ainl the resultof a deense poli that originated n e iddle of the seventh enturand was ost vigorousl pursued during the reign of Illustrious ugust.hat poli esalished large, peranent aries anned b ilitia units


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Hity

and nonChns cavary aong th Chs frontr th ary ghthcntury th govrmnt gan to appont prmannt mtary commandrs to ad thos forcs so that thy coud mo qucky n th vnt

of an attack h commandrs wr gvn consdra dscrton n gov-rng thr troops and th us of offca funds to procur provsonsand arms In 737 th thron aandond pocy of conscrptng mnto src Conscrpts srd for ony r yars durng whch thytrand warfar d fought atts Onc thr trms xprd rawrcruts rpacd thm and t procss of tranng had to gi anwh cost of movng mn to th outands was arg and th contnuousnstructon of grn troops nffcnt so th stat rpacd th conscrptswth ongsrvc sodrs who wr attdhardnd and had vd n

th frontr garrsons for yars h dfns forcs cam profssonaarms. By 742 th tota numr of troops n thos arms had risn tonary haf a mon

Wh th thron was takng aggrssv stps to ostr ordr d-fnss t was gnorng th guards and arms n th captas y thmdd of th ghth cntury hy wr trand undrmnnd andd y nxprncd offcrs. In som nstancs wathy mrchan andtownsm nst n thm to acqur tax xmptons thn hrd susttuts to tak thr pacs

Athough h was a vgorous and conscntious rur durng hs rstdcads on th thron Empror Iustrous August grw ax n hs atryars Aftr 73 h dgatd grat powrs to to of hs chf mnstrswho assumd nary dctatora contro ovr mportant stat affars Furthrmor th mpror cam osssd wth on of hs sons wvs In740 h ordrd a unuch to sz th woma from th prncs mansonhn h ordand hr as a aost prstssno dout as a sutrfug toforsta th scada that th aducton woud nvtay ngndrandhad hr nsconcd n on of hs paacs Fv yars atr h dfrockd

hr and rasd hr to th hghst rk among hs consorts ag ufas sh s known to hstory was a dstant dscndant of th Sus runghous A pump auty sh was accompshd n musc and danc I-ustrous Augusts passons Sh and th mpror apparnty spnt mostof thr tm dugng n pasur ang uf usd hr mmns u-nc ovr hm to hav hr ratvs appontd to som of most m-portant offcs n th mpr Hr f and ts tragc nd cam prhapst most famous ov story n Chns hstory It was atr rcountd npotry drama and fcton.

IME OF ROUBLES (75804)

h hacyon ag of Iustrous August cam to an nd wth r-on of An Lushan Ans fathr was a Sogdan an IndoEuropan pop


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1

Daly fe Tdtoal h

h led a kgm a t the thest Cha ad hs mtheas a uk He as ge thee deese ces the theasth headquates ea hat s Bejg As such he as espsble

ctllg the Khta ad the madc tbes pesetday achua He als ejyed upecedeted a m the empe happted hm t hghakg ces dubbed m pce (a plegeusually eseed membes e mpeal cla) had a mas bult hm Chaga ad gated hm the ght t mt cs By 755 Abecame aae that Ce ste Yag a cus Yag Gue Chaga as plttg t eme hm m pe ad bega t ea thathe as lsg the empes a. Csequetly ecembe 16 755he se elt th the epessed tet destyg hs eemy

the che mste the captal Wth sme 150,000 tps A ushamached suth ecuteg ey lttle esstace hee ee tae battlehadeed ces t mpede hs ay he best the mpeal ames ee stated dstat tes ad ecallg themuld take a lg tme etyu days late A cssed the YellRe hee he sezed ctl the Gad Caal ad cut uds adsupples t the mpeal cut m the suth. e days ate that uyag deeded b hastly cscpted ecuts ell t hs ces Hagcaptued a captal the ebel as able t pclam hmsel empe ad

establsh a e dyasty. te summe 756 llusus August made a dsastus decsHe deed the mpeal ces at ccuped a mable eese pst a a pass the Yell Re t adace ad ct A ushasames he tal assault tued t a debacle he the ebel tpsambushed the atal ames July 9 he ay t Chaga as pead thee as thg let t dee the cty. Csequetly llustusAugust th hs he appaet Yag Gue Che ste Yag ad asmall esct tps skulked ut the captal the peda hus

July 4 Whe they eached a apd elay stat est Chagthe tps ebelled sle the che mste ad demaded the le Yag Gue. he empe had chce but t de hs mst tustedeuuch t stagle the le hs le th a hse hp. Hs hghessthe pceeded e a aduus ute t exle Chegdu the suthest hee he abdcated. he he appaet made hs ay t a cty he thest eahle A usha had alle ll He sueed mdeepted bls hs ace that caused acute pa ad he gaduallylst hs sght As a esult he became cuel ad ascble mds that dsaected hs subdates. ealy 757 a euuch eteed hs tet dugthe ght ad pluged a sd t hs belly. A usha ded m lss bld he ebell hee ctued st ude the cmmad As s ad the hs me geeals

Althugh the ag ecee ts captals 757 ad ally suppesse


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Hitoy 1 1

An Lshns sccssors in rly 63 th cts o th rbllions wrdstting Th irst o thm ws th collps o bordr dnss In 56th gomnt withdrw troops rom th soth to ight An Th bo

rigis thr too dntg o opportniy Thir rmy o 200,000mn dd th r st o ton, bd Chs sttlmnts, ndmintind control or th r or i yrs. Two yrs ltr orco Arb nd Prsin pirts srrondd Cnton, orcing th Chins gornor to Th brignds lootd th gornmnt grnris nd storhoss, brnd dwllings, nd sild wy 63 th Tibtns lso toodntg o th Tngs ilitry wnsss indd rom th wst,nd sizd Chngn whr thy instlld thir o cndidt, Tngprinc on th thron. Th occpon lstd lss thn month, bt it

orcd th cort to l gin Th Tibtns contind to mnc thcpitl, orcing th gornmnt to dclr mrtil lw in th city on oroccsions btwn 64 nd 68 Ty stblishd bordr bn thmsls nd th Chins t ws oly sntyight mils wst o Chngn, nd rptdly snt orcs cross it to rid nd plndr or morthn two dcds Frthrmor Tibtns sizd th northwst trritoris o Chin propr s wll s Chins sttlmnts long th SilRot in ntrl Asi Th loss o th northwst prctrs ws trribl bo to th Tng bcs thy contind th bst pstrs or

horss nsqntly th dysty ws short o monts or its clry thd to by stds om th Uighrs, wo too dntg o th sitionto sll th Chins brondown horss or otrgos prics Th Tngdid not rcor th northwst trritoris til th 840s, nd wrr withth Tibtns contind spordiclly ntil 851

To rcptr its citls, th thron clld pon t pstorl poplso t northwst nd wst rgions to rndr ssistnc O thos poplsth ighr Trs wr th most bl o th motd wrriors nd thmost importnt ctor in th Tngs ictoris In 5 s rwrd orthir id in cptring Loyng, th commndr o th impril xpdition llowd thm to loot th impril trsris nd storhoss pillgth mrts, nd sly dnslss citizns in th city or thr dys Elmnts o th impril rmy tht thoght o th city s rbl trritorylso prticiptd i th plndrg d cg Th iolnc contindor thr months Loyng ll to rbls onc g in 759, nd pror s th Uirs or rthr ssistc In 62 th Trs ndimpril orcs rtoo nd plndrd th city Th citizns o Loyngwho wr rriid o th Uighr, too rg in pilions t two Bddhist monstris Th Trs st th strctrs blz, illing tns othosnds o popl Th irs did not di ot or mny ws By iro thir contribtion to th rstortion o Tng, th Uighrs noydsomthing o ord position Changn or dcds thrtr. Thtld to som otrgos nd rrognt bhior on thr prt rly 2


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12 Daiy fe in Tadtial ha

te legaton horsemen left te hostel fo foegn emssares wtout autorzaton and abducted oys and grls n te wards and marketsof Cangan Wen offcals ted to pevent te kdnappngs te Ughus

assaulted tem e trone sent a eunuch to mollfy tem and teystopped te depredatons Seven months later te gus aga lefthe hostel wthout pemsson cased a couny commandant, and sezedhs hose He daed not stuggle wt tem, and departed on anothemount e tone tolerated ter barbaous eavor because te Ugus were essental to te success of the Tangs defense mantanedfendly relatons troug maage allances of oyal pncesses to tekans

