Teach you to understand Tang Taizong and Zhenguan Political Essentials.

Author: Gao Tan Culture
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: Tang Taizong, who seized the throne through the "Xuanwu Gate Incident" and brotherly strife, could not have achieved the glorious "Reign of Zhenguan" without the constant urging of his ministers. If Tang Taizong became the overlord of the world and accomplished so many extraordinary deeds, it was not only due to his outstanding talents but most importantly, his ability to identify and appoint capable individuals. The Essentials of Governing the State (Zhenguan Zhengyao) is a political treatise that categorizes the discussions, memorials, and major political measures of Tang Taizong and his ministers—Wei Zheng, Wang Gui, Fang Xianling, Du Ruhi, Yu Shinnan, Chu Suiliang, Wen Yanbo, Liu Ji, Ma Zhou, Dai Zhou, Kong Yingda, Cen Wenben, Yao Siliang, and others during the Zhenguan era. It comprehensively reflects the main content of the emperor and his officials discussing state affairs, including establishing governance policies, learning from the experiences of past dynasties, cultivating successors to autocratic rule, and many specific materials on streamlining institutions, selecting the worthy, maintaining humility and caution, and upholding Confucianism. The value of The Essentials of Governing the State lies not only in the Zhenguan era it reflects, which holds a very important position in Chinese history and provides valuable materials for studying the early Tang period, but also in the attitude of Tang Taizong, who combined virtue with wisdom and readily followed the right advice, as well as the spirit of straightforward advice exemplified by Wei Zheng. Both are sufficient to serve as a model for today's government-civilian relations and a guiding principle for building the nation.