Essay Sample on The Tang Dynasty

At the start of the sixth century A.D, both north and south china were divided but would be later united in virtue of conquest by the Sui Dynasty, which administered from 581 to 617 A.D. The Sui were commanded by General Yang Jian of the affiliated north. The Sui lasted only two emperors before getting conquered by Li Yuan, founder of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Used Multiple Ways to seize the power of neighboring states or countries. Li Yuan ruled until 626 A.D, his son Taizong rose to the throne after slaying his two brothers and multiple nephews. In 630 A.DTaizong clutched a part of Mongolia from the Turks and earned the title “Great Khan ''. As Rule continued to grow the surrounding dynasties and states saw and were consumed by the Superiority of the Tang dynasty as they soon took over most of China and sometimes used politically unfair rules on their civilians.

The Tang Dynasty Used taxation to gain superiority in East Asia. In Tang culture, the government usually requires citizens of the dynasty to pay taxes but, with the need for the extra money the tang had to create a new system. The Tang then used the land that peasant households had owned and doubled the taxes to twice a year based on the amount of land held by those peasants. “Yang Yen, a well-known financial officer, under his command the Tang government abandoned the “equal field” system and adopted the Hang Shui (Double Tax System) which imposed taxes twice a year on the amount of land held by peasant households.” China’s government depended on the people paying taxes to get out of debt and get or keep jobs. The Chinese government had an array of its, and’s, and buts to the way they managed. Because if people didn't pay taxes then the government would just drown in debt which would be dreaded for civilians and the dynasty. “In China, the Tang Dynasty was deciding on what tax system they should use. They had two options: the once-a-year tax or the twice-a-year tax. The once-a-year tax would be collected once a year. The twice a year tax would be collected twice a year. Lu Zhi wrote a memorial against the twice-a-year tax and Lu Zhi had a good point. The taxes in China went towards anything the government needed to be fixed or replaced. If the government in China has a lot of debt, then your taxes will be raised. But if the government didn’t have any debt then your taxes would probably stay the same. “The way to handle all government expenses and tax collection is first to calculate the amount needed and then to allocate the civilians being taxed.”

The Tang also used a peaceful and fair social order to gain superiority in East Asia. The Tang Lusha Yi, compiled into the reign of Emperor Gaozong, was a representative code of feudal laws, which considered criminal law, the law of safeguard and defense, law for imperial officers, the law of marriage, and census registers. The regulations were fairly complete and legal forage was rather concise. “Especially, in the early period of Zhenguan Reign, Emperor Taizong focused much attention on listening to wise advice while enforcing the law. In this way, a peaceful social order was established, setting up a good example for later dynasties and even for some other imperial states in Asia.” “The Tang abandoned the Nine ranks system in favor of a bigger civil service system- the tang drafted learned and skilled students whoever passed these burdensome tests were made state bureaucrats in the local, provincial, and central government to avoid arguments.” With this rule, the Tang made it fair that you had to have been skilled and learned though it's not too fair on people who didn't go to school, a job of such high caliber can’t just be given to anyone. This way through testing nobody can say that the position was given because of other reasons.

The Tang used their strong military campaign to gain superiority in East Asia. It is generally regarded as a high point in Chinese civilization and a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Most of Tang’s territory was acquired through military campaigns of its early conquerors that rivaled the Han Dynasty. “However, this centralized military system did not last long, and it broke down when many of the fanzhen, or local generals, became increasingly dominant. These fanzhen became so dominant they started collecting taxes, split off and made their armies, and then made their positions lifetime and family-based.”

At the decline of the Tang Dynasty east Asia had been impacted by the political powers of the Tang dynasty as they went down as the strongest of china’s dynasty. As the dynasty collapsed the dynasty split into smaller fanzhen. Though the fall of the Dynasty some rules still last today and to think it was all because of a son who had killed his brothers and nephews.