Wa wt the Tbetans and te vexatous elatons wt te Ugus

were not te most pessng polems that faced te dasty te lateeght century oremost of ts predcaents was a polcy of estalsgmltary governosps n te ntero of Cna pecsely compaable tote fonter defense gasons that Empeor llustous ugust ceated nte fst alf of te centuy n oder to ng a uck end to te rebellonof A Lusan, te thone apponted amy commandes to ase toopsn lage areas of Chna poper Tat entaled te ceaon of new adminstratve regons called ponces, tat encompassed fom two to a doeno mo prefectues y 7 thee wee thtyfou of tem, ad as many

as ffty late n te centuy That polcy also caused te mltazaton oflage aeas of e empre n 7 tee wee more tan 75 men underams i te new pofessonal stadng armes Te commandes couldalso call up local mlta unts unde te control Te latte were lowcost ecause they served on a tempoay bass only and would tenacously defend the omes oweve, they wee lltraned for combatoutsde ter natve dstrcts

n 7 75 pecent of te governors n te povnces were mltary menand 5 percent as late as 84. Tere wee two tyes of commandes, te

loyal and te dsloyal who wee mostly former offces of n Lusan'sames n orde to avod prolonging te campagn against te emnantsof ns forces the one padoned tose of te leades wllg to ceasehostltes and confrmed tem as mltary goveos of te tertoresunde te contol Sce e dynasty ad no relale ames of ts ownexcept for e fonter garsons n te notwest that could not be wtdawn in te face of Tbetan aggresson untl 78 t depended on teloyal govenors for nteal defense Tose forces, owever, were notunde te drect control of e court and many of te governors sumed taxes regulaly because tey needed funds to manta terarmes s fo te fomer ebel offcesoccupyng te noteast andpotons of a egon sout of the Yellow Rveey became semautonomous or autonomous rom 7 to 819 over tty pefectues ite east and noteast apponted offcals on ther own autoty and


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History 13

sumitte no triute or txes The goernment ost contro of 5 to 3percent of the popution, s we s of te reenues tht it woud oth-erwise he receied from those sujects The court hd effectie contro

oer four regions: the norwest fontier the region round Chngnthe south, incuding the Hui ier nd the ngte er si nd corridor ong the Grnd Cn Except for two reeions in 6 nd763, the south remined o to the dnst nd ws its princip sourceof reenue durg tht period For tht reson the goernment mdeeer effort to keep the Grnd Cn open

goeors cuired poitic contro oer the territories they oc-cupied y irtue of their miitr power In utonomous proinces, themiitr goeors in mny cses insisted on hereditry succession nd

pssed their offices on to their sons In other cses former suordinteofficers fought it out to determine who woud ssume the goeorshipThe court ws poweress to interene in either eent, d usuy c-corded de fcto recognition of the new edership The goernors ofthose regions openy defied orders from the centr goernment, p-pointed their own foowers to poitic offices in their spheres of inuence, nd eied ieg txes s resut the uit of the ocureucrc decied uthorit ecme decentied, nd e court inChngn s une to preent it ecuse it cked the miitr forces

to impose its wi n the goernors The throne dopted issefirettitude towrd e proincesThe next most pressing proem for the Tg s nnci When A

ushn seied the rnd C, he cut off the ow of grin, oth, ndmone from the south to Chngn fter his seiure of the cpits, theimperi goernment ost of the ceres stored in its grnries d theweth in its tresuries s resut the court ws in dire need of funds,especi to suport its wr effort e throne resorted to the temporryexpedient of seg ordintion certifictes for the Buddhist nd Toistpriesthoods In te 755 nd ery 756 one offici coected iion coppers from tht ctiit in one northern cit one fter the recpture ofthe cpits the throne extended the prctice to res of the epirend uthoried the se of tites for goement posts, honorry ureu-crtic tites nd noe tites s we. It so pproed the se of exmintion degrees ht went for csh ech Most of the purchsersof those instruments were merchnts, the on group tht coud ffordte rge sus of money reuired to p for them. The trders wereeger to otin them ecuse the certifictes exempted them from tx-tion e court so ppeed to merchnts for coniution of onefifthof their weth to support the wr effort

The od txtion nd nd sstems compete copsed fter the re-eion of n Lushn In the course of the wrs ny census recordsnd tx ros were destroed or ecme osoete ecuse the pesnts


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14 Daiy fe in Tdtoa h

ha bcom casualtis or had migratd out of battl o Th govmt mad littl ffort to rviv th old sstms aftr 766 ad abolishd thm i 780 I th matim it rsortd to lvyig miscllaous

taxs to provid rvus for th public coffrs. Thos r so iadquat that th stat had to rduc h salaris ad othr molumts ofofficials as ll as icoms of th obility 780 th thro abolishdall of th taxs ad stitutd a simpliid ratioalid biial lvyLocal ovrmts collctd it i th sumr ad autu h thpasats harvstd thir crops ad r i th bst positio to fulfill thimpositios Th la imposd th xactios o all productiv classsot just farmrs Thr r to catgoris to th biial lvy Th firstas a houshold tax basd o th si ad proprty of th family. It as

assssd o th basis of moy but oft collctd kdgra adclothbcaus thr as a acut shortag of copprs. Th scod asa lad tax collctd i kid that applid oly to lds udr cultivatioI 780 th ctral govmt st commissiors out to stablish quotasfor provics ad prfcturs quotas that rmaid i forc thraftrThos fxd amouts applid v to rgios ot udr dirct cotrol ofChaga. Th stat took o itrst i ho local authoritis collctd thtaxs or ho much thy collctd (it varid from plac to plac) aslog as thy forardd its shar to th capital Th la allocatd th

rvus from biial ax to th ctral govrmt h provcsad th prfcturs I th frst yars 78783) th fuds from th lvis xcdd th total procds from all othr sourcs Alhough thamouts dcl thraftr th systm as so succssful that it survivd for sv cturis.

By far th most lucrativ sourc of fuds for th ctral gormti lat ighth cury as th salt moopoly By 780 it producdhalf th stats icom Commissiors ra th systm Thy cotrolldproductio at salt lls i th southst vaporatio pas alog th

coast hat procssd saatr ad a small umbr of salt pools scattrdthroughout th mpir Th officials rcruitd orkrs ho had traditioally gagd i th occupatio or chos migrats illig to tak itup I ithr cas th salt orkrs r xmpt from compulsory laborTh producrs had to sll all of thir salt to th govt hich itur sold it to mrchats addig a tax that as t tims h marktvalu of th commodity I additio local oficials chargd th tradrstrasit taxs as thy covyd thir goods to markt Sic salt as asstial itm i th prsrvatio of food vryo dd it v if itspric as xorbitat ad thrfor govmt protd ormouslyat last h th moopoly as ll ru.

Th halfctry folloig th outbrak of A Lushas rbllio asa dismal tim of grat suffrig for th dyasty ad its subjcts Thrbllio rought grat dstructio throughout orthr Chia Rbl


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Hity 15

mies destye lbies stle t tesues d bducted etet-essiges dces muscis d cbts Chg d uygsuffeed epeted ltigs d becme dgeus plces t live m

5 t 8 Mues d ssssitis ccued fequetly i bthlyal ad septist es dug thse ty yes d wafe lidwste t my es f the Ch. The ltte cused my pepleespecilly pests t migte suth whee pece d pspeity pe-viled

The effts by e the t suppess defit utmus mltygves especilly thse f the hest pvices beee 8 d8 eded i disste. At fist the cut ws fily successful the bt-tlefield but it suffeed mj defet i 82 The fllwg ye bde

tps fm the thwest wh wee mkg thei y t the ft des fm the empe ebelled whe they eched Chg becusethe gvemet hd t issued em dequte pvisis They seizedthe capitl fcig the empe t ee westwd with few f his cu-sels The the cmmade ssumed the the d estblished edysty I 8 a pvicil gve seied ctl f the Gd Clcmpletely cuttig Chg ff fm its suce f eveues d suppliesi the suth. The gveet ested t impsig ew pety dses xs the itizes f hg s well as fcg ls fm

mechts i the citl. Wfe cme t ed the ext ye whe thetle etued t the sttus qu te by cfmig the idepedece the utmus gves Tht defet humbled the empe d hedid thig t esset cetl uthity f his emiig tet yes e the

REOVERY (080)

