Achievements of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty

After Xuanzong acceded to the throne, Yao Chong and Song Jing were the first phase, followed by Zhang, Li, Duroy, Han Xiu and Zhang Jiuling. They each have their own strengths and perform their duties, which makes national affairs full of vitality. Moreover, Xuanzong was able to keep an open mind about coachable at this time, so the politics was clear and stable.

Xuanzong adopted Zhang Jiuling's suggestion and formulated the official tone system. Select competent officials from Beijing and transfer them to the Governor's Office to exercise their handling ability and cultivate administrative experience. At the same time, he also selected people who made a difference in the governor's yamen and promoted them to Beijing officials. This internal and external intermodulation has enhanced communication, understanding and trust between the central and local governments.

Xuanzong also divided the whole country into fifteen channels, and set up an interview ambassador in each channel to supervise local county officials and inspect their political achievements. In selecting talents, Xuanzong also reformed the imperial examination system, limiting the subjects and the number of scholars, so as to reduce the appearance of redundant officials and improve the overall quality of officials. military affairs

military affairs

Military reform

Tang Xuanzong not only effectively governed the internal affairs, but also effectively governed the frontier and recovered the lost land. This is mainly about the reform of the military system. As the original government-owned military system was destroyed, farmers fled and the source of troops was affected. When Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty proclaimed himself emperor, the phenomenon of soldiers deserting was extremely serious, and the combat effectiveness of the army was also very low, which could not compete with the powerful Turkish army.

In 723 AD, in the 11th year of Kaiyuan, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty accepted the reform proposal of Prime Minister Zhang Shuo and established mercenaries. Recruiting 120,000 non-commissioned officers from inside Shanhaiguan Pass as guards is called "Long March Athletes". This reform is a change from the system of officers and men to the system of mercenaries. After more than ten years' efforts, Xuanzong extended this system to the whole country. This system cancels the original practice of government soldiers guarding the border in turn, and relieves the people of all countries from the pain of guarding the border. At the same time, this kind of mercenary also provides a guarantee for centralized training and improving combat effectiveness. [ 10]

Expand the territory of a country

In addition to reforming the military system, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty took many other measures to rectify the army, such as issuing a military training decree and ordering military towns in the northwest to expand their troops and strengthen training. At the same time, Wang Maozhong, the official, was appointed as the internal and external idle ambassador, who was fully responsible for the supply of military horses, so that the insufficient horses were replenished in time and the combat effectiveness was improved. In addition, in order to completely solve the problem of rations, Xuanzong ordered to expand the scope of reclamation, vigorously develop reclamation in the northwest and north of the Yellow River, and increase grain production.

After full preparation, the Tang Dynasty gradually recovered Yingzhou and other places, and the Uighur and other ethnic groups north of the Great Wall also automatically canceled the title of independent separatist regime and rejoined the Tang Dynasty. The capital of Anbei was also restored, and the Tang Dynasty resumed its jurisdiction over the land north of the Great Wall.

The restoration of political power in the western region has gone through two stages. The first stage is to recover the broken leaf town, and the second stage is to restore the Silk Road. The Tang Dynasty re-established its prestige in the Western Regions. [ 10]

Set ten sections.

During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty from Kaiyuan to Tianbao, there were ten sections, and eight sections were formed in the north, namely Pinglu, Fanyang, Hedong, Shuofang, Longyou, Hexi, Anxi and Yixi in the north. Together with Jiannan and Lingnan, there is a total of 10 town, which has become a fixed military region. When our envoy was ordered, he was given two flags and two festivals, so that he could be killed by the army, build festivals when he walked, and build six flags (banners) in the government, which was extremely powerful. Our envoys, who combine military, political and financial affairs, are often in charge of two or three towns by one person, reaching as many as four towns. They are more authoritative than the governors of Wei and Jin Dynasties and are called Jie Zhen. Therefore, the emphasis on the outside and the light on the inside led to the Anshi rebellion in the last years of Tianbao.

economic aspect

Clear the drawing axis [15]

In order to increase the national income, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty launched a campaign of land inspection and household contracting. At that time, after occupying farmers' land, the strongmen called it "foreign land" and turned the fleeing farmers into their own "private ownership" to avoid the state's taxes on land and population.

From 7 12 to 725 AD, the movement of inspecting fields and entering households in Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty received practical results. He appointed Yuwen Rong as the national ambassador to persuade farmers to cover fields, and set up ten ambassadors and judges to inspect hidden land and protect farmers. Then all the detected land will be confiscated and distributed to farmers for farming. Concealed farmers are also registered. In this way, the customer's money increased by several million a year.

