Bureaucrats and aristocrats, the former evident in the government in the Tang dynasty (617-907) and the ladder pronoun in the government of Heian Japan. Both are different in many different aspects, such as within government, government structure, law, economy, and society.A bureaucrat can be defined by the following: an appointed government official with certain duties and responsibilities defined by disposition in the bureaucracy. A bureaucrat is more dependent on the government than an aristocrat because official power comes from official appointment through the bureaucracy (Class Lecture, Oct. 16, 97). Bureaucracy first replaced aristocracy in the Tang dynasty, under the rule of Empress Wu (625?-706?, r.690-706) bureaucracy was expanded by furthering expansion policies and supporting the examination system. Positions in government were filled through the examination system, and people who passed were called the literati.
When one held this title of literati, you were considered intelligent and were considered to have high status (TA session, Oct. 28, 97). "They were a group of smart guys with a good education." (Steve, TA session, Oct. 28, 97). This of course deprived the hereditary aristocracy of power 'they had enjoyed during the period of division, when appointments had been made by recommendation, and opened government service to a somewhat wider class of people...' (Schirokauer, p.103). For the first time, men who entered office through examination could attain the highest office, even that of Chief Minister.
Examination graduates earned (earn being the operative word) prestige, and even though officials still entered government by other means such as family connections, at the same time the literati and thus the bureaucrats were gaining authority, jurisdiction, and power. And thus, one could see this shifting of supremacy from the aristocracy to the bureaucracy.Government in the Tang dynasty was regulated by the Tang legal codes, a system of laws written by legalists which consisted of a system of rewards and severe punishments (TA session, Oct. 28, 97). These legal codes were administrative: reporting what the state could do and what the subjects could not do.
This is an important point in that, this showed the subjects possessed little power, the Tang legal codes are the opposite of any laws of present day, these legal codes protected the government and not the people. Government needed the subjects only to provide for taxes (revenue), labour (grain) and military (soldiers) reasons. 'A dead subject was not as useful as a living subject.
These elite groups were high ranked officials who had similar tasks as government officials, and the source of their power was relatively similar in every aspect. The yangban of Korea used an examination system to elect and appoint officials, so scholarly merit awarded a spot in office instead of heredity. Although the yangban used the civil service examinations wealth still defined yangban from the commoners. Yangban owned both land and slaves. Ancestry was a factor as well because yangban families wanted to produce a lineage of yangban officials. It solidified the family’s name if their subsequent generations contained successful yangban. The source of power that gave the gentry their official positi...
There is no simple answer to this question, especially with the convoluted and entwining relationship between Buddhism and Wu, so we focus on how the religion assisted Wu in grasping power and its indispensable role in the Chinese economy. The close connection between government and religion is not a new concept to the Tang era as it has been well-established prior to its time, and it even survived long after. In the case of Buddhism and Empress Wu, the religion played a pivotal role in justifying her rule, which could explain her special interest in it. Among the Buddhists followers, she was identified as the bodhisattva Maitreya, which helped her gain a sense of legitimacy to her reign, especially in a male-dominant society (Smarr Feb. 17 2012). The association of Buddhism with Wu helped spur Wu’s benevolent policies towards the religion, who benefitted handsome...
Examination system. This exact system is what allowed one man named Zhang Tao to gain a position within the gentry.
The government within the monarchical society was populated by the aristocracy. It was they who were depended upon for directing the course of governmental affairs. The controls of all co...
It has been proven that knowledge is an essential element every community should master. The more information and culture people have, the better they can work and subsidize to their commonality. People would be tutored in every single area, from how to cultivate to the different philosophies. In addition, with their new understanding and their own opinions, they can find other ways to improve these thoughts. Also, Confucianists believed that castigation would not get a society anywhere. As Confucius, the founder of this concept, said that with strict laws people “will avoid wrongdoing but will not be good people”. This means that though they will not break the law, they will still be bad. Also, he thought that “lead[ing] them with virtue and sett[ing] a good example” will make people differ from what is good and what is wrong. Adding onto this, Confucius created a test that would determine if people had what they needed in order to be a leader. This examination was called the Civil Service Exam, and it was open to the public so everyone would be able to take it, since now everyone would have an education and could apply the concepts grasped to make the Empire they lived in a better place. This gave the citizens an opportunity to
The Tang dynasty was founded in 618, and lasted until 907. The emperor was supreme and government officials were chosen by examination. A census was taken to simplify tax collection and to draft citizens to perform labor for the empire. This was a period of great land expansion. (Halsall, 1998) The emperor also had a great love of the arts, and the Tang became known as the golden age of literature and art. Block printing was invented and made writing more available. (Unknown, 2003) Shipbuilding and firearms development were also refined during the era. Art was heavily influenced by Buddhism, especially rock sculpture. One major problem that arose was the heavy burden of taxation. Many were unable to meet their heavy tax burden. To escape this, many placed themselves under the protection of great landlords who were exempt from taxes, or became bandits. (Halsall, 1998)
Both the Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire were bureaucratic. Their central rulers all eventually were heredi...