805 ggessive d vigus empe Xizg sceded the

the He ws bet eestablishig cetl ctl ve the eclcitatutmus pvices. the pusuit f his mbiti he hd t advtages tht his pedecesss did t Fist the fiscl efms f theely 80s hd filled his cfes t lest duig hs fist yes thethe s he culd ffd t egge i mility petis Secd theempe hd effective d welltied my the Amy f DivieSttegy ude his diect ctl. Oiglly the Army f Divie Stt-ey fuded i 53 s thwest bde gis etwee 0 d e impeial cut mved it t bse west f uyg whee it

culd defed the ppaches t Chg I 5 the the hd it trs-feed t the impeil pk i the cpitl The e plced euuchs ichge f it i 83 d they emied i ctl util the ed f thedysty 98 it hd gw t 20000 tps d ffices DuigEmpe Xiags eig the my paticipated i seveal expeditis


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16 Daily e in Tadtioa ha

sent out to uell autonomous provinces It aso defended the capita,preventing rebe forces from besieging the city

Xanong conducted seven major military campaigns aganst the au-

tonomous, recacitrant provinces between 806 and 819, and managed toreassert imperia authority over all but two of them hat meant thethrone recovered its powers to appoint miitary governors (that is,hereditary succession came to an end) as wel as local officas n thoseareas he more an thirty prefectures in the east and northeast that thecental government lost in 763 returned to the fod Xaongs achieve-ments endured After his death the empire enoyed four decades of peaceand stability during which ony one revolt of any significance occurred

Xianongs successors proved less capable than he he first o spent

much of their time induging in hunting, polo, and other forms of di-version he third was frugal and more serious He enoyed readng andstudyng However, neither he nor his predecessors were abe to controthe eunuchs nor instil awe in the most powerful mandarins at the cap-ital he eunuchs hed enormous sway over the emperor in the palacewhile the mandarins ed factions that caused strife the bureaucracy

Wuong, who assumed the throne in 840, was more forceful than hispredecessors, though he did not solve the problems of the eunuchs andbureaucratc factionalism He was an ardent devotee of aoism and n-

tent on destroying nondigenous religions In 842 he aunched a per-secution of Buddhism as well as other foreign faihs such asManichaeaism, Zoroastriansm, and Nestorian Christianity His repression reached its height in 845 when the govement cosed 4,00 mon-asteres and 40,000 smaller chapes and shrines It aso defrocked almonks under the age of fifty and those over ifty who did not possessproper ordnation certificates, aiciing over 250,000 clerics in all Hys-teria reigned, and rumor had it that the emperor had ordered the de-capitaton of a monks and nuns n the capital so that he coud use their

heads to fil a large pit from which earth had been excavated to build aterrace in his paace he throne allowed only fortynine monasterieswith some 800 monks throughout he empire to remain open Durngthe proscripto, when monasteries were destroyed, dismantled, or con-verted to other uses, the church lost its greatest muras, paintngs, andstatuary Many of them were the works of the most renowned artists ofthe ang

he real motive for the proscription was economic, not ideologicalhe stae was short of revenues, and the defenseless Buddhist church

provided easy pickings he govement seied its slaves, cash, slk, andgra to pay the salaries of its officias It expropriated all metal statuesand bells, convertng those of brone nto cons, those of gold and silverinto ingots that found their way nto the pubic purse, and hose of ironinto farmig tools he throne aso demaded that ay owners of metal


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History 1 7

statues tu thei ages ove to the goveet fo destucio. Thestat deocked oks ad us i ode to etu the to the ta ollsut e efect of the policy was ot always what the epeo iteded

eeft of food ad clothig soe of the laicized clegy foed gags ofadits that pludeed villages to steal food ad clothig.I the to decades afte Epeo Wuzog's deise i ealy 846 his

successos did uch to evese his suppessi of udds d estoethe eligio to vigo esides estowig ipeial patoage o thehuch the thoe peitted vitually eveyoe fo the aos of thecapial to the peasaty i the villages to estoe old ad estalish ewoasteies if they had the heewithal to do so evetheless it ishighly ulikely that uddhis eve fully ecoveed fo the poscip-

tio I a scat tety yeas the ue of oasteies the size of theclegy ad the etet of its ladholdigs ad weah could scacely haveeached the agitudes that wee the poduct of oe tha o cetu-ies of developet The civil disodes that plagued the epie i itslast foty yeas dealt futhe los to e chuch its popey ad itssciptues

THE DECLINE (86088)

The ist sig of seious poles fo e dyasty appeaed whe alagescal eellio oke out i a egio southeast of e Yagtze Riveetwee 59 ad 860 The goveet uickly suppessed i ut theevolt as the outcoe of disafectios that had ee goig o yeasi the south Half of the eels who ueed oe tha 30,000 at oetie wee peasats who had aadoed thei lads ecause of oppes-sive taatio ad had tued to adity fo thei suvival The dyastywas losig the suppot of the egio that had ee stauchly loyal sicethe A Lusha eellio ad had ee the ajo souce of its eveue

At the sae tie the igdo of zhao southwest of the Tag ivaded Aa (othe Vieta the pat of Chia pope) afte theilitay goveo thee foced the to sell thei livestock at elow a-ket value ad killed oe of thei leades Chiese foces fially secuedthe aea i 866, ut the ahao cotiued to atack Tag odes fatheoth util 875. Oe of the side effects of the wa i Aa was a dis-astous utiy. I 868 othe toops who the goveet had setsouth to fght evolted whe the cout eeged o a poise to let theet hoe at the ed of ei tous of duy They ached ito theotheast whee they attacted lage ues of peasats adits adalieated soldies i the aea The eels seized cotol of a lage egioo the east coast etwee te ellow ad Yagtze ives the took tolieatig ladowes ad echats of thei wealth With the help ofthe Tuks ad othe steppes ties ipeial foces quickly put dow the


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18 Daly fe in Tadtiona hn

isurrectio i 869 ut aga a oce loyal ad reveuerich area wasdevastated ad dsaected

t was precsely the rego etee the Yellow d Yagtze rivers

that the reello whch roke the ack of the Tag orgated. 878Huag Chao who excelled i swordsshp ad outed archerytook coad of a ary of surgets ad i the face of strogerperal forces decded to head southpillagg urg ad slaughterg as he wet 879 he took Cato the great etrept of overseastrade ad slaughtered ost of ts 200000 hatats Huag who lost40 percet of hs forces to alaria i Cato the arched orth gatherg ew recruts for hs ary fro utious peral troops ad adts He devastated the crtcal lower Yagtze rego agai. late 880

uoyag fell to hi without a fght Chaga succued o Jauary 5,881 Eperor zog ad hs court ed to Chegdu ode Schuaprovce Huag declared the estalishet of a ew dyasty

NES

The word "minister always refers to a high-rankng ofia, never to acergyman.

Taoism ad Taoit aways refer to the aost region not Taot phlosopyuness otheise specified


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2

Societ

ARISORAY

Athough Tang Chna cannot b cad fuda at ast n th sns thaturop of th sam tm was t was a hghy stratfd hrarchca socty Th stat rguatd vrythgth aocaton of rsourcs; accssto ducaton and potca oc; tax obgatons and xmptons; gaaccountabty and punshmnt; and moron th bass of an ndvduas status Sptuary aws dctatd th quantty quaty sz andadornmnt of coths transportaton homs and othr facts of f Thnoton of quaty so chrshd n modrn tms dd not xst n tTang

At th apx of socty wr of cours th mpror and hs fayTh attr ncdd both hs nucar and hs xtndd fams grandfathrs grdmothrs mothr wvs sons daughtrs grandsonsgranddaughtrs brothrs sstrs uncs aunts nphws ncs andcousns. Th thron bstowd nn ranks of nob tts from prnc tobaron on ma ratvs t aso confrrd th tt prncss on auntssstrs daughtrs th consort of th hr apparnt and th wvs ofprncs Th court aocatd portons of th annua tax rvnus to tmfs stats that nobs controd at th acquscnc of a kng hadvanshd ong bfor th Tang Grants of tax rcpts rpacd thmThos aowancs wr th gran and cot< vs that oca ocas coctd from a gvn numbr of houshods n a gvn dstrct In th frsthaf of th Tang th govrnmnt stabshd offcs wth staffs of ofcas