Through these effective measures, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty put the economy of the Tang Dynasty back on the right track, reduced the burden on farmers, increased the national fiscal revenue and promoted the prosperity of the national economy. [ 10]

culture

Suppress Buddhism

Although Buddhism was not banned in the early years of the Tang Dynasty, its development was restricted by Confucianism and Taoism, especially the promotion of Taoism, which made the development of Buddhism not reach the supreme position. But in the period of Wu Zetian, in order to attack Li religiously, Wu Zetian adopted a conniving attitude towards Buddhism, which made Buddhism develop rapidly. Basically, there are Buddhist temples in every state of the country. Monks not only annexed land under the cover and connivance of the state, but also tried their best to avoid state taxes. The large increase in the number of monks has reduced the number of people who bear taxes and corvees, which has affected the national income.

In the second year of Kaiyuan, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty ordered the reduction of the number of monks and nuns in the country, and finally the number of monks and nuns in the country reached 12000. Then, Xuanzong ordered that it was forbidden to build new temples, cast Buddha statues and copy Buddhist scriptures. The communication between officials and monks and nuns was also banned, which made Buddhism suffer a great blow during Xuanzong period.

Attach importance to book construction

Attach importance to the construction of books in cultural undertakings. In the third year of Kaiyuan (7 15), Chu Wuliang, Ma Huai Su and others were invited.

Ming and Huang Tiao Matu [15]

Discuss the classics of the History Museum. Because the Imperial Palace is an old book left over from the era of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong, it is often managed by imperial officials, and it is incomplete and difficult to read, so Chu Wuliang and Ma Huai Su led scholars to sort it out. In the seventh year of Kaiyuan (7 19), it was ordered: "Different books were written by officials from the official family." More than 20 scholars, including Ma Huai Su, Yuan Hangchong, Jason Wu and Shu Wei, have been editing and proofreading in the Secret Pavilion for several years, becoming a 200-volume "Four Records of Group Books". Later, there were specialized book collection institutions such as academies. In the 10th year of Kaiyuan (722), Li Zheng Academy was established in Lize Hall of the East Palace, and Jixian Academy was established the following year, which was responsible for collecting books and proofreading books. The collection of books in the Kaiyuan era was the most prosperous in the Tang Dynasty. The total number is 3060,5/kloc-0,852 volumes; There are more than 2,500 Taoist scriptures and Buddhist scriptures. There are four books in Chang 'an and Luoyang, which are divided into A, B, C and D, and arranged in the four libraries of Classics, History, Zi and Ji. History says that "the collected works of Kaiyuan are the most prepared", with a collection of 70,000 volumes. Forty-seven people, including Zhang Yue, a bachelor of Jixian Academy, were ordered to divide the classics. [ 16]

diplomacy

During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the national strength was strong and the exchanges between China and foreign countries were extremely frequent. Korea, Silla, Baekje (both on the Korean Peninsula), Japan, Lin Yi (now Viet Nam), Nepal (now Nepal), Guo Si (now Myanmar), Songkhla (now Thailand), Zhenla (now Cambodia), Sri Lanka (now Sumatra, Indonesia), Hu Ling (now Java, Indonesia) and Tianzhu (now). Envoys, nobles, businessmen, scholars, artists, monks and tourists from all over the world came to the Tang Dynasty in large numbers. The envoys, monks and businessmen of the Tang Dynasty also emerged in an endless stream. There are more than 70 Asian and African countries that have made good friends with Tang Tong. In the Tang dynasty, there was a crack temple to receive the guests of diplomatic envoys from various countries, and kiosks were set up in various places to entertain foreign businessmen, and mutual market supervisors and trading companies were set up to take charge of foreign trade. Chang 'an, Luoyang, Yangzhou, Guangzhou, Lanzhou, Liangzhou and Dunhuang are important foreign trade cities in the Tang Dynasty. Chang 'an is particularly famous, and guests gather all over the world. Many foreign businessmen run shops in the "West Market" and live there for a long time. Imperial academy accepted many foreign students, and as many as 4,000 to 5,000 "conference semifinals" stayed in Chang 'an. [ 17]

Anecdotes and allusions

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Fengchan Taishan

At the beginning of the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, selecting talents and vigorously governing the country set off another climax of the country's prosperity since the Tang Dynasty, and "Kaiyuan Shi Sheng" appeared. The minister of the DPRK wrote to urge Xuanzong to seal Mount Tai in Dongyue. After some humility, Xuanzong readily agreed, and in October of the 13th year of Kaiyuan (AD 65438 +65438+06725), he went to Mount Tai to hold a meditation ceremony.