It has been said that Legalism takes after Daoism, borrowing some of its well-known ideas such as non-action or the usefulness of being empty. Though Legalism is typically grouped with the other early Chinese philosophers, it is actually quite a different system. Han Feizi’s Basic Writings, an exemplary text of Legalism, is aimed at how to successfully run an empire, and caters to one person in particular: the ruler. On the other hand, writings like the Dao de Jing are aimed more towards the individual and are personable. Still, it’s interesting to note that both texts talk about what it takes to be a good leader. In examining relations between Laozi’s Dao De Jing and Hand Feizi’s Basic Writings, one can extract both similarities and differences between Legalism and Daoism when it comes to how a leader should govern. Daoism and Legalism are similar in the fact that they both believe the leader should practice non-action and emptiness, believe that there should be a natural
In “Père du Halde: The Chinese Educational System”, (Document 3), Pere du Halde talks about the Chinese Education system. In the document, he says, “That boys should not learn is an improper thing; for if they do not learn in youth, what will they do when old?” This shows that the educational system in China was very hard and strict and the students learned a lot. Since the boys that were going to school were one day going to be men, those men were going to have to make many decisions for China. In order to make sure China was on the right path to great rulers and government workers, the schooling system was very prestigious and difficult. This is an example that China needed a good educational system so they would have strong, future rulers. In my opinion, the Chinese learning system was hard because everyone wanted to have great leaders and they knew that the students who were going to school were going to be future leaders. As it says in “Matteo Ricci: On Chinese Government”, (Document 5), “It may be said in praise of the Chinese that ordinarily they would prefer to die an honorable death rather than swear allegiance to a usurping monarch.” This is an example that the people of China wanted a strong ruler/rulers and would rather die than be ruled by a weak leader. The statement shows that all of China, not just government officers,...
The Tang Dynasty (618-906) succeeded the Sui Dynasty, who ruled from 581-618 A.D., respectively. The foundation for the development, growth, and expansion of China during the Tang Dynasty’s rule was laid during the Sui Dynasty’s reign. The political and governmental institutions of the Sui Dynasty directly influenced the Tang tremendously. Diplomatic relationships were successfully established during this period, and Tang China took its role as one of the greatest and prominent empires existing in the medieval world. Retail traders, clerics, ambassadors, and convoys from Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other countries emerged into common members of everyday society in Tang China.
The growth of the Russian bureaucracy from the Imperial to Soviet era is overwhelming. According to Alekinskii, in 1897, 435,000 civilians worked for the public bureaucratic sector. This means for every 292 members of the populous there would be one public servant plied for representation (Alekinskii, 178). By 1897, the bureaucracy in Russia was no older than sixty years. Prior to the 1830s state bureaucrats did not truly exist; shortly thereafter, seniority dictated which workers would progress upwards in the public institutions in which he or she worked (John Le Dunne). This could be interpreted as the first sign of the development of bureaucracy in Imperial Russia. Russian bureaucracy, at least in the Soviet and Imperial sense, does not mimic the traditionally accepted Weberian notion of bureaucracy and bureaucratic development. Some scholars feel Russia could be portrayed as the true birthplace of a pure bureaucratic system. In other countries, such as the United States or Norway, the bureaucracy gained power slowly in an already stable political and social environment. This is not the case in Russia. According to Hollander, a major difference in the Imperial and Soviet bureaucracies from prescribed Western norms surrounds politicization (Hollander, 305). The bureaucracy developed through class oppression and political upheaval over centuries. It can be said that a truly stable political and social environment in Russia is only about twenty years old; in spite of this, the Russian bureaucracy existed and thrived for centuries prior to the social awakening.
Huang outlines to reconstruction of the court under Wan-li came into power at the death of his father and the seemingly insignificant actions taken by the emperor, from his marriage to the redecorating of the court. Within the scope of this discourse, Huang is able to disclose the excesses of the emperor, and consider the implications of the bureaucratic system that he devised as an extension of this excess (13).
A further distinction between these two forms of government lies in heredity. The aristocracy was largely formed by
rules and laws that applied only to those who were peasants. The laws sort of boosted their lives; he kept the land tax low, and the granaries stocked to guard against famine. During his reign he also attempted and succeeded in building up the class of those of the peasant and working class. Hongwu’s new government did not cause any change for those in other social classes.
The governmental structure of the Chinese dynasties evolved with each changing regime. Even the title of king, as was called in the beginning, changed to emperor because it was not grand enough. Each dynasty had the king or emperor as the head of its government. They had supreme power over the economy, government, military, and religious beliefs of the country. The empires used a centralized bureaucracy that had overall control over the country. They learned vast amount from this form of government, each reign modified its structure accordingly, ranging from very strict to almost a hands-off approach. It was not replaced with any other form government; it simply evolved into what was suitable for each period. As the country expanded and became too vast for one man to rule, a feudal system was created, similar to the ones in ancien...