24/289

20 Daiy fe in Tadtio ha

a clrks for prcs Tos acs cop t t rats a otrmattrs for 682 t allowacs, as a rul, wr most Rusra from 800 to ,000 ousols for prcs a 300 to 600 for pr

csss Dur t rs of Emprss Wu a Empror Zozo tamouts ros stply I 705 t mpror bsto t taxs from 5,000ousols o hs brotr a Prcss Tap, a t follo yar,rous rats of 4,000 a 3,500 ousols o s to faortautrs I 709 o of s mstrs calculat tat taxs from 600,000ousols, about 8 prct of t taxpay populato, r o topay for coms of t oblty H rcko tat arstocrats rcmor slk from ls ta t mpral trasury I t sam yar arport to t tro coclu at tr r 40 obls rc

coms from fftyfour prfcturs, rouly 5 prct of t mpr AftrIllustrous Auust asc t o a lauc s proram ofaustrts, cut t coms of t oblty Aotr pro of flatooccurr raftr as t fscal alt of t ot mpro Accor to statuts act bfor 739, t ra of rus rat toblty ra from 0,000 ousols for a prc to 300 for a baroAftr t rbllo of A usa, t court coul o lor affor sucxcss xpturs, t alloacs ropp rastally

arstocracy also clu xtrmly porful clas wo a mo

opolz omt postos t yasts bfor t TaSom of tm, four from ortast partcular, profss to at fst Cs prs, marr oly amo tmsls, a cosr t s (t royal ous of t Ta) to b parus As lat ast arly t ctury a mpror compla tat a marra to twoof tos famls as cosr supror to o wt t mpral famly T mmbrs of tos clas wo l obl ttls ot acqurtm by rtu of tr brt T tro bsto tm for mrtoroussrc or as xprssos of faor por of t clas rst solly

o socal prst a trato Tat strt was suffct to scurtm rak postos buraucracy utl t of t yasty

Excpt t worst of tms, t arstocracy l comfortably tbst of tms ty l lasly a xaaatly Som prcs rssolut, ul ut, rk, a trtamt t arlyt ctury t so of o prc suly bcaus of orulc a om It as Zozos autrs, owr, wo out all otrs t proal xptur of ormousalt tat ty a acqur by sll orato crtfcats a ofcttls Prcss Al xroprat stats of commors wst ofC to bul a plasur park S spt ormous sums o aor t rous Workrs xcaat a lak sxt mls crcumfrc aborrs p stos to crat a mota rsmbl Mout


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Soity 1

Huaa sace peak a scec woe east of the captalug a vechael the fom of e Mlky Way, stalle bges, a pave oaswth stoe Capetes eecte pavlos a covee walkways. sas

ecoate the stuctues wth gol a slve, a la them wthpeals a jae te the eecuto of the pcess 710, the gove-met seze the popety a tue t to a publc pak. Ctzes othe captal vste t aly ome pces wee avacous a accumu-late lae amouts o gol a oe valuables the teasues Occasoally, the thoe pushe a oblema o volatg sumptuayegulatos Oe empeo emove a pce fom offce because hscothes a oamets wee too etavagat. Thee wee ae cases offugalty amog the astocats Oe peee cheap hemp gamets to

the omal epesve slk obes wo by obles, a ate othg othe ays o the avesaes o hs acestos eaths

the ealy yeas o the Tag, astocats wee pomet ofces mpeal ames Thee of Gaozus sos playe actve a ecsve oles the mltay campags that foue the yasty. Oe of hs aughtes also took pat the ealy stages of the Tag ebello. he fe tohe estate west o Chaga o leag that he fathe was about toevolt. fte avg hee, she stbte he popety to ecut sevealhu me hg the eaby moutas, so that they coul assst

Gaozu as he apoache the captal. he set a sevat to a bat,campe a bamboo gove, who was kllg taveles. The yug boycovce the hghayma to jo oces wth the pcess sevatalso tae the moe bgas, who cotolle seveal thousa me,to placg the bas at he sposal He motley cew, kow as theays m, maage to captue thee eectues umbe of pcesa sos of pces seve as mltay offces late the seveth ce-tuy ee was a wao tato the mpeal famly at least theealy yeas of the yasty

ome late mpeal appotmets o astocats to mltay posts weesastous 756 llustous ugust appote oe of hs sos as ml-tay goveo of the empes southe egos Whe he pce aveat a cty o the Yagtze Rve, he ecute a amy of moe a 200,000me The he ebelle agast the toe Rase the palace, he hao kowlege of o eelg o leag me. Govemet ames putow hs suecto a klle hm.

t was the custom of the Tag cout, especally the st half of theyasty, to appot pces a othe obles to govemet posts

may cases the ofces wee secues The astocats hel them ab-seta a eve peome the utes assge to e oces o evelet the masos the captal some cases, howeve, obles actuallywet to the povces a amstee the stcts as tue offcals ew o them acqutte themselves amably Oe acque a eputa


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22 Daiy fe i Tadtia h

tin fr is fairness in adjudicatig imprtant ega cases. Ater wass uncrrupt and severe admiisterig justice tat crimias ed is

jurisdicti. Yet anter distguised imsef by queig a rebei f

abrigies in sueast Cina witut resrtig t frce. Oters, wever, were crue gvers Oe price w was serving as te gverrf a prefecture assauted a cunty cmmandant uder is autrity frn just cause Wen e f is subrdiates dared t reprve im frtramping te crps f peasats wie unting, e beat im.

Se aristcrats tk t eaig and te arts Oters fstered scarsip. A emperr appited ne f is sns t te pst f directr fte imperia ibrary because e was s fnd f earing. A price in teeary sevet century used is weat t cect a arge ibrary tat c

tained very fne editins as we as rare caigrapy and cpies f stneinscriptis. I 64, ater prince pubised a arge istrica gegrapy f te empire cmpied by a iterary academy f scars at ead estabised wit imperia cset 6, a tird price submittedt te tre an anntati t a eary dynastic istry tat is circe feaed men ad cmpied. Subsequety, ne f Empress Wus ecmen subjected im t severe duress, and e cmmitted suicide. Terewere princes w exceed i music, paiting, and caigrapy. Eve distant members f te imperia can were artists f sme nte. Te mst

infamus cif inister f te eary eigt cetury was a fie painter,as were is fater and unce.Smetimes te caracter f aristcrats eft smeting t be desired.

Sme were arrgant, verbearg, r sefindugent. Oters were igbe;teir beavir useemy, crimina, indecent, r depraved. In 643 te eirt te tre created a scada at curt wen e became iatuated wita by dacer f a imperia trupe tat perfrmed at is masi Teby w was abut tirtee years d, was exceedigy gdkingad an utstading singer Te eir made effrt t ide te ve affair,

ad is father s earned f it Te emperr ad te by put t deat.Te ss f is paramur devastated te eir, w tk i He instaeda statue f te dancer in e f is as ad made ibatis t it as actsf muig. In te same year anter prince ad tw icis isstaf assassnated wen e was abut t revea is trasgressins, adte ter refused t ave ay part te murder f te first I 672 asn f a aiing prince tk advantage f is fater's weakeed state tmest e f is cncubies Afterward te price eaed abut tearassmet and rebuked is s Unrepentant, te s deprived is fater f fd ad medicie s tat e died f starvati 682 r 683te trne rdered anter sn f a prince t cmmit suicide fr besaity specificay fr cmmitting te crime f icest One f IustriusAugusts epews ad tree f is rieds murdered a ma in te capita, party t btain is rices d party t sette a grudge In brad


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Soy 3

dayligt tey bldgeoed te ma to deat, boiled is fles, ad ate itWe te crime came to ligt i te ser of 39, te troe baisedte epew. It te ordered im to commit sicide we e reaced a

rapid relay statio east of Caga.Te ilaws of a emperor could be as wicked as is clasme. Oeof Empress W's epews, a adsome fellow, ad abomiable caracter ad belieed e cold do as e pleased becase e was a closerelatie of te empress. We te empress's dagter, te see oreigt years old, came to pay a call o er gradmoterwo doted ote epew ad i wose masio e liede seduced all of te yogpalace ladies i er retue. Tat was outrageous eog ad etirelyillegal bt is trasgressio wet pised becase e eoyed te

protectio of is gradmoter Ucasteed, e committed a eegreater offese. e broke ito te ome of a beautifl youg girl womte cort ad selected to be te eir apparet's cocubie, ad rapeder. By tat time is protectress ad died Drig te mouig periodfor er e brazely cast aside his sackclot ad idulged i etertai-met, seriously iolatig Tag law. Empress Wu ad ad eog of hsdeplorable ad illicit beaior. Se arraged to ae im baised ote grods tat e ad iolated mourig reglatios Se did ot water famils reputatio besmirced by a coictio o te carge of rape

er epew committed siide te road to exileTere were also some rd times for aristocrats. After te epositioof a epress i 655, er adopted so ad former eir appare was soafraid tat Empress W or oe of er coorts wold sed assassi toslay im tat e took to wearig womes clotes as a disguise. It wasot commo for aristocrat to commit suicide we e belieed tatte troe would ae im executed for beig implicated i some plotFrom 688 to 93 Empress Wu ad dreds if ot tousads, of teTag's obles put to deat, freetly o baseless carges 52 te

troe demoted te so of a price merely becase e sold a ose toa official wom te troe ad fod gilty of plottig rebellio.

