Organizer: Yang Lu, Princeton University
Chair: Patricia Ebrey, University of Illinois, Urbana
Discussant: Denis Twitchett, Princeton University
The T'ang empire after the An Lu-shan Rebellion saw radical changes in virtually all aspects of its society. New elites emerged while old ones continued to make impact. Due to the unusual complexity of a transitional period, historians always face enormous difficulties to interpret its phenomenon. Institutionally speaking, however, it is probably the most innovative period of imperial China. From financial system to bureaucratic organization, new inventions not only revealed a more sophisticated understanding of the social and political issues but also led to a society far less homogeneous than before. Instead of fading away with the end of the T'ang dynasty, the new system became an institutional foundation of late imperial China. This panel attempts to give a fresh look at the changes of the mid and late T'ang as well as the underlining historical trends. With new approaches and new scope, four papers will examine some of the key aspects of mid and late T'ang society. The social and institutional changes during this period will be interpreted in light of a long process of the interplay of various historical elements rather than a temporary response to a deep crisis. The innovative side of the social and political reorganization will receive special attention. By bringing participants with diverse backgrounds and distinguished scholars as discussant and chair, this panel also tries to reflect the current stage of the study of mid and late T'ang society on an international level and raise more interest on this subject in the U.S.
The Legacy of the Yüan-ho Era (805-820): A Re-examination of the Political
Structure of the Late T'ang Court
Yang Lu, Princeton University
It is well known that Emperor Hsien-tsung was the most successful T'ang ruler after the mid-eighth century. During his reign (the Yüan-ho era, 805-820), he was able to revive imperial authority and to bring about a transition from political instability to a new order. Since Hsien-tsung's military victories against disobedient provincial warlords was the most notable part of his success, it has became the focus of most historical writings on this period. Disproportionately little attention has been paid, however, to some more crucial themes of his reign. Two of these themes discussed in this paper are the following: Did Hsien-tsung's institutional reforms contribute to the success of his court? If many results of his military achievement have proved to be short-lived, what was the real legacy of his reign? I will provide answers to these questions by analyzing the power structure of Hsien-tsung's court. I believe that it was during Hsien-tsung's reign that the process of restructuring the T'ang court reached its final stage. The institutionalization of some of the most important late T'ang political organs reduced tensions in the court and created a bureaucratic system which continued through the Five Dynasties. Redistribution of power among the regular bureaucracy, the Han-lin Academy, and the eunuch system significantly strengthened Hsien-tsung's control. By discussing certain unique features as well as underlining shortcomings of this political structure, I attempt to reassess the historical significance of Hsien-tsung's reign and to demonstrate some less noticed but important characteristics of the late T'ang government.
Notes on the Cultural Conditions of Late T'ang Aristocratic Families
Jo-shui Chen, Academia Sinica, Taiwan
One critical phenomenon in the T'ang-Sung transition is the decline and disappearance of the aristocratic families that had dominated China's social scene since the fourth century. Most existing studies on Chinese medieval aristocracy concur that aristocratic families still had a salient presence in the late T'ang but this presence faded sharply during the Five Dynasties. A widely accepted though somewhat rough conclusion derived from this observation is that the medieval aristocracy declined suddenly after the collapse of the T'ang Dynasty. My paper will discuss the demise of T'ang aristocracy with an approach different from most of the past studies. The key question I will ask is: culturally speaking, what existence did aristocracy have in the late T'ang? Since cultural features were an important defining character that separated aristocratic families from other segments of the society and gave them a superior status, an inquiry into the cultural conditions of these families during the late T'ang is crucial to our understanding of a fundamental change in China's social and political life. I will first of all give an empirical examination of the culture life of the eminent Po-ling Ts'ui and Ch'ing-ho Ts'ui families. Drawing on modern scholarly works, selective use of original materials and the concrete results of my examination, I will offer general interpretations on the theme of my paper. I hope that, in addition to shedding new light on the issue of T'ang-Sung transition, my paper will deepen our knowledge of the elite culture of the little understood late T'ang.
The Sword and the Brush: Specialization and Career Patterns in the T'ang Military
David A. Graff, Bowdoin College
It is often observed that in the early years of the T'ang dynasty military leadership was provided by an aristocratic elite capable of performing with equal aplomb in civil and military positions, while in the middle and late T'ang command came to be exercised by more narrowly specialized groups of men from heterogeneous and often obscure origins. This observation may hold true for the very highest command levels, but does it provide an accurate picture of what was happening to the officer corps as a whole? In particular, can the transition from aristocratic generalist to military specialist still be seen when the scope of investigation is widened beyond the most famous T'ang military commanders to include lesser figures as well? Based on the biographical information on military leaders found in the standard histories and T'ang epigraphical materials, this paper seeks to map the most common military career patterns in both early and late T'ang and points to certain underlying continuities, especially with regard to military specialization and the distinction between civil and military elites. Even in the early years of the T'ang, civil and military career tracks tended to be quite distinct, requiring very different aptitudes and skill packages at the "entry level." Crossovers were generally limited to a few key positions-such as the territorial post of prefect (tz'u-shih) which carried local defense responsibilities-and were most easily accomplished at the highest level, where scholar-generals could delegate frontline command to their more vigorous subordinates.
Reorganization of the Realm: Spatial Dimensions of State Policy in Mid and Late
T'ang
Tatsuhiko Seo, University of Tsukuba
After the An Lu-shan rebellion, T'ang government was compelled to initiate drastic political and financial reforms. As a result, a new state structure was created and the T'ang court continued to survive for almost one and a half centuries. Despite that fact that after the mid-eighth century, the direct administrative control over regions of the empire was generally weakened, the controlling system which was established by the central government was far more sophisticated than the one in the early T'ang. One main goal of the mid and late T'ang reform was to effectively connect three crucial regions of the empire, each of which had its unique role to play: (1) the Lower Yangtze region, as the key economic zone; (2) the capital Ch'ang-an and the metropolitan area, as the political center of the state; (3) the northwestern frontier, as the military defense zone of Ch'ang-an. This is the beginning of the model of frontier-capital-Lower Yangtze connection in Chinese history. Meanwhile, the capital Ch'ang-an became more important as the center of the reform. Based on recent studies in China and Japan, I attempt to analyze the process of the reorganization of the state in the mid and late T'ang, focusing in particular on the spatial dimensions of the state policy. The relationship between the change of the spatial composition of the capital and the reorganization of the state will be carefully examined in this paper.