Power structures and cultural identities in imperial China: Civil and military power from late Tang to early Song dynasties (A.D. 875--1063)

This dissertation explores the evolution of civil and military power in China during the Tang and Song dynasties. Shifts in the loci of power between civil and military officials directly contributed to the formation of their distinctive identities. When the civil power reached its apex in the eleventh century, I argue, civil and military officials formed two distinct groups with different cultural identities, political privileges and personnel regulations. At this time, boundary between these two groups ceased to be permeable, in sharp contrast to their fluid identity in the early seventh century.; The trend of civil-military segregation started in the mid-seventh century, as military service became increasingly professionalized. The balance of power between civil and military officials in the Tang government, I argue, imposed limits on the widening gap between these two camps. The decline of the central authority after 875, however, suddenly caused an expansion of military power at the expense of the civil elite. Sixty years of military dominance in North China ensued as professional soldiers controlled decision-making and gave their regimes a military orientation. While relegated to symbolic roles in the government, civil officials still struggled to continue civil and bureaucratic traditions by convincing military magnates of the value of Confucianism. After managing the civil administration, some military officials began to realize the necessity of literary learning for effectively governing a state. As military officials were to acculturate Confucian principles and practices after 951, the government's orientation shifted from the military to the civilian side.; To recover their power, civil officials actively promoted civil and literary expertise over military interests. Their efforts saw triumph after 1004, as the Song court decided against warfare by appeasing neighboring states with money. Barred from showing their talents in the military arena, military officials dramatically lost influence. To strengthen their own identity and sense of cultural superiority, civil officials stigmatized military men as immoral and ignorant. With this cultural bias, civil officials confronted military officials as potential rivals rather than colleagues. This distrust between civil and military officials remained an unsolved dilemma for the rest of the Song dynasty.