Explorations On The Trend Of Luxury In The Upper Class Of The Tang Dynasty And The Measures For The Ban Of Luxury

With the prosperity and development of the social economy of the Tang Dynasty,the upper class‘s life was in a state of luxury and erosion.Luxury is a kind of consumption,and it is recognized as luxury when the consumption exceeds the social development.This dissertation mainly deals with the luxury in the Tang Dynasty and the ban on luxury by the government,and it consists of five parts.The second part demonstrates the luxury in the upper class of the Tang Dynasty,and it mainly involves the diet,the daily life,the comparison of wealth and luxury and so on,besides,the clothing,food,shelter,means of travel and the weddings and funerals et cetera are also included.The the third part is the cause for the trend of luxury in the Tang Dynasty.Because of the material strength,the social stratification,the demonstration by the ruler,the open ethos of the society itself in the Tang Dynasty,the trend of luxury appeared and spread rapidly.The fourth part,it describes the social impacts of luxury,and they are classified as positive ones and negative ones.The positive impacts are the promotion of economical development,however,just in the short run,whereas,the negative impacts are predominating,the luxury not only causes the destruction of productivity,the polarization of the rich and the poor,and the disturbance on the administrative efficacy of the ruler,but also results in the decay of the bureaucratic system,the aggravation of the social contradiction,the popularity of money worship and the prohibition on the improvement and development of the society.The fifth part deals with the measures taken by the government to ban luxury,and the reasons for its failure.The measures are mainly about issuing the ban on luxury,including the advocation of thrift,the discrimination between different classes,and the formulation of punishment.The ban on luxury failed for many reasons,mainly due to the lack of determination and perseverance of the governor,the need for luxury of the upper class along with the economic prosperity,and the destruction of consumer class et cetera.