the Tang dynasty (618-97) was one of the most important dynasties in the history of China, and it was also recognized as one of the most powerful times in China.

territory and political district

the territory map of the Tang dynasty in its heyday. At its peak, the territory of the Tang dynasty reached the Korean Peninsula in the east, the Aral Sea in Central Asia in the west, Hue in Vietnam in the south and Lake Baikal in the north. There were many foreign nationalities around the Tang Dynasty. In order to effectively manage Turkic, Uighur, Mohong, Tiele, Shiwei, Qidan, etc., six capitals were established, namely Anxi, Anbei, Anton, Annan, Chanyu and Beiting.

Keywords: the revival of women's female consciousness in the Tang Dynasty highlights

female consciousness, which is actually a concept about women and a product of history. China's female consciousness in past dynasties is a product rooted in China's historical soil, a product of China's patriarchal society, feudal autocracy and small-scale peasant consciousness, which is embodied in the values that men are superior to women and the moral ethics that bind women. These concepts are deeply imprinted in the minds of men and women in China for generations. However, the Tang Dynasty was the heyday of social, economic and cultural development in China's history, and it was also a rare "open" society in China. The high material civilization and spiritual civilization it created made it one of the most civilized and open countries in the world at that time, and the women in the Tang Dynasty also attracted worldwide attention.

after the long and repeated conflicts between Hu and Han cultures in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the pluralistic culture was finally fully released in the Tang Dynasty. The change of women's female consciousness in the Tang Dynasty was closely related to the social, political and economic aspects of the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Taizong remarried widows, broke through the restriction of orthodox women's chastity view, and tapped the social value and significance of women in human reproduction and production development, so that their authenticity was fully revived. When Wu Zetian became emperor, it impacted the orthodox idea that men were superior to women, and women's natural nature and social ability were released unprecedentedly in the whole feudal society. The enterprising nature of women's own ability in the Tang Dynasty was unprecedented, thus their female consciousness was greatly demonstrated. On the one hand, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty restricted women's participation in politics in order to consolidate the throne and stabilize social order; On the other hand, it gives women freedom in marriage, social life and other aspects. This relatively open and free view of women shows the self-confident, open, pragmatic and enterprising character of the prosperous rulers of the Tang Dynasty. The openness of social politics, economy and culture in the Tang Dynasty made women in the Tang Dynasty feel a great sense of relaxation in their thoughts and concepts, and in their daily life, they showed their behavioral characteristics different from those of women in previous dynasties.

1. Primacy

In matriarchal clan society, women are not only in a more free position, but also in a highly respected position. Women have amazing creativity. They are heroes who conquer nature, mothers who create things, gods who create inventions and masters of social life. People not only worship women in reality, but also transfer this worship to the worship of natural objects, which in turn reflects the worship of women from the worship of nature. Women's rights in matriarchal society, such as the right to bear children and raise ethnic groups, the right to organize clan life and production, are all endowed by nature, and there is no artificial privilege in the legal sense. Women have only achieved the respect of the whole society after fulfilling their naturally endowed rights and obligations. This kind of female consciousness is actually ignorant and natural, and people, men and women are also naturally equal. Engels once said in the preface to the fourth edition of The Origin of Family, Private Ownership and State, "This unique significance of female lineage has been preserved for a long time in the era of individual marriage, when the paternal identity has been determined or at least recognized." (1) Women's sense of freedom continued until the arrival of the patriarchal society, and the custom of mixed marriage prevailed in the era of the Five Emperors. For example, the birth of the ancestral deed of the Shang Dynasty was that his virgin Judie swallowed the big egg of the divine bird, and Hou Ji, the ancestor of Zhou Dynasty, only had his mother Jiang Yuan and didn't know who his father was ... These are all mythological recreations of the female-centered consciousness in the matriarchal society.