BUREAURAY

I te a tere were two types of officials fctioaries ad ma-daris. Fctioaries, kow as tose "otside e crret, werescribes, lrs, wareouse keepers, ad oter sbaltes of te mada-ris, tose "wii te curret. Tey performed e rotie tasks ofadmiistratiodraftig correspodece ad reports compilig recordsad registrs, maitaiig ietories, ad te liketat were beeate digity of te madaris from wom tey receied eir salaries.

Te igest goal for a ambitios ma of social stadig ad/ or ed-ucatio was to acire a positio "witi te curret," to become a ma


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24 Daiy Lfe in Tadiona ha

darn here were bascally three ways to acqre such an oce Fist, aman could assert heredtary prlege e sons o ocals were elgbleor appontment to a post one grade lower than the hghest oce that

ther athers held (or had held, they were deceased). hat orm oadancement probably accounts or the act that some hghrankng mandarns n the g were llterate. n the early eghth century a mnstero the epartment o Households n Changan could nether recognzewrtte words nor understand documents. He apparently had a low regard or those who could do so, or he called hs subordnates "dogsand jackasses Ocals o that sort reled healy on ther subordnatesto read and drat documents t would be a mstake, howeer, to assumethat all men who acqured posts by heredtary prlege were llterate

or incompetent Second, he could recee a specal appontment rom thethrone. n those cases, the emperor acted on the recommendaton o anocal or on normaton, oral or wrtten, that he had receed n mostnstances he made hs decsons on the grounds that the canddates hadsuperior reputatons, specal sklls or exceptonal qualifcatons ast, anasprant or a bureaucratc poston could st or cl serce examnatons and recee a post he passed them

One authorty has called the Chese bureaucracy a mertocracy because n prncple t recruted and promoted oceholders on the bass

o learnng, sklls, and other abltiesnot on the bass o socal statushat s certanly tru or the ang wth some exceptons, notably mandarns who receed appoitments on the bass o heredtary prlege.ter a man acured a post, hs superor annualy rated hs characteraccordng to our categores o attrbutes: hs rtue and rghteousness,ntegrty and prudence, mpartalty, and dlgence. He then assessed thesubordinate's actual perormance o hs dutes accordng to entyseencrtera, such as the selecton o talented subordates wth good character or hs sta, proper tranng and equppng o troops, ust

sentencing o concted crmnals, metculous maintenance o recors,preenton o aud n the marke, and rearng e anmals under hscharge so that they were at and strong n ocals career dependedon aorable ealuatons, so he had to conduct hmsel prudently hewshed to adance

here was a herarchy o nne grades or oces and the mandarnsholdng them he ladder o success or madarnswho receed elegant ttles such as Grandee o Radant Emolument and Bearer o the Goldeal th Purple Rbbon on attanng new gradesconerred greater andgreater prestge and prleges as they receed promotons to oceswth hgher and hgher rankngs. he system was also the nstrumentby whch the goernment xed salares, all o them taxexempt, andallocated resources n addton, the court eobled hghranking or mertorous bureaucrats, cl and mltary t conerred ttlesduke, mar


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Socty 25

qus ot vsount and aronon te and provded te wtgrants slar to tose aorded te arstoray ut saller sze (terevenues ro 0 to 2000 ouseolds

Many o te Tangs oals were uprgt dlgent and opetent Alegal oer n one preeture never posed beatng wt te tk rodas psent or res. Wen e rose to a ost n te epartent ounton at te aptal durng te regn o Epress Wu e was responsble or savng te lves o several tousand en wo te epress'sruel les ad alsely aused n te sae perod an oal n teServe o te Supree Justeortalzed as udge ee n novels ya ode Western autoradudated 17,000 legal ases n one yearases tat ad reaned unresolved or years Troug s nterventon

e also saved te lves o 600 to 700 en sentened to deat or engplated n te reellon o a prne A general o te Gold Brd Guardtat patrolled te streets o te aptal ngt and day personally passedudgent daly on ore tan 00 en augt volatng te law. He wasnot lenent n aplyng psents so tzens bot noles and o-oners eared everteless e was responsble or estalsngorder n te ty Exeplary lol oals took a keen nterest n tewelare o te people tey goeed Wen one ount oandantarrved s dstrt e dsovered tat t ad suered ro loods year

ater year and tat te rver daaged a wooden brdge tat ad to berepare annually He ad te dke along te rver rased and bult aoatng rdge to replae ts wooden ounterpat Tose atons pre-vented rter alates n te ounty Wen an epde struk andklled lvestok n s provne a governorgeneral devsed a anetat peasants ould pus to plow ter elds nstead o usng ter ows

Oter loal oals ade eorts to repar sools and enourage stu-dents to pursue learnng Wen powerul and wealty ales n a pre-eture llegally ouped land deprvng peasants o ter elds te

governor gatered up a large trat o land ad gave t to te poor adneedy One ounty oandt was extreely rugal perttng sslaves only one eal a day. Watever surplus s parsony produede gave to te poor A goveor o a preeture ad a lour ll ult ats own expense and donated e prots to te starvng addton ead ore tan ten uts bult along te sdes o s dwellng or te tolve n. t was oon prate aong people lvng n dstrts gov-erned by worty exeplary and uane oals to rase stone taletsn ter arkets or streets earng srtons oeoratng e good

governent o ter andarnsTang Cna also ad ts sare o bad oals Te ost oon oro alease durng te dynasty was orrupton Wen te e osoe aorgnes n wat s now Nort Vetna wanted to take a wete Cnese governor o te preeture deanded 1000 lengts o ne


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26 Daiy e radtioa ha

lk fbr before he wold grnt h permon The hef w ble toppl onl 800 length, o the goernor eed the brdetobe nd hdh w wth the md for three d before retrnng her Sne he hd

deowered e womn, the hef wold not mrr her An mperl enor hd pon for etng beef Coneqentl, whle he w ondtngn npeton tor n the regon oth of the Yngte Rer, the nmberof ttle lghtered n the re to feed h ppette w enormo Hew orrpt nd wold not onlde n netgton, whether t onerned trl or gre mtter, ntl he reeed gold for dong oConeqentl, the pre of gold nd ler roe hl n the regonThe people there lled hm the Gold Cow Goernor The throne took prtlrl dm ew of h offene, nd often hd mndrn fond

glt of the rme beten to deth before offl tndng n the ortrd of the dene hll, to ere wng.The Tng dnt w perod of brtlt nd olene, bt no more

o thn the twenteth entr A goeorgenerl of the regon northwet of Chngn ompoed delrton of wr gnt Trkh khnn whh he rebked the khn n er rde term Then he wrote thetext on the tomh nd bk of Trk, t the word nto the mneh, blkened the hrter wth nk, nd terzed the wond wthfre Te pn w erble, nd tle Trk remed ll d nd nght

Afterwrd the goeorgenerl ent the mn bk to the khn Whenthe emr reted wth the khn repl, the goernorgenerl ledoff the mn fleh, pee b pee, ntl he ded When the me mnw erng enor offl for ong between 05 nd 0, thepre of grn roe nd thee prolferted He pprehended ll of therobber nd hd them beten to deth Then he lef the rmnl rottngorpe pled p before the gte of h offe wng to the tenof the ptl No one dred tel therefter

The rm hd the l herrh of leder, nldng generlmo,

grnd generl, generl, nd lowerrnkng offer Drng the Tng,mltr offer old ern honorr ttle for mertoro ere on thebttlefeld The dtnton rnged from Mrhl of Wr Clr, thelowet, to Speror Pllr of Stte, the hghet To qlf for the ttle,the ommnder hd to mlte ert nmber of ommendtonthe hghet, Speror Pllr of Stte, rered twele The Proot of Honor wrded ommendton on the b of forml tht ombnedthe nber of men klled or ptred wth the e of the enem rmdefeted n bttle There were three grde of mert for the former: 0,20, d 0 perent of the derr troop ln or tken proner Therewere lo three degree for the ltter: tore won gnt peror,eql, nd nferor fore The hghet nmber of ommendton thtn offer old e n ngle enggement w e, for torgt lrger rm n whh h troop klled or ptred 40 perent


