Tang Dynasty Social Structure

Throughout the history of our Earth, many different civilizations have come and gone, leaving little else aside from documentation or some sort of tangible legacy behind. That documentation, however, is significantly important to following civilizations—and most crucially modern civilizations—in allowing for an understanding of how life, society, and order had been structured to allow for these former civilizations to thrive during their times. These various pieces of documentations of civilizations that now cease to exist have also provided somewhat of a blueprint of both the success and the mistakes that these civilizations made in maintaining functioning societies. One of the most important components of a society’s functionality is, of

The Tang Dynasty managed to remain relatively stable and civilized through a system of social classes similar to that of more ancient civilizations (“Tang Dynasty Social Structure”). The entirety of the Chinese society during the period of this dynasty was ruled over by an Emperor, as essentially every dynasty to come before it. The Tang Dynasty retained a relatively centralized political structure based on the fact that the Emperor was granted almost absolute power over the populace with a social hierarchy established underneath the Emperor’s ranking. Laws were established to ensure that social order was maintained and that a civilized society could thrive under the Emperor’s rule without the threat of a civilian uprising and subsequent overthrowing of the Emperor, as had also taken place in numerous dynasties to come before it (“Tang Dynasty Social Structure”). Ultimately, such an uprising did come to take place and mark the end of the Tang Dynasty, but not until the almost three hundred years of a civilized society under the dynasty accomplished numerous

This historical period followed the Middle Ages and marked substantial progress throughout Europe in so many aspects, all of which have collectively shaped the modern world and the societies within it to at least some degree (“Renaissance”). The culture during this period began to place focus on numerous new ideas, ways of life, and means of expression. Significant works of art became much more prevalent and rational and enlightened ways of thinking became much more widespread during the Renaissance (“Renaissance”). A new focus on what has been termed “humanism,” which is essentially a secular focus on human nature and the human condition, came to life and heavily modernized the definition of civilized to the societies under this broad civilization (“Renaissance”). The increased focus on personal liberties and importance of human life and happiness allowed for a diminishment in the violence and many other issues that plagued past civilizations and their inability to thrive for relatively long periods of time. Hierarchical social systems and divisions in power distribution were also diminishing and paving the way to the systems of governance that we know and live by in our modern era (“Renaissance”). The Renaissance had essentially defined “civilized” in an entirely new and refreshing way for the first time, finally focusing on the many