The era of the Five Emperors is an important era of historic turning point in social life and gender relations. With the development of productive forces, the first social division of labor took place, and animal husbandry and agriculture were separated from hunting and gathering industries. The dominant position of women in traditional industries gradually gave way to men who were good at grazing and planting, and the role of men in clan organizations also occupied a dominant position. Heredity gradually shifted to the male line, so patriarchy replaced matriarchal system. "The overthrow of matriarchal system is a failure of women with world historical significance." (2) In the patriarchal society, men have replaced women as the core figures active on the social stage, and women's role has been belittled, losing their lofty social status, and people have also turned to worship "heaven" and "strength" from the worship of nature and reproduction. The so-called "heaven" is the symbol of the male ruler-"emperor", and the pan-natural gods related to women are all subject to the rule of "emperor". And "strength" is the symbol of power and the representative of strength. Han Feizi once said, "In ancient times, people struggled for strength.". Whoever is strong and brave can save himself and conquer other tribes, thus making members of his clan or tribe awed. As a typical monogamous family has been formed, with the emergence of private ownership, the problem of paternal inheritance has become prominent. Engels said: "Monogamy is not based on natural conditions, but on economic conditions, that is, the formation of the first family based on the victory of private ownership over the original naturally grown public ownership. The husband is in the dominant position in the family, and giving birth to children who are only his own and should inherit his property-this is the only purpose of the monogamous marriage system openly announced by the Greeks "(3) So, under the general situation of the development of this family and private ownership, the beginning of the monogamous marriage system has made the status of women in China start a new page. The female consciousness was suppressed indefinitely by the patriarchal ideology, and its history of slavery began.

The Tang Dynasty was an era of unprecedented economic prosperity, unprecedented ideological activity and unprecedented women's liberation, but what we should see is that this unprecedented women's liberation is actually a manifestation of the originality of women's consciousness. The Han nationality in Sui and Tang Dynasties is a new Han nationality with the Han nationality as the paternal line and Xianbei as the maternal line. What Tang Wenhua embodies is a fearless and unscrupulous inclusive grand style. All factors, forms and styles can be properly found in the culture of Tang Dynasty. Therefore, women living in this period naturally have many differences from women in other dynasties in China feudal society. The greatest manifestation of the integration of Hu and Han is that Hu culture, as a nomadic people, injects a heroic and chivalrous spirit into the Han cultural system as an agricultural people. The Tang people are not only "Hu Qi" in temperament, but also "Hu Feng" in legislation. Women in the Tang Dynasty were bold and vigorous in the atmosphere of this "Hu Feng" culture and in the "Hu Ren" society with weak etiquette, which was definitely not like the shyness and gentleness of the Southern Dynasties and the gentleness and elegance of the Han Dynasty. For example, women in the Tang Dynasty had certain legal inheritance rights in family life, and women could be the heads of households alone, with relatively independent economic status, playing a role in many aspects of social life and so on. Women in the Tang Dynasty were also quite jealous. "Miscellaneous Western Han Dynasty" records: "Before the Dali period, the wife of a scholar-bureaucrat was jealous." The allusion to "jealousy" originated from the Tang Dynasty. The so-called "women are strong, husbands are weak, and the inside is strong and the outside is soft" and "being afraid of women is also good" have become the "topics" that are relished in Tang Dynasty's note novels. Because of Hu Feng's influence, women's aesthetics in Tang Dynasty changed from advocating thinness in Wei and Jin Dynasties to advocating health and fullness. The scenes of women riding horses and hitting the ball in some works of art in the Tang Dynasty are contrary to the tradition of Chinese culture in which femininity is the norm for women, revealing the lively, brave and unrestrained character of Hu women. Therefore, women in the Tang Dynasty have their unique charm among the traditional women in China. Or in other words, in the social and economic life of women in the Tang Dynasty, women's consciousness was revived to some extent. This is a major feature of female culture in the Tang Dynasty. And this primitive recovery. It is different from the liberation of modern and contemporary women's female consciousness, but a release of female consciousness after being suppressed for several years, which is the release and expression of "Hu culture" and "Hu feng" Therefore, the revival of women in the Tang Dynasty is more reflected in the revival of sexual consciousness and the pursuit of free communication between the two sexes in life style and lifestyle.

