The Enyin system was a unique political system of the ancient Chinese feudal dynasty, which occupied an important position in Chinese feudal history.
The provisions of ancient Chinese feudal law on "grace and shade" were mainly shades for non-immediate family members, and this shade system was a privilege granted to the clan nobility.
However, by the time of the Tang Dynasty, this shade system was extended to the entire family, that is, with the clan as the core and blood relations as the bond, forming a huge shadow network.
The Tang Dynasty implemented the grace system mainly because the founding heroes of the Tang Dynasty were powerful, in order to leave a way back for the meritorious families.
However, although the enyin system can leave a way for the meritorious family, it also has its negative effects, and this article will briefly analyze the enyin system of the Tang Dynasty to understand the function of the enyin system in the Tang Dynasty.
The Enyin system contributed to the political stability and economic development of the Tang Dynasty
The biggest feature of the feudal dynasty in ancient Chinese feudal society was the maintenance and consolidation of imperial power. The main purpose of the Tang Dynasty was to maintain imperial power and maintain the stability of state power.
During the Tang Dynasty, the heroic clique was huge, and they had a great influence on the state power. If these meritorious groups can be reused by the emperor, they will play a very important role in the political stability and economic development of the Tang Dynasty.
And once the meritorious group is reused by the emperor, it will greatly enhance the status of their family in the dynasty, which is a very tempting thing for those officials who have been officials for many years.
If these officials can be reused by the emperor, then they will spare no effort to serve the country, which is very beneficial for the development of the country. Therefore, the Enyin system played a certain role in the political stability and economic development of the Tang Dynasty.
The patronage system maintains the stability of the bureaucracy
The Tang Dynasty's Enyin system could maintain the stability of the bureaucratic system, because the Enyin system could compensate for the reality of political power inequality at that time to a certain extent, thereby maintaining the stability of the bureaucracy.
The Tang dynasty's patronage system played a very important role in the stability of the bureaucracy because it gave officials certain privileges that compensated for the reality of unequal political power.
That is, if an official is in an advantageous position in political power, then he can expand his power with special policies. And if the official is in a weak position, then he can only protect his interests through normal channels.
However, because the grace system can compensate for the reality of political power inequality to a certain extent, the grace system can play a certain stabilizing role in the political power inequality at that time.
For the Tang dynasty, if the problem of political power inequality was resolved, it would be difficult to maintain the stability of the bureaucracy. The patronage system solves the problem of political power inequality, thereby maintaining the stability of the bureaucracy.
The patronage system can improve the overall quality of the bureaucracy
In ancient Chinese feudal history, the bureaucracy of the state was an important constituent force and the main reliance of state rule. The quality and ability of the state bureaucracy determine to a large extent the ability and effectiveness of national governance. However, over time, various problems arose in the ranks of the state bureaucracy that affected the rule of the state.
For the Tang Dynasty, due to the implementation of the grace system, many non-immediate family members obtained official positions. Although these official positions are not very high, to some extent, they also reflect the positive role of non-immediate family members in the construction of the imperial court official ranks.
Therefore, after these non-immediate family members enter the ranks of imperial court officials, they can inject new blood and vitality into the ranks of imperial court officials. To a certain extent, it can improve the overall quality and ability of the bureaucracy, and lay a good foundation for the political construction of the Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, the Enyin system was of positive significance to the political construction of the Tang Dynasty.
The patronage system is conducive to strengthening centralization
In the Tang Dynasty, the Enyin system was not only to maintain the long-term peace and stability of the country, but also to strengthen the centralization of power and strengthen the imperial power.
First of all, the founding heroes of the Tang Dynasty were powerful, but this does not mean that they would not betray the royal family, but their power was not enough to threaten the status of the Tang Dynasty royal family.
In the early days of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang emperors did not have the ability to eliminate the power of meritorious officials, so they needed to establish a strong royal family to maintain their rule.
In order to strengthen centralization, rulers need to solve this problem through a patronage system. In the early days of the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, the power of the heroes was strong, and even threatened the throne of Tang Gaozu Li Yuan.
In order to protect his throne from threats, Tang Gaozu had to establish a powerful royal family to maintain his rule. Among the emperors of the Tang Dynasty after Tang Gaozu, many relied on the grace system to ascend the throne.
Second, the grace system could maintain the relationship between the Tang emperor and the meritorious forces in the early Tang Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, he once married his daughter to two brothers, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji.
After Li Yuan ascended the throne, he married his daughter to Li Shimin. This marriage relationship is actually the result of a combination of the system of patronage and the system of marriage.
The Enyin system created the political foundation for Tang Gaozu Li Yuan and Tang Taizong Li Shimin, while the marriage system provided them with strong political support.
The patronage system is an inevitable product of social development
In ancient Chinese society, feudal society has always been a society bound by blood relations, and this system has been maintained throughout the feudal period. The grace system is no exception, which is a combination of feudal ideology and feudal law.
The Enyin system first appeared during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, mainly to maintain the privileges of nobles and officials, and to promote political clarity and national stability. Over time, the content of the Enyin system was continuously improved, and gradually evolved into a hierarchical political system.
By the time of the Tang Dynasty, the Enyin system was more perfect, and its functions were more diversified. The patronage system has great benefits for the ruler, but its drawbacks are also very obvious.
The Enyin system is an inevitable product of the development of feudal dynasties, it is an important system formulated by feudal rulers in order to maintain their rule and consolidate imperial power, and it occupies an important position in feudal history.
summary
Through the above analysis, we can see that the Tang Dynasty's grace system has many negative effects while leaving a way for the meritorious family.
On the one hand, the Enyin system has a certain impact on the whole society, although its main purpose is to consolidate the rule of the Tang Dynasty, but it will also have a negative impact on society in the process of implementation.
On the other hand, the Enyin system also caused certain negative effects on the Tang Dynasty, such as the phenomenon of "marriage of close relatives" in the Tang Dynasty. This was mainly due to the fact that the Tang Dynasty Enyin system only granted privileges to the nobility of the clan and not to non-immediate relatives.
In this way, marriage between close relatives creates complex relations between close relatives, which adversely affects society. In addition, because the Tang Dynasty was a dynasty that respected blood relations, it forbade marriage between close relatives in order to maintain its rule.