The status and influence of religion in society were the highest during the Tang Dynasty. The main sects of Buddhism during the Tang Dynasty were Tiantai Sect, Huayan Sect, Faxiang Sect, Pure Land Sect and Zen Sect. The Tiantai Sect adheres to the Lotus Sutra, so it is also called the Lotus Sect. The Huayan sect followed the Huayan Sutra and participated in politics more. Pure Land Buddhism is easy to get started with. Zen is divided into two sects: Northern and Southern. The founder of the Northern sect is Shenxiu, who advocates the theory of gradual enlightenment. The founder of Nanzong was Huineng, who advocated the theory of sudden enlightenment. During the reign of Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty, he adopted a high-pressure policy against Buddhism, which was known in history as the Huichang Extermination Method. Except for a few sects such as the Southern Zen Sect, other Buddhist sects never recovered. Since the royal family of the Tang Dynasty was named Li, and it is said that they were descended from Laozi, Taoism was also very popular in the upper class of the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty honored Lao Tzu as Emperor Xuanyuan. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty also vigorously promoted Taoism and added Taoism exams to the imperial examinations. In addition to Buddhism and Taoism, there were also foreign religions such as Islam, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, and Nestorianism (Nestorian Christianity) at that time. But the impact is smaller.
In Tang Dynasty society, although the power of aristocratic families was reduced, it was still not an equal society. The "Tang Code" also clearly stipulates that people are divided into two categories: "good" and "untouchable", and untouchables can only marry untouchables; a landlord who kills Bu Qu must be punished with up to one year in prison, and Bu Qu who kills a landlord must be executed. Although the imperial examination system was implemented, because the living conditions of the aristocratic families were relatively favorable, the cultural accomplishment of their children was also higher. Regardless of whether they participated in the imperial examinations, it was not very difficult to enter the official career; there were also many prime ministers in the Tang Dynasty who came from aristocratic families.
Poetry was the most developed literary achievement in the Tang Dynasty. The "Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty" compiled by the Qing Dynasty contains more than 48,900 poems by more than 2,200 poets, and this is not all. The most famous poets of the early Tang Dynasty are the "Four Heroes of the Early Tang Dynasty" (Wang Bo, Yang Jiong, Lu Zhaolin, and King Luo Bin). Poets in the prosperous Tang Dynasty can be divided into the pastoral school represented by Wang Wei and Meng Haoran and the frontier school represented by Cen Shen and Wang Changling. Among them, the most famous ones are the "poetry immortal" Li Bai and the "poetry sage" Du Fu. Li Bai's poems are elegant and free, full of romanticism. Du Fu's poems reflect more realism. The most outstanding poet in the mid-Tang Dynasty was Bai Juyi, whose poems were easy to understand. In addition, there are Yuan Zhen, Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Liu Yuxi, Li He, etc. Among the poets of the late Tang Dynasty, Li Shangyin and Du Mu were the most outstanding, and they were called "Little Li Du". Although there were still outstanding poets in the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties in later generations, their overall level was not as good as that of the Tang Dynasty poets. Tang poetry became the insurmountable pinnacle of ancient Chinese poetry.
In prose. Since the Six Dynasties, the literary form of parallel prose has been popular in the literary world. Parallel prose pays attention to rhyme, parallelism, allusions, and has gorgeous vocabulary. It is composed of four-character sentences and six-character sentences. It was very popular in the early Tang Dynasty, and the Four Heroes of the Early Tang Dynasty were the most famous. However, this style of writing became rigid in form and empty in content by the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, during the Tianbao period, ancient prose gradually emerged. The ancient prose movement nominally wanted to restore the issues of the pre-Qin and Han dynasties, but in fact it wanted articles to have more content, that is, "writing to convey the Tao." Han Yu was the leader of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties. His prose was majestic and profound, and he was known as "the rise and fall of eight generations of prose". However, the ancient prose movement in the Tang Dynasty gradually declined after Han Liu's death, and parallel prose rose again in the late Tang Dynasty. Legend is a classical Chinese novel form that appeared in the Sui Dynasty and flourished in the Tang Dynasty. Famous legends include "The Story of Liu Yi", "The Story of Yingying", "The Story of Nanke Prefect", "The Legend of Pillow" and "The Story of Everlasting Sorrow". Some legends were adapted into plays and vernacular novels in later generations. The Tang Dynasty Bianwen also plays an important role in the history of Chinese literature. The so-called Bianwen originally referred to the manuscripts used by Buddhist monks to promote Buddhism and sing Buddhist scriptures. Initially Bianwen was limited to Buddhist classics, but later began to tell and sing other stories, and the people who told and sang were not limited to monks. Bianwen had a great influence on legends and later rap literature.
