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While the [[Han Dynasty]] is referenced in Japanese terms such as ''[[kanji]]'' ("Chinese characters," literally "Han characters"), it is the Tang Dynasty which represents China or Chinese culture in many other terms, including ''Tôjinmachi'' ("Chinatown"), ''Tôsen'' ("Chinese ships" or "Asian ships"), and ''karamono'' ("imported goods" or "fancy foreign products")<ref>Using the alternate ''kara'' reading for the character otherwise read as ''Tô'' (Tang).</ref>.
While the [[Han Dynasty]] is referenced in Japanese terms such as ''[[kanji]]'' ("Chinese characters," literally "Han characters"), it is the Tang Dynasty which represents China or Chinese culture in many other terms, including ''Tôjinmachi'' ("Chinatown"), ''Tôsen'' ("Chinese ships" or "Asian ships"), and ''karamono'' ("imported goods" or "fancy foreign products")<ref>Using the alternate ''kara'' reading for the character otherwise read as ''Tô'' (Tang).</ref>.
The Tang Imperial family, related to that of the preceding [[Sui Dynasty]] through a maternal link, was partially of non-[[Han people|Han]] (i.e. nomadic steppe pastoralist) descent, and so was looked down upon to some extent by aristocratic Han Chinese families of northeastern China. However, the Tang also claimed descent from the founding [[Daoism|Daoist]] master [[Laozi]] in order to shore up its claims of legitimacy (albeit with limited or falsified evidence). In terms of political culture, the Tang marks the beginning of an important shift away from more focused ritual attention to Imperial ancestors, towards Imperial rites aimed more inclusively at the well-being of the state, and its people, as a whole. Further, the idea of the people as a metaphorical family, with the emperor as their father, was re-emphasized and made more prominent.
The Tang built upon political structures established by the Sui, developing further standards which would serve as standard models not only for later Chinese dynasties, but for Korean and Japanese states as well. These included the establishment of six ministries which formed the central administration of the Imperial state: a Ministry of Rites, one of Personnel, one of Revenue, one of War, one of Justice, and one of Public Works. Further, the network of granaries and schools was expanded, and the Sui legal code adapted to form a series of primary laws, meant to be maintained indefinitely as a fundamental law of the state, not unlike a constitution, and a series of secondary laws, which could be changed as conditions necessitated.
The Tang Empire covered a larger expanse of territory than any previous dynasty, extending into modern-day Vietnam in the south, and as far as the oasis towns of [[Turfan]] and [[Dunhuang]] in the northwest. Some of these areas would not again be controlled by China until the [[Qing Dynasty]]. The Tang ruled this vast territory populated by perhaps as many as 60 million people from its capital at [[Chang'an]], employing a government administration of only 17,000 officials and 50,000 clerks. Many counties, inhabited by as many as 25-30,000 people, were administered by only a single magistrate and a staff of roughly 5-15 assistants and clerks.<ref>Hansen, 214.</ref> Prior to the [[An Lushan Rebellion]] ([[755]]-[[763]]), the Court maintained extensive registries of families throughout the provinces, performing frequent demographic and land surveys, information which was used for taxation purposes, and to redistribute land in the so-called [[equal-field system]]. The Court never managed, however, after the Rebellion, to regain the same level of power or control over the provinces, and many of its administrative programs fell apart.
The Tang Empire covered a larger expanse of territory than any previous dynasty, extending into modern-day Vietnam in the south, and as far as the oasis towns of [[Turfan]] and [[Dunhuang]] in the northwest. Some of these areas would not again be controlled by China until the [[Qing Dynasty]]. The Tang ruled this vast territory populated by perhaps as many as 60 million people from its capital at [[Chang'an]], employing a government administration of only 17,000 officials and 50,000 clerks. Many counties, inhabited by as many as 25-30,000 people, were administered by only a single magistrate and a staff of roughly 5-15 assistants and clerks.<ref>Hansen, 214.</ref> Prior to the [[An Lushan Rebellion]] ([[755]]-[[763]]), the Court maintained extensive registries of families throughout the provinces, performing frequent demographic and land surveys, information which was used for taxation purposes, and to redistribute land in the so-called [[equal-field system]]. The Court never managed, however, after the Rebellion, to regain the same level of power or control over the provinces, and many of its administrative programs fell apart.
==References==
==References==
*Valerie Hansen, ''The Open Empire'', New York: W.W. Norton & Company (2000),
*Valerie Hansen, ''The Open Empire'', New York: W.W. Norton & Company (2000).
*Conrad Schirokauer, et al, ''A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations'', Fourth Edition, Cengage Learning (2012), 101-126.
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[[Category:Historical Periods]]
[[Category:Historical Periods]]
