The border wars in the early Tang Dynasty continued, which made the literati at that time have a sense of defending their families and defending the country, galloping on the battlefield to show the enthusiasm of the Tang Dynasty. After the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty was in a period of turmoil, and the literati's sense of reverence for martial arts rose again.
I. The literati in the tang dynasty army
1. Confucian generals of the Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was a war-prone dynasty, and during the 289 years of its establishment, wars were always accompanied, and there were only a few days when there were no wars. The unification wars and frontier wars in the early Tang Dynasty, the peasant uprisings and local rebellions in the later period, and the nationwide military acts that dealt a devastating blow to the Tang Dynasty such as the Anshi Rebellion made military problems always a major problem to be solved by the central government of the Tang Dynasty. The commanders of the armies often play a decisive role in the war. The Tang Dynasty cultivated a number of excellent generals in frequent wars, among which those Confucian generals who were both literate and martial were even more dazzling. They not only have the elegance of the literati, but also the bravery of the warriors, who come to the battlefield in person, command calmly, wear armor, and are invincible.
In the early Tang Dynasty, there were many Confucian generals who fought on the battlefield and threw their pens from Rong, making great contributions to the expansion and consolidation of the Territory of the Tang Dynasty. Although not everyone can become the prime minister, these literati and Confucian generals have realized their grand ambitions on the battlefield. The best of the Confucian generals in the early Tang Dynasty were Pei Xingjian, Wei Yuanzhong, and Liu Renji. In the tang dynasty's literature, materials praising Pei Xingjian for "having both culture and martial arts" can be seen everywhere. At the end of the Sui Dynasty and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, itself was a relatively turbulent stage, and a large number of literati and inkers abandoned their pens and adhered to rong, not only to complete the stable prosperity of our country, but also to make their own careers successful and create great causes, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.
At this stage, a number of high-ranking literati and famous generals who were both literate and martial and skilled in the formation of the formation method continued to emerge, and the traditional style of Tang Dynasty literati and inkers leading troops to fight slowly emerged, and was inherited within the Tang Dynasty after An Shi. From the Huangchao Rebellion to the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty was always in internal and external difficulties. Rebellions arose within the imperial dynasty, and the people of all ethnic groups outside took advantage of the opportunity to invade internally. Compared with the early border wars, it is now also a war. Throughout the history of the Tang Dynasty, the literati and inkers who led the troops were diverse.
When national defense and security were threatened, they received posts and rushed to the battlefield, bravely and fearlessly, heroically killing the enemy. There are also some literati and inkers, although they have not been given a position in the government department, but because of their sense of mission to determine the country and the state, when they encounter great rebellion, they spontaneously raise soldiers to participate in the peace and chaos war.
2. Shogunate literati
As for the situation where the literati served in the tang dynasty army, the vast majority of the literati were unlikely to become commanders when they entered the army, but only entered other positions in the army. Thus, taking up a position in the shogunate became a key way for the literati to join the shogunate. When the Tang Dynasty troops went to war, they must set up a curtain and ask a think tank to assist in military affairs. After that, after development, by the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the shogunate had long since become a permanent institution of multi-disciplinary envoys. The entry of literati and inkers into the scene can be described as a popular social atmosphere in the Tang Dynasty. Although the reasons for the entry of the literati and inkers at each stage were different, it was because of the entry into the curtain that the literati and inkers of the Tang Dynasty became a key part of the defense of the Tang Dynasty. They may use their tongues to take the initiative to run around and give advice to the master of the curtain.
The military situation faced after the founding of the Tang Dynasty provided the opportunity for scholars to seek merit and serve the country. Joining the military and making meritorious contributions has become the social trend of the scholars at that time, and they have integrated their careers and reputations into the cause of crossing the frontier, serving the country, and defending the border.
Second, the Tang Dynasty literati Shangwu fashion
1. The military thinking of the literati of the Tang Dynasty
Here is just one person to know the whole picture. There is not much material available in the history books, but his identity as a scholar is certain. He had served as an official, but his experience was no longer possible, but it was roughly believed that he lived a secluded life mainly as a literati. The Taibai Yin Jing, also known as the Divine Mechanism Enemy Taibai Yin Jing, is a comprehensive military treatise with rich content written by Li Zheng.
This book of soldiers integrates the military ideas of Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Bing into one furnace, and carries the author's own strong personal and innovative ideas. Li Zhi advocated the national defense ideology of enriching the country and strengthening the army, believing that the key to making the country rich and strong lies in developing production and rewarding agricultural warfare.
2. Shang Wu and Ren Xia in Tang Dynasty literature
Poetry in the Tang Dynasty was a process of gradual development and maturity, and Tang poetry in each period had its own characteristics. The poetry of the Tang Dynasty can be divided into genres such as pastoral poetry, Biansai poetry, and grievance poetry according to the different contents of their reactions, and the most emblematic of the Tang Dynasty literati Shangwu style is the Biansai poetry. The Poetry of the Tang Dynasty was an important part of the poetry of the Tang Dynasty, and from the early Tang Dynasty to the late Tang Dynasty, the famous great poets almost all involved in the category of the Poetry of the Tang Dynasty. The sheer number and breadth of the poems is unmatched by other poems. The content of Tang Dynasty border poems is very extensive.
