Download Essay - Tang China

Christopher Chan
Global, Ms. Turner
11-19-2014
Chinese Social Structure During The Tang Dynasty
After four centuries of havoc following the fall of the Han Dynasty, the rise of the Tang
Empire (618 A.D – 906 A.D.) brought order and structure back to Chinese society. Chinese
social structure evolved during the Tang Dynasty. This was exemplified in the changes in the
social hierarchy, the improvements in the imperial examination system, and the increase in
gender equality. The Chinese social structure was more progressive and ordered under Tang
rule, in contrast to the Sui Dynasty that preceded it and other societies during the same period.
The Tang social structure reflected a strong sense of order. The social hierarchy was
broken into eight distinct classes with the emperor and the rest of the imperial family at the
head. The next class was the aristocracy, whose authority varied depending on the emperor.
The bureaucrats formed the subsequent class, which included the scholars of Confucian
philosophy. The eunuchs, who served the emperor, fell in order after the bureaucrats. Next
were the religious officials, followed by the peasant class. The Tang social structure differed
from other ancient societies in that the peasant class was not the lowest class, but instead
merchants were below the peasants. Merchants were regarded as lower because they were
viewed as making their living off of other people. Slaves had no status and were at the bottom
of the hierarchy.1 Every class had designated articles of clothing to wear as to distinguish them
from other classes.2 A belt excavated from the Tang dynasty shows that members of the
imperial family and nobility would wear belts made of silk, gold and encrusted with pearls.3 In
contrast to feudal Europe, whose only classes were the nobility and peasants, the Tang
structure, while ordered and hierarchical, was far less rigid and confined.
The Tang Dynasty social structure allowed for greater mobility between the classes as
compared to other social hierarchies, such as the caste system in India and the feudal structure
of medieval Europe. In both the caste system and the feudal system, people were born into a
“Tang Dynasty Social Structure,” accessed November 11, 2014, http://thetangdynasty.org/tang-dynasty-social-structure.html
ibid
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“Belt Buckle and Ornamental Plaques”, Tang Dynasty (618-906 A.D.), 7th Century, Metropolitan Museum of Art
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class or caste and had limited or no upward mobility. The imperial examination system was
revitalized under the Tang Dynasty, and enabled class mobility because it was open to the
general population and it rewarded people based on ability. The exam was the primary method
by which the Chinese government recruited scholars into the bureaucratic ranks and to become
advisors to the imperial court. There were four levels to the examination system. The lowest
level was at the county seat, the next was the district level, the third level of the exam was at the
provincial capital, and the highest level was given at the imperial palace. 4 Passing the exam
was very desirable because it would allow people to move up in the hierarchy. Many families
dedicated their time and wealth to preparing young boys for the examination. If a son passed
the exam, this would allow the entire family to climb the social hierarchy. The topics of the
examination reflected the moral values of China at the time with its emphasis on Confucianism.
Confucius teachings were the foundation of Chinese society and emphasized values such as
respect, morality, and benevolence.
These selfless values are reflected in the Confucian
Analects, an example is 4:11 where he is quoted to have said, “The junzi cherishes virtue (de),
the small man cherishes land. The junzi cherishes the examples men set, the small man
cherishes the bounty they be- stow.”5 As author Kelly Long states, “Confucian classics became
the basis of the civil service examination system, which changed through the dynasties but
provided a coherent fabric to Chinese life for centuries. These texts connected the scholar to
his intellectual ancestors. Those who succeeded in the arduous civil exams were rewarded with
positions in government.”6 The exam was based on merit, providing all learned men with the
equal opportunity for mobility. The exam allowed for mobility while still reinforcing Confucian
morals and philosophy.
Gender equality for women improved under the Tang dynasty.
Women’s rights
increased during this period, but were still limited primarily to the home. As Elizabeth Ellis and
Asia for Educators, “Living in the Chinese Cosmos: Understanding Religion in Late-Imperial China (1644-1911), accessed
November 17, 2014, http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/cosmos/irc/classics.htm#social
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Confucius, The Confucian Analects, trans. R. Eno (2012) accessed November 14, 2014,
http://www.indiana.edu/~p374/Analects_of_Confucius_(Eno-2012).pdf
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Kelly Ann Long, “Writing as a Way to Cultivate the Self” Literary Arts in China. Accessed November 16, 2014,
http://asiasociety.org/writing-way-cultivate-self
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Anthony Esler state, “within the home, women were called upon to run family affairs. A man’s
wife and his mother had great authority managing servants and family finances.”7
The Tang
sculpture “Horse with Female Rider”8 provides an indication that women were not confined to
the home and were free to travel.
Women during the Tang Dynasty had access to an
education. Evidence of this was found written on the tombstones of women from the Tang
Dynasty. A tombstone inscription, for a widow named Zheng, recorded that after the death of
her husband, her family was poor and she took it upon herself to educate her sons in the
Confucian classics and her sons passed the imperial examination in a matter of five years.9
Some women were able to achieve the same social and political status of men. A prominent
example was the Empress Wu Zetian, a concubine to the Emperor Taizong, who rose to power
through ruthless means. She was able to become empress because of her many supporters in
the government, and her supporters remained loyal after her rise to power. While equality
between the genders improved under the Tang, Chinese society remained male dominated and
women still did not have as many rights as men.
The four hundred years of havoc that followed the fall of the Han Dynasty were ended by
the rise of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Emperor Taizong restored prosperity by reestablishing
leadership, rebuilding social opportunity, and reemphasizing the role of Confucian philosophy.
The Tang Dynasty instilled order back to imperial China. The Tang social structure was more
progressive and ordered, in contrast to both other contemporaneous societies, and the
preceding dynasties. The Tang was able to accomplish this by promoting the Confucian values
of morality, selflessness, and altruism.
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Elisabeth Ellis and Anthony Esler, World History (United States: Pearson Education Inc., 2009), 372
“Horse with Female Rider”, Tang dynasty (618–906), 7th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art New York
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Maureen Robertson, “Voicing the Feminine: Constructions of the Gendered Subject in Lyric Poetry by Women of Medieval and
Late Imperial China,” Late Imperial China, Volume 13, Number 1 (June 1992): 72, Accessed November 16, 2014
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/late/summary/v013/13.1.robertson.html.
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Bibliography
Accessed November 11, 2014. http://thetangdynasty.org/tang-dynasty-social-structure.
Asia for Educators. Accessed November 17, 2014.
http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/cosmos/irc/classics.htm.
Belt Buckle and Ornamental Plaques. 7th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY.
Confucius. "The Confucian Analects," translated by R. Eno. In The Confucian Analects. N.p.:
n.p., 2012.
Ellis, Elisabeth, and Anthony Esler. World History. N.p.: Pearson, 2009.
Horse with Female Rider. 7th Century. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY.
Long, Kelly Ann. "Writing as a Way to Cultivate the Self." Asia Society. Accessed November 16,
2014. http://asiasociety.org/writing-way-cultivate-self.
Robertson, Maureen. "Voicing the Feminine: Constructions of the Gendered Subject in Lyric
Poetry by Women of Medieval and Late Imperial China." Project Muse 13, no. 1 (June
1992): 63-110.
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