A Study Of Tourism In The Tang Dynasty

Just as the sea refuses no river and accommodates all, the Tang Dynasty created a resplendent civilization with its broadmindedness. As a result of developed economy, flourishing culture and free and open mind, Chinese ancient tourism reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty. As far as the subject of tourism was concerned, the monopoly of tourism by monarchs and nobles before was broken, which made tourism as a social activity begin to be popular and common. At the same time, the structure of tourists in the Tang Dynasty became more diversified. Besides monarchs, nobles, and bureaucracies, ordinary intellectuals, religious figures, and general citizens all turned to be important parts of the tourist community, which meant that the structure of tourists underwent remarkable changes. On the one hand, the literati, instead of monarchs and nobles, came to be the mainstream of tourists; on the other hand, female tourists flourished with the enhancement of the social status of women. These changes induced alterations in tourism aesthetic sentiment and many things and phenomena turned into aesthetic objects for tourists in the Tang Dynasty, who were not only interested in the natural sceneries such as grand and steep mountains, rivers, lakes, seas, flowers, insects, and fishes, but also lingered around human sceneries such as monasteries and Taoist temples, cultural relics and historic sites, and kiosks and pavilions. Through traveling at these natural and human sceneries, they experienced happiness, reveries and pleasure. In result, the frequency of tourism activities promoted the development of related industries, which was chiefly embodied by the prosperity of transportation, daks and hotels, and food industry and other industries that were closely related to tourism. There were not only complicated and convenient landway and waterway traffic networks that radiated from the two capitals of Chang'an in the west and Luoyang in the east, but also developed Silk Road on the land and Silk Road on the sea, which greatly facilitated tours of the traveler. The large floating population stimulated to a great extent the development of hotel industry and food industry. As a result, hotels and inns mushroomed from cities to the country, restaurants and pubs were scattered everywhere. To attract the most customers, the managers paid special attention to their service, and put more emphasis on fostering the cultural taste of their business environments, promoting the management skills of those shops to an unprecedented level. The freedom and openness of the Tang Dynasty created a favorable social environment for the development of the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, and advanced the diversified development of tourism thoughts. There were official tours that aimed at benefiting the people and constructing the state, immortalizing tours that aimed at transforming into immortal beings and Buddhist tours that aimed at establishing good rapport with Buddha. The three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism integrated into and supplied each other in the process of development, forming the rich and colorful tourism culture of the Tang Dynasty. It is this unprecedented tourism prosperity that makes the Tang Dynasty the starting point of tourism biographical literature and that of conscious exploitation and utilization of tourism resources. It is obvious that the tourism in the Tang Dynasty produces profound influences to the economy, society, culture on that time and to tourism, related industries on the following centuries.