Study On Fangling Exile In Han And Tang Dynasties

Exile was an important form of punishment for crime in ancient Chinese history.In order to maintain social stability and order,the ruling class took criminals to remote areas for punishment.Exile is essentially to protect the interests of the ruling class and has the social function of guaranteeing social justice.As one of the exile centers in ancient China,Fangling was the area with the largest number of exiles and the highest level of personnel in China at that time.Due to the vertical and horizontal mountains and rivers of Fangling,the relatively closed geographical location,humid climate,rich geographical environment and the profound cultural heritage of Fangling as a "loyal and filial state",many imperial generals,officials and nobles from the Han to the Tang Dynasty were exiled here,making the Fangling area have certain particularity compared with other penal colonies.Due to the influence of factors such as the shift of the political center,the number of exiles in Fangling was staged,and the exiles flourished in the Qin,Han,Tang and Song dynasties,and the number of exiles greatly decreased after the Southern Song Dynasty.During the Han Dynasty,Fangling became a place dedicated to managing the exiled clans.Most of the Western Han dynasties were exiled to Fangling for personal bad behaviors such as adultery,murder,and cursing traffic.During the period of Emperor Wudi of Han,the rights of the princes and kings of the clan were weakened,the supervision of the clan was strengthened,and the behavior of the members of the clan was strictly monitored,losing a certain free space,breeding the idea of rebellion and disorder,and doing more beastly behavior.In addition,the Han Dynasty was divided earlier,lacked good teachers and teaching,and did not educate the upper nobles of the princes,so that they committed crimes and were eventually exiled to Fangling.The exile of Fangling in the Han Dynasty also reflects the change in policy towards princes and kings from the early Han dynasty to Emperor Wu.Most of the exiles exiled to the Fangling area in the Tang Dynasty were related to the political struggles of the imperial court,and were exiled to Fangling by the dispute over the throne and the factional dispute of the imperial court during the change of regime.The deposition of the crown prince Li Zhong and the rebellion of Fang Yi’ai were actually political activities carried out by Empress Wu to strengthen her own power,which eventually led to the formation of the "two saints" situation.Emperor Zhongzong of Tang Li Xian underwent four changes of identity,twice claiming that emperor fully reflected the important influence of the political situation on exile,and Empress Wu consolidated Empress Wu’s own power by supporting Li Xian to succeed to the throne and depose Li Xian,in preparation for her plot to become emperor.Emperor Zhongzong once again declared himself empress,and the exile of Fangling also had an important counter-effect on the political situation,eventually leading to the chaos of Empress Wei and the coup d’état of Tanglong.During the Han and Tang dynasties,the number of people exiled to the Fangling area was relatively large,and most of them were mainly the upper aristocracy of the imperial family,but there were certain differences in the name,punishment,length of sentence,and scope of use.