Two historical issues

Enlightenment:

First of all, since the Warring States Period, China has experienced three climaxes of socio-economic, political and cultural development, namely three heydays: the first in the Western Han Dynasty, the second in the Tang Dynasty and the third in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The second climax, especially in the early Tang Dynasty, saw the vigorous development of agricultural production, increasingly sophisticated handicrafts, unprecedented prosperity of commodity economy and flourishing urban life. In the late Tang Dynasty, the economy of the south of the Yangtze River developed further, which laid the foundation for the economic level of the south to surpass that of the north in the future. At that time, in politics, there were "Zhenguan rule" and "Kaiyuan rule" successively. National unity, social stability, showing a scene of peace, achievements beyond the Western Han Dynasty's "rule of culture and scenery." During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, it reached its peak in its heyday, and even the "prosperous Tang Dynasty" appeared in the literary world.

As far as the world is concerned, the Tang Dynasty is also one of the most important and powerful countries. The feudal powers in Europe mainly include the Frankish Kingdom and the Byzantine Empire, but in terms of social development stage, they are far behind the Tang Dynasty. The important countries in the East are India and Japan. India's King Wu just established a feudal system before and after unifying the subcontinent, but after his death, the subcontinent immediately fell apart, and the separatist situation continued until the end of the twelfth century. Although Japan tried to imitate the system of the Tang Dynasty, the reform itself was a transition from slavery to feudalism. Therefore, in the world, the Tang Dynasty not only stood on its own feet among the nations of the world, but also belonged to the most advanced ranks.

Secondly, the Tang Dynasty also played an important historical role in the development of multi-ethnic countries in China. After the ethnic integration and cultural integration in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, China society regained political unity in Sui Dynasty. However, after all, the Sui Dynasty was short-lived. Consolidating and developing the new unity of the Chinese nation and forming and prospering China's new culture became the historical task of the Li and Tang Dynasties. The Tang Dynasty lasted for hundreds of years, with early unification, strong national strength and vast territory. High-level material civilization and high-level culture have enhanced the centripetal force of neighboring ethnic groups, so the contacts and exchanges between ethnic groups in China have developed unprecedentedly and ethnic relations have become closer. Therefore, the Tang Dynasty is another important historical stage of the growth and development of China's unified multi-ethnic country after the Han Dynasty.

Thirdly, the lofty international status and brilliant economic and cultural achievements of the Tang Dynasty Empire made Asian countries, even Europe and Africa, sincerely admire and compete with the Tang Dynasty, making China a bridge and center for economic and cultural exchanges among Asian countries and playing a significant role in East-West exchanges. In the world at that time, there were mainly Indians, Arabs and China in the Tang Dynasty, among which the position of the Tang Dynasty was the most prominent. The Tang Dynasty is another peak period of economic and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries in the history of China after the Han Dynasty, which has a particularly important position.

Thirdly, the Tang Dynasty was a crucial period for the transition of ancient China society from early to late. In this sense, the Tang Dynasty also has an important historical position. At that time, the center of social change was: the national cultural environment since Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties had a great influence on the traditional China society, which produced many new factors, such as the decline of aristocratic families, the unprecedented development of the economic base and political power of ordinary landlords. Accordingly, various systems are constantly being comprehensively reformed and updated. Many budding new things appeared in the late Tang Dynasty, which had a far-reaching impact on the historical development of more than a thousand years later. The change from rent-agent clearance to two tax laws is not only the reform of the tax system in the Tang Dynasty, but also the origin of the ancient tax system in China from fixed tax to production tax. The "two taxes" in the Song Dynasty, the "one whip method" in the Ming Dynasty and the "spreading Ding to mu" in the Qing Dynasty are the continuation and development of the two taxes system in the Tang Dynasty. The philosophical thoughts of Han Yu and Li Ao in the middle Tang Dynasty set a precedent for Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming Dynasties. The "ancient prose movement" advocated by Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan laid the foundation for the second climax of the "ancient prose movement" in Song Dynasty, and the wind of writing ancient prose continued until the eve of the "May 4th" vernacular movement. Therefore, during the 200 years from the Middle Tang Dynasty to the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty, great changes were brewing in the ancient society of China, and many new things sprouted in the Tang Dynasty. At this historical turning point, there are both the pains of the decline of the old era and the dawn of a new era.

In short, the developed economy, prosperous culture, strong national strength and unprecedented international status in the Tang Dynasty are another prosperous situation in China's history after the Han Dynasty, which is called "Prospering the Tang Dynasty by Strengthening the Han Dynasty". The development of the late Tang Dynasty initiated the great social changes in ancient China. The Tang Dynasty was indeed a glorious and great era in the history of the Chinese nation.