This week I read a general background on the Tang dynasty. The most interesting part of it for me was the rebellion that occurred in 755. The Tang dynasty is often idealized by historians, yet there were two different rebellions that each succeeded in some way. The An Lushan rebellion led to the Tang empire losing territory to some rebellion leaders and while the Huang Chao rebellion was suppressed, it led to the Tang dynasty falling apart. It does make sense why the Tang dynasty is still idealized though. Despite the conflicts, the Tang dynasty had a long history before the rebellions and many cultural innovations.
I also read about the Tang legal system. A major theme of the legal code was the balance between legalism and trying to move away from it to prove that the Tang dynasty was better than what came before. There was more morality in the legal code as offenses were given more time to be reviewed and there was debate about making punishments more lenient. And when looking at the ten most serious crimes, many have to do with upholding family values, showing even some confucian influences. But that doesn’t mean legalist values were abandoned. Punishments were still harsh. They were just trying to not be as harsh as before.
Next week I will start thinking about my next show and tell.