31/289

Siety 2

of the enemy He coud aso ea thee fo stubboy defendg astonghod o fo suviving a pacuay fiece batte The ovost ofHonos often eied on epots sent to him by the commandes ho

fought the as Some unscupuous offices padded the fgues fo thenmbes of enemy toops ied and the size of thei advesays foceshen ey foaded thei batte accots to the capita the eayseventh centuy one entepising aio chopped he noses off the menhe se and caied them bac to his supeio to avoid suspicion that heas exaggeatng i his combat epot In some cases commandescaimed victoies hen hey had actuay sueed defeats The coutcoud gant the same honoay tites to civi officias fo meitoiousachievements that did not nvove miitay action

EUNUHS

Impeia eunuchs constituted aothe sma cass of the piviegedThey pobaby numbeed no moe than 5000 at any gven tme duingthe dynasty but had temendous poe and inuence Athough by themidnnth centuy the thone uied a egions to submit castatedboys most came fom egions aong the southeast coast. The majoity of

hem ee sod by thei paents and emascuated in thei youth befoethey ee sent to the capita. Afte the boys aived in Changan a senioeunuch of the Sevice fo aace Attendants adopted them and gavethem his suame He aso taught them hateve duties the thone as-signed em By and age eunuchs ee iiteate and most pefomedmenia duties in the innemost pivate uates of the empeo Somehoeve had enough educaton to teach paace adies the Couciancassics Taoist phiosophy histoy mathematics a poety caigaphy and boad games

In the eay yeas of the dynasty the thone esticted the numbepoe and pivieges of the eunuchs In e ate seventh centuy EmpessWu eased the estaints Eunuchs began to acquie mansions in the cap-tas as e as estates in the neaby countyside tae "ives and adoptuncastated chiden of both sexes so that they coud bequeath hei titesand popety to thei heis

Eunuchs ee the guadians of the impeia haem so empoyed be-cause ey coud not spead thei seed and span offsping that eenot the empeos. By the midde of the eighth centuy e numbe of

omen in the seagio of Empeo Iustious August soaed to 40,000,ith about one eunuch fo evey ten adies Because they govened theempeos househod eunuchs had unique and fequent access to himIustious Augusts most tusted eunuch sept in a cutained aea aongthe side of the epeos bedchambe Eunuchs ee soey esponsibe


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8 Day e in Tadtinal ha

to d dpndt on th mpror, but acquird normous powr ovrofficials bcaus of thir uiqu accss to

By th arly ihth cntury th thron was mployi unuchs as

rals It snt on to northr iam with ordrs to supprss rvolts byaboriis Btwn 7 and 78 h qulld thr rbllions with hlpof a army that h rcruitd from th nativs H took mor tha 80000hads and had th bodis of th slain stackd in pyramids, prsumablyto srv as a wain to mn contmplatin insurrction H was a brutalm who trrid th aborins bcaus h took scalps an cut th sknfrom th facs of prisonrs h had capturd H was ot th only unuchknwn for his crulty h citizns of Chana so dspisd on who hadb a thf catchr in th capital at thy stood by road with bricks

ad stons to hurl at h wh h dpartd for an assinnt in thsouth A chif inistr at th tim had to ordr markt officials to disprs crowd so th ma could lav th city

It was not until th rbllio of An usha that unuchs ba to xrtrat powr ovr court and th ovmnt Aftr 800 thy cam tocotrol th low of documts to and from th thron Addrsss to thmpror and dcrs from him passd throuh thir hands, ad ruirdthir approal bfor implmntation hy bcam ivolvd in appontmnts of provincial ovrnors and th oprations of capital schools By

th ninth cntury th thron had placd uuchs char of th palacs,th postal systm, ust houss, th imprial trasury ad churchs inth capitals It also stablishd a council of unuchs rsponsibl for coductin dlibrations on public policy As a rsult th powr of unuchsbcam so rat that thy rd th thronmnts of ovr half ofth mprors i at ctury om of th haplss rulrs in that pochbcam puppts of th unuchs

LERGY

On of th larst privild roups in an socity was th clryIn 845 thr wr 30000 moks and nuns throuhout th mpir hchurch attractd novics, not only bcaus of thir dvotion to th faithbut also bcaus, onc ordaind, thy wr xmpt from taxs ad compulsor labor It also attractd may landlords who wishd to vadthos obliatios hos bous monks rmaind layn, acuird ordination crticats, but did not practic clibacy, livd with thir familis, and rapd th profits from thir filds or othr ntrpriss

h powr of Buddhism rstd on its control of land, industrial works,ad mony that wr oftn taxxmpt Its doctris of compassio adsalvaton wr th forcs at ld to th acuisition of walth and proprty Compassion rquird th clry and laity to assist thos lss fortunat than thmslvs th idit, th frail and othrs hat tt of


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Sciy 2

ath compelled the laty to donate potons o the wealth to the chuchas a nd o sectaan welae. Salvaton was ndvdual and patculan contast to compasson whch was unvesal and altustc e. co

passon appled to all people egadless o the status o elatonshps)The motve o donos was to mpove the lot and that o the ancestosn pugatoy and to elevate themselves o the ancestos to a supeostaton dung the eth n the next state o exstence The noton wasthat a gt could edeem sns comtted n ths le and theey educeo elmate punshment n the atele The sze o such gts was sometmes astonomcal In 767 a eunuch not only ganted the chuch hsestate a pme pece o eal estate east o Changan ut also contuteda llon coppes o e constucton o a monastey on the mano

The donos elonged to all classes o socety om the empeo to thepeasant and gave all mae o popetyland mlls coppes slslaves and moe. In addton monastees nceased the holdngs ypuchasng elds and conscatng lands when detos deaulted onloans xcept o Chan en) Buddhsts the odaned clegy dd notwok the land. Accodng to the Indan noton o nonvolence the monastc ules o dscplne oade them om dggng gatng and havestng ecause such actons mght esult n the kllng o lvg thngsn patcula nsects and mcooganisms. Consequently monastees en

tusted the wokng o the land to novces tenant ames who pad entthat was ten to twenty tmes tle tax olgaton that they would othewsehave pad to the govement ondsevts who ndentued themselvesto pay o dets and slaves In 845, at the heght o the pesecuton oBuddhsm the govement conscated 50,000 slaves om Buddhst estalshments The slaves dd not ae well The amy took possesson othose who had matal sklls cvl oces took the old and eneeled andthe govenment sold the young who had no sklls Ocals dvded theamles sendng athes n one decton and sons anothe In thepovces o cental Chna slaves had no ood o shelte. Coupt ocalso wealthy mechants oten llegally sezed them

Monastees augmented the evenue they eceved om the landwth ncome om ndustal entepses The most mpotant wee mllso hullng gans o gndg them nto ou. These nstallatons opeated on wate powe wee ult along gaton canals n uplands ndwee a too expensve o peasants to constuct. Tphamme mechansms pestles attached to wooden ams and axed to an axle ose andell as a watewheel at the end o the axle otated. When the pestlesdescended and stuck the ceeals they pounded o the husks. Gst mllsopeated n a smla mane A waterwheel attached to an axle tunedan uppe stone that evolved ove a lowe statonay stone That actonpulvezed gans placed etween the stones nto lou Though monastees owed the mlls they dd not opeate them. The clegy entusted


34/289

30 Day fe in Tadtioa ha

thr contructon nd mntnnc to mllwrght nd th producton tomlr Th mllr who my hv bn rf hd to py rnt for thu of th mll Th rvnu collctd wnt nto th coffr of th montry.

