Analysis On The Official Selection System Of Tang Dynasty

?The official selection system is one of the political system of great importance in ancient China. It can not only select the qualified officials who can"help the emperor to guard his territory", but also play an importantly guidance role in regulating concepts and standards of conduct in society. Therefore, all the sovereigns of every dynasty laid great stress on the design of the official selection system and its normal management.Tang Dynasty, the pinnacle of Chinese feudal society, with its prosperous economy, incorruptible political system and complete legal system, laid the solid foundation for the comprehensive development of the official selection system.The final establishment of official selection system centering on imperial examination system in Tang Dynasty has cleared out the long-existing problems caused by the previous selection systems which are based on family status. It has not only improved the fairness in official selection, but also helped to break down the power of the nobles, expand the emperor's scope of rule and accelerate the mobility among social classes, laying a good organizational foundation for the heyday of Tang Dynasty.However, the diversity of the ruling class in, especially the early days, Tang Dynasty, and the inner requirement of privilege in the feudal society have both decided the possibility and necessity of other ways to select official, such as family status institution, Zhiju examination system(decree examination system) and appointing mandarins from out of the mandarin system. All of these have resulted in the complexity of the official selection system in Tang Dynasty.The official selection system in Tang Dynasty has a significant impact on posterity. The Civil Official System in the modern western countries and the Public Servant System in current China have learned, to a large extent, from the imperial examination system of Tang Dynasty, which greatly demonstrate the historical heritage value among them.This thesis will analyze the official election system in Tang Dynasty from the following aspects:Firstly, the author will discuss the ideas about official selection in Tang Dynasty, analyzing the foundation of thoughts of this system. The feudal society, represented by Tang Dynasty, is a typical privilege society. Emperor is the supreme governor of that society and his ideas and behaviors play a vital role in political system. The author attaches great importance to the political ideas of the emperors in Tang Dynasty, especially Emperor Taizong of Tang—Li Shiming. The author think these ideas have played a directing role in forming the superstructure of Tang Dynasty and that will be taken as the point of penetration to research the origin of the official selection system of Tang DynastySecondly, the author will give an all-round analysis of the official selection system itself in Tang Dynasty, including the pre-examination education, imperial examination, family status and other selection institutions, selection after evaluating qualification, posts avoidance and legal sanction. It is obvious that the official selection system in Tang Dynasty is quite mature and advanced, which offers a lot to today's Public Servant System to learn from.Thirdly, the author will analyze the uniqueness of the official selection system in Tang Dynasty. With the base on that and the advanced experience of this system, the author will link to the current situation and the development trend of the Public Servant System in China, staying in touch with reality, to discuss issues like the virtue education and the principle of election and appointment. The aim is to maximize the practical significance of Tang Dynasty's official selection system and assure the historical continuity of the current Public Servant System.The development of the official selection system in Tang Dynasty is a dynamic process. The aim of the author to make a systematic discussion on this system is to, on the one hand, rediscover the original history to show a clear and comprehensive official selection system, and on the other hand, to help the current Public Servant System learn the successful experience. The author hope that more attention to the virtues and political integrity of officials can be paid in official selection and the separation of power and checks and balances can be really practiced in the relevant departments. Also, the author hope the selection system can perfect its supervision mechanism. Only by doing so can people fully learn from history and make the reality orthodox.