In the Tang Dynasty, the benevolent policies of Confucianism brought about great ethnic integration.

Street view of Chang 'an Xicheng in the prosperous Tang Dynasty > The Han culture formed in the Han Dynasty is gradually maturing. The consolidation of China's unification by mature Confucian culture is undoubtedly a great contribution to the future and future generations. It created the prosperity of Zhenguan and the great unity of the Chinese nation. In the book Zhenguan dignitaries, which records his political dialogue with ministers, he said: "Since ancient times, China has been the most important, and I love it as always." This idea of "love as one" has undoubtedly become the coagulant of national integration. In addition, the implementation of the policy of detaining the state government by Emperor Taizong further promoted the unity and consolidation of a multi-ethnic unified country. & gt The great national integration in the prosperous Tang Dynasty first solved this problem theoretically. Du You, an official of the imperial court and an envoy to Huainan, wrote a historical book "General Code", which widely and vividly reflected the great changes in the concept of the state in the past and then, and truthfully recorded the institutional continuity between the state power and the Han power. After comparing "ancient China" with "modern barbarians", Du You proposed: "Myanmar is only ancient China, and there are many kinds of modern barbarians. Some people live in nests, some bury trees, some grab a meal, some sacrifice corpses, and some talk about Chen Yier. " Based on this, he came to the insight that "the ancients were simple and Chinese and foreigners were the same". When Du You explained the different development conditions between China and Yidi, he pointed out that the difference between "bias" and "righteousness" of geographical location and "qi" led to this situation: "Although China is in the ground, its qi is positive, its humanity is harmonious, its talents are abundant, its sages come forth in large numbers, and its customs are gradually changed. Today, the four countries are scattered, the land is narrow and there are many people, but there are still many. " This shows that different nationalities are the same or interlinked in the initial development, and "China" is not more advanced than "foreign countries", and further draws the conclusion that "ancient China was reduced to one family". Du You's General Code puts forward that "China and Yidi are the same body" and "they are one family", which shows that "China" and "Yidi" can be transformed into each other. In ancient times, there was no difference between Huaxia and Yidi, but the difference in material conditions led to the difference in the degree of cultural development between them, so as long as material conditions allowed, Yidi could also "cultivate sages" and "innovate". This theory comes from the practice of national integration of Emperor Taizong. Emperor Taizong was famous for reusing ministers and generals, and even used them in the imperial army. Since then, among the 369 people belonging to 98 nationalities in the Tang Dynasty, 23 people's surnames 1 1 were ethnic minorities in the western regions (so-called aliens). At that time, there was a saying called "Recently, China's books are full of barbarians". & gt In the Zhenguan era of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, the theoretical problems of ethnic integration were solved, followed by the heyday of cultural integration of Tang and Han dynasties, ethnic minority cultures and western cultures. The so-called prosperous Tang culture originated from Zhenguan, with Xuanzong dynasty as the main culture, traced back to Gaowu and down to Dexian dynasty, and its spatial distribution covered nearly two centuries from Zhenguan to the fifteenth year of Yuan Dynasty (627 ~ 820). Tianbaojian (7 13 ~ 755), a cultural "prosperous time" praised by historians of past dynasties, is not only manifested in the fact that the economic development exceeds that of the previous generation, the political rule is more enlightened, but also presents many unprecedented peaks at all levels of culture. For example, poetry, such as the magnificent and passionate voice of the prosperous Tang Dynasty represented by Gao Shi and Cen Can, the frontier poems with lofty aspirations to serve the country, and the pastoral landscape poems integrated with nature, played the strongest sound in the Tang Dynasty, and have been lasting forever since then, becoming the spiritual food of the people of all ethnic groups in China. At that time, the bright light of culture centered on Xi 'an and Luoyang not only had the characteristics of the times when Chinese and foreign cultures merged and changed, but also had the national characteristics of inheriting ancient traditions and seeking innovation and change. The development of historical geography, the diversification of artistic forms, the legend representing folk culture, the variation of essays and the development of science and technology with the function of inheritance and transformation are all indispensable notes. The Tang Dynasty is an important era for the gradual integration and China of Buddhist culture, and it is also a period for the Tang people to summarize and refine all kinds of knowledge at all times and in all countries. The appearance of a large number of comprehensive works reflects that the overall intelligence