Study On Agricultural Natural Disasters And Related Problems In The Period Of Emperor Xuanzong Of The Tang Dynasty

This article takes the main agricultural natural disasters during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty as a starting point,and combs the ideological realities and specific actions they displayed as state administrators,as well as the changes in relevant systems and policies,in order to respond to natural disasters during this period,from the monarch down to local officials.It further explores the socio-economic development and agricultural ideology at that time,reflecting once again the formation of the prosperous era of the Kaiyuan era and the maturity and perfection of the prosperous Tang system from one side.The first chapter is an overview of agricultural natural disasters during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.Mainly using the method of literature statistics,the types of natural disasters related to agriculture during this period were sorted out.On this basis,analyze its spatiotemporal distribution,frequency of occurrence,and degree of impact.The second chapter discusses the disaster relief system and operational mechanism during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.Analyzed the procedures for reporting disaster situations in legal provisions,and the phenomenon of local officials concealing or falsely reporting disaster situations due to their own interests.Analyzed the disaster relief system during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang from three perspectives: the tax reduction and exemption system after reporting disasters,the relief of Changping and local charity warehouses,and the construction of water conservancy projects.The third chapter discusses the disaster prevention and relief practices and policy considerations of central decision-makers.This article discusses that the emperor and important officials,while praying for disaster prevention,adopted administrative measures guided by the ideology of agriculture,and used this to rectify the governance of officials and adjust their personal situation.Disasters have also become an opportunity for the late prime minister of Tianbao to exercise power.Chapter 4 discusses the on-site disaster relief and related performance of some envoys and local officials.The envoy is responsible for conducting local inspections of disaster situations,assisting in disaster relief,and also overseeing the political achievements of local officials.On the one hand,local officials pray to avoid disasters,and on the other hand,actively participate in disaster relief activities.These measures complement each other and resolve local disaster crises.During the Kaiyuan and Tianbao periods,the response to disasters,from emperors and prime ministers to local officials,was generally positive and proactive.The relevant systems have been continuously improved,and the central government’s rewards or punishments for local officials are also relatively fair and timely.When the disaster is serious or the scope of the disaster is wide,envoys are often dispatched to assist in disaster relief.Therefore,throughout the Xuanzong period,even though there were several quite serious agricultural natural disaster crises,none of them caused the deterioration or expansion of the disaster situation,nor caused a serious socio-economic crisis.The disaster situation and people’s livelihood,as well as the response to disasters and the fate of the country and the dynasty,are closely related and reflected on each other.For a dynasty,its ability to respond to agricultural natural disasters and its state of disposal reflect the level and state of national governance at that time.