Subject: 士大夫 shìdàfū scholar-official
Culture: Chinese
Setting: mid-late Tang empire, China 755-907
Evolution:
Context (Event Photos, Primary Sources, Secondary Sources, Field Notes)
* Ranitsch/McBride 1995 p
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* Peers/Perry 1996 p
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* Graff 2002 p234-235
"The increased power and prominence of eunuchs as provincial army supervisors and Imperial Palace Army controllers were in part a reflection of the court's distrust of military men in the wake of the An Lushan rebellion. The reassertion of civilian control over the military became one of the central goals of the Tang government, and military leaders who had made their careers entirely within the military establishment came to be regarded with deep suspicion. During the half-century after 755, the court's relations with its generals were often badly strained. Guo Ziyi, a figure of exemplary loyalty and one of the government's most successful generals, was not entrusted with a field command during the last three years of the rebellion. Guo's Shuofang colleague Li Guangbi fell under suspicion shortly before his death in 764. Lu Tian, who had won the sobriquet 'Bite-Iron' during his stubborn defense of Yingchuan against An Lushan's men, was denounced by eunuchs and forced to commit suicide at the beginning of 763. During this same period in 763-4, Pugu Huai'en -- architect of the Uighur alliance and pacifier of the Hebei rebels -- was badgered into rebellion by a cabal of military rivals and hostile eunuchs. The pattern was repeated during the civil war of the early 780s, when suspicion and misunderstanding pushed yet another Shuofang general, Li Huaiguang, to the brink of revolt.
"With political reliability now the paramount consideration in selecting military leaders, important commands were often entrusted to civil officials or eunuchs rather than experienced generals. Pei Du, who directed the successful operations against the rebellious province of Huaixi in 814-15, was a literary examination graduate who had served as investigating censor, court diarist, president of the Censorate, and vice-president of the Chancellery before he was given overall command of the field armies in Henan. Wherever local circumstances permitted, the court preferred to appoint civil bureaucrats to serve as military governors. In response to the enhanced power and autonomy of the empire's military elites in the post-rebellion period, there were new assertions of the fitness of scholars and civil officials for military command. The historical writing of the late Tang and the succeeding Five Dynasties period (907-60) offers many examples of civil officials who were able to beat the military men at their own game. One such man was Wang Jin, who held several military governorships during the 770s and brought the unruly Hedong garrison to heel by executing several insubordinate troop commanders who had scorned him as a mere scholar. Another was Xin Mi, a prefect who put down a local rebellion in the southeast at the beginning of the ninth century. Where the early Tang idea of military command had emphasized personal leadership on the battlefield, the post-rebellion period gave more attention to strategic acumen, administrative talent, and understanding of human relations as attributes of the successful general: 'In antiquity, those who were considered famous generals had no need of the ability to fight in the front rank, or the strength to wrestle with tigers and bears. What is important is that one begins and ends with righteousness, and succeeds through one's skill at making plans.'"
Sword
* Bennett 2018 p68
"By the late Tang period, the jian flourished as a weapon of enormous symbolic importance, synonymous with high office and command. It continued to function in this capacity until the end of the imperial era. Such swords denoted superior military or social rank, and would signify the power of their owners during formal processions, at court occasions, or during ceremonies."
Costume
* 5000 years of Chinese costumes 1988 p76
"Costumes of the Tang developed after the patterns of the Sui; therefore, the men's costumes during this period consisted mainly of fu tou (turban), gauze hats, and robes with round collars. The fu tou[,] a kind of headdress made of silk, differed from the kerchief in the corner parts. The four corners of the silk cloth for the fu tou were purposely cut into ribbon shapes. Two of the four ribbons were tied up at the back of the head so that they hung free while the other two were first folded upward and then tied together at the top of the head, hence this headdress was also called the 'upfolded turban'. Since the turban's two corners were made of thin, soft materials, it was also known as the 'soft-flapped fu tou'. After the middle of the Tang period, designs of fu tou underwent further changes. The flaps, either round or broad, struck up a little just like stiff wings, so it was named the 'stiff-flapped fu tou'. By the close of the Tang dynasty, the turban had totally departed from the kerchief category and became a pure hat. The gauze hat, popular among Confucian scholars and hermits, was the usual headdress for such occasions as imperial court gatherings, hearings in the lawcourts, formal banquets and receptions. However, the patterns varied according to the taste of the wearer; and people were usually attracted to the new and unique ones.
"The robe with round collar was the main style of men's costume during the period of the Sui and Tang. It was a casual dress worn by common people and officials alike except during sacrificial ceremonies. Most robes were made of fabrics woven with veiled-pattern designs and in different colours to show the rank of the wearer. In the lower half of the robe there was usually a horizontal band; therefore it was called the 'band robe'. It remained the formal dress of scholars throughout the Song Dynasty.
"In the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, there appeared new robes embroidered with different designs for identification of the wearers: birds for civil officials and animals for military officers. This method of differentiation gave birth to the embroidered square patches of the later Ming and Qing Dynasties."
* 5000 years of Chinese costumes 1988 p79 f2 caption
"Apart from the tight-sleeved robe with round collar, ceremonial dress was still worn by Tang officials on such important occasions as sacrificial ceremonies. The styles of such dress were largely based on the Sui system; they included turbans or cage hats for headgear, a large-sleeved gown with front-opening and an apron over it, adn a tasseled jade pendant attached to a girdle to complete the outfit."
Ornaments
* Kimbell Art Museum > Passport to Asia
"With the demise of the Han dynasty, jade lost its relevance as a material used in burials and in making personal ornaments. This was due to the increasing influence of Buddhism in funerary practices as well as the growing culture of the literati class, which was imbued with Confucian ideals. Jade experienced a resurgence in the Tang dynasty (AD 618-907), when it was used again, though to a more limited extent than in the past, to produce fine ornaments for the nobility."
* Sackler Gallery
"[A]ffluent members of Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) ... wore robes secured at the waist with belts decorated with jade, gold, silver, or ... gilt copper and bronze ornaments. The custom of wearing ornamented belts originated in West and Central Asia, and its popularity in Tang-dynasty China demonstrates the close ties among these three regions."
Cup
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