of the Tang people has reached an unprecedented level. & gt The great ethnic integration and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries in the Tang Dynasty also reached an unprecedented scale. Chang 'an has become an international metropolis, with music, dance, painting, sculpture and costumes from different regions pouring in and performing on the Center Stage in Chang 'an. Persian songs and dances, Hu people's musical instruments, "people have the confidence not to be foreign slaves, or they never thought that taking foreign things would be as free as taking prisoners." In such an atmosphere of the times, the Tang people absorbed the cultural essence of ancient and modern China and foreign countries extensively, and copied and created it. During Xuanzong period, music and dance were particularly developed due to the accumulation of the previous generation and Xuanzong's own hobbies. Widely absorb the music and musical instruments of various ethnic groups, set up left and right teaching workshops and pear gardens, and take charge of music and dance. At that time, there were more than 10,000 musicians and more folk artists. From the dance contents of "Seven Virtues Dance", "Nine Virtues Dance" and "Shangyuan Dance", we can see the peaceful atmosphere in the prosperous Tang Dynasty and the scene of a group of singing and dancing. & gt As for the art of calligraphy and painting in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, "it has also changed into the fashion of Chen, Sui and early Tang Dynasty, so as to become a vigorous and upright style in the prosperous Tang Dynasty and see an unprecedented scene." Xuanzong himself is good at painting ink bamboo, which is also a temporary victory. In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, Buddhist painting got rid of external influences and gradually developed into a national style. Represented by "Five Dynasties prevailing", it emphasized realism and developed into genre painting. Wu Daozi and Yan's figure paintings were praised as "painting saints" at that time, and reached the point of perfection. The calligraphy of Yan Zhenqing, Chu Suiliang, Zhang Xu and other great calligraphers has a direct impact on today. & gt Due to the economic prosperity, strong national strength and the prevalence of the imperial examination system, intellectuals have a strong desire to pursue official career, and the psychological state, mental outlook and values of the Tang people have undergone profound changes. This is manifested in the fact that intellectuals in the prosperous Tang Dynasty viewed the fate of the empire as a whole with their own future and generally attached to secular life. Li did not want to give up his wealth to learn fairy tales, and he still refused to give up his career pursuit after losing the imperial examination for more than 20 years, which is a vivid portrayal of tang style. Taiping Guangji and various note novels in the Tang Dynasty show us all kinds of secular life scenes of literati and ordinary people in the Tang Dynasty, such as drinking and having fun, singing with prostitutes, going out for an outing, playing chess with cuju, fortune telling, enjoying tea and flowers, fighting cocks and riding horses, juggling and so on. In the heyday of feudal society, it was famous for its unique open atmosphere. In that long historical period of peace and prosperity, the society was relatively rich, and people generally pursued the enjoyment and happiness of life. The great ethnic integration in the Tang Dynasty also infiltrated the cultural customs such as the higher status of minority women and the freedom of sexual life into all fields of social life, which strongly impacted the ethical concepts of the Han nationality in the Central Plains. From the court to the folk, people have few sexual taboos, and their sexual life is quite free, which is mainly manifested in the common thing of free love and free combination. There are more premarital sex and extramarital sex, and divorce and remarriage are more common. Especially in the marriage of princesses in the Tang Dynasty, the number of first-class princesses in the Tang Dynasty was 2 1 1, while there were 99 in the previous generation, including 4 in three marriages and 23 in remarriage, accounting for more than 1/4. & gt The development of culture in the prosperous Tang Dynasty fluctuated with the changes of feudal politics and economy in the middle Tang Dynasty, creating a colorful cultural peak in the feudal era. As the center of oriental culture, the Tang Dynasty profoundly influenced the political system and cultural development of neighboring countries. For example, the school education in Japan and North Korea at that time was the same as that in the Tang Dynasty in terms of curriculum, examination content and teaching materials. Jing Shangjing, a contemporary Japanese historian, wrote quite to the point in his book Japanese Culture: "The culture of the Tang Dynasty was a world culture that communicated with Indian, * * * and even Western European cultures, so learning the Tang Dynasty indirectly learned the world culture." & gt This prosperous Tang culture with the significance of "world culture" brought by ethnic integration greatly enriched and developed the Confucian culture formed and gradually matured in the Han Dynasty. The mature Confucian culture has undoubtedly contributed to the consolidation of China's reunification for generations.