Li Longji portrait axis [15]

It is said that if the previous emperor climbed Mount Tai smoothly and made outstanding achievements, there would be many good omen; Without virtue and incompetence, if you can't rule the world according to heaven, there will be many evil images. When Xuanzong climbed Mount Tai, although he made great contributions to the world, the weather changed repeatedly, which brought him a lot of troubles. At that time, Xuanzong sealed Mount Tai in the east, and the cavalry in front of the ceremonial procession was arranged in a staggered pattern with 1000 horses of various colors. From a distance, it looked like colorful clouds embroidered brocade, showing its scale and unprecedented pomp. When the brigade came to the west side of Mount Tai, a strong northeast wind suddenly blew, blowing from noon to night, and the tent where the entourage lived was torn by the wind, and the pillars supporting the tent were also blown off. The officials were frightened into a mess. As an emissary of Zen, Zhang was already busy with Zen, and this sudden change made him even more at a loss. In order to stabilize people, he had to stand up and say, "Don't panic. The emperor is the son of heaven. Now it will be earth-shattering It was the God of the East China Sea who came to pick up the emperor and meditated. " Zhang's prevarication calmed everyone down a little and came to the foot of Mount Tai. It really became sunny and sunny. However, on the night when Xuanzong fasted and bathed, a strong wind suddenly blew in the sky and it became cold. The change of the weather made Xuanzong feel uneasy again. He stopped eating and stood in the dew until midnight. He prayed to heaven devoutly: "since I became emperor, I have been helped by heaven, and the country is prosperous and all the people are safe." I came to Mount Tai in Dengfeng to pray for all the people. However, if I have any fault and don't deserve to meditate in Mount Tai, please come to heaven to punish me. If followers are not blessed to participate in meditation, please punish me. The accompanying soldiers and horses really can't stand the biting cold. Please stop the cold in heaven. "After Xuanzong prayed, it was calm, the temperature in the mountains turned warmer, the weather was fine, and the breeze blew from the south. Xuanzong successfully held a grand meditation ceremony at the top of the mountain in the music of continuous singing of silk and bamboo. In order to commemorate this successful meditation, Xuanzong personally wrote the inscription of Mount Ji, which was engraved on the Daguan Peak at the top of the mountain. [ 18]

Li Yang's love.

Ming Taizu voyeuristic bath map [15]

In many of China's literary works, Li Longji was an emperor with single-minded feelings, and people used to call him "Tang". In Historical Records, there is a story about Tang's visit to the Moon Palace. The story of him and Yang Guifei is told through the ages through Bai Juyi's Song of Eternal Sorrow and Chen Hong's Biography of Song of Eternal Sorrow.

4 personality evaluation

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General comments

In the early days of the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, great efforts were made to govern, the social economy continued to develop, and the feudal society was unprecedentedly prosperous. However, in the later period of his reign, he indulged in debauchery, extravagance, reuse of treacherous court officials and political corruption, which eventually led to the decline of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty is a historical figure who has made merits and demerits:

(1) In the early days of Tang Xuanzong's rule, he paid attention to the selection of local officials, personally assessed county magistrate, and repelled incompetent people. Yao Chong and Song Jing were appointed as prime ministers. They are talented, responsible and dare to give advice. As a result, the society was stable, the production developed and the economy prospered, and the Tang Dynasty entered its heyday, which was called "Kaiyuan Shi Sheng" in history. The 13th year of Tianbao (754) was the heyday of the Tang Dynasty. 32 1 county, 1538 county, 16829 township, 90609 154 households with 52880488 people. History book: "The prosperity of hukou is extremely here." [ 19]

(2) Attaching great importance to the jurisdiction of the border areas, making Da Tuorong the "King of the Bohai Sea County", setting up the governors of the Bohai Sea and Heishui, making Piluoge of Nanzhao the king of Yunnan, and Gulipelo of Uighur as "Huairen Khan", thus consolidating the unity of multi-ethnic countries.

(3) Reform the military system and change the officers and men system into the recruitment system.

(4) In the last years of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Yang Guifei was spoiled, drinking and having fun all day long, ignoring political affairs, and the treacherous Li and Yang were highly corrupt politically, which led to the Anshi rebellion. The Anshi Rebellion, which lasted for eight years, caused great damage to agricultural production, and people were displaced, which made the Tang Dynasty turn from prosperity to decline, and the Tang Dynasty began to decline.

(5) Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty played an important role in the high prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, but his later years also brought great disasters to the people of the Tang Dynasty. He is a historical figure with outstanding achievements.