Montr oprtd ol pr tht xtrctd ol from m (hmpd A wth th mll thy ownd th qupmnt nd wr rpon


35/289

Siety 31

ile for i maieace, u erued he opeaio of he pee oame he chaged he opeaor re for ue of hem Corac eiled hem o eize he popey of he eee hould he fai o pa

he pecied fee Lie miler, he oil producer wee free o ell ohe puic a uplu i exce of e e he owed, u he mo-ae poed a ax o uch ae. he were proal he geaecoumer of oil ecaue he ep lamp pepeall urig i heiBuddha hall

e weah accumuaed he church hough doaio, re, adidurie we r o he maieace of moaerie ad he upporof he ceg Howeve, he omal expediure of moaeie appa-e reuied o oefour o oehird of hei icome Some of he

upu we o he corucio of ew faciliie ad o he commiioig or puchae of paiig, mura, aue, ad ell, a well a ofurih upplie for feival Howeve, he mo emploed a age po-io of i o iceae heir reveue rough commercia raacio her of hem wa pawroig, which appeared i Buddhi moaerie he ixh ceur A peaa i eed of eed a he egiig of pgwould depoi a valuae ojec, uch a a iro cauldro, wih he mo-aer a ecui for a loa of gai he failed o edeem he property reurg he eed afe he auum harve, he ageed o forfei al

of hi movale prope he mo charged him o iere for heaacio f, however, he peo wa of a higher aio ad e ra-acio ivolved moe, uch a a woma who pawed her com fo 500copper, he or he had o eu he pcipa wih iere o redeemhe pedge. Buddhi pawhop did a hivig uie e mo ihe ear ith ceu e up ealihme ha e ou more ha illio coppe a ea agai ecuriy hi aoihed he empeor, whoiued a decee 817 ha pohiied he oili, oficia, aoi pie,ad Buddhi mo from hodig more ha 5 millio cah a a giveime

he ecod commercial acivi wa ledig hee were aical woype of oa he fi pe wa hoem loa, uuall for evemoh, exeded o peaa ad coitig mo of eed grai Somefamer, eiher ecaue he exhaued eir oe durig he wie orhe had ued heir urplu o celerae he New Yea, did o haveeough o egi owig i he pig If he orrower wa a moaerea, i advaced he grai o him wihou iere He ageed, how-eve, o fofei hi movae prope if he failed o epa he loa afehe auum have If he orrowe wa a free farmer, he moaerchaged him iee, geerall 50 perce, whe he reued he pri-cipal he ecod pe coied of loa exeded o idividua of omeaio, official o ariocra he were advace of il, moe, opoceed commodiie, uch a o ad ou. he iee ae wee


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32 Daiy e in Tdtioa ha

utatall hgher tha thoe charged peaat e cotract eta-lhed the rate for a loa of 1,000 copper at 200 cah per moth, for atotal of 1,200 copper teret whe the loa fell due moth

other word, the orrower pad a rate of 120 percet whe he returedthe prcpal he reao for uch eortat rate of teret ma e thatthe r wa hgher, oth ecaue the value of the loa wa greater adecue there wa a greater chace of default Some offcal faled topa ther det, ad moatere were relatvel powerle to compelthem to mae good. o reduce the r, the mo uuall drew upcotract wth orrower, cludg peaat, that were ged guar-ator who promed to mae rettuto hould the orrower default

he come from commercal traacto mut have ee utatal

he ledger of two moatere Cetral a record that 33 ad 55percet of ther come came from teret he retur to ome prom-et churcle e captal ad other large, properou cte Chaproper were eve greater B ad large Buddht lved off the laor adproduct of the peaatr ad other lower clae However, the re-tued much of ther come to the commut a chart

PEASANS

ll Chee date regarded farmg a the fudametal occupa-to, ad rghtl o ce the ecoom wa overwhelmgl agrara.Farmer ad ther famle cottuted 80 to 90 percet of the populatohe govemet reled o them to produce the reveue that echedthe roal treaur, upported the olt, uppled alare for offcal,mataed arme, ad uded pulc wor, amog other thg Co-euetl, durg the earl ag e tate too tep to eure a m-mum tadard of lvg for the peaat d to d them to ther lad.he latter reured regtrato of the etre rural populato Local of-

fcal reved the regter ever rd ear, tag a ort of ceu, tomae ure at farmer tll occuped ther aged plot. From the reg-ter the the compled ta roll.

dult male of rural houehold grew gra ther feld: wheat,arle, ad mllet the relatvel dr orth ad rce the wet outhhe alo raed vegetale a well a dometc amal, epecall pg,cattle, ad cce I addto the me huted ad fhed to augmetter et he ag law code permtted prvate ctze to poe ow,arrow, word, held, ad hort pear If the peaat had eoughmoe to u or the ll to maufacture them, he could uppl hmelfwth the tool for aggg game here wa a dvo of laor farmgfamle. he wve ad daughter were repole for weavg tetlehat ta reured them to proce plat fer ad draw out l fromthe cocoo of lworm


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Sety 33

e peaa uffered from a arge umer of affco, oh auraad mamade Naura daer were he wor Food a deep a forfee udaed a ma a x prefecure, or oexh of he empre.

Some deroed a ma a 10000 home, forcg peope o ve o oaor e ree he drowed houad ad ad wae o crop adfarmad Drough ruc a ofe a four ear a row e devaaed 14 perce of he empre, o o g pa u ao drgup we, o ha peope ded of hr ad deae Ha, omeme heze of a f, aeed crop ad ed me, hore, cow, ad rdPe, oo, were a hrea o he vehood of he peaa Ra pacof a ma a 10000 aaced he fed ad urrowed o houe, wherehe ae cohg. Ra mar umer devoured he crop. he

wor of he pe were proa he ocu ha deceded eormouwarm ad devoured a of he of ue of ree ad pa. Whohg ee o ea, he peaa omeme reored o rppg off hegrahopper eg ad wg, order o eam hem for food

ccordg o radoa deoog, he emperor aumed peroa repo for uch daer He amed hmef for goverg poorad offedg Heae aure Whe a pague of ocu ruc Chag-a 28, he emperor ezed a grahoppe e Fordde Par ad,a e wa aou o ea , decared, "Mad deped o gra for fe

If h peope have commed , I am oe accouae for em. Youhoud devour me o, ad o harm he peope Durg a drough 24 he emperor ood aed, expog hmef o he u for hree da,o ec he mpah of he god whe prag for ra a a aar he paace. Some oca offca ao performed ha re hoe uuuaac were proa rare, u wa ue orma for he hroe o d-pach offca o coduc regou rua a empe he capa ada ho e, uch a acred moua, hroughou he empre

he goveme uderoo more pragmac meaure o reeve he

dre of he peaa I had a em of graare uaed a raegce hroughou he empre he graare coeced aroud hree ad ahaf uhe of gra from each adhoder aua Whe a auradaer ruc, caug fame, ofca drued he ored cerea ohe arvg popuao he affeced rego Fuhermore, oe of heag aue provded a graduaed em of ax remo o farmerwho uaed oe. If 40 perce of a peaa crop wa deroed,he dd o have o pa he gra ax f 60 perce, he dd o eed oreer he gra or coh ev o he ae ad f more ha 0 perce,he dd o have o pa a axe or perform compuor aor

Peaa ao uffered grea a he had of er feow me herewere arge dpaceme of popuato he orh ecaue he warwh he Kha ad ur durg Empre Wu' reg ad he reeoof A Luha had devaaed farmad Peaa ao deered her


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34 Daly e in adtona hn

eld ad ed o evade compulor laor ad cocripio Eve whei ivolved pulic wor, uch a corucig die or repairig road,ha e farmer migh eefi from, forced laor oo him away from hi

lad ad famil for exeded period Far wore, excep for raio hahe goverme provided while he wa ravelig o ad from he placewhere he performed he ervice, he had o rig hi ow proviio wihhim fr e ime, uually y day, ha he pe worig o heprojec If he had he moead mo did ohe could hire a uiue Peaa migh proe whe he uderaig did o ivolveheir peroal iere, he amaer were harh, or he codiio ofervice were uearale Durig he corucio of a price om, hepeaa o haed he forced laor ha hey filled he road, raied a

clamor, ad rew ric ad ile a he fueral corege Cocripiowa eve more errile ecaue he erm of ervice wa hree ear, imigh mea ervig far from home o he froier, ad i ivolved heri of iur or deah he orh uffered he mo from acodigpeaa i he fir half of he ag ccordig o oe eimae, he orhlo 28 perce of i populaio, ad he ouh earl ripled i populaio, ewee 609 ad 742

War ad compulory laor ere o he o ae of he peaaexiee riocra, madari (oh hoe i he capial ad i he

provice, ad euuch, a well a miliary goveor, army oicer,ad mercha, were major ource of mier for free farmer Begiigi he ecod half of he eveh ceur, powerfl familie, epeciallyhoe i he regio aroud Chaga, uil laded eae a he expeeof idepede peaa hrouh he aue of heir auhori a official, falificaio of lad regier, heer coercio, illegal purchae, adcoficaio for opame of de, he upper clae ad he wealheized peaa plo I he earl ih ceury a miliary goveror he ouhwe illegall coficaed 122 eae ad 88 houehold hegoverme made effor o hal eaeuildig ad provide lad fordipoeed farmer i he fir half of he ag wih ome ucce, uafer 756 a or of legilaio proved fuile Furhermore, he aecoriued o he prolem I owed eae ha i reed o ea farmer B e lae eighh ceur wo repor from official o he hroeeimaed a idepede farmer coiued o more ha or 5 perce of he empire populaio hi ma have ee a exaggeraio,u he lo of ee farmer wa aggerig oehele