Some reflect military life, some reflect the frontier war, some reflect the war-torn peasants, some reflect the author's attitude toward the war, and some reflect the scenery of the frontier and the poet's desire to make meritorious achievements. It can be said that the poetry of Biansai is a comprehensive display of the frontier life of the Tang Dynasty, and the poetry of Biansai comprehensively shows the military life of Tang Dynasty society from all aspects. Most of the poets of the Tang Dynasty had a fervent desire to serve the motherland and a deep yearning for the opposing gongbians.
Yang Jiong's "March from the Army", Wang Wei's "Young Journey", Li Bai's "Sending Li Shiyu to Anxi", Gao Shi's "Plugging Down The Song", Du Fu's "Former Plugging Out" and so on all express such themes. For those literati who had served in the military frontier, because of their personal experience, they had detailed descriptions of various parts of the frontier. For example, military preparations, triumphs, daily feasts, hunting, competitions, farewells, and exhortations among colleagues have become the themes of poetry. Like Lu Lun's poems, which praise the mighty general, Cen Shan's poems are good at expressing the tense process of war. There are also a number of poems that reflect the poet's patriotic enthusiasm and the idea of meritorious name.
Patriotic enthusiasm and the idea of meritorious name have always been the main theme of Biansai poetry, and it is also a major motive for the Martial Arts fashion of the Tang Dynasty literati. The literati of the Tang Dynasty took the heroes of the Han Dynasty as an example and eagerly longed for the heroic deeds of Ban Chao of the Han Dynasty who threw pens from Rong and Zhang Duan to create a great cause in the Western Regions. Because of the military border plugs, the poet faced the battlefield directly, so the establishment of merit was particularly urgent.
Third, the origin of the formation of the Tang Dynasty literati Shangwu style
1. Military wars in the Tang Dynasty were frequent
The Tang Empire, as the heyday of China's feudal society, has always been known for its national strength, economic prosperity, and cultural prosperity. Mention of the Tang Dynasty would praise it as a unified multi-ethnic state. Compared with the split situation in the previous period, the Li Tang Dynasty has left an image of stability and peace. In fact, in the 289 years from the beginning of Li Yuan's construction of the Tang Dynasty to the overthrow of the Tang Dynasty, Zhu Wen called the Emperor tang dynasty overthrown, the war in the Tang Dynasty almost never stopped. Faced with the various divided forces formed by the peasant revolt at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the Li Tang Dynasty began its unification war from west to east and from north to south.
With the gradual victory of the dynastic unification war, the internal form of the state tended to stabilize, and the northern minorities, which had been temporarily calm, mainly Turkic, began to harass the northwest frontier of the Tang Dynasty. So as soon as the unification war ended, the Tang Dynasty began a border war again. Such frequent wars will inevitably have a profound impact on society, the most important of which is the serious proliferation of social military merit ideas in the Tang Dynasty.
2. The Tang Dynasty had serious ideas on social military merit
The Period from the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties was a period of major changes in China's social structure. Since the Wei and Jin dynasties, the clan landlord class that monopolized the government gradually weakened, and a large number of Shu class from the cold door began to grasp the heavy power of the state and became an emerging political force. In contrast to the insistence of the civilian bureaucracy, military merit and military service have become an important means for low-ranking soldiers to become the organs of state power. Most of the prominent families who held power during this period started with military merit and eventually became the leaders of the country. It can be seen from this that military merit was a great attraction to the society at that time, and at the same time, it also made the Shu landlords eventually become the basic force of the state ruling class in the Tang Dynasty. Due to the frequent occurrence of wars, gaining fame in the military to improve status has become a shortcut.
In the Tang Dynasty, especially in the early period, the central government attached great importance to military merit. At that time, there were many generals who were promoted to knighthoods and given good land and beautiful houses for military merit, and there were also many ordinary soldiers who were awarded medals for merit. The imperial court often encouraged warriors with official rewards. In addition to a large number of rewards, soldiers who have received military merit also have a superior social status to others. In the Tang Dynasty, soldiers who fought on the battlefield and achieved military merits were often awarded to honorary officers. For those generals who fight on the battlefield, obtaining military merit can not only make themselves a knight, but also benefit their families.
Due to the special status of military merit in Tang Dynasty society, the Tang Dynasty society, which had itself accepted the influence of ethnic minorities, set off a struggle for military merit. The world's pursuit of the bow and sword is no longer a passive acceptance, but is associated with its own development, future and the prosperity of the entire family, making this martial arts and martial arts practice more and more intense.
epilogue:
The Shangwu style of Tang Dynasty society is typical in Chinese history and has its far-reaching significance and influence, and it is more representative to study the Shangwu style of the Tang Dynasty literati alone. This is basic common sense, and the boundaries between Chinese and martial arts in China's feudal society are very obvious. It is obvious that in the Tang Dynasty literati, such a martial upsurge was filled with such a fierce upsurge, and it was vividly expressed in all aspects of this group, which made the Tang Dynasty literati reflect a new look that was completely different from the previous scribes, and brought a fresh and majestic wind to the entire Tang Dynasty society, which had a profound impact on the entire society.
bibliography:
Quan Tang Wen
Old Book of Tang