Period. Tanggao Wu Ritual Law Status Of Research

The legal system of Tang Dynasty is one of the most important subjects in Chinese legal system history, and the period when Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wuzetian ruled is the crucial connecting link of history of development of Chinese legal system. The law of Tang Dynasty has the significant character that it completely corresponds to institutional rituals, therefore, the institutional rituals are inevitable to be concerned as far as to study legal system of Tang Dynasty. This thesis attempts to research the status of institutional rituals and legal system of this especial period in Tang Dynasty through realistic cases.To begin with, the thesis sets about establishing the evolutive condition of social ritual and law and semantic system of the thesis through study of social and cultural condition in the period when Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wuzetian ruled and analysis of connection and distinction between archaic and modern meanings of ritual and law, so as to expound transparently in logic and express clearly.Then it tries to clarify the states of institutional construct and course in order to grasp the evolutive condition of social ritual and law in the special period when Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wuzetian ruled in whole through digging materials from concrete depictions about the social condition in the period when Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wuzetian ruled in the history and analyses briefly on the base of study predecessors have did. Based on them, the relationship between ritual and law will be analyzed on both lays of institution and reality around the center of practically functional condition.Both of evolution of ritual and law and practically functional condition can not separate from temporal social and political condition. As the strategic territory in the contention for politics and power among all kinds of classes, ritual and law bear the brunt of large tide of political transformation. Therefore, on the other hand, the thesis grasps the whole through the part to comment the mutual relationship of influence and restrict between the political power in feudal society—empire mainly—and ritual and law through the study which links the condition of ritual and law and social political state.