Historically, in order to reach the pinnacle of power, Wu Zetian did not hesitate to resort to cruel means, such as the large-scale ** Li clan, which led to the extinction of the five families of the Tang family, four of which were brothers of Tang Taizong, and some descendants of Li Tang were exiled as slaves, and their survival conditions were extremely difficult.
However, in the process, she also did something beneficial to future generations, such as changing the "Clan Chronicles" to the "Surname Record", breaking the boundaries between the Shi clan and the Shu clan.
The "Clan Chronicles" were also revised during the Tang Taizong era, so what does the "Clan Chronicles" represent? Why did Wu Zetian and Tang Taizong change it?
At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the nobles recognized by the society did not include the heroes who fought the world with Taizong, and the royal family was reluctantly shortlisted. At that time, the recognized scholars were the old nobles left over from the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
Under the gate valve system, the family name and family name became the prerequisites for determining identity. And under the concept of gate valves, if your surname is not among the gate valve clans, you can only be called Shu clan and Hanmen.
Even if you are a landlord, if your surname is not among the scholars, you cannot be called a scholar.
Although the Shu also had the opportunity to squeeze into the Shi clan, under the gate valve system, the social status was mainly reflected through marriage, and the Shi clan was only willing to intermarry with the Shi clan in order to maintain their ruling hegemony.
Therefore, the social status under the gate valve system varies greatly. By the time of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Shi landlords declined, and the Shu landlords rose, and gradually occupied a place in state affairs.
During the Northern Wei Dynasty, Emperor Xiaowen advocated the Sinicization reform, which included the revision of the Shi Gate Valve, aiming to make the Xianbei aristocratic gate valve equal to the status of the Han Shi clan.
However, the good days of the Xianbei aristocracy did not last long, and Emperor Wen of Sui of the Sui Dynasty abolished the Jiupin Zhongzheng system, implemented the imperial examination system, and abolished the privilege of the Shi landlords to be hereditary officials and control the local administration for generations.
This marked the end of the system of privileges of the nobles, and the system of the gate lords of the nobles was heading for collapse.
However, this did not mean the disappearance of the scholars, because in the early Tang Dynasty, although the strength of the scholars declined, they still enjoyed a high prestige and status in society due to their profound cultural heritage.
In terms of marriage, they still have the initiative, relying on the old family to attract the "new officials" of the Li Tang Dynasty. Although Li Tang's upstart status is prominent, his social status is not high.
In order to improve their social status, some people do not hesitate to buy marriages from the old people in Shandong. This situation of powerlessness was an irony for the Li Tang Dynasty, and the old Shandong clan did not even pay attention to the royal family.
During the period of Taizong, the Shandong Shu clan occupied an important position in the imperial court, in the early years of Zhenguan, in order to strengthen the imperial rule and improve the social status of the nouveau riche in the court, Tang Taizong revised the "Clan Chronicles", taking the official character and talent as a grade, striking at the old scholars, so that the ** from the Shu clan became the biggest beneficiary, and at the same time changed the concept of the family, so that the privileges can only be obtained through entering the office, and created a privilege system based on official products.
Wu Zetian revised the "Clan Chronicles" again at the instigation of Gaozong, what was the purpose?
Wu Zetian re-revised the "Surname Record": Breaking the monopoly of the door and judging heroes by official qualities After Wu Zetian was stabilized in the queen's position, in March of the fourth year of Xianqing (659), Gaozong issued an edict to change the "Clan Chronicles" to the "Surname Record".
The reason for the name change this time is very simple, that is, the Wu Zetian family is not included in the county wang. However, this is not only the glory of the Wu Zetian family, but also a challenge to the traditional concept of the family.
The traditional "Clan Chronicles" is based on the standards of eunuchs, bloodlines, family style, family studies, etc., and is based on the county prestige, and only records the surnames of the scholars.
After Wu Zetian changed the "Clan Chronicles" to the "Surname Record", the standard became simple and clear, that is, those who obtained the five grades in the dynasty could be included in it, regardless of the official quality, and the rank was ranked according to the official quality.
This new standard breaks the monopoly of the door and pays more attention to the current merits, such as military merits.
In the new "Surname Record", Wu Zetian and the family of the eldest grandson empress are listed as the first class, but the eldest grandson Wuji has been excluded due to his loss of political power.
Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu, these traitorous ministers, also entered the second class with the qualification of prime minister, and even the soldiers who had reached the rank of five or more with military merits were also among them.
This is a huge incentive for ordinary soldiers from the Shu nationality, they can accumulate military merits, reach the fifth grade, and then they can rise to the rank of scholars, and this redistribution of interests is also of certain progressive significance.
In general, Wu Zetian's "Surname Record" changed its name, breaking the traditional concept of the family and paying more attention to the merits of the current **, which is a kind of progress and a challenge.
By revising the "Surname Directory" and putting a large number of "variegated colors" into the "stream", Wu Zetian successfully improved the status of his clan and a large number of middle and lower class **, making them politically turn to himself, thus consolidating his position.
At the same time, this move also made many of the army commanders become Wu Zetian's henchmen, further controlling the initiative of the army.
Liuwaiguan has always been regarded as an inferior role, generally held by the Shu clan, just like Sun Wukong was ashamed of his petty official all his life after realizing the official position of Bi Ma Wen.
Although the official position is not large, in order to become the ** in the stream, you must go through strict selection, and the number of people entering the stream is not large.
However, after Wu Zetian seized the throne, the situation changed. There is a sudden increase in incoming traffic, and it takes little to no selection to become an in-stream**.
This shows that the variegated flow is also a way for Wu Zetian to buy people's hearts, so that a large number of officials can enter the stream, so that in the low-level ** in the stream, the Empress Wu has a group of supporters.
In addition, let's talk about the imperial examination system. Although the Sui Dynasty initiated the imperial examination, due to the influence of the gate valve system at that time, the imperial examination system was not popular.
By the time of the Tang Dynasty, the number of people who entered the imperial examination was still limited, with an average of only a dozen people per year, and the system of sheltering the shadows as officials was still prevalent, and the children of the nobles rose very fast, and the children and grandchildren of the old ministers could jump to the top ranks.
But after Wu Zetian ascended to the throne, the imperial examination system also changed. That is, the number of "subject-making" exams began to increase. The system of science is the emperor's temporary edict to select special talents, Gaozong Yonghui three years later, continue to set up imperial examinations.
For example, Zhang Jiuling entered the office through the system. Wu Zetian also saw the effect of selecting talents through the system in buying people's hearts, so after she came to the dynasty to weigh the system, she opened the system on a large scale, not only to collect the hearts of the people in the world with her position, but also to select a group of talents who govern the country through the world.
In general, a "Clan Chronicle", revised by Taizong, revised by Gaozong, repaired and repaired, the purpose is the same, all in order to elevate his status, in order to win over the current dynasty, and Wu Zetian got the greatest benefit from it.