The Tang Dynasty was a special era in China's feudal society, with an open mind on marriage and an indifferent concept of chastity. Princess Tang remarried dozens of people, and the princesses of Levin, Xiangyang, Taiping, Anle and Yongjia also kept Toy Boy. The Law of the Tang Dynasty stipulates that "if the husband and wife are not in harmony and leave, they will not sit down", which makes the people in the Tang Dynasty more open-minded about divorce. Some divorce books also have the words of blessing: "I hope that after my wife and wife leave, I will comb my temples again, dress my eyebrows beautifully, and make a graceful gesture, and hire high-ranking officials ...... I will be happy." (4) The concept of chastity of women in the Tang Dynasty was not as harsh as that after the Song Dynasty, and the social requirements in this respect were quite loose. From the court to the folk, people had considerable freedom in sexual life. The main reasons are as follows: First, in the Tang Dynasty, which was in the heyday of feudal society, feudal ethics was far from being as harsh as it was later. As a tool for rulers to imprison people and human nature, feudal ethics developed step by step with the needs of the ruling class. Rulers always get to the end of the world, and the more they feel the need to control people's minds, bodies and worldly desires, so the ethical code becomes more strict, careful and strengthened. From the pre-Qin dynasty to the Tang dynasty, although people came out to advocate women's education in all generations, the ruling class was not so eager to restrain this aspect. Especially in the Tang dynasty, because of its high prosperity, the rulers had full confidence and strength, so their control over sex and other aspects was more relaxed. Second, there was a long period of peace and prosperity in the Tang Dynasty, with rapid development of productive forces, a large increase in population and a relatively rich society as a whole. With ample food and clothing and a stable life, people will inevitably pursue more enjoyment and happiness in life, including sexual joy, which is the gradual rise and change of people's inherent demand level. The ancients said, "Be full of warmth and lust." If we understand "lust" as love (ascetics always dismiss people's normal love and sexual needs as "lust"), then this sentence is a truth. Being warm is the first and basic need of human beings. Generally speaking, when these first and basic needs cannot be met, people seldom pursue high-level needs such as love, sex, self-esteem and self-realization. When you are rich, you will pursue others more strongly. Third, the Tang Dynasty was an era of "Hu Hua" and ethnic integration of the Han nationality. Li Tang's royal family itself has the lineage of the northern minorities. They once lived together with the northern minorities for a long time, and prospered in the Northern Wei Dynasty established by the Xianbei ethnic group, and then directly inherited the northern regime dominated by the Xianbei ethnic group. Therefore, they followed the northern tradition in cultural customs, and they were deeply "Hu Hua". After Tang Tongyi came to the world, they brought the customs of these northern ethnic minorities to the Central Plains. Zhu Xi of the Song Dynasty once attacked the Tang Dynasty that "the boudoir was not chaste" and "the ethical code was not prosperous", saying: "The Tang Dynasty originated from barbarians, so the faux pas of the boudoir was not different." 5] This is also the actual situation. At the same time, the contacts and international exchanges between the various ethnic groups in the Tang Dynasty were unprecedented, and the magnificent Tang Dynasty was receptive to the cultural relics of the so-called "barbarian state". Many ethnic minorities' marriage relations are still primitive, women's status is relatively high, and their sexual life is relatively free. These cultural customs have a very strong influence on the society of the Tang Dynasty, infiltrating into all fields of social life, and strongly impacting the concept of ethics of the Han nationality in the Central Plains.

