Parental Authority In The Tang Dynasty Family Health Research

The patriarchal family was the fundamental organization based on old conventions in ancient societies. The Tang Dynasty, which was in such times as receptive and inclusive with its unique liberal cultural policies, succeeded parental systems of former generations and developed into a new stage. In practice, the patriarchal power and its operations showed special overall characteristics.The implementation of the patriarchal power was protected by the laws in the Tang Dynasty, as well as the old conventions and traditional Confucian ethics besides patriarchal rules. Its greatest feature was that the power of the parents was enshrined in law, and the detailed items were written in meticulous and serious way in terms of the family, family members and other aspects. Firstly, in the book Law and Its Interpretations and Arguments in Tang Dynasty there are rules about Ten Sins, five terms among which, evil anti-parents, un-filial behaviors,familial disharmony,unrighteousness, familial internal thetical disorder, are all disciplines about inferior members' infringing the elders, in order to strengthen the authority of the patriarchal parents. And even when sentencing was taken into the consideration, the man who committed Ten Sins got more severe punishments than general crimes. Secondly, according to the law, the inferior members in the family got more severe punishment in the sentence that they infringed the elder; while the elders was sentenced much lighter when they infringed the inferior family member. It embodies that it is unfair between elders and children, which emphasizes the authority of patriarchal parents. As a result, patriarchal parents in Tang Dynasty obtained the legal guarantee and support when they undertook the powers and rights about family organization and management, domestic economic management and so on.The patriarchal power in Tang families included rights of family organization and management, domestic economic management, autocratic power of the descendants, and rights of marriage and heirs apparent. Patriarchal parents in Tang Dynasty had rights of organizations such as production, out-going gatherings for banquets, festivals, family management of the daily life, and so on. Patriarchal parents had the only arrangement of family power. No matter in the small family or in the big family, the parents had the right to possess and control family property, and the most important thing is, they had the absolute power to the property management and analysis, and property inheritance-related matters. Other family members had no private goods, live stocks, tools and leisure time. Neither did they deal with them in private. Otherwise, their parents can discipline or resort to the law to punish them. As the result of patriarchal dominance in family properties and family members' dependence, the patriarchal parents would get the power and qualification to dominate other family members. At the same time, in order to make heirs glorious for families, parents strengthened the disciplines of their off-springs in terms of ideology, culture, education, physical development, with those powers protected by Tang laws and feudal conventions. The patriarchal right to educate children was one of the most important and effective rights. If descendants were against it, parents had the power to punish, or to request the officials to punish or kill them. However, Tang law prohibited parents from killing children. Although the right to kill was in hands of the state machinery, the patriarchal will of killing children still existed. And sometime it might be transformed into the reality to kill them. Tang patriarchal parents firmly gripped the management of their children's marriage, so children had no right to determine their own marriage. Tang laws also gave parents full mastery to the marriage of their children, those matters such as engagement, decision to wedding date, divorce and remarriage had detailed provisions in Tang laws. Even the laws stipulated that wedding ceremonies were presided over by patriarchal parents. Although inheritance was written into the law by the Tang Dynasty rulers, due to constraints of the Confucius ideology and old feudal conventions, patriarchal parents only had the relative right to decide heirs. But inheritance was still in control of patriarchal parents or elderly parents in the families. In the absence of sons in the family, the husband inherited and the wife had no right to interfere, even the parents and grandparents; his wife inherited if the husband died; if both the wife and husband died, their parents and grandparents presided over inheritance; if there were no persons in this family, the inheritance was presided over by patriarchal members from the next of kin.Patriarchal power and its operation in Tang Dynasty distinguished the other dynasties with some different features. For insistence, the extent of controlling family properties reached unprecedented degree. And the laws in Song Dynasty further strengthened the management of family properties and its ownership on the basis of the Tang Dynasty laws. Great controlling and gathering in family properties provided economic conditions for the future generations on the family formation and development In short, the centralization of patriarchal power of the Tang Dynasty promoted the family harmony and provided the conditions for the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. Meanwhile, the great repression from patriarchal authorities, conventions and laws, families in the Tang Dynasty led to the loyal and obedient citizens with lack of independent personality. As a result, the social deficiency of individual independent personality was bound to a lack of vitality of the whole community. And this phenomenon impacted the Song Dynasty and later feudal dynasties.