I e lae eighh ad earl ih ceurie he ieial ax ecame aource of grea dire for farmer Whe he cour iiued he ax i780, i fixed ax rae accordig o he value of copper i ha ear he me he ecoom wa i he la hroe of a laioar ccle hahad egu i 763 I 785, however, a log period of deaio ega halaed uil 820 a reul e price of he peaa gra ad cloh


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Siey 35

dropped eadil a he value of moe roe Farmer herefore had oe aide icreagl larger amou of heir commodiie o pa helevie impoed e goveme ccordig o oe eiae, heir ax

urde icreaed 500 perce i for ear ha, of coure, caued morepeaa o aado heir lad Durig ha period a madari me aae cacher i ouh Chia who umied hi viper, which had laci ih hie ripe, o he imperial hicia i Chaga ice aear i lieu of paig he ieial ax Whe dried ad preeved, heeh of he erpe could cure lepro, oil, ad oher maladie Bohhe gradfaher ad faher of he peaa had died while cachig aeHe himelf had almo died a umer of ime durig he elve earha he had ee gaherig viper Ou of pah for he ma pligh,

e oicial oered o iervee wih he auhoriie ad reore him ohe ax roll he ae cacher pleaded wih him o o do o He preferred riig hi life, ecaue 50 o 60 perce of hi eighor whowere liale for he ieial had aadoed heir lad ad migraed

der uch difficul circumace he peaa had wo opio Fir,he could a where he wa ad ecome a ea farmer or agriculurallaorer a wa o a appealig aleaive ea farmer, a maa 200 familie o a igle eae, coiued he ul of he ladowerlaor force e ea paid half of he crop ha he harveed a reo he ladower, a um much larger ha he axe he would have paido he goveme had he ee free I additio, whe he eae up-plied hi eed ad food, i expeced repame ad charged hm a highrae of iere alo impoed levie o oher commodiie, uch aexile, ha he produced Fiall, he ladower required him o per-form laor ervice, uch a corucig or repairig wall, ridge, aduildig

Hi ecod opio wa igh lhough ha choice ivolved a ceraiamou of hardhip iiiallleavig oe aceral home wa excu-ciaig ad avelg wa hazardouhe peaa wa eer off i heed he ouh wa he preferred deiaio ecaue here were illexeive regio of rich lad ha had o ee occupied he prolemof eaeuildig wa alo le evere i ha par of he cour Fiall,durig he ag he far ouh (preeda Norh Vieam ad he prov-ie of uagi ad Guagdog) wa rich i mieral, epeciall goldroud 00 a peaa who had a oc of more ha 00 duc waleaig heir pe oe da ad aw he gli of omehig hiig iheir opig He ifed he dug i a ai of waer ad recoveredfouree ouce of gold ferward he followed he fowl o heir feedgarea a he foo of a mouai He drilled io he po d dug up moreha 200 ouce of he preciou meal a reul he ecame a verwealh ma Peaa were ill exracig gold from he droppg ofgeee ad duc a lae a he ih ceur Oer ued fel o if gold


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36 Daly fe n Tradtina hna

fro river water Peaat ceaed tiig their fied ad ra awa to thegodfied Miig offered farer their o hope of triig it rich adecapig fro the ierie iicted etate ower ad tax coector

ARISANS AND MERHANS

ide fro ave ad vagrat, the cae ot uject to dicrii-atio i the ag were artia ad erchat, epecia the atter. heai for the prejudice agait erchat o the part of the tate, officiaad iteectua wa that trader were eeche who produced othig.he ived off the urpu that the peaatr geerated dit of ithard aor. Furtherore, their puruit of weath wa cotrar to co

vetioa ethic that owed o ateriai. Fia, their waderigifete ade it difficut for e goveet to cotro the. For thoereao erchat ad artiae latter grouped with erchat e-caue, athough the were producer, the od eir ware for profitoccupied e owet rug i the traditioal hierarch of cae. he gov-eet ad the upper cae accepted the o ecaue the wereecear for the operatio of the ecoo

Becaue of that ia the goveret eacted tatute that dicrii-ate gait ercht ad artia he aw prohiited the fro

havig itercoure with officia ad aed the upper echeo of theureaucrac fro eterig ura aret t forade erchat ad arti to it for civi ervice exaiatio, d therefore to hod puicoffice he had o acce to poitica power he tate di ot aocatead to the except i regio where there were vacat tract, ad evethe it aowed the to occup o haf of the aout that it oragrated to peaat t ao forade the to ride hore.

ade ercht d artia ivig i citie did ejo oe priv-iege whe it cae to taxatio. here the had to pa o evie otheir houehod ad propertie. However, after the reeio of Lu-ha the goveet occaioa ujected the to other exactioDurig a crii i 783784, whe the tate wa trapped for reveue, itcopeed erchat i Chaga to oa it oe. fficia etiatedthat the coud exact 250 iio copper fro te to tet of theweathiet trader without forcig the out of uie he ao i-poed a 20 percet excie tax o a good od i the aret. herewere to further itce i the ith cetur whe the goveretreorted to exactig forced oa fro erchat. Meawhie, oe provcia officia were ao coectig excie taxe o good od er-chat.

Depite the dicriiatio d expoitatio, oe erchat ade i-ee fortue I 734 whe the tate coficated the proper of a erchat ivig i Chag, hi fortue aouted to 600 iio copper


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Siey 37

he goverme oo a imiar acio agai aoher mercha reidigi a ciy o e Grad Ca i he eary h ceury ad eied 0iio copper from him. hoe me were amog he ycoo, a very

ma umer of rader here wa a ho of ma vedor ad pedderwho eed ou a hard ivig wih ie reu ad ever ruc i riche upper ca prejudice aga mercha i difficu o uder-

ad, give he fac ha ariocra ad madar were ao paraiewho, wih ome excepio, uced he ood from he peaa hroughre ad axe Lie he rader hey produced o cocree goodgrai, a, coh, mea, ric, ie, fuiure, ad o forh houghhe aw arred madari from maig a profi from heir iferior (ie,commoer hey egaged i commerce ayway. Eve he goverme

of e eary ag reied o capiaim o pay e aarie of officia e-caue he graarie ad reaurie were empy. I aocaed fud o aoca goeme hey he ured he moey over o weahy famiie,o dou moy mercha who had experiece i oaig moeyhoe famiie were repoie for maig a profi o he capia a arae of iere fixed y he goverme he oca goveor he appor-ioed he reveue ha he received o uppy aarie for hi aff hiform of ureaucraic capiaim coiued o he ih ceur.

ea oe oca oficia maifeed ome erepreeuria ae

couy commada me he eder of a hame ad aed, "ow mayegg ca uy for a copper he ma repied "hree So he co-mada purchaed 30000 for 0,000 copper, u he did o ae hemwih him Iead he iruced he eder o have he hach hem ferhey hached, he commda had oe of hi uderig e he chic-e for him, ad made 300,000 cah. e ao aed he eder, ow mayamoo hoo c uy for a copper? he ma repied "Five So hecommada purchaed 50,000 of hem he he od he eder o raehe hoo i he wood Whe hey grew io amoo a i he fa,

he commada od hem for e copper apiece d made 500,000cah.

Some officia of he cour egaged i commerce direcor of paaceworhop wa a exper a mag a profi I 6 he repored o hehroe ha he had made 20 miio copper om eig hore maureWhe e emperor aed for hi opiio o he maer, a madari re-ied, "Eve hough he profi i grea, I fear ha aer age wi ca hehoue of ag eer of hore maure So, depie he fac ha profiwe o hi coffer, he emperor pu a ha o he pracice 67 whe

he uperiede of he Foridde Par orh of Chaga wa aouo e frui ad vegeae o mae moey for he hroe, he goveorof Chag proeed ha i wa udigified for he emperor o e uchowy good Coequey, Empre Wu forade i. By he eary eighh


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38 Daly fe i dtioa ha

century the aristcracy was making mney frm fur mis that theyad erected n their cuntry estates utside f Changan

In the ate eighth century aristcrats and fcias wh had reiusy

een reuctant t suy temsees with merctie actiities eny en-gaged in cmmerce By 70 they had set u shs t trade cmmditiesin Yangzhu, the great center f cmmerce and industry At the timemiitary gers and insectr generas in the suth as gt inedin estaishing usinesses Under the guise f making mney fr theirarmies, they actuay made a rfit fr themsees By 3 een sdiershad estaished shs ang the aenues f Chang.

In the same erid that sme fficias were ecming merchants, smemerchants were ecming ffcias Athugh sti desised y the uer

casses, merchants were indisensae fr rducing reen

daily life in traditional china_ the tang dynasty by charles benn.pdf

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