The "Twelve Point Reform Programmes" And The Gaozong Period Of Political Situations

In the first year of the Shang yuan reign,Empress Wu put forward the "twelve point reform programmes",which involved a wide range of fields and detailed contents:(1)To encourage agriculture and sericulture and reduce taxes and labour services.(2)To grant remission of taxes to the metropolitan districts.(3)To cease military operations,and to transform the empire by the virtue of the Way.(4)The departments of public works(Chung-shang)in charge of palace buildings were forbidden to indulge in extravagantly fine workmanship.(5)To reduce wasteful employment of corvee labour.(6)To increase the opportunities for the expression of opinions to the throne.(7)To suppress slander.(8)To ensure that everyone from the princes and dukes down were to study the Tao Te Ching.(9)To ensure that even when the father was still alive,mourning was to be observed for the full three-year period in respect of the mother.(10)All honorific officials who had received their documents of appointment before 674 were not to have their cases re-examined(and could thus retain their titles,however earned).(11)The salaries of all metropolitan officials of the eighth rank and above were to be increased.(12)All long-serving officials whose talent was greater than their rank were to be promoted.In addition,there are the old tang mentioned“each year of the Ming classics a filial piety,the analects of Confucius in the case of division”.Gaozong's attitude towards voice behavior is also ambiguous,the historical records are "Under the decree slightly line".There is no discussion about the implementation and effect of the Suggestions.Based on this,many scholars,in connection with the political events before and after,believe that the "twelve point reform programmes" was put forward by Wu queen out of her own interests.At the same time,it is regarded as one of the major manifestations of the desire for power of Wu queen and one of the evidences of the contradiction between Empress Wuand Emperor Gaozong,especially article 9.The author intends to sort out the political environment of the tang dynasty before the proposal of "twelve point reform programmes",to discuss the background of the Suggestions in voice behavior so as to explore the motive and purpose of voice behavior put forward by Empress Wu.By comparing the specific content of voice behavior with the specific historical facts of the gaozong and wuzhou dynasties,it is proved that the implementation of voice behavior really exists.At the same time,the main political events between Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu zetian around the first year of the Shang yuan reign are analyzed to illustrate their close comrade-in-arms relationship.In addition,the political events before and after the "twelve point reform programmes" can be viewed from its unique perspective,so as to pay more attention to reform programme itself.Through the collation of the events in the Gaozong and Wuzhou dynasties,it is found that the implementation of the "twelve point reform programme" does exist,but the emphasis is different.Based on the above conclusions,the realistic significance of voice behavior is further explored:One is a recipe for a better society;Second,the harbinger of social change;Third,it is one of the proofs of the cooperation between Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu zetian.