In the Tang Dynasty, there was a great degree of sexual freedom, which was mainly manifested in three aspects: more premarital sex, more extramarital sex, and more common divorce and remarriage. From the history books and many literary works at that time, it can be seen that it is quite common for folk women to fall in love and combine freely in the Tang Dynasty. "The prostitute's family went to the water's edge and rocked the boat into the river to smoke, not only to find a concentric couple, but also to pick a concentric lotus." "The willows are green and green in Jiang Shuiping, and the sound of singing on the Langjiang River is heard. The sun is shining in the east and it is raining in the west. The Tao is ruthless but affectionate." These poems all describe the free love life of working women. They have been working outside for many years, have more contacts with men, have a weak concept of ethics, and their feelings are naturally simple and unrestrained, so there are more things about free love. As for some upper-middle-class women, there are many such things, and the society does not excessively condemn them. For example, Chao Cai, a talented woman in Dali, and Wen Mao, a neighbor, often empathize with each other through poetry, and take the opportunity to have fun together. When Chao's mother learned that, she sighed, "A talented person and a beautiful woman should have this." So I got married for them. Women eloped with their lovers from time to time. For example, Taizhou woman Xiao Weixiang fell in love with Jinshi Wang Xuanyan, eloped and lived in a hostel. Many legendary novels in the Tang Dynasty describe the story of this kind of men and women pursuing love and free combination. The Romance of the West Chamber, which was widely circulated in later generations, came from the biography of Yingying in the Tang Dynasty. Yingying and Zhang Sheng had an affair. In fact, the ending of this story was not like that changed by later generations, but Yingying married another, and Zhang Sheng married another. Later, the two had poetry and prose exchanges. It can also be seen from the Biography of Yingying that people didn't think it strange at that time, only that Zhang Sheng was too forbearing, and it was praised as a much-told story. It can be seen that the Tang people did not care much about their children's premarital chastity, and it was common to lose their virginity and remarry. Looking through the legends and notes of the Tang Dynasty, there are many things about boudoir girls, fairies and ghosts "recommending pillows", which is a true reflection of social reality. Feudal ethics imposed many severe restrictions on women's divorce and remarriage, and the attitude of society towards divorce and remarriage also reflected the degree of social openness, freedom of marriage and sexual freedom. The Tang dynasty was still a feudal society and a patriarchal society, and it was still centered on men in the issue of marriage (marriage and divorce). There are also provisions of "seven out" and "three don't go" in the Tang law. Although there are certain restrictions, it is easy for men to marry, and there are many things to marry. For example, Shen's husband and wife in strict irrigation were divorced because they had no children for more than ten years. Li Huixiu's mother was born in humble origins, and his wife rebuked the handmaiden. When her mother was unhappy, Li divorced her. The characteristic of the Tang Dynasty is that there are a large number of divorces in social life, and at the same time, women take the initiative to divorce or abandon their husbands. For example, when Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, Liu Ji's wife, Xiahou Shi, asked for a divorce to support her father because his father was blind. Yang Zhijian, a scholar, was addicted to learning and his family was poor. His wife was not tolerant of poverty, so she went to the government to ask for a divorce and remarriage. Yang Zhijian sent it with a poem, saying, "My life's ambition lies in the piano poem, and now there are two threads on my head. The fisherman still knows that the valley is dark, and the wife of the mountain does not believe that she was born late. Jing Chai touched her new temples at will, and Luan Jing painted another eyebrow from now on. Today, I will walk with passers-by, and when I meet, I will go down the mountain. " At that time, Yan Zhenqing, the state official, handled the case and criticized the woman. As the cloud said, Yang Zhijian was known as Confucianism, and he read the Nine Classics all over the place, and between the poems, he was coquettish. A foolish wife sees that she has not met, so she is centrifugal. Wang Huan' s jealousy is empty, so do you follow the yellow volume; Zhu Chaucer's wife must go, and would rather see a splendid dress. Insulting the countryside and hurting customs, if there is no praise or criticism, there are many chances. Finally, although he was sentenced to divorce and allowed to remarry, he was punished with 2 strokes; At the same time, Yang Zhijian was given "2 pieces of cloth and silk each, 2 meters of stone, and was sent to the army". It is said that because of Yan Zhenqing's judgment, the customs are very positive, and there are no more people who abandon their husbands here. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, there was a daughter of General Li who had to marry a teenager because of the scattered war. Later, when she found a relative, she said to her husband, "In the chaos, the weak woman could not help herself. Fortunately, she was reminded and even so. Losing one's virginity is not unfortunate. Everyone has his own couple, so it is difficult to grow old together. Please resign from now on. " Don't take "chastity" and virginity seriously at all. It is also a common practice in the Tang Dynasty for women to remarry after divorce or widowed, and it is not condemned by public opinion. According to the New Tang Book