A Study On The System Of Official Appointments In The Tang Dynasty

The Appointment System of Officials in the Tang Dynasty means that when the emperor appoints senior officials and the chiefs of foreign country,he needs to hold a corresponding appointment ceremony to issue a certificate and reward the property.The appointment system played an important role in the political life of the Tang Dynasty.It was an effective means for the emperor to establish the monarch-subject relationship,to regulate the bureaucratic rank,and to reward the man of great merit.In the introduction part of this paper,firstly,the reason and significance of the topic are explained.Then,from the two aspects of overall research and thematic research,the previous achievements related to this topic are sorted out and summarized.On this basis,the problems to be solved are put forward.Afterwards it defines the connotation of "ceming" and related concepts,and summarizes the category of "official"in the Tang Dynasty.Finally,the paper elaborates the thinking framework and research methods of this topic.The first chapter discusses the origin,formation and evolution of the appointment system of officials in the Tang Dynasty.As early as the Western Zhou Dynasty,a perfect system of appointment had been formed.At that time,the appointment system was based on title of nobility.Down to the Middle Ages,it turned to focus on the official standard.With the development of the official system in the middle ancient times,it closely combined with the System of Official Pin since Cao Wei.In the Wei,Jin,Southern and Southern Dynasties and Sui Dynasty,it formed the tradition of appointment of specific ranks and official positions,and appeared the appointment ceremony which inherited the old system and changed with time,as well as a set of perfect and meticulous system norms.The appointment system in the early Tang Dynasty directly inherited many institutional factors of the Sui Dynasty's appointment System,and entered into "Zhenguan Ritual" and "Xianqing Ritual" in the form of imperial edict regulations in Taizong and Gaozong.It was inherited and summarized by"Kaiyuan Ritual" and formed a perfect appointment etiquette annotation.But in fact,from the beginning of the Zhongzong to the late Tang Dynasty,due to changes in official system and other factors,the Appointment System of Officials is declining.The second chapter dissertates the rules and usage situation of appointment etiquette of officials in Tang Dynasty.The appointment etiquette of officials mainly includes Linxuan appointment,Chaotang appointment,dispatch appointment in Jiali,and Cezeng in Xiongli also belongs to the dispatch appointment of officials.Linxuan appointment was ordered to be attended by the emperor,accompanied by hundreds of officials,and the ceremony was solemn.In the early Tang Dynasty,the venue was held in Taijidian of Taiji Palace.In the late Tang Dynasty,there were two situations:the appointment ceremony of the kings was held in Yanyingdian of Darning Palace,and the etiquette was a little less grand;the appointment ceremony of ministers was held in Xuanzhengdian,and the etiquette was still solem.There was no emperor to attend the court,accompanied by hundreds of officials,with less etiquette.It was held in the Eastern Dynasty Hall,but it was almost abolished in the late Tang Dynasty.There was no emperor to attend in the Chaotang appointment,accompanied by hundreds of officials,with less etiquette.It was held in the Eastern Dynasty Hall,but it was almost abolished in the late Tang Dynasty.Cezeng and the appointment ceremony of the chiefs of foreign country can be regarded as the dispatch appointment.There are etiquettes of appointing emissary,conferring envoy and appointment certificate,and then the ceremony is performed in the family of the officials or in the court of the chiefs.The use of appointment ceremony is not entirely in accordance with the provisions of the etiquette,but can be flexibly adjusted according to different conditions.The third chapter systematically examines the composition of official titles in the Tang Dynasty from the internal(the officials of imperial court)and external(the chiefs of foreign country).In the early Tang Dynasty,the ranks of appointed official titles covered more than the third grade of zhishiguan,sanguan,xunguan and title of nobility,and the chief officers of the three departments and six ministries were the main ones.There were few and not only awarded xunguan.With the change of the central official system since Kaiyuan period,the senior officers in the three departments and six ministries,sanguan and xunguan are no longer specially appointed.The ranks of appointed officers generally include the title of nobility of Wang and the honorary titles of Sangong or Sanshi,and the grade requirements are raised from the third to the first.The official titles of Tang Dynasty which were conferred on the the chiefs of foreign country include two parts:first,the title of the chief of the tribe or the country,the king of the country and the king of Dehua,and second,the rank of zhishiguan,sanguan,xunguan and title of nobility in the official system of the Tang Dynasty.When the chiefs of foreign country were conferred the official titles in the Tang Dynasty,the composition of the official rank would be different because of the factors such as high or low of Fanwang and the size of meritorious service,and changed with the change of the relationship between the two sides.The fourth chapter discusses the form,content and operation of the appointment certificate in Tang Dynasty.The appointment certificate can be divided into bamboo certificate,jade certificate and carved stone certificate in terms of material quality,and its form has its own characteristics.The form and use of the certificate reflect strict hierarchy.There are some fixed patterns and structures in the content of the certificate.In the early Tang Dynasty,parallel prose was the main style,and allusions were used as antithetical couplets and rhetoric was gorgeous.After the improvement of the imperial edict style of the literati in the middle and late Tang Dynasty,they began to mix long and short sentences with parallel prose,and the style of writing tended to be simple,natural and emotional authenticity.The generation of appointment certificate is based on the imperial edict.It is drafted by Secretary and approved by the emperor,and then signed by the officials of Zhongshu Province and issued directly to the appointed officials or envoys on the appointment ceremony.Its operation procedure does not need to go through the Menxia and Shangshu provinces.The fifth chapter analyses the political function of the officials' appointment in Tang Dynasty.The essential function of the appointment system is to establish the relationship between the monarch and the minister and to standardize the hierarchical order.The appointed officials obtained the corresponding power and status from the emperor,so they were at the top of the rank order of officials in the Tang Dynasty,and were entitled to enjoy various political privileges.As a kind of "imperial decree granting a favor",the appointment can be regarded as a kind of honorary reward,with the function of spiritual encouragement,so that the appointed officials can get great psychological satisfaction and be respected and praised by the common people;at the same time,the gifts brought by the appointment can bring the appointed officials good material compensation and become an important economic income.In addition to adhering to the principle of "show virtue and reward merit",the appointment also became a special means for the Tang Dynasty to cope with the changes of political situation in order to achieve different political objectives.The appointment system played an important role in establishing the rank of monarch and minister,standardizing hierarchical order and maintaining autocratic rule.To some extent,it can be said that the appointment system unifies the internal ministers and the external vassals in the world order centered on the Tang Dynasty,thus making it an open and worldwide empire.