Due to absorbing the characteristics and religious colors of the Western Regions, the art of the Tang Dynasty was completely different from that of the preceding and following dynasties. Brothers Yan Liben and Yan Lide in the early Tang Dynasty were good at painting figures. Wu Daozi is known as the "Sage of Painting". He is good at both figures and landscapes, and he has absorbed the techniques of the Western Regions School of Painting. His paintings are rich in three-dimensionality, and there is a saying that "Wu is the style". Zhang Xuan and Zhou Fang mainly painted pictures of maids. Their famous works include "Picture of Tamping Practice", "Picture of Lady Guo Guo's Spring Outing" and "Picture of Ladies with Hairpins", etc. The poet Wang Wei was good at ink landscape painting, and Su Shi called him "poetry in his paintings." The mural industry in the Tang Dynasty was particularly developed. The murals in Mogao Grottoes and tombs are masterpieces handed down from generation to generation. The sculpture art of the Tang Dynasty was equally outstanding. Dunhuang, Longmen, Maijishan and Binglingsi Grottoes all reached their heyday during the Tang Dynasty. The Lucena Giant Buddha in Longmen Grottoes and the Leshan Giant Buddha in Sichuan are both amazing. The Six Horses of Zhaoling and the three-color pottery figurines of the tomb are both very exquisite. Among them, the sculptor Yang Huizhi is known as the Sculptor. During the Tang Dynasty, calligraphers emerged in large numbers. Ouyang Xun and Yu Shinan were both famous calligraphers in the early Tang Dynasty. Ouyang Xun's regular script is rigorous and rigorous, and his famous works include "Jiucheng Palace Liquan Ming". Yu Shinan's regular script font is soft and round. Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan were famous calligraphers in the middle and late Tang Dynasty. Yan Zhenqing's regular script is thick and full of sinews, and his calligraphy is strong and free. His representative works include "Duobao Pagoda Stele"; Liu Gongquan's calligraphy is strong and strong, and his representative works include "Xuanmi Pagoda Stele". The world calls the calligraphy of Yan and Liu "Yan Jinliu" bone". Zhang Xu and Huai Su are masters of cursive calligraphy.
Leshan Giant Buddha
Leshan Giant Buddha
Music and dance developed in the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty obtained Gaochang Music from Ping Gaochang, and merged it into the original nine music categories to form ten music categories: Yan Music, Qing Shang Music, Xiliang Music, Tianzhu Music, Gaoli Music, Qiuci Music, An Guo Music, Shule Music, and Kang Guo Music. , Gao Changle[7].
After Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, Shibu music began to decline, and musicians began to study new music and dance. Xuanzong himself was a musician. He liked to play pipa, Jiegu and other musical instruments. He was good at composing and composed more than 100 pieces of music such as "Nishang Yuyi Song" and "Xiao Po Zhen Yue". He attached great importance to music and composed ten pieces of music. They are divided into Zuobuqi and Libuqi[8]. Three hundred Zuobuqi were once personally selected and were known as the "Emperor's Liyuan Disciples." Li Guinian and Yongniang's wife were both famous singers. The dances of the Tang Dynasty are most famous for their vigorous dance and soft dance. Famous dances include "Qi De Dance", "Shang Yuan Dance", etc., and the dancers include Gongsun Auntie.
The historiography of the Tang Dynasty initiated the trend of the country officially opening museums to compile history. The official history compiled by the History Museum in the early Tang Dynasty included six volumes: "Book of Jin", "Book of Liang", "Book of Chen", "Book of Northern Qi", "Book of Zhou" and "Book of Sui". Including the "Southern History" and "Northern History" privately written by historian Li Yanshou, eight of the twenty-four histories were published in the Tang Dynasty, accounting for one-third of the total. In addition, the Tang Dynasty also had the political book "Tongdian" written by Du You, the historical monograph "Shitong" written by Liu Zhiji, and the local chronicle "Yuanhe County Map" written by Li Jifu.
Technology in the Tang Dynasty also made significant progress. Astronomer Seng Yixing measured the length of the meridian for the first time in the world. He also collaborated with Liang Lingzhan to make a water-borne armillary copper instrument. The Medicine King Sun Simiao's "Qian Jin Yao Prescriptions" and "Qian Jin Yi Prescriptions" are rare medical books. Chang'an City, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, and Luoyang, the eastern capital, were well planned and had a population of over one million. Not only was it a world-class metropolis at that time, it also left a model of urban planning for future generations. At that time, the capitals of neighboring countries, such as Heiankyo in Japan, Pyongyang in Silla, and Longquanfu in Shangjing of Bohai State, were all built after Chang'an. The wooden structures of the Tang Dynasty were majestic in scale and heroic in spirit. The form of the pagoda also combines Chinese and Indian shapes, making it appear ever-changing and diverse. In 868, the printing of the Diamond Sutra in China was the earliest known woodblock printing in the world. China's papermaking, textile and other technologies spread to West Asia and Europe through the Arab region. At the same time, the sugar cane boiling method was also introduced to China from Magadha [9].
The imperial examination system entered a period of development in the Tang Dynasty. Schools in the Tang Dynasty were mainly government-run. The central government established the Guozijian, which administered six schools: Guozixue, Taixue, Four Schools, Legal Studies, Calligraphy, and Arithmetic. These schools mainly recruit children of aristocratic bureaucrats, but also a small number of civilian children. The students are called students, and their number is more than 2,000. State and county schools were established locally, with ten students in each school. The school serves the imperial examination. Schools with good grades recommend students to participate in the imperial examination. The main teaching content is the Nine Classics. The imperial examinations in the Tang Dynasty were divided into two types: regular examinations and institutional examinations. Changju holds examinations every year, with subjects such as Ming Jing, Jin Shi, Ming Fa, Ming Shu, Ming Suan, etc. In addition, there are subjects such as scholar, Taoist exam, boy, first history, and third history. There are two sources of regular exam candidates, one is the recommended students and the other is the self-taught students selected by the township tribute. The examination papers mainly focus on the two subjects of Ming Jing and Jin Shi. Ming Jingke mainly tests Confucian classics, which are relatively low-level. The Jinshi subject mainly tests poetry and political theory, which is difficult, but it is the main step to enter high-ranking officials. The admission rate for Ming Jing subjects is about 1/20%, while for Jinshi subjects it is only 12%. There is a proverb at that time: Thirty old people know the classics, and fifty young people are Jinshi. The system examination is a temporary examination, which is held infrequently in order to recruit extraordinary talents.