Animals In The Tang Dynasty From The Political And Cultural Perspective

It is widely acknowledged that Animals and their behaviors implied that God’s will in the Tang Dynasty,which plays an important role in politics.Taking the auspicious beast Qilin(麒麟)as an example,Emperor Gao Zong advocated the benevolent and auspicious meaning in it to suspend the war on the Korean peninsula.A century and a half later,Emperor Xianzong used the political connotation of"unification"to convey the determination to resolve the issue of the military commission.At the same time,in addition to the mainstream method of"using virtue to overcome demons",the political elites also adjusted their interpretation of animal disasters according to their own political position,which showed the flexibility of medieval political operation.In addition to the political effect,people ’ s thoughts and beliefs were also strongly influenced.through ritual and law.In the judicial system,superstition of beast-related mysticism is embodied in two aspects: legislation and justice.In the etiquette system,the officials and the folk had sacrificial activities,where beasts were regarded as the patron saints of agriculture,husbandry and textile,preventing them from disasters.However,in the late Tang Dynasty,an emerging thought brought the replacement of auspicious beast by religions of Buddhism and Taoism.The abandon came from the Interpretation of“chunqiu”(《春秋》),which emphasizes bitterness